I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 848 
To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to authorize 
assistance to combat HIV/AIDS in certain countries of the Caribbean region. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 6, 2007 
Mr. FORTUN˜O introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 
1956 to authorize assistance to combat HIV/AIDS in 
certain countries of the Caribbean region. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the Joint United Nations Pro-
gram on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the adult preva-
lence rate of the human immunodeficiency virus and 
the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/ 
AIDS) in the Caribbean region was 1.2 percent in 
2006, second only to sub-Saharan Africa. 
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(2) Some 250,000 people in the Caribbean re-
gion were estimated to be living with HIV in 2006, 
including 15,000 children. 
(3) An estimated 27,000 people in the Carib-
bean region became infected with HIV in 2006, in-
cluding 2,400 children. 
(4) The AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 
19,000 lives in the Caribbean region in 2006, includ-
ing 2,000 children. 
(5) AIDS is one of the leading causes of death 
among adults aged 15–44 years in the Caribbean re-
gion. 
(6) The countries of the Caribbean region with 
the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in 2006 were the Ba-
hamas, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, 
with rates between 2 to 4 percent; and Barbados, 
the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Suriname, 
with rates between 1 to 2 percent. 
(7) In contrast to other parts of the Western 
Hemisphere, the mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS 
in the Caribbean region has been primarily through 
unprotected contact, which makes it difficult to con-
tain the epidemic because it affects the general pop-
ulation. 
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(8) Stigma and discrimination, which drives 
people away from services for HIV, have fueled the 
spread of HIV in the Caribbean region. 
(9) According to UNAIDS, women account for 
one-half of adults living with HIV/AIDS in the Car-
ibbean region. 
(10) A 2004 report by the Pan Caribbean Part-
nership Against HIV/AIDS maintained that the epi-
demic is taking its greatest toll on younger people 
who traditionally have been the most productive 
human resources. 
(11) The AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean re-
gion has begun to have negative consequences for 
economic and social development, with life expect-
ancy and infant mortality already affected in some 
countries. In 2006, UNAIDS reported that life ex-
pectancy in the Dominican Republic was estimated 
to be three years lower than without the AIDS epi-
demic, and that AIDS mortality in Trinidad and To-
bago would begin to reduce the country’s overall 
population by 2010. 
(12) Because of high population mobility in the 
region, Caribbean countries have called for an inclu-
sive approach to the AIDS crisis involving all coun-
tries in the region. Ambassadors of Caribbean coun-
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tries to the United States maintain that high HIV/ 
AIDS prevalence rates can overwhelm the region’s 
health care capacity, destabilize economies, and in-
crease migration flows, which could pose a security 
risk to the United States because of its proximity to 
the Caribbean. 
(13) Assistant Secretary General of the Organi-
zation of American States Albert Ramdin stated in 
January 2007 that ‘‘HIV/AIDS, if not effectively 
and urgently tackled, poses a clear threat to the sus-
tainable development, social stability, and human se-
curity of the Caribbean.’’. 
SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE TO COMBAT HIV/AIDS IN CERTAIN 
COUNTRIES OF THE CARIBBEAN REGION. 
Section 1(f)(2)(B)(ii)(VII) of the State Department 
Basic 
Authorities 
Act 
of 
1956 
(22 
U.S.C. 
2651a(f)(2)(B)(ii)(VII)) is amended by inserting after 
‘‘Zambia,’’ the following: ‘‘Antigua and Barbuda, the Ba-
hamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, 
Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the 
Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, 
and Dominican Republic,’’. 
Æ 
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