I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 416 

To authorize the establishment of educational exchange and development 

programs for member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2009 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. HONDA, Mr. RANGEL, 

Mr. ENGEL, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. BORDALLO, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, 

Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, and Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize the establishment of educational exchange and 

development programs for member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Shirley A. Chisholm United States-Caribbean Edu6 cational Exchange Act of 2009’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
2 

•HR 416 IH

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Statement of purpose. 

Sec. 4. Shirley A. Chisholm United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange 

Program. 

Sec. 5. Program to provide educational development assistance for CARICOM 

countries. 

Sec. 6. Administrative provisions. 

Sec. 7. Reporting requirements. 

Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—Except as otherwise pro4 vided, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Adminis5 trator of the United States Agency for International 

6 Development. 

7 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT8 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com9 mittees’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

11 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

12 of Representatives; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

14 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

15 Senate. 

16 (3) CARICOM COUNTRY.—The term 

17 ‘‘CARICOM country’’— 

18 (A) means a member country of the Carib19 bean Community (CARICOM); but 

20 (B) does not include— 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
3 

•HR 416 IH

1 (i) a country having observer status in 

2 CARICOM; or 

3 (ii) a country the government of which 

4 the Secretary of State has determined, for 

5 purposes of section 6(j) of the Export Ad6 ministration Act of 1979 (as continued in 

7 effect pursuant to the International Emer8 gency Economic Powers Act), section 40 of 

9 the Arms Export Control Act, section 

10 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

11 1961, or any other provision of law, is a 

12 government that has repeatedly provided 

13 support for acts of international terrorism. 

14 (4) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 

15 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of State. 

16 (5) UNITED STATES COOPERATING AGENCY.— 

17 The term ‘‘United States cooperating agency’’ 

18 means— 

19 (A) an institution of higher education (as 

20 such term is defined in section 101(a) of the 

21 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

22 1001(a))), including, to the maximum extent 

23 practicable, an historically Black college or uni24 versity that is a part B institution (as such 

25 term is defined in section 322(2) of such Act 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
4 

•HR 416 IH

1 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2))) or an Hispanic-serving in2 stitution (as such term is defined in section 

3 502(5) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(5))); 

4 (B) a higher education association; 

5 (C) a nongovernmental organization incor6 porated in the United States; or 

7 (D) a consortium consisting of two or more 

8 such institutions, associations, or nongovern9 mental organizations. 

10 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

11 The purpose of this Act is to establish— 

12 (1) an educational exchange program between 

13 the United States and CARICOM countries, to be 

14 known as the ‘‘Shirley A. Chisholm United States15 Caribbean Educational Exchange Program’’, pursu16 ant to section 4 to assist in educating promising stu17 dents and scholars from communities demonstrating 

18 the greatest need within CARICOM countries who 

19 will invest the knowledge and experiences they gain 

20 in the United States back into the community of 

21 CARICOM countries; and 

22 (2) a program to provide educational develop23 ment assistance for communities demonstrating the 

24 greatest need within CARICOM countries pursuant 

25 to section 5. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
5 

•HR 416 IH

1 SEC. 4. SHIRLEY A. CHISHOLM UNITED STATES-CARIBBEAN 

2 EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM. 

3 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of State 

4 is authorized to establish an educational exchange pro5 gram between the United States and CARICOM countries, 

6 to be known as the ‘‘Shirley A. Chisholm United States7 Caribbean Educational Exchange Program,’’ under 

8 which— 

9 (1) secondary school students from CARICOM 

10 countries will— 

11 (A) attend a public or private secondary 

12 school in the United States; and 

13 (B) participate in activities designed to 

14 promote a greater understanding of the values 

15 and culture of the United States; and 

16 (2) undergraduate students, graduate students, 

17 post-graduate students, and scholars from 

18 CARICOM countries will— 

19 (A) attend a public or private college or 

20 university, including a community college, in 

21 the United States; and 

22 (B) participate in activities designed to 

23 promote a greater understanding of the values 

24 and culture of the United States. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
6 

•HR 416 IH

1 (b) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—The program author2 ized under subsection (a) shall meet the following require3 ments: 

4 (1) The program will offer scholarships to stu5 dents and scholars based on merit and need. It is 

6 the sense of Congress that scholarships should be of7 fered to students and scholars who evidence merit, 

8 achievement, and strong potential for the studies 

9 such students and scholars wish to undertake under 

10 the program and 60 percent of scholarships offered 

11 under the program should be based on financial 

12 need. 

13 (2) The program will seek to achieve gender 

14 equality in granting scholarships under the program. 

15 (3) Fields of study under the program will sup16 port the labor market and development needs of 

17 CARICOM countries, assuring a pool of technical 

18 experts to address such needs. 

19 (4) The program will limit participation to— 

20 (A) one year of study for secondary school 

21 students; 

22 (B) two years of study for undergraduate 

23 students; and 

24 (C) 12 months of study for graduate stu25 dents, post-graduate students, and scholars. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
7 

•HR 416 IH

1 (5) For a period of time equal to the period of 

2 time of participation in the program, but not to ex3 ceed 2 years, the program will require participants 

4 who are students and scholars described in sub5 section (a)(2) to— 

6 (A) agree to return to live in a CARICOM 

7 country and maintain residence in such coun8 try, within 6 months of completion of academic 

9 studies; or 

10 (B) agree to obtain employment that di11 rectly benefits the growth, progress, and devel12 opment of one or more CARICOM countries 

13 and the people of such countries. 

14 (6) The Secretary may waive, shorten the dura15 tion, or otherwise alter the requirements of para16 graph (4) in limited circumstances of hardship, hu17 manitarian needs, for specific educational purposes, 

18 or in furtherance of the national interests of the 

19 United States. 

20 (c) ROLE OF UNITED STATES COOPERATING AGEN21 CIES.—The Secretary shall consult with United States co22 operating agencies in developing the program authorized 

23 under subsection (a). The Secretary is authorized to pro24 vide grants to United States cooperating agencies in car25 rying out the program authorized under subsection (a). 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
8 

•HR 416 IH

1 (d) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall monitor 

3 and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the 

4 program authorized under subsection (a). In so 

5 doing, the Secretary shall, among other things, 

6 evaluate the program’s positive or negative effects 

7 on brain drain from the participating CARICOM 

8 countries and suggest ways in which the program 

9 may be improved to promote the basic goal of alle10 viating brain drain from the participating 

11 CARICOM countries. 

12 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para13 graph (1), the Secretary shall review on a regular 

14 basis— 

15 (A) financial information relating to the 

16 program; 

17 (B) budget plans for the program; 

18 (C) adjustments to plans established for 

19 the program; 

20 (D) graduation rates of participants in the 

21 program; 

22 (E) the percentage of participants who are 

23 students described in subsection (a)(1) who 

24 pursue higher education; 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
9 

•HR 416 IH

1 (F) the percentage of participants who re2 turn to their home country or another 

3 CARICOM country; 

4 (G) the types of careers pursued by par5 ticipants in the program and the extent to 

6 which such careers are linked to the political, 

7 economic, and social development needs of 

8 CARICOM countries; and 

9 (H) the impact of gender, country of ori10 gin, financial need of students, and other rel11 evant factors on the data collected under sub12 paragraphs (D) through (G). 

13 SEC. 5. PROGRAM TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL DEVELOP14 MENT ASSISTANCE FOR CARICOM COUN15 TRIES. 

16 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 

17 State, acting through the Administrator of the United 

18 States Agency for International Development, is author19 ized to establish a program to provide educational develop20 ment assistance for CARICOM countries. 

21 (b) PURPOSE OF PROGRAM.—The purpose of the pro22 gram authorized under subsection (a) is to improve pri23 mary and secondary education in CARICOM countries by 

24 enhancing teacher training, strengthening curriculum and 

25 instructional materials, and assisting improvements in 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
10 

•HR 416 IH

1 school management and public administration of edu2 cation. 

3 (c) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—The program author4 ized under subsection (a) shall extend and expand upon 

5 existing primary and secondary school programs in 

6 CARICOM countries to provide— 

7 (1) teacher-training methods and training in 

8 subject area studies; 

9 (2) classroom and school management; 

10 (3) development and modernization of cur11 riculum and instructional materials; 

12 (4) increased community involvement in school 

13 activities; and 

14 (5) local, regional, and national government pol15 icy planning on the elements described in para16 graphs (1) through (4). 

17 (d) ROLE OF UNITED STATES COOPERATING AGEN18 CIES.—The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of 

19 Education, officials of United States cooperating agencies, 

20 and officials of CARICOM countries in developing the pro21 gram authorized under subsection (a). The Secretary is 

22 authorized to make grants to United States cooperating 

23 agencies in carrying out the program authorized under 

24 subsection (a). 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
11 

•HR 416 IH

1 (e) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.— 

2 The Secretary shall monitor and evaluate the effectiveness 

3 and efficiency of the program authorized under subsection 

4 (a). 

5 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

6 (a) FUNDING FROM PRIVATE SOURCES AND PART7 NERSHIPS WITH OTHER APPROPRIATE ENTITIES.—To 

8 the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of State 

9 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

10 International Development should implement the pro11 grams authorized under sections 4 and 5 through utiliza12 tion of funding from private sources to maximize the im13 pact of United States funds under this Act, and through 

14 partnerships with appropriate United States organiza15 tions, institutions, and corporations. 

16 (b) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—The Secretary 

17 and the Administrator shall consult with the Secretary of 

18 Education to ensure that— 

19 (1) activities under the programs authorized 

20 under sections 4 and 5 are not duplicative of other 

21 United States educational programs for CARICOM 

22 countries; and 

23 (2) United States cooperating agencies and 

24 partner institutions in CARICOM countries are ac25 credited by national or regional accrediting bodies. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
12 

•HR 416 IH

1 (c) REPORTING UNDER SEVIS.—To the extent nec2 essary, the Secretary shall provide support to United 

3 States cooperating agencies that are participating in the 

4 program authorized under section 4 in order to fulfill the 

5 requirements for student data reporting under the Stu6 dent and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). 

7 SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

8 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 120 days 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

10 of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

11 committees a report on plans to implement the programs 

12 authorized under sections 4 and 5. 

13 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re14 quired by subsection (a) shall include— 

15 (1) with respect to implementation of the pro16 gram authorized under section 4— 

17 (A) a plan for selecting participants in the 

18 program, including an estimate of the number 

19 of secondary school students, undergraduate 

20 students, graduate students, post-graduate stu21 dents, and scholars from each country, by edu22 cational level, who will be selected as partici23 pants in the program for each fiscal year; 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
13 

•HR 416 IH

1 (B) a timeline for selecting United States 

2 cooperating agencies that will assist in imple3 menting the program; 

4 (C) a financial plan that— 

5 (i) identifies budget plans for each 

6 educational level under the program; and 

7 (ii) identifies plans or systems to en8 sure that the costs to public school, college, 

9 and university education under the pro10 gram and the costs to private school, col11 lege, and university education under the 

12 program are reasonably allocated; and 

13 (D) a plan to provide outreach to and link14 ages with schools, colleges and universities, and 

15 nongovernmental organizations in both the 

16 United States and CARICOM countries for im17 plementation of the program; and 

18 (2) a plan outlining implementation of the pro19 gram authorized under section 5, identifying the ini20 tial countries in which the program will be imple21 mented and a timeline for implementation. 

22 (c) UPDATES OF REPORT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit 

24 to the appropriate congressional committees updates 

25 of the report required by subsection (a) for each fisVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:35 Jan 13, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H416.IH H416

rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
14 

•HR 416 IH

1 cal year for which amounts are appropriated pursu2 ant to the authorization of appropriations under sec3 tion 8. 

4 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Such updates 

5 shall include the following: 

6 (A) Information on United States cooper7 ating agencies that are selected to assist in im8 plementing the programs authorized under sec9 tions 4 and 5. 

10 (B) An analysis of the positive and nega11 tive impacts the program authorized under sec12 tion 4 will have or is having on brain drain 

13 from the participating CARICOM countries. 

14 (C) A description of efforts made by the 

15 Secretary and the Administrator to implement 

16 the program authorized under section 5. 

17 (D) A description of the programs estab18 lished in each CARICOM country receiving as19 sistance under the program authorized under 

20 section 5. Such description shall include a de21 tailed explanation of the extent to which the 

22 program and the assistance provided are con23 tributing to the purpose of the program de24 scribed in section 5(b) in the CARICOM coun25 try. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
15 

•HR 416 IH

1 (E) An evaluation of additional educational 

2 development goals in CARICOM countries, 

3 identifying those goals that could be maximized 

4 or achieved with United States assistance 

5 through the program authorized under section 

6 5. In addition to standard or necessary areas of 

7 education review, the evaluation should give at8 tention to factors affecting academic achieve9 ment, attrition, and graduation rates in 

10 CARICOM countries. The evaluation should 

11 suggest ways in which United States assistance 

12 can maximize success factors and address fac13 tors contributing to poor achievement. 

14 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 To carry out this Act, there are authorized to be ap16 propriated such sums as may be necessary for each of the 

17 fiscal years 2009 through 2012. Amounts appropriated 

18 pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under this 

19 section are in addition to amounts otherwise available for 

20 such purposes. 

Æ 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS