I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7703 
To authorize appropriations for the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, en-
hance the United States-Caribbean security partnership, prioritize dis-
aster resilience, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 21, 2020 
Mr. ESPAILLAT (for himself and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To authorize appropriations for the Caribbean Basin Security 
Initiative, enhance the United States-Caribbean security 
partnership, prioritize disaster resilience, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Caribbean Basin Secu-
rity Initiative Authorization Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 
CARIBBEAN BASIN SECURITY INITIATIVE. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap-
propriated at least $74,800,000 for each of fiscal years 
2021 through 2025, to be derived from amounts author-
ized to be appropriated under the following provisions of 
law, to carry out the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative 
to achieve the purposes described in subsection (b): 
(1) With respect to the Foreign Assistance Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.)— 
(A) chapter 8 of part I (relating to inter-
national narcotics control and law enforcement 
assistance); 
(B) chapter 4 of part I (relating to the 
economic support fund); 
(C) chapters 8 and 9 of part I (relating to 
anti-terrorism assistance and demining activi-
ties) and any other authorization under this Act 
or any other Act to carry out programs, 
projects, or activities using amounts made 
available under for the ‘‘International Security 
Assistance—Department 
of 
State—Non-
proliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and 
Related Programs’’ account; and 
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(D) sections 103, 105, 106, and 214, sec-
tions 251 through 255, and chapter 10 of part 
I (relating to development assistance). 
(2) Section 23 of the Arms Export Control Act 
(relating to foreign military financing; 22 U.S.C. 
2763). 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes described in this sub-
section are the following: 
(1) To promote citizen safety, security, and the 
rule of law in the Caribbean through increased stra-
tegic engagement with the governments of bene-
ficiary countries and with elements of local civil soci-
ety, including the private sector, in such countries. 
(2) To carry out the promotion of such safety, 
security, and the rule of law through efforts includ-
ing the following: 
(A) Capacity building for law enforcement 
and military units, including professionalization, 
anti-corruption and human rights training, vet-
ting, and community-based policing. 
(B) Maritime and aerial security coopera-
tion, including assistance to strengthen Carib-
bean maritime and aerial interdiction oper-
ations capability and the provision of support 
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systems and equipment, training, and mainte-
nance. 
(C) Border and port security cooperation, 
including support to strengthen capacity for 
screening and to intercept narcotics, weapons, 
bulk cash, and other contraband at airports and 
seaports. 
(D) Support for justice sector reform and 
strengthening of the rule of law, including ca-
pacity building for prosecutors, judges, and 
other justice officials, and support to increase 
the efficacy of criminal courts. 
(E) Cybersecurity and cybercrime coopera-
tion, including capacity-building and support 
for cybersecurity systems. 
(F) Countering transnational criminal or-
ganizations and local gang activity, including 
capacity-building, equipment, and support for 
operations targeting the finances and illegal ac-
tivities of transnational criminal networks and 
local gangs such as their recruitment of at-risk 
youth, and the provision of assistance to popu-
lations vulnerable to being victims of extortion 
and crime by criminal networks. 
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(G) Strengthening special prosecutorial of-
fices and providing technical assistance to com-
bat corruption, money laundering, financial 
crimes, extortion, and human rights crimes, and 
conduct asset forfeitures and criminal analysis. 
(H) Strengthening the ability of the secu-
rity sector to respond to and become more resil-
ient in the face of natural disasters, including 
by carrying out training exercises to ensure 
critical infrastructure and ports are able to 
come back online rapidly following disasters and 
providing preparedness training to police and 
first responders. 
(I) Supporting training for civilian police 
and appropriate security services in criminal in-
vestigations, best practices for citizen security, 
and the protection of human rights. 
(J) Improving community and law enforce-
ment cooperation to improve effectiveness and 
professionalism of police and increase mutual 
trust. 
(K) Increasing economic opportunities for 
at-risk youth and vulnerable populations, in-
cluding workforce development training and re-
medial education programs for at-risk youth. 
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(L) Improving juvenile justice sectors 
through regulatory reforms, separating youth 
from traditional prison systems, and improving 
support and services in juvenile detention cen-
ters. 
(3) To prioritize efforts to combat corruption 
and include anti-corruption components to programs, 
including by— 
(A) strengthening national justice systems 
and attorneys general and supporting inde-
pendent media and investigative reporting; 
(B) supporting multilateral anti-corruption 
mechanisms; and 
(C) encouraging cooperative agreements 
between the Department of State, other rel-
evant Federal departments and agencies, and 
the attorneys general of relevant countries to 
fight corruption in the Caribbean. 
(4) To promote the rule of law in the Caribbean 
and counter malign influence from authoritarian re-
gimes, including China and Russia, by: 
(A) Monitoring security assistance from 
authoritarian regimes and taking steps nec-
essary to ensure that this assistance does not 
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undermine or jeopardize U.S. security assist-
ance. 
(B) Evaluating and, as appropriate, re-
stricting United States involvement in invest-
ment and infrastructure projects financed by 
authoritarian regimes that might obstruct or 
otherwise impact United States security assist-
ance to beneficiary countries. 
(C) Monitoring and restricting equipment 
and support from high risk vendors for tele-
communications infrastructure in beneficiary 
countries. 
(D) Countering disinformation by pro-
moting transparency and accountability from 
beneficiary countries. 
(E) Eliminating corruption linked to in-
vestment and infrastructure facilitated by au-
thoritarian regimes through support for invest-
ment screening, competitive tendering and bid-
ding processes, the implementation of invest-
ment law, and contractual transparency. 
(5) To promote strategic engagement with the 
governments of beneficiary countries through effec-
tive branding and messaging of United States assist-
ance and security cooperation, including by devel-
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oping a public diplomacy strategy for educating citi-
zens of beneficiary countries about United States as-
sistance and security cooperation programs and ben-
efits. 
SEC. 3. STRATEGY TO IMPROVE DISASTER RESILIENCE. 
(a) PRIORITIZATION.—During the 5-year period be-
ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of State shall, in consultation with the Adminis-
trator of the United States Agency for International De-
velopment and the President and Chief Executive Officer 
of the Inter-American Foundation, prioritize efforts to in-
crease disaster response and resilience by carrying out 
programs in beneficiary countries for the following pur-
poses: 
(1) Encouraging coordination between bene-
ficiary countries and relevant Federal departments 
and agencies to provide expertise and information 
sharing. 
(2) Supporting sharing of best practices on dis-
aster resilience including constructing resilient infra-
structure and rebuilding after natural disasters. 
(3) Improving rapid-response mechanisms and 
cross-government organizational preparedness for 
natural disasters. 
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(b) STRATEGY.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 
shall, in coordination with the Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development and in con-
sultation with the President and Chief Economic Officer 
of the Inter-American Foundation, submit to the appro-
priate congressional committees a strategy that incor-
porates specific, measurable benchmarks to achieve the 
purposes described in subsection (a) and to inform citizens 
of beneficiary countries about the extent and benefits of 
United States assistance to such countries. In developing 
such strategy, the Secretary of State shall also consult 
with nongovernmental organizations in beneficiary coun-
tries and in the United States. 
(c) ANNUAL PROGRESS UPDATE.—The Secretary, in 
coordination with the Administrator, shall annually submit 
to the appropriate congressional committees a written de-
scription of the progress made as of the date of such sub-
mission in meeting the benchmarks included in the strat-
egy submitted pursuant to subsection (b). 
SEC. 4. MONITORING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination 
with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development, shall submit to the appro-
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priate congressional committees an implementation plan 
that includes a timeline and stated objectives for actions 
to be taken with respect to the Caribbean Basin Security 
Initiative. The plan shall also include the following ele-
ments: 
(1) A multi-year strategy with a timeline, over-
view of objectives, and anticipated outcomes for the 
region and for each beneficiary country, with respect 
to each program area described in section 2. 
(2) Specific, measurable benchmarks to track 
the progress of the Initiative towards accomplishing 
the outcomes described pursuant to paragraph (1). 
(3) A plan for the delineation of the roles to be 
carried out by the Department of State, the United 
States Agency for International Development, the 
Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, 
and any other Federal department or agency in car-
rying out the Initiative, to prevent overlap and unin-
tended competition between activities and resources. 
(4) A plan to coordinate and track all activities 
carried out under the Initiative between all relevant 
Federal departments and agencies, in accordance 
with the publication requirements described in sec-
tion 4 of the Foreign Aid Transparency and Ac-
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countability Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–191; 22 
U.S.C. 2394c). 
(5) The results achieved during the previous 
year— 
(A) of monitoring and evaluation measures 
to track the progress of the Initiative in accom-
plishing the benchmarks included pursuant to 
paragraph (2); and 
(B) of the implementation of the strategy 
and plans described in paragraphs (1), (3), and 
(4). 
(6) A description of the process for co-locating 
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative projects funded 
by the United States Agency for International De-
velopment and the Bureau of International Nar-
cotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the Depart-
ment of State, to ensure that crime prevention fund-
ing and enforcement funding are used in the same 
localities as necessary. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
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(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
of Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate. 
(2) BENEFICIARY COUNTRIES.—The term ‘‘ben-
eficiary countries’’ means the beneficiary countries 
of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative. 
Æ 
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