Introduced in House — H.R. 4031

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 4031

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 17, 2025

Mr. Espaillat (for himself and Ms. Salazar) 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.

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

The term beneficiary countries means—

(A)

Antigua and Barbuda;

(B)

The Bahamas;

(C)

Barbados;

(D)

Dominica;

(E)

The Dominican Republic;

(F)

Grenada;

(G)

Guyana;

(H)

Jamaica;

(I)

Saint Lucia;

(J)

Saint Kitts and Nevis;

(K)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;

(L)

Suriname; and

(M)

Trinidad and Tobago.

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—

(I)

corruption;

(II)

money laundering;

(III)

human, firearms, and wildlife trafficking;

(IV)

human smuggling;

(V)

financial crimes; and

(VI)

extortion; 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)

increasing the capacity of national law enforcement services to carry out anti-corruption investigations; and

(C)

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 $88,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029 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 and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Inter-American Foundation, 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 Executive Officer of the Inter-American Foundation 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.