II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2500

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 3, 2004

Mr. LUGAR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign 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 2004’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 
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1 (1) More than 110,000,000 orphans live in sub2 Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Carib3 bean. These children often are disadvantaged in nu4 merous and devastating ways and most households 

5 with orphans cannot meet the basic needs of health 

6 care, food, clothing, and educational expenses. 

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

8 worldwide do not attend school and that the major9 ity of such children are young girls. According to the 

10 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), or11 phans are less likely to be in school and more likely 

12 to be working full time. 

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

14 rations, in developing countries provide strong incen15 tives for children to remain in school and continue 

16 their education. School food programs can reduce 

17 short-term hunger, improve cognitive functions, and 

18 enhance learning, behavior, and achievement. 

19 (4) The lack of financial resources prevents 

20 many orphans and other vulnerable children in de21 veloping countries from attending school because of 

22 the requirement to pay school fees and other costs 

23 of education. Providing children with free primary 

24 school education, while simultaneously ensuring that 

25 adequate resources exist for teacher training and in-
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1 frastructure, would help more orphans and other 

2 vulnerable children obtain a quality education. 

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

4 parent can trigger behavior problems of aggression 

5 or emotional withdrawal and negatively affect a 

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

7 relations. Children living in families affected by 

8 HIV/AIDS or who have been orphaned by AIDS 

9 often face stigmatization and discrimination. Pro10 viding culturally appropriate psychological counsel11 ling to such children can assist them in successfully 

12 accepting and adjusting to their circumstances. 

13 (6) Orphans and other vulnerable children in 

14 developing countries routinely are denied their inher15 itance or encounter difficulties in claiming the land 

16 and other property which they have inherited. Even 

17 when the inheritance rights of women and children 

18 are spelled out in law, such rights are difficult to 

19 claim and are seldom enforced. In many countries it 

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

21 young children, to claim property after the death of 

22 her husband. 

23 (7) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has had a dev24 astating affect on children and is deepening poverty 
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1 in entire communities and jeopardizing the health, 

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

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

4 number of orphans worldwide and has exacerbated 

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

6 most vulnerable children. AIDS has created an un7 precedented orphan crisis, especially in sub-Saharan 

8 Africa, where children have been hardest hit. An es9 timated 14,000,000 orphans have lost 1 or both par10 ents to AIDS. By 2010, it is estimated that over 

11 250,000,000 children will have been orphaned by 

12 AIDS. 

13 (9) Although a number of organizations seek to 

14 meet the needs of orphans or other vulnerable chil15 dren, extended families and local communities con16 tinue to be the primary providers of support for such 

17 children. 

18 (10) The HIV/AIDS pandemic is placing huge 

19 burdens on communities and is leaving many or20 phans with little support. Alternatives to traditional 

21 orphanages, such as community-based resource cen22 ters, continue to evolve in response to the massive 

23 number of orphans that has resulted from the pan24 demic. 
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1 (11) The AIDS orphans crisis in sub-Saharan 

2 Africa has implications for political stability, human 

3 welfare, and development that extend far beyond the 

4 region, affecting governments and people worldwide, 

5 and this crisis requires an accelerated response from 

6 the international community. 

7 (12) Although section 403(b) of the United 

8 States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, 

9 and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7673(b)) estab10 lishes the requirement that not less than 10 percent 

11 of amounts appropriated for HIV/AIDS assistance 

12 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2008 shall be 

13 expended for assistance for orphans and other vul14 nerable children affected by HIV/AIDS, there is an 

15 urgent need to provide assistance to such children 

16 prior to 2006. 

17 (13) Numerous United States and indigenous 

18 private voluntary organizations, including faith19 based organizations, provide assistance to orphans 

20 and other vulnerable children in developing coun21 tries. Many of these organizations have submitted 

22 applications for grants to the United States Agency 

23 for International Development to provide increased 

24 levels of assistance for orphans and other vulnerable 

25 children in developing countries. 
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1 (14) 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 (15) 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, mental health and related serv14 ices, school food programs, increased educational op15 portunities and employment training and related 

16 services, and the protection and promotion of inher17 itance rights for such children, are made more acces18 sible. 

19 (16) Assistance for orphans and other vulner20 able children can best be provided by a comprehen21 sive approach of the United States Government 

22 that—

23 (A) ensures that Federal agencies and the 

24 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 110,000,000 orphans 

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

19 and the Caribbean. 

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

21 unprecedented orphan crisis, especially in sub-Saha22 ran Africa, where children have been hardest hit. 

23 The pandemic is deepening poverty in entire commu24 nities, and is jeopardizing the health, safety, and 

25 survival of all children in affected countries. It is es-
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1 timated that 14,000,000 children have lost one or 

2 both parents to AIDS. 

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

4 has implications for human welfare, development, 

5 and political stability that extend far beyond the re6 gion, affecting governments and people worldwide. 

7 ‘‘(4) Extended families and local communities 

8 are struggling to meet the basic needs of orphans 

9 and vulnerable children by providing food, health 

10 care, education expenses, and clothing. 

11 ‘‘(5) Providing assistance to such children is an 

12 important expression of the humanitarian concern 

13 and tradition of the people of the United States. 

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

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

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

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

18 persons who have not attained the age of 18. 

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

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

21 this Act. 

22 ‘‘(4) ORPHAN.—The term ‘orphan’ means a 

23 child deprived by death of one or both parents. 

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

25 provide assistance for programs in developing countries to 
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1 provide basic care and services for orphans and other vul2 nerable children. Such programs should provide assist3 ance— 

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

5 mobilize their own resources through the establish6 ment of community-based organizations to provide 

7 basic care for orphans and other vulnerable children; 

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

9 purchase of local or regional foodstuffs where appro10 priate; 

11 ‘‘(3) to reduce barriers to access to primary 

12 education through the elimination of school fees 

13 where appropriate, helping to otherwise cover costs 

14 of education, and improving the quality of teaching 

15 and education infrastructure; 

16 ‘‘(4) to provide employment training and re17 lated services for orphans and other vulnerable chil18 dren who are of legal working age; 

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

20 rights of orphans, other vulnerable children, and 

21 widows with children; and 

22 ‘‘(6) to provide culturally appropriate mental 

23 health treatment and related services to orphans and 

24 other vulnerable children. 

25 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the President to carry out this sec3 tion such sums as may be necessary for each of the 

4 fiscal years 2005 and 2006. 

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

6 available under paragraph (1) are authorized to re7 main available until expended and are in addition to 

8 amounts otherwise available for such purposes. 

9 ‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—

10 Amounts made available for assistance pursuant to 

11 this subsection, and amounts made available for 

12 such assistance pursuant to any other provision of 

13 law, may be used to provide such assistance notwith14 standing any other provision of law.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. STRATEGY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

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

17 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

18 President shall develop a strategy for coordinating and im19 plementing assistance programs for orphans and vulner20 able children. 

21 (b) CONTENT.—The strategy required by subsection 

22 (a) shall include—

23 (1) the identity of each agency or department 

24 of the Federal Government that is providing assist-
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1 ance for orphans and vulnerable children in foreign 

2 countries; 

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

4 each such agency or department to coordinate the 

5 provision of such assistance with other agencies or 

6 departments of the Federal Government or non7 governmental entities; 

8 (3) a description of a coordinated strategy to 

9 provide the assistance authorized in section 135 of 

10 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by 

11 section 3 of this Act; and 

12 (4) an analysis of additional coordination mech13 anisms or procedures that could be implemented to 

14 carry out the purposes of such section.

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