I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1409 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance for 

orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2005 

Ms. LEE (for herself, Mr. HYDE, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LEACH, and Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on International Relations 

A BILL 

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide 

assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children in 

developing countries, and for other purposes. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assistance for Orphans 

5 and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries 

6 Act of 2005’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 
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1 (1) As of July 2004, there were more than 

2 143,000,000 children living in sub-Saharan Africa, 

3 Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean who were 

4 identified as orphans, having lost one or both of 

5 their parents. Of this number, approximately 

6 16,200,000 children were identified as double or7 phans, having lost both parents—the vast majority 

8 of whom died of AIDS. These children often are dis9 advantaged in numerous and devastating ways and 

10 most households with orphans cannot meet the basic 

11 needs of health care, food, clothing, and educational 

12 expenses. 

13 (2) It is estimated that 121,000,000 children 

14 worldwide do not attend school and that the major15 ity of such children are young girls. According to the 

16 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), or17 phans are less likely to be in school and more likely 

18 to be working full time. 

19 (3) School food programs, including take-home 

20 rations, in developing countries provide strong incen21 tives for children to remain in school and continue 

22 their education. School food programs can reduce 

23 short-term hunger, improve cognitive functions, and 

24 enhance learning, behavior, and achievement. 
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1 (4) Financial barriers, such as school fees and 

2 other costs of education, prevent many orphans and 

3 other vulnerable children in developing countries 

4 from attending school. Providing children with free 

5 primary school education, while simultaneously en6 suring that adequate resources exist for teacher 

7 training and infrastructure, would help more or8 phans and other vulnerable children obtain a quality 

9 education. 

10 (5) The trauma that results from the loss of a 

11 parent can trigger behavior problems of aggression 

12 or emotional withdrawal and negatively affect a 

13 child’s performance in school and the child’s social 

14 relations. Children living in families affected by 

15 HIV/AIDS or who have been orphaned by AIDS 

16 often face stigmatization and discrimination. Pro17 viding culturally appropriate psychosocial support to 

18 such children can assist them in successfully accept19 ing and adjusting to their circumstances. 

20 (6) Orphans and other vulnerable children in 

21 developing countries routinely are denied their inher22 itance or encounter difficulties in claiming the land 

23 and other property which they have inherited. Even 

24 when the inheritance rights of women and children 

25 are spelled out in law, such rights are difficult to 
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1 claim and are seldom enforced. In many countries it 

2 is difficult or impossible for a widow, even if she has 

3 young children, to claim property after the death of 

4 her husband. 

5 (7) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has had a dev6 astating affect on children and is deepening poverty 

7 in entire communities and jeopardizing the health, 

8 safety, and survival of all children in affected areas. 

9 (8) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has increased the 

10 number of orphans worldwide and has exacerbated 

11 the poor living conditions of the world’s poorest and 

12 most vulnerable children. AIDS has created an un13 precedented orphan crisis, especially in sub-Saharan 

14 Africa, where children have been hardest hit. An es15 timated 14,000,000 orphans have lost 1 or both par16 ents to AIDS. By 2010, it is estimated that over 

17 25,000,000 children will have been orphaned by 

18 AIDS. 

19 (9) Approximately 2,500,000 children under the 

20 age of 15 worldwide have HIV/AIDS. Every day an21 other 2,000 children under the age of 15 are in22 fected with HIV. Without treatment, most children 

23 born with HIV can expect to die by age two, but 

24 with sustained drug treatment through childhood, 
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1 the chances of long-term survival and a productive 

2 adulthood improve dramatically. 

3 (10) Few international development programs 

4 specifically target the treatment of children with 

5 HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Reasons for this 

6 include the perceived low priority of pediatric treat7 ment, a lack of pediatric health care professionals, 

8 lack of expertise and experience in pediatric drug 

9 dosing and monitoring, the perceived complexity of 

10 pediatric treatment, and mistaken beliefs regarding 

11 the risks and benefits of pediatric treatment. 

12 (11) Although a number of organizations seek 

13 to meet the needs of orphans or other vulnerable 

14 children, extended families and local communities 

15 continue to be the primary providers of support for 

16 such children. 

17 (12) The HIV/AIDS pandemic is placing huge 

18 burdens on communities and is leaving many or19 phans with little support. Alternatives to traditional 

20 orphanages, such as community-based resource cen21 ters, continue to evolve in response to the massive 

22 number of orphans that has resulted from the pan23 demic. 

24 (13) The AIDS orphans crisis in sub-Saharan 

25 Africa has implications for political stability, human 
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1 welfare, and development that extend far beyond the 

2 region, affecting governments and people worldwide, 

3 and this crisis requires an accelerated response from 

4 the international community. 

5 (14) Although section 403(b) of the United 

6 States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, 

7 and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7673(b)) estab8 lishes the requirement that not less than 10 percent 

9 of amounts appropriated for HIV/AIDS assistance 

10 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2008 shall be 

11 expended for assistance for orphans and other vul12 nerable children affected by HIV/AIDS, there is an 

13 urgent need to provide assistance to such children 

14 prior to 2006. 

15 (15) Numerous United States and indigenous 

16 private voluntary organizations, including faith17 based organizations, provide assistance to orphans 

18 and other vulnerable children in developing coun19 tries. Many of these organizations have submitted 

20 applications for grants to the Administrator of the 

21 United States Agency for International Development 

22 to provide increased levels of assistance for orphans 

23 and other vulnerable children in developing coun24 tries. 
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1 (16) Increasing the amount of assistance that is 

2 provided by the Administrator of the United States 

3 Agency for International Development through 

4 United States and indigenous private voluntary or5 ganizations, including faith-based organizations, will 

6 provide greater protection for orphans and other vul7 nerable children in developing countries. 

8 (17) It is essential that the United States Gov9 ernment adopt a comprehensive approach for the 

10 provision of assistance to orphans and other vulner11 able children in developing countries. A comprehen12 sive approach would ensure that important services, 

13 such as basic care, psychosocial support, school food 

14 programs, increased educational opportunities and 

15 employment training and related services, the pro16 tection and promotion of inheritance rights for such 

17 children, and the treatment of orphans and other 

18 vulnerable children with HIV/AIDS, are made more 

19 accessible. 

20 (18) Assistance for orphans and other vulner21 able children can best be provided by a comprehen22 sive approach of the United States Government 

23 that— 

24 (A) ensures that Federal agencies and the 

25 private sector coordinate efforts to prevent and 
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1 eliminate duplication of efforts and waste in the 

2 provision of such assistance; and 

3 (B) to the maximum extent possible, fo4 cuses on community-based programs that allow 

5 orphans and other vulnerable children to re6 main connected to the traditions and rituals of 

7 their families and communities. 

8 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNER9 ABLE CHILDREN IN DEVELOPING COUN10 TRIES. 

11 Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 

12 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 135. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VUL15 NERABLE CHILDREN. 

16 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) There are more than 143,000,000 orphans 

18 living sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and 

19 the Caribbean. Of this number, approximately 

20 16,200,000 children have lost both parents. 

21 ‘‘(2) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has created an 

22 unprecedented orphan crisis, especially in sub-Saha23 ran Africa, where children have been hardest hit. 

24 The pandemic is deepening poverty in entire commu25 nities, and is jeopardizing the health, safety, and 
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1 survival of all children in affected countries. It is es2 timated that 14,000,000 children have lost one or 

3 both parents to AIDS. 

4 ‘‘(3) The orphans crisis in sub-Saharan Africa 

5 has implications for human welfare, development, 

6 and political stability that extend far beyond the re7 gion, affecting governments and people worldwide. 

8 ‘‘(4) Extended families and local communities 

9 are struggling to meet the basic needs of orphans 

10 and vulnerable children by providing food, health 

11 care including treatment of children living with HIV/ 

12 AIDS, education expenses, and clothing. 

13 ‘‘(5) Famines, natural disasters, chronic pov14 erty, ongoing conflicts, and civil wars in developing 

15 countries are adversely affecting children in these 

16 countries, the vast majority of whom currently do 

17 not receive humanitarian assistance or other support 

18 from the United States. 

19 ‘‘(6) The United States Government admin20 isters various assistance programs for orphans and 

21 other vulnerable children in developing countries. In 

22 order to improve targeting and programming of re23 sources, the United States Agency for International 

24 Development should develop methods to adequately 

25 track the overall number of orphans and other vul-
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1 nerable children receiving assistance, the kinds of 

2 programs for such children by sector and location, 

3 and any other such related data and analysis. 

4 ‘‘(7) The United States Agency for Inter5 national Development should improve its capabilities 

6 to deliver assistance to orphans and other vulnerable 

7 children in developing countries through partner8 ships with private volunteer organizations, including 

9 community and faith-based organizations. 

10 ‘‘(8) The United States Agency for Inter11 national Development should be the primary United 

12 States Government agency responsible for identi13 fying and assisting orphans and other vulnerable 

14 children in developing countries. 

15 ‘‘(9) Providing assistance to such children is an 

16 important expression of the humanitarian concern 

17 and tradition of the people of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) AIDS.—The term ‘AIDS’ has the meaning 

20 given the term in section 104A(g)(1) of this Act. 

21 ‘‘(2) CHILDREN.—The term ‘children’ means 

22 persons who have not attained 18 years of age. 

23 ‘‘(3) HIV/AIDS.—The term ‘HIV/AIDS’ has the 

24 meaning given the term in section 104A(g)(3) of 

25 this Act. 
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1 ‘‘(4) ORPHAN.—The term ‘orphan’ means a 

2 child deprived by death of one or both parents. 

3 ‘‘(5) PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT.—The term ‘psy4 chosocial support’ includes care that addresses the 

5 ongoing psychological and social problems that affect 

6 individuals, their partners, families, and caregivers 

7 in order to alleviate suffering, strengthen social ties 

8 and integration, provide emotional support, and pro9 mote coping strategies. 

10 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE.—The President is authorized to 

11 provide assistance, including providing such assistance 

12 through international or nongovernmental organizations, 

13 for programs in developing countries to provide basic care 

14 and services for orphans and other vulnerable children. 

15 Such programs should provide assistance— 

16 ‘‘(1) to support families and communities to 

17 mobilize their own resources through the establish18 ment of community-based organizations to provide 

19 basic care for orphans and other vulnerable children; 

20 ‘‘(2) for school food programs, including the 

21 purchase of local or regional foodstuffs where appro22 priate; 

23 ‘‘(3) to increase primary school enrollment 

24 through the elimination of school fees, where appro25 priate, or other barriers to education while ensuring 
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1 that adequate resources exist for teacher training 

2 and infrastructure; 

3 ‘‘(4) to provide employment training and re4 lated services for orphans and other vulnerable chil5 dren who are of legal working age; 

6 ‘‘(5) to protect and promote the inheritance 

7 rights of orphans, other vulnerable children, and 

8 widows; 

9 ‘‘(6) to provide culturally appropriate psycho10 social support to orphans and other vulnerable chil11 dren; and 

12 ‘‘(7) to treat orphans and other vulnerable chil13 dren with HIV/AIDS through the provision of phar14 maceuticals, the recruitment and training of individ15 uals to provide pediatric treatment, and the pur16 chase of pediatric-specific technologies. 

17 ‘‘(d) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—To maximize the sus19 tainable development impact of assistance authorized 

20 under this section, and pursuant to the strategy re21 quired in section 4 of the Assistance for Orphans 

22 and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Coun23 tries Act of 2005, the President shall establish a 

24 monitoring and evaluation system to measure the ef-
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1 fectiveness of United States assistance to orphans 

2 and other vulnerable children. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The monitoring and 

4 evaluation system shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) establish performance goals for the 

6 assistance and expresses such goals in an objec7 tive and quantifiable form, to the extent fea8 sible; 

9 ‘‘(B) establish performance indicators to be 

10 used in measuring or assessing the achievement 

11 of the performance goals described in subpara12 graph (A); and 

13 ‘‘(C) provide a basis for recommendations 

14 for adjustments to the assistance to enhance 

15 the impact of assistance. 

16 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL ADVISOR FOR ASSISTANCE TO VUL17 NERABLE POPULATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

20 State, in consultation with the Administrator of 

21 the United States Agency for International De22 velopment, shall appoint a Special Advisor for 

23 Assistance to Vulnerable Populations. 

24 ‘‘(B) DELEGATION.—At the discretion of 

25 the Secretary of State, the authority to appoint 
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1 a Special Advisor under subparagraph (A) may 

2 be delegated by the Secretary of State to the 

3 Administrator of the United States Agency for 

4 International Development. 

5 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The duties of the Special Advi6 sor for Assistance to Vulnerable Populations shall 

7 include the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) Coordinate assistance to orphans and 

9 other vulnerable children among the various of10 fices, bureaus, and field missions within the 

11 United States Agency for International Devel12 opment. 

13 ‘‘(B) Advise the various offices, bureaus, 

14 and field missions within the United States 

15 Agency for International Development to ensure 

16 that programs approved for assistance under 

17 this section are consistent with best practices, 

18 meet the requirements of this Act, and conform 

19 to the strategy outlined in section 4 of the As20 sistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable 

21 Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005. 

22 ‘‘(C) Advise the various offices, bureaus, 

23 and field missions within the United States 

24 Agency for International Development in devel25 oping any component of their annual plan, as it 
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1 relates to assistance for orphans or other vul2 nerable children in developing countries, to en3 sure that each program, project, or activity re4 lating to such assistance is consistent with best 

5 practices, meets the requirements of this Act, 

6 and conforms to the strategy outlined in section 

7 4 of the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vul8 nerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 

9 2005. 

10 ‘‘(D) Coordinate all United States assist11 ance to orphans and other vulnerable children 

12 among United States departments and agen13 cies, including the provision of assistance relat14 ing to HIV/AIDS authorized under the United 

15 States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuber16 culosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (Public Law 

17 108–25), and the amendments made by such 

18 Act (including section 102 of such Act, and the 

19 amendments made by such section, relating to 

20 the coordination of HIV/AIDS programs). 

21 ‘‘(E) Establish priorities that promote the 

22 delivery of assistance to the most vulnerable 

23 populations of orphans and children, particu24 larly in those countries with a high rate of HIV 

25 infection among women. 
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1 ‘‘(F) Disseminate a collection of best prac2 tices to field missions of the United States 

3 Agency for International Development to guide 

4 the development and implementation of pro5 grams to assist orphans and vulnerable chil6 dren. 

7 ‘‘(G) Administer the monitoring and eval8 uation system established in subsection (d). 

9 ‘‘(H) Prepare the annual report required 

10 by section 5 of the Assistance for Orphans and 

11 Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Coun12 tries Act of 2005. 

13 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

15 appropriated to the President to carry out this sec16 tion such sums as may be necessary for each of the 

17 fiscal years 2005 and 2006. 

18 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

19 available under paragraph (1) are authorized to re20 main available until expended and are in addition to 

21 amounts otherwise available for such purposes. 

22 ‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.— 

23 Amounts made available for assistance pursuant to 

24 this subsection, and amounts made available for 

25 such assistance pursuant to any other provision of 
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1 law, may be used to provide such assistance notwith2 standing any other provision of law.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. STRATEGY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STRATEGY.—Not later than 

5 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

6 President shall develop, and transmit to the appropriate 

7 congressional committees, a strategy for coordinating, im8 plementing, and monitoring assistance programs for or9 phans and vulnerable children. 

10 (b) CONSULTATION.—The strategy described in sub11 section (a) should be developed in consultation with the 

12 Special Advisor for Assistance to Vulnerable Populations 

13 (appointed pursuant to section 135(e)(1) of the Foreign 

14 Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 3 of this Act)) 

15 and with employees of the field missions of the United 

16 States Agency for International Development to ensure 

17 that the strategy— 

18 (1) will not impede the efficiency of imple19 menting assistance programs for orphans and vul20 nerable children; and 

21 (2) addresses the specific needs of indigenous 

22 populations. 

23 (c) CONTENT.—The strategy required by subsection 

24 (a) shall include— 
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1 (1) the identity of each agency or department 

2 of the Federal Government that is providing assist3 ance for orphans and vulnerable children in foreign 

4 countries; 

5 (2) a description of the efforts of the head of 

6 each such agency or department to coordinate the 

7 provision of such assistance with other agencies or 

8 departments of the Federal Government or non9 governmental entities; 

10 (3) a description of a coordinated strategy, in11 cluding coordination with other bilateral and multi12 lateral donors, to provide the assistance authorized 

13 in section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

14 1961, as added by section 3 of this Act; 

15 (4) an analysis of additional coordination mech16 anisms or procedures that could be implemented to 

17 carry out the purposes of such section; 

18 (5) a description of a monitoring system that 

19 establishes performance goals for the provision of 

20 such assistance and expresses such goals in an ob21 jective and quantifiable form, to the extent feasible; 

22 and 

23 (6) a description of performance indicators to 

24 be used in measuring or assessing the achievement 

25 of the performance goals described in paragraph (5). 
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1 SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT. 

2 (a) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

3 on which the President transmits to the appropriate con4 gressional committees the strategy required by section 

5 4(a), and annually thereafter, the President shall transmit 

6 to the appropriate congressional committees a report on 

7 the implementation of this Act. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall contain the fol9 lowing information for each grant, cooperative agreement, 

10 contract, contribution, or other form of assistance award11 ed or entered into under this section: 

12 (1) The amount of funding, the name of the re13 cipient organization, the location the program or ac14 tivity, the status of progress of the program or activ15 ity, and the number of orphans and other vulnerable 

16 children who received direct or indirect assistance 

17 under the program or activity. 

18 (2) The results of the monitoring and evalua19 tion system with respect to the grant, cooperative 

20 agreement, contract, contribution, or other form of 

21 assistance. 

22 (3) The percentage of assistance provided in 

23 support of orphans or other vulnerable children af24 fected by HIV/AIDS. 

25 (4) Any other appropriate information relating 

26 to the needs of orphans and other vulnerable chil-
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1 dren in developing countries that could be addressed 

2 through the provision of assistance authorized in 

3 section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 

4 as added by section 3 of this Act, or under any other 

5 provision of law. 

6 SEC. 6. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE7 FINED. 

8 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com9 mittees’’ means the Committee on Appropriations and the 

10 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 

11 Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 

12 International Relations of the House of Representatives. 

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