Title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should continue to engage with and support the people and governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in order to improve security and prosperity and address the root causes of migration to the United States.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution reaffirms the importance of U.S. engagement in Central America and U.S. support to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, specifically. The resolution also urges the U.S. government to address the root causes of migration.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 426 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 426

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
   States should continue to engage with and support the people and 
governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in order to improve 
security and prosperity and address the root causes of migration to the 
                             United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 4, 2019

     Mr. Sires (for himself and Mr. Yoho) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
   States should continue to engage with and support the people and 
governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in order to improve 
security and prosperity and address the root causes of migration to the 
                             United States.

Whereas two-thirds of the population of Honduras and nearly 60 percent of the 
        population of Guatemala live in poverty, according to the World Bank;
Whereas El Salvador and Honduras have two of the world's highest murder rates, 
        according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC);
Whereas the region of Central America that encompasses the countries of El 
        Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, commonly known as the ``Northern 
        Triangle'', is a major trafficking route for illegal drugs, including 
        for 90 percent of the cocaine destined for the United States;
Whereas youth in Northern Triangle countries are relentlessly persecuted by 
        gangs and often victims of forced recruitment;
Whereas more than a quarter of youth in each country between the ages of 15 and 
        24 is not engaged in employment, education, or vocational training;
Whereas El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras all receive low scores in 
        Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, indicating a 
        high degree of perceived corruption;
Whereas the rate of impunity in all three countries has been estimated at over 
        90 percent;
Whereas violent crimes targeting women, including femicides, occur at alarming 
        rates and are rarely prosecuted;
Whereas violence, poverty, forced gang recruitment, food insecurity, absence of 
        rule of law, and corruption and extortion are among the key factors 
        driving people to migrate from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras;
Whereas research shows that violence is a direct driver of migration;
Whereas according to the Inter-American Dialogue, ``a 1 percent increase in 
        homicides corresponds with respective increases in migration of 120%, 
        100%, and 188% in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador'';
Whereas the Northern Triangle countries are the primary source of irregular 
        migration flows to the United States;
Whereas in 2014, the conditions in the Northern Triangle contributed to a crisis 
        in which the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended nearly 52,000 unaccompanied 
        minors at the southwest border of the United States, according to the 
        Congressional Research Service;
Whereas, while the United States has been committed to a strong foreign 
        assistance program for the Northern Triangle to improve good governance 
        and spur economic development, these countries are still experiencing 
        economic insecurity, corruption and violence;
Whereas it remains essential that the United States continues to implement 
        development programs in the region;
Whereas promoting security, the rule of law, and economic prosperity in this 
        region is a long-term goal, and to successfully allocate aid to these 
        countries, the United States should continue to assist, and should work 
        to maintain effectiveness of its foreign development assistance 
        programs, through institutions such as the new United States 
        International Development Finance Corporation, which was established 
        under the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act 
        of 2018 or the BUILD Act of 2018 (division F of Public Law 115-254);
Whereas, on March 20, 2019, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, which 
        is the predecessor to the United States International Development 
        Finance Corporation, approved more than $350 million in financing to 
        construct a liquified natural gas power generation facility in El 
        Salvador;
Whereas the new power generation facility would become the largest thermal power 
        plant in El Salvador and would increase the country's power generating 
        capacity by 23 percent, helping it meet growing demand and reduce 
        dependence on diesel and heavy fuel oil;
Whereas the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America constitutes a multi-
        faceted, bipartisan approach to improve governance and security and 
        enhance prosperity in the region;
Whereas United States foreign assistance to governmental and non-governmental 
        organizations has enabled the investigation and prosecution of important 
        corruption cases, a reduction in crime in many dangerous neighborhoods 
        of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, the seizure of record amounts 
        of illegal drugs, increased employment opportunities for youth, and the 
        strengthening of the agricultural sector in the region;
Whereas, for example, United States food security and agricultural assistance 
        programs in Guatemala helped create more than 78,000 jobs and $160 
        million in sales from 2013 to 2017, according to the United States 
        Agency for International Development; and
Whereas targeted United States security assistance in gang-controlled 
        neighborhoods contributed to a reduction in homicides by more than 50 
        percent in Rivera Hernandez in Honduras, according to the Los Angeles 
        Times, and a reduction in homicides by 61 percent in targeted 
        municipalities in El Salvador, according to the United States Agency for 
        International Development: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms the importance of implementing the U.S. 
        Strategy for Engagement in Central America and continuing to 
        support the people and governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, 
        and Honduras to advance our shared interests;
            (2) believes addressing the root causes of migration in 
        addition to securing our borders is the best way to prevent a 
        migration crisis; and
            (3) urges the Administration to prioritize addressing root 
        causes of migration, including fighting corruption, increasing 
        security, and promoting economic growth.
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