I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4039
To authorize microfinance and food assistance for communities affected by
the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 21, 2000
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To authorize microfinance and food assistance for commu-
nities affected by the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syn-
drome (AIDS), 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 ‘‘AIDS Orphans Relief
Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) By the end of 2000, 10,400,000 children in
Sub-Saharan Africa will have lost their mother, or
both parents, to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syn-
drome (AIDS).
(2) In the next decade, 40,000,000 children will
become orphans as a result of the AIDS pandemic,
most of them located in Sub-Saharan Africa.
(3) Over the next 20 years, AIDS threatens to
reduce substantially economic progress in the na-
tions of Sub-Saharan Africa.
(4) Success or failure in fighting the AIDS pan-
demic will effect the spread of the disease to India,
Asia, and the states of the former Soviet Union.
(5) By 2005, more than 100,000,000 people
worldwide will have been infected with Human Im-
munodeficiency Virus (HIV), the precursor to AIDS.
(6) Effective assistance for children orphaned
by AIDS, and for those caring for such children,
must strengthen the surviving families.
(7) The development and expansion of sustain-
able microfinance institutions that provide access to
credit, savings, and other financial services to the
very poor, especially women, are critical components
in a global strategy to address the devastating eco-
nomic and social effects of AIDS.
(8) Microfinance programs are particularly
effective in helping those left to care for AIDS
orphans by providing the caregivers the means of
pursuing a livelihood.
(9) Microfinance programs have been shown to
be particularly effective in permitting individuals
with AIDS to have access to services and credit not
otherwise available to such individuals, including
health insurance, life insurance, counseling, and
group support.
(10) Food aid can be a critical component in
mitigating the impact of AIDS on communities by
addressing the nutritional needs of individuals with
AIDS and assisting households left destitute by
AIDS, and as a part of a larger, comprehensive ef-
fort to strengthen and restore sustainable livelihood
strategies for households and communities affected
by AIDS.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to make microfinance programs an impor-
tant component of United States policy in fighting
the effects of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syn-
drome (AIDS) pandemic worldwide; and
(2) to encourage targeted use of food and food-
related assistance for humanitarian purposes and for
sustainable development in communities affected by
AIDS.
SEC. 4. MICROCREDIT PROGRAMS.
Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 131. ASSISTANCE FOR MICROCREDIT PROGRAMS FOR
COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY AIDS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other funds
authorized to be appropriated by this chapter for micro-
enterprise activities or activities relating to Human Im-
munodeficiency Virus (HIV) or Acquired Immune Defi-
ciency Syndrome (AIDS), there is authorized to be appro-
priated each fiscal year, $50,000,000 for purposes of as-
sisting microcredit programs that serve the very poor, es-
pecially women, in communities heavily affected by AIDS.
‘‘(b) PROGRAM
ELEMENTS.—(1) The maximum
amount of credit provided an individual under a micro-
credit program under subsection (a) may not exceed $600
and (b) the average loan size for a program receiving re-
sources under this section may not exceed $300.
‘‘(2) To the maximum extent practicable, amounts
shall be provided under subsection (a) for programs
that—
‘‘(A) provide HIV prevention or AIDS care and
support, whether directly or through linkages with
other programs;
‘‘(B) employ best practices for assisting the
very poor; and
‘‘(C) operate in a sustainable manner.’’.
SEC. 5. FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
Title IV of the Agricultural Trade and Development
Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1731 et seq.) is amended
by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 416. ASSISTANCE FOR COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY
AIDS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President may provide food
assistance under this Act to developing countries in order
to assist such countries in mitigating the effects of Ac-
quired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) on commu-
nities in such countries, including—
‘‘(1) assistance to address the nutritional needs
of individuals in such communities who have AIDS;
‘‘(2) assistance for households affected by
AIDS; and
‘‘(3) assistance as part of other aid or assist-
ance designed to create or restore sustainable liveli-
hood strategies in communities affected by AIDS.
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to
be appropriated each fiscal year, $50,000,000 for
purposes of providing assistance under this section.
‘‘(2) RELATIONSHIP
TO
OTHER
AUTHORIZA-
TIONS.—Amounts authorized to be appropriated for
a fiscal year by paragraph (1) are in addition to any
other amounts authorized to be appropriated by this
Act for such fiscal year.’’.
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