IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1504 

Urging the President to increase efforts under the Third Border Initiative 

(TBI) to deepen cooperation and collaboration with Caribbean nations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2008 

Ms. CLARKE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the President to increase efforts under the Third 

Border Initiative (TBI) to deepen cooperation and collaboration with Caribbean nations. 

Whereas the nations of the Caribbean, our ‘‘third border’’, 

are vital partners on security, trade, health, the environment, education, regional democracy, and other hemispheric issues; 

Whereas enhancing regional measures to promote security 

along our ‘‘third border’’ remains vital to the safety of 

our homeland and hemispheric priority; 

Whereas in response the United States established the 

‘‘Third Border Initiative’’ (TBI) in April 2001, in order 

to deepen cooperation between the United States and 

Caribbean nations; 


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•HRES 1504 IH 

Whereas Carribean nations and the United States signed a 

joint declaration in January 2004, stating that the TBI 

is ‘‘a valuable framework for structuring our engagement 

across the broad spectrum of matter that affect the prosperity and the well being of the region and its peoples’’; 

Whereas the joint declaration further stated that the objective of the TBI is to focus United States and Caribbean 

engagement through targeted programs to enhance cooperation in the diplomatic, security, economic, environmental, health, and education areas; 

Whereas the TBI is a necessary component in defining an optimal relationship between the United States and its Caribbean neighbors, and is critical to the establishment of 

effective counterterrorism measures to ensure security on 

the southeastern border of the United States; 

Whereas the TBI can strengthen United States partnerships 

with Caribbean nations in countering natural and manmade threats to security; 

Whereas TBI programs can have a direct, positive effect on 

the safety and security of United States travelers to the 

region, as well as to the protection of United States 

homeland security; 

Whereas the TBI can strengthen regional and local border 

management, protecting against criminal and terrorist 

elements who seek to travel freely to and through the region, and enhancing the safety of some 5,000,000 United 

States travelers in the Caribbean; 

Whereas Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of 

American States Albert Ramdin stated in October 2007 

that the TBI was an ‘‘explicit recognition that the security and development issues of neighboring states have 


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•HRES 1504 IH 

the potential to have a direct impact on security in the 

United States and vice versa; 

Whereas according to the Joint United Nations Programme 

on HIV/AIDS, AIDS remains one of the leading causes 

of death among adults in the Caribbean aged 25 to 44 

years old; 

Whereas because of their geographic location, many Caribbean nations are transit countries for cocaine and heroin 

from South America destined for the United States and 

Europe; 

Whereas many of the smaller countries of the Eastern Caribbean remain vulnerable to drug trafficking from South 

America and associated crimes; 

Whereas according to the White House Office of National 

Drug Control Policy, drug flights from Venezuela to Hispaniola in the central Caribbean grew from 27 to 81 in 

the first three-quarters of 2007; 

Whereas a March 2007 report by the United Nations Office 

on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank stated that 

narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean has contributed to 

high rates of crime and violence in the region, which in 

turn have had direct negative effects on human welfare, 

economic growth, and social development; 

Whereas a report published by the Council of Hemispheric 

Affairs in December 2007, stated that the Third Border 

Initiative is a vital program that have been put on the 

back burner; and 

Whereas annual funding for TBI activities has declined considerably since fiscal year 2005: Now, therefore, be it 


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1 Resolved, That the United States House of Rep2 resentatives— 

3 (1) recognizes the special significance of the 

4 Caribbean as an important partner of the United 

5 States and seeks to build on the long history of con6 structive engagement between the United States and 

7 the Caribbean; 

8 (2) supports the Third Border Initiative (TBI) 

9 which is designed to enhance diplomatic, economic, 

10 health, education, disaster preparedness, and law en11 forcement cooperation and collaboration; 

12 (3) especially supports TBI activities that pro13 vide support to help Caribbean nations plan and pre14 pare for natural disasters; 

15 (4) urges the United States and Caribbean gov16 ernments to continue cooperative efforts to prevent, 

17 combat, and eliminate terrorist threats to hemi18 spheric security; 

19 (5) urges the United States and Caribbean gov20 ernments to expand strategies to contend with new 

21 and nontraditional threats, including political, eco22 nomic, social, health, and environmental challenges; 

23 (6) urges the President to increase efforts 

24 under the TBI to deepen cooperation and collaboraVerDate Aug 31 2005 06:05 Sep 26, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1504.IH HR1504

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•HRES 1504 IH 

1 tion with Caribbean nations, including counter2 narcotics cooperation; 

3 (7) urges the President to stem the decline in 

4 the TBI funding levels that has occurred since fiscal 

5 year 2005; and 

6 (8) urges the Secretary of State to provide clear 

7 information to Congress in the Department of 

8 State’s annual Congressional Budget Justification 

9 for Foreign Operations on the amounts being re10 quested for the TBI and a description of the 

11 projects to be funded under the TBI. 

Æ 


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