To provide additional appropriations for the fiscal year 2003 for the Peace Corps.

March 6, 2003

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD (for herself, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. WATSON, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. HONDA, Mr. WALSH, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. FROST, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. WAXMAN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. WATT, Mr. OWENS, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. PAYNE, and Mr. BROWN of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

To provide additional appropriations for the fiscal year 2003 for the Peace Corps.

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 `Peace Corps HIV/AIDS Training Enhancement Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2003'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds as follows:

(1) AIDS is so pervasive that it is destroying the very fiber of what constitutes civil society in many regions of the world: individuals, families, and communities; economic and political institutions; military and police forces are all affected.

(2) AIDS has claimed 22,000,000 lives--more than all the soldiers killed in major wars of the 20th century--and currently infects more than 36,000,000 individuals worldwide.

(3) Infant mortality due to AIDS is increasing throughout the world and AIDS-related mortality will eliminate the gains made in child survival over the past 20 years. More than 13,000,000 children worldwide (95 percent of whom live in Africa) have lost either their mothers or both parents to AIDS.

(4) Life expectancy in ten countries in Africa has dropped by over 20 years due to AIDS--wiping out the gains of 30 years of development.

(5) Teachers and health care workers are the most heavily HIV/AIDS affected sectors of public employment. In many African nations it is estimated that between 25 and 50 percent of all health care workers may be dead from AIDS by 2005.

(6) Botswanan President Festus Mogae declared that Botswana, once an economically successful southern African nation, is now threatened with extinction.

(7) Mobilizing resources and human capacity is essential in the prevention of new infections and treatment to those already infected with HIV/AIDS.

(8) 7,300 Peace Corps volunteers work in 76 countries worldwide including 25 countries in Africa. 1,431 of these Peace Corps members are health volunteers who serve in Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.

(9) Peace Corps health volunteers work in rural and urban settings in a variety of health activities including teaching HIV/AIDS education and prevention methodologies to local people.

(10) Peace Corps volunteers work to improve the health of women, men and children, adolescents, and families by promoting health information and by improving the skills of African professionals, local organizations, and local people in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.

(11) The Peace Corps would like to increase its capacity in HIV/AIDS education and prevention activities--especially in the area of training HIV/AIDS trainers--by increasing its health volunteer corps. The Peace Corps believes that with increased capacity, it can significantly impact communities to take more responsibility for their own health care. But it cannot do so without further funding.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003.

(a) APPROPRIATION- In addition to such sums as are otherwise appropriated to carry out the provisions of the Peace Corps Act for the fiscal year 2003, there are appropriated $5,000,000 for the fiscal year 2003 to carry out the provisions of such Act which shall be available only for additional health volunteers working with HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention methodologies, particularly the training of local HIV/AIDS trainers.

(b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, sums appropriated under subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.

END