To authorize emergency supplemental assistance to combat the growing humanitarian crisis in sub-Saharan Africa.

January 16, 2003

Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. DODD, Mr. KERRY, and Mr. BIDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

To authorize emergency supplemental assistance to combat the growing humanitarian crisis in sub-Saharan Africa.

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 `Africa Famine Relief Act of 2003'.

TITLE I--EMERGENCY FOOD AID TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) The National Security Strategy of the United States, dated September 17, 2002, concludes that `[i]n Africa, promise and opportunity sit side-by-side with disease, war, and desperate poverty. This threatens both a core value of the United States preserving human dignity and our strategic priority combating global terror. American interests and American principles, therefore, lead in the same direction: we will work with others for an African continent that lives in liberty, peace, and growing prosperity.'.

(2) On March 19, 2002, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency testified that `[t]he chronic problems of sub-Saharan Africa make it, too, fertile ground for direct and indirect threats to United States interests. Governments without accountability and natural disasters have left Africa with the highest concentration of human misery in the world'.

(3) The United Nations World Food Programme reports that there is an unprecedented hunger crisis on the African continent where approximately 38,000,000 people face starvation.

(4) The scale of the humanitarian crisis in sub-Saharan Africa has grown dramatically and there has been an average increase of 30 percent in commodity prices since the President submitted a budget request for food aid and other humanitarian assistance for fiscal year 2003.

(5) A trip report prepared by a congressional delegation that traveled to Ethiopia and Eritrea from December 29, 2002 to January 4, 2003 stated that `the U.S. Government will need to do more to avert a disaster of biblical proportions . . . Donors, including the United States, must make prompt and significant food-aid pledges to help Ethiopia overcome its current crisis.'.

(6) At a United Nations Security Council meeting on March 12, 2002, concerning the food crisis in Africa, the United States representative stated that adequate levels of assistance must be provided immediately to avert disaster in sub-Saharan Africa.

(7) On December 6, 2002, the United States Agency for International Development reported that `[a] number of Southern African countries are currently experiencing food security crises, due to a combination of adverse climate conditions for two consecutive growing seasons, mismanagement of grain reserves, and restrictive government policies that severely inhibit private sector commerce'.

(8) The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports that the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, affecting 29,400,000 people, has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis by reducing agricultural productivity and food security, undercutting people's ability to recover and contributing to long-term poverty.

(9) The HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, which strikes at working adults involved in agricultural production, is a major component of this crisis.

SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that--

(1) effectively addressing the famine in sub-Saharan Africa is in the national security interests of the United States;

(2) the President should immediately submit a request for emergency supplemental appropriations to Congress for food aid and other humanitarian assistance to reach vulnerable populations living in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa;

(3) the President should immediately consult with the chairmen and ranking members of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives to formulate a legislative strategy to address the immediate and long-term needs caused by the humanitarian crisis in sub-Saharan Africa; and

(4) the United States should engage in direct talks with members of the European Union and other appropriate nations to increase the amount of contributions from other nations to sub-Saharan Africa.

SEC. 103. EMERGENCY FOOD AID.

(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS-

(1) IN GENERAL- In addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes, there is authorized to be appropriated $600,000,000 for purposes of the emergency assistance program under title II of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954.

(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS- Amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until expended.

(b) USES OF ASSISTANCE- Amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) shall be used to provide humanitarian assistance for sub-Saharan Africa.

(c) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION- The entire amount authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) is designated by Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

SEC. 104. STRATEGY ON FOOD AID, HUMANITARIAN NEEDS, AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.

Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives a report setting forth--

(1) a strategy for meeting the immediate humanitarian needs in sub-Saharan Africa;

(2) an assessment of how a failure to meet these needs would impact United States national security interests in the region;

(3) a description of how additional food aid will be provided in coordination with other forms of assistance, particularly agricultural development, food aid for development purposes, and HIV/AIDS programs;

(4) a description of how additional food aid and other forms of assistance will be provided in consultation and coordination with nongovernmental organizations;

(5) the number of people at risk of immediate starvation in sub-Saharan Africa, the number of metric tons of food needed to prevent widespread starvation in the region and address deteriorating malnutrition rates, and the minimum costs of buying and delivering the aforementioned commodities; and

(6) the amount of funds committed by the United States and other donors for the purchase of food in fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004 to meet emergency needs in sub-Saharan Africa, and the anticipated shortfall in funding, if any.

SEC. 105. COORDINATION OF FOOD AID AND OTHER HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.

(a) IN GENERAL- The President in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of State, and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, is strongly urged to establish a task force responsible for--

(1) designing a comprehensive strategy to deal with the immediate needs of the humanitarian crisis in sub-Saharan Africa and addressing the long-term causes of food insecurity in the region, including corruption within certain governments of sub-Saharan Africa;

(2) ensuring program and policy coordination among agencies of the United States Government, other nations, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations in carrying out the policies set forth in this Act;

(3) ensuring that the distribution of humanitarian assistance provided in response to the current crisis is not manipulated or politicized within the recipient countries; and

(4) maintaining proper management, implementation, and oversight by agencies responsible for executing programs authorized in this Act.

(b) CONSULTATION- In establishing the task force, the President should consult with the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and the chairmen and ranking members of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives.

(c) DATE- The task force called for in subsection (a) should be established not later than 60 days after the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 106. INCREASING FOOD AID CONTRIBUTIONS AND OTHER HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE THROUGH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.

The President shall instruct the United States permanent representative or executive director, as the case may be, to the United Nations, the World Food Programme, international financial institutions, and other appropriate international organizations to use the voice and vote of the United States to support additional food aid and other humanitarian assistance for sub-Saharan Africa.

TITLE II--OTHER EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

SEC. 201 INTERNATIONAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE.

(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS-

(1) IN GENERAL- There is authorized to be appropriated to the President $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2003, for purposes of section 491 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, for relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction assistance for sub-Saharan Africa.

(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS- Amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes and are authorized to remain available until expended.

(b) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION- The entire amount authorized under subsection (a) is designated by Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

SEC. 202. EMERGENCY HIV/AIDS FAMILY SURVIVAL PARTNERSHIPS.

(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services $100,000,000 to carry out subsections (b) and (c) in sub-Saharan Africa.

(b) GRANTS- The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, is authorized to award grants to eligible administrative organizations to award subgrants to nongovernmental organizations to expand activities to prevent the mother-to-child transmission of HIV by providing treatment, medical care, and support services to HIV infected parents and their children.

(c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS- Amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) are authorized to remain available until expended.

(d) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION- The entire amount authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) is designated by Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

TITLE III--OTHER PROVISIONS

SEC. 301. DEFINITION.

In this Act, the term `sub-Saharan Africa' has the meaning given the term in section 107 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3706).

END