II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 704 

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2006 for voluntary contributions 

on a grant basis to the Organization of American States (OAS) to 

establish a Center for Caribbean Basin Trade and to establish a skillsbased training program for Caribbean Basin countries. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 5, 2005 

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

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2006 for voluntary contributions on a grant basis to the Organization 

of American States (OAS) to establish a Center for 

Caribbean Basin Trade and to establish a skills-based 

training program for Caribbean Basin countries. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement Act of 2005’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—CENTER FOR CARIBBEAN BASIN TRADE 

Sec. 101. Findings. 

Sec. 102. Establishment. 

Sec. 103. Activities. 

Sec. 104. Administrative provisions. 

Sec. 105. Sense of Congress. 

TITLE II—CARIBBEAN BASIN SKILLS-BASED TRAINING PROGRAM 

Sec. 201. Findings. 

Sec. 202. Establishment. 

Sec. 203. Activities. 

Sec. 204. Sense of Congress. 

TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Report. 

Sec. 302. Definitions. 

Sec. 303. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 TITLE I—CENTER FOR 

2 CARIBBEAN BASIN TRADE 

3 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Increased globalization and economic inte6 gration are requiring countries throughout the world 

7 to rethink their competitiveness strategies and to 

8 take affirmative steps to improve their trade capac9 ities. 

10 (2) Countries of the Caribbean Basin can ben11 efit from assistance to improve their trade capac12 ities. 

13 (3) The Organization of American States 

14 (OAS) has relevant experience in developing trade 

15 capacity initiatives and programs of countries of the 

16 Western Hemisphere. In particular, the Office for 
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1 Trade, Growth and Competitiveness of the OAS has 

2 successfully trained trade negotiators, particularly 

3 within the context of negotiations to conclude a Free 

4 Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). 

5 SEC. 102. ESTABLISHMENT. 

6 The Secretary of State is authorized to make a vol7 untary contribution on a grant basis to the Organization 

8 of American States to establish a Center for Caribbean 

9 Basin Trade (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Center’’) in 

10 accordance with the provisions of this title. 

11 SEC. 103. ACTIVITIES. 

12 The Center shall carry out the following activities: 

13 (1) Provide government officials of Caribbean 

14 Basin countries, including trade negotiators, with 

15 technical assistance in developing and implementing 

16 trade agreements. 

17 (2) Assist government officials and private sec18 tor representatives of Caribbean Basin countries to 

19 further assist firms in developing export readiness, 

20 such as developing firms’ commitment, identifying 

21 primary target markets, selecting market entry 

22 strategies, developing an international market plan, 

23 and developing distribution networks in other coun24 tries. 
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1 (3) Provide training and consulting services to 

2 Caribbean Basin countries to upgrade port facilities, 

3 strengthen security measures, upgrade customs pro4 cedures, and modernize other infrastructure critical 

5 to trade. 

6 (4) Provide training and consulting services to 

7 government officials and private sector representa8 tives of Caribbean Basin countries on import re9 quirements of major trading countries for the Carib10 bean Basin region, including the United States, as 

11 well as financing mechanisms. 

12 SEC. 104. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

13 The Secretary of State, acting through the Assistant 

14 Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and 

15 the United States Permanent Representative to the Orga16 nization of American States, shall work with the Organiza17 tion of American States to determine the location, staffing 

18 requirements, programs, and working methodology of the 

19 Center. 

20 SEC. 105. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

21 It is the sense of Congress that a thorough study and 

22 analysis should be undertaken to determine a permanent 

23 location of the Center. 
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1 TITLE II—CARIBBEAN BASIN 

2 SKILLS-BASED TRAINING 

3 PROGRAM 

4 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Studies demonstrate that greater emphasis 

7 needs to be given to secondary education in coun8 tries of the Western Hemisphere, including Carib9 bean Basin countries, in order to bridge the wid10 ening educational and technology gap in such coun11 tries, which ultimately hinders job growth. 

12 (2) Access to education is fundamental in help13 ing to eradicate the poverty which limits economic 

14 growth in the countries of the Caribbean Basin. 

15 (3) Countries of the Western Hemisphere have 

16 consistently lagged behind the countries of Asia and 

17 other regions, suffering a self-perpetuating cycle of 

18 low-growth and increasing poverty. 

19 (4) The community college system in the 

20 United States provides skills-based training for 

21 United States workers and is a useful model for a 

22 skills-based training system for Caribbean Basin 

23 countries. 

24 (5) A skills-based training program established 

25 under the management of the Organization of Amer-
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1 ican States (OAS) would be an effective means of 

2 addressing the needs of individuals and economic 

3 concerns in the Caribbean Basin region. 

4 (6) Such a program would provide individuals 

5 with the skills required to improve their standard of 

6 living and, together with employers, would further 

7 facilitate the economic integration of the countries of 

8 the Western Hemisphere. 

9 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT. 

10 The Secretary of State is authorized to make a vol11 untary contribution on a grant basis to the Organization 

12 of American States to establish a skills-based training pro13 gram for Caribbean Basin countries (in this title referred 

14 to as the ‘‘program’’) in accordance with the provisions 

15 of this title. 

16 SEC. 203. ACTIVITIES. 

17 The program shall carry out activities to support a 

18 productive workforce in Caribbean Basin countries. 

19 SEC. 204. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that the program should 

21 focus on mid-level technical education and training for the 

22 workforce in Caribbean Basin countries, utilizing existing 

23 educational facilities, cooperative private sector and gov24 ernment entities, and Internet-based training. 
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1 TITLE III—GENERAL 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 301. REPORT. 

4 Not later than one year after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 

6 the appropriate congressional committees a report on the 

7 implementation of this Act. 

8 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT11 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com12 mittees’’ means— 

13 (A) the Committee on International Rela14 tions and the Committee on Appropriations of 

15 the House of Representatives; and 

16 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

17 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

18 Senate. 

19 (2) CARIBBEAN BASIN COUNTRIES; COUNTRIES

20 OF THE CARIBBEAN BASIN.—The term ‘‘Caribbean 

21 Basin countries’’ or ‘‘countries of the Caribbean 

22 Basin’’ means the countries and territories specified 

23 in the matter preceding paragraph (1) of section 

24 212(b) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery 

25 Act (19 U.S.C. 2702(b)). 
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1 (3) OAS.—The term ‘‘OAS’’ means the Organi2 zation of American States. 

3 SEC. 303. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State 

6 to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary for 

7 fiscal year 2006. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—Of the amount appro9 priated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations 

10 under subsection (a), it is the sense of Congress that up 

11 to $10,000,000 should be available to carry out title I of 

12 this Act and up to $10,000,000 should be available to 

13 carry out title II of this Act. 

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