[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1802 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1802
To authorize the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, to enhance the
United States-Caribbean security partnership, to prioritize natural
disaster resilience, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 27, 2023
Mr. Espaillat (for himself, Ms. Salazar, and Mr. Green of Tennessee)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, to enhance the
United States-Caribbean security partnership, to prioritize natural
disaster resilience, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Caribbean Basin Security Initiative
Authorization Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Beneficiary countries.--
(A) In general.--The term ``beneficiary countries''
means--
(i) Antigua and Barbuda;
(ii) the Bahamas;
(iii) Barbados;
(iv) Dominica;
(v) the Dominican Republic;
(vi) Grenada;
(vii) Guyana;
(viii) Jamaica;
(ix) Saint Lucia;
(x) Saint Kitts and Nevis;
(xi) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;
(xii) Suriname; and
(xiii) Trinidad and Tobago.
(B) Updates.--The President or the Secretary of
State may add or remove one or more countries from the
list under subparagraph (A) upon written notification
to the appropriate congressional committees.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE CARIBBEAN BASIN SECURITY INITIATIVE.
(a) Authorization for the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.--The
Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development may carry out an initiative, to be known
as the ``Caribbean Basin Security Initiative'', in beneficiary
countries to achieve the purposes described in subsection (b).
(b) Purposes.--The purposes described in this subsection are the
following:
(1) To promote citizen safety, security, and the rule of
law in the Caribbean through increased strategic engagement
with--
(A) the governments of beneficiary countries; and
(B) elements of local civil society, including the
private sector, in such countries.
(2) To counter transnational criminal organizations and
local gangs in beneficiary countries, including through--
(A) maritime and aerial security cooperation,
including--
(i) assistance to strengthen capabilities
of maritime and aerial interdiction operations
in the Caribbean; and
(ii) the provision of support systems and
equipment, training, and maintenance;
(B) cooperation on border and port security,
including support to strengthen capacity for screening
and intercepting narcotics, weapons, bulk cash, and
other contraband at airports and seaports; and
(C) capacity building and the provision of
equipment and support for operations targeting--
(i) the finances and illegal activities of
such organizations and gangs; and
(ii) the recruitment by such organizations
and gangs of at-risk youth.
(3) To advance law enforcement and justice sector capacity
building and rule of law initiatives in beneficiary countries,
including by--
(A) strengthening special prosecutorial offices and
providing technical assistance--
(i) to combat corruption, money laundering,
human, firearms, and wildlife trafficking,
financial crimes, extortion, and human rights
crimes; and
(ii) to conduct asset forfeitures and
criminal analysis;
(B) supporting training for civilian police and
appropriate security services in criminal
investigations, best practices for citizen security,
and the protection of human rights;
(C) supporting capacity building for law
enforcement and military units, including
professionalization, anti-corruption and human rights
training, vetting, and community-based policing;
(D) supporting justice sector reform and
strengthening of the rule of law, including--
(i) capacity building for prosecutors,
judges, and other justice officials; and
(ii) support to increase the efficacy of
criminal courts; and
(E) strengthening cybersecurity and cybercrime
cooperation, including capacity building and support
for cybersecurity systems.
(4) To promote crime prevention efforts in beneficiary
countries, particularly among at-risk-youth and other
vulnerable populations, including through--
(A) improving community and law enforcement
cooperation to improve the effectiveness and
professionalism of police and increase mutual trust;
(B) increasing economic opportunities for at-risk
youth and vulnerable populations, including through
workforce development training and remedial education
programs for at-risk youth;
(C) improving juvenile justice sectors through
regulatory reforms, separating youth from traditional
prison systems, and improving support and services in
juvenile detention centers; and
(D) the provision of assistance to populations
vulnerable to being victims of extortion and crime by
criminal networks.
(5) To strengthen the ability of the security sector in
beneficiary countries to respond to and become more resilient
in the face of natural disasters, including by--
(A) carrying out training exercises to ensure
critical infrastructure and ports are able to come back
online rapidly following natural disasters; and
(B) providing preparedness training to police and
first responders.
(6) To prioritize efforts to combat corruption and include
anti-corruption components in programs in beneficiary
countries, including by--
(A) building the capacity of national justice
systems and attorneys general to prosecute and try acts
of corruption;
(B) provide technical and financial assistance to
independent media and investigative reporting;
(C) increasing the capacity of national law
enforcement services to carry out anti-corruption
investigations; and
(D) encouraging cooperative agreements among the
Department of State, other relevant Federal departments
and agencies, and the attorneys general of relevant
countries.
(7) To promote the rule of law in beneficiary countries and
counter malign influence from authoritarian regimes, including
China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, by--
(A) monitoring security assistance from such
authoritarian regimes and taking steps necessary to
ensure that such assistance does not undermine or
jeopardize United States security assistance;
(B) evaluating and, as appropriate, restricting the
involvement of the United States in investment and
infrastructure projects financed by authoritarian
regimes that might obstruct or otherwise impact United
States security assistance to beneficiary countries;
(C) monitoring and restricting equipment and
support from high-risk vendors of telecommunications
infrastructure in beneficiary countries;
(D) countering disinformation by promoting
transparency and accountability from beneficiary
countries; and
(E) eliminating corruption linked to investment and
infrastructure facilitated by authoritarian regimes
through support for investment screening, competitive
tendering and bidding processes, the implementation of
investment law, and contractual transparency.
(8) To support the effective branding and messaging of
United States security assistance and cooperation in
beneficiary countries, including by developing and implementing
a public diplomacy strategy for informing citizens of
beneficiary countries about the benefits to their respective
countries of United States security assistance and cooperation
programs.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Department of State and the United States Agency
for International Development $82,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024
through 2028 to carry out the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative to
achieve the purposes described in subsection (b).
SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees
an implementation plan that includes a timeline and stated objectives
for actions to be taken in beneficiary countries with respect to the
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.
(b) Elements.--The implementation plan required by subsection (a)
shall include the following elements:
(1) A multi-year strategy with a timeline, overview of
objectives, and anticipated outcomes for the region and for
each beneficiary country, with respect to each purpose
described in section 3.
(2) Specific, measurable benchmarks to track the progress
of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative toward accomplishing
the outcomes included under 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 carrying out the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative,
to prevent overlap and unintended competition between
activities and resources.
(4) A plan to coordinate and track all activities carried
out under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative among all
relevant Federal departments and agencies, in accordance with
the publication requirements described in section 4 of the
Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016 (22
U.S.C. 2394c).
(5) A description of the process for co-locating projects
of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative funded by the United
States Agency for International Development and the Bureau of
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the
Department of State to ensure that crime prevention funding and
enforcement funding are used in the same localities as
necessary.
(6) An assessment of steps taken, as of the date on which
the plan is submitted, to increase regional coordination and
collaboration between the law enforcement agencies of
beneficiary countries and the Haitian National Police, and a
framework with benchmarks for increasing such coordination and
collaboration, in order to address the urgent security crisis
in Haiti.
(c) Annual Progress Update.--Not later than 1 year after the date
on which the implementation plan required by subsection (a) is
submitted, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a written description of results achieved
through the Caribbean Basin Security Imitative, including with respect
to--
(1) the implementation of the strategy and plans described
in paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of subsection (b);
(2) compliance with, and progress related to, meeting the
benchmarks described in paragraph (2) of subsection (b); and
(3) funding statistics for the Caribbean Basin Security
Initiative for the preceding year, disaggregated by country.
SEC. 5. PROGRAMS AND STRATEGY TO INCREASE NATURAL DISASTER RESPONSE AND
RESILIENCE.
(a) Programs.--During the 5-year period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with
the Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Inter-
American Foundation, and the Chief Executive Officer of the United
States International Development Finance Corporation, shall promote
natural disaster response and resilience in beneficiary countries by
carrying out programs for the following purposes:
(1) Encouraging coordination between beneficiary countries
and relevant Federal departments and agencies to provide
expertise and information sharing.
(2) Supporting the sharing of best practices on natural
disaster resilience, including on constructing resilient
infrastructure and rebuilding after natural disasters.
(3) Improving rapid-response mechanisms and cross-
government organizational preparedness for natural disasters.
(b) Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
and in consultation with the President and Chief Economic Officer of
the Inter-American Foundation, the Chief Executive Officer of the
United States International Development Finance Corporation, and
nongovernmental organizations in beneficiary countries and in the
United States, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees
a strategy that incorporates specific, measurable benchmarks--
(1) to achieve the purposes described in subsection (a);
and
(2) to inform citizens of beneficiary countries about the
extent and benefits of United States assistance to such
countries.
(c) Annual Progress Update.--Not later than 1 year after the date
on which the strategy required by subsection (b) is submitted, and
annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
written description of the progress made as of the date of such
submission in meeting the benchmarks included in the strategy.
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