I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 390

To authorize emergency supplemental assistance to combat the growing 

humanitarian crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 27, 2003

Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. LANTOS, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. CUMMINGS, and Ms. LEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 

A BILL

To authorize emergency supplemental assistance to combat 

the growing humanitarian crisis in sub-Saharan Africa.

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 ‘‘Africa Famine Relief 

5 Act of 2003’’. 

6 TITLE I—EMERGENCY FOOD AID 

7 TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 

8 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress makes the following findings: 
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1 (1) The National Security Strategy of the 

2 United States, dated September 17, 2002, concludes 

3 that ‘‘[i]n Africa, promise and opportunity sit side4 by-side with disease, war, and desperate poverty. 

5 This threatens both a core value of the United 

6 States preserving human dignity and our strategic 

7 priority combating global terror. American interests 

8 and American principles, therefore, lead in the same 

9 direction: we will work with others for an African 

10 continent that lives in liberty, peace, and growing 

11 prosperity.’’. 

12 (2) On March 19, 2002, the Director of the 

13 Central Intelligence Agency testified that ‘‘[t]he 

14 chronic problems of sub-Saharan Africa make it, too, 

15 fertile ground for direct and indirect threats to 

16 United States interests. Governments without ac17 countability and natural disasters have left Africa 

18 with the highest concentration of human misery in 

19 the world’’. 

20 (3) The United Nations World Food Pro21 gramme reports that there is an unprecedented hun22 ger crisis on the African continent where approxi23 mately 38,000,000 people face starvation. 

24 (4) The scale of the humanitarian crisis in sub25 Saharan Africa has grown dramatically and there 
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1 has been an average increase of 30 percent in com2 modity prices since the President submitted a budg3 et request for food aid and other humanitarian as4 sistance for fiscal year 2003. 

5 (5) A trip report prepared by a congressional 

6 delegation that traveled to Ethiopia and Eritrea 

7 from December 29, 2002 to January 4, 2003 stated 

8 that ‘‘the U.S. Government will need to do more to 

9 avert a disaster of biblical proportions . . . Donors, 

10 including the United States, must make prompt and 

11 significant food-aid pledges to help Ethiopia over12 come its current crisis.’’. 

13 (6) At a United Nations Security Council meet14 ing on March 12, 2002, concerning the food crisis 

15 in Africa, the United States representative stated 

16 that adequate levels of assistance must be provided 

17 immediately to avert disaster in sub-Saharan Africa. 

18 (7) On December 6, 2002, the United States 

19 Agency for International Development reported that 

20 ‘‘[a] number of Southern African countries are cur21 rently experiencing food security crises, due to a

22 combination of adverse climate conditions for two 

23 consecutive growing seasons, mismanagement of 

24 grain reserves, and restrictive government policies 

25 that severely inhibit private sector commerce’’. 
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1 (8) The United Nations Children’s Fund 

2 (UNICEF) reports that the HIV/AIDS pandemic in 

3 Africa, affecting 29,400,000 people, has exacerbated 

4 the humanitarian crisis by reducing agricultural pro5 ductivity and food security, undercutting people’s 

6 ability to recover and contributing to long-term pov7 erty. 

8 (9) The HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Afri9 ca, which strikes at working adults involved in agri10 cultural production, is a major component of this 

11 crisis. 

12 SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

13 It is the sense of Congress that—

14 (1) effectively addressing the famine in sub-Sa15 haran Africa is in the national security interests of 

16 the United States; 

17 (2) the President should immediately submit a 

18 request for emergency supplemental appropriations 

19 to Congress for food aid and other humanitarian as20 sistance to reach vulnerable populations living in 

21 poverty in sub-Saharan Africa; 

22 (3) the President should immediately consult 

23 with the chairmen and ranking members of the 

24 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, 

25 the Committee on Appropriations, and the Com-
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1 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 

2 Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on Appro3 priations, and the Committee on International Rela4 tions of the House of Representatives to formulate 

5 a legislative strategy to address the immediate and 

6 long-term needs caused by the humanitarian crisis in 

7 sub-Saharan Africa; and 

8 (4) the United States should engage in direct 

9 talks with members of the European Union and 

10 other appropriate nations to increase the amount of 

11 contributions from other nations to sub-Saharan Af12 rica. 

13 SEC. 103. EMERGENCY FOOD AID. 

14 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts oth16 erwise available for such purposes, there is author17 ized to be appropriated $600,000,000 for purposes 

18 of the emergency assistance program under title II 

19 of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assist20 ance Act of 1954. 

21 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro22 priated pursuant to paragraph (1) are authorized to 

23 remain available until expended. 
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1 (b) USES OF ASSISTANCE.—Amounts appropriated 

2 pursuant to subsection (a) shall be used to provide human3 itarian assistance for sub-Saharan Africa.

4 (c) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The entire amount 

5 authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) is des6 ignated by Congress as an emergency requirement pursu7 ant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and 

8 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

9 SEC. 104. STRATEGY ON FOOD AID, HUMANITARIAN NEEDS, 

10 AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN SUB-SAHARAN 

11 AFRICA. 

12 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the President shall submit to the Committee 

14 on Appropriations, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri15 tion, and Forestry, and the Committee on Foreign Rela16 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations, 

17 the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on 

18 International Relations of the House of Representatives 

19 a report setting forth—

20 (1) a strategy for meeting the immediate hu21 manitarian needs in sub-Saharan Africa; 

22 (2) an assessment of how a failure to meet 

23 these needs would impact United States national se24 curity interests in the region; 
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1 (3) a description of how additional food aid will 

2 be provided in coordination with other forms of as3 sistance, particularly agricultural development, food 

4 aid for development purposes, and HIV/AIDS pro5 grams; 

6 (4) a description of how additional food aid and 

7 other forms of assistance will be provided in con8 sultation and coordination with nongovernmental or9 ganizations; 

10 (5) the number of people at risk of immediate 

11 starvation in sub-Saharan Africa, the number of 

12 metric tons of food needed to prevent widespread 

13 starvation in the region and address deteriorating 

14 malnutrition rates, and the minimum costs of buying 

15 and delivering the aforementioned commodities; and 

16 (6) the amount of funds committed by the 

17 United States and other donors for the purchase of 

18 food in fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004 to meet 

19 emergency needs in sub-Saharan Africa, and the an20 ticipated shortfall in funding, if any.

21 SEC. 105. COORDINATION OF FOOD AID AND OTHER HU22 MANITARIAN ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President in consultation 

24 with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of State, 

25 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
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1 International Development, is strongly urged to establish 

2 a task force responsible for—

3 (1) designing a comprehensive strategy to deal 

4 with the immediate needs of the humanitarian crisis 

5 in sub-Saharan Africa and addressing the long-term 

6 causes of food insecurity in the region, including cor7 ruption within certain governments of sub-Saharan 

8 Africa; 

9 (2) ensuring program and policy coordination 

10 among agencies of the United States Government, 

11 other nations, international organizations, and non12 governmental organizations in carrying out the poli13 cies set forth in this Act; 

14 (3) ensuring that the distribution of humani15 tarian assistance provided in response to the current 

16 crisis is not manipulated or politicized within the re17 cipient countries; and 

18 (4) maintaining proper management, implemen19 tation, and oversight by agencies responsible for exe20 cuting programs authorized in this Act. 

21 (b) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the task force, 

22 the President should consult with the Majority and Minor23 ity Leaders of the Senate, the Speaker and Minority Lead24 er of the House of Representatives, and the chairmen and 

25 ranking members of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri-
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1 tion, and Forestry and the Committee on Foreign Rela2 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture and 

3 the Committee on International Relations of the House 

4 of Representatives. 

5 (c) DATE.—The task force called for in subsection 

6 (a) should be established not later than 60 days after the 

7 enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 106. INCREASING FOOD AID CONTRIBUTIONS AND 

9 OTHER HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 

10 THROUGH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

11 The President shall instruct the United States per12 manent representative or executive director, as the case 

13 may be, to the United Nations, the World Food Pro14 gramme, international financial institutions, and other ap15 propriate international organizations to use the voice and 

16 vote of the United States to support additional food aid 

17 and other humanitarian assistance for sub-Saharan

18 Africa. 

19 TITLE II—OTHER EMERGENCY 

20 ASSISTANCE 

21 SEC. 201 INTERNATIONAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE. 

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

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

24 appropriated to the President $200,000,000 for fis25 cal year 2003, for purposes of section 491 of the 
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1 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, for relief, rehabili2 tation, and reconstruction assistance for sub-Saha3 ran Africa. 

4 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro5 priated pursuant to paragraph (1) are in addition to 

6 amounts otherwise available for such purposes and 

7 are authorized to remain available until expended. 

8 (b) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The entire amount 

9 authorized under subsection (a) is designated by Congress 

10 as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 

11 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

12 Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

13 SEC. 202. EMERGENCY HIV/AIDS FAMILY SURVIVAL PART14 NERSHIPS. 

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Health 

17 and Human Services $100,000,000 to carry out sub18 sections (b) and (c) in sub-Saharan Africa. 

19 (b) GRANTS.—The Secretary of Health and Human 

20 Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for 

21 Disease Control and Prevention, and in consultation with 

22 the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter23 national Development, is authorized to award grants to 

24 eligible administrative organizations to award subgrants 

25 to nongovernmental organizations to expand activities to 
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1 prevent the mother-to-child transmission of HIV by pro2 viding treatment, medical care, and support services to 

3 HIV infected parents and their children. 

4 (c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro5 priated pursuant to subsection (a) are authorized to re6 main available until expended. 

7 (d) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The entire amount 

8 authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) is des9 ignated by Congress as an emergency requirement pursu10 ant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and 

11 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

12 TITLE III—OTHER PROVISIONS 

13 SEC. 301. DEFINITION. 

14 In this Act, the term ‘‘sub-Saharan Africa’’ has the 

15 meaning given the term in section 107 of the African 

16 Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3706).

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