S 1880 IS

To provide assistance for the relief and reconstruction of Afghanistan, and for other purposes.

December 20 (legislative day, DECEMBER 18), 2001

Mr. WELLSTONE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

To provide assistance for the relief and reconstruction of Afghanistan, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) SHORT TITLE- This Act may be cited as the `Afghanistan Freedom and Reconstruction Act of 2001'.

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 3. United States policy toward Afghanistan.

Sec. 4. Urgent humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan.

Sec. 5. Support for security during transition in Afghanistan.

Sec. 6. Rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Sec. 7. Afghanistan democracy and human rights initiatives.

Sec. 8. Authorization of funds for United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP) initiatives in Afghanistan.

Sec. 9. United States diplomatic facilities.

Sec. 10. Definitions.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS- Congress finds the following:

(1) The President in his remarks on December 12, 2001, at the signing of the Afghan Women and Children Relief Act stated that `America and our allies will do our part in the rebuilding of Afghanistan. We learned our lessons from the past. We will not leave until the mission is complete. We will work with international institutions on the long-term development of Afghanistan. We will provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.'.

(2) Current estimates of the costs of assisting Afghanistan range from $5,000,000,000 over 5 years to $40,000,000,000 over a decade.

(3) The United States should be the lead financial contributor to the rehabilitation and reconstruction effort in Afghanistan, and should contribute no less that $5,000,000,000 to this effort over the next 5 years.

(4) The people of Afghanistan have suffered for more than 20 years from continual conflict, civil strife, and from successive repressive regimes supported by foreign governments resulting in one of the lowest levels of life expectancy, adult literacy, and high levels of infant and child mortality, maternal mortality, and malnutrition.

(5) Afghanistan has experienced near total devastation through 2 decades of war, resulting in the largest concentration of land mines and unexploded ordinances and the destruction of most infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and powerplants.

(6) As a result, there are approximately 2,000,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan, 1,500,000 in Iran, and 1,200,000 internally displaced persons in Afghanistan at risk of disease and malnutrition, the largest such group in the world.

(7) The Taliban implemented a brutal and repressive regime, particularly with respect to the rights of women and their participation in Afghan society. Under Taliban rule, women were denied access to work, healthcare, and prevented from adequately providing for their children. Women were segregated from society and virtually imprisoned in their own homes under the Taliban's harsh interpretation of Islamic law.

(8) Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan became a training ground, operational base, and safe haven for terrorists and international terrorist organizations, and it continues to be one of the world's largest sources of illegal opium.

(9) Since 1996, the Taliban harbored Osama bin Laden, whom the United Nations demanded that it surrender in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 (1999). As a result of the Taliban's failure to do so, the United Nations Security Council imposed progressively more comprehensive sanctions on the Taliban under Resolutions 1267 (1999), 1333 (2000), and 1363 (2001), which sanctions are binding on all members of the United Nations under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

(10) The failure of the Taliban to comply with the demands of the United States and the United Nations Security Council allowed Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network to orchestrate from Afghanistan the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on the United States in which thousands of Americans and foreign nationals were murdered.

(11) After the expulsion or elimination of foreign terrorist organizations from the territory of Afghanistan and the cessation of hostilities, the United States bears the leading responsibility to help create a stable political, economic, and social environment in Afghanistan.

(12) The most effective and efficient way to promote stability and prevent a return to lawlessness and warfare in post-Taliban Afghanistan is to quickly restore basic services, and to provide substantial long-term assistance for the political, social, and economic reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan.

(13)(A) The President in his radio address to the Nation on October 6, 2001, urged Congress to make funds available to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, recognizing that assisting people in this fashion `is also a central part of the American tradition', stated that `[e]ven as we fight evil regimes we are generous to the people they oppress', and further stated that `[f]ollowing World War II, America fed and rebuilt Japan and Germany, and their people became some of our closest friends in the world'.

(B) The President in his speech before the United Nations on November 10, 2001, stated that `[t]he United States will work closely with the United Nations and the [multilateral] development banks to reconstruct Afghanistan'.

(14) United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in a speech in Washington, D.C., on November 28, 2001--

(A) declared that `the solution to the Afghan crisis ultimately must come from the women and men of Afghanistan itself';

(B) reaffirmed the commitment of the international community to `ensuring that an end is put to the long nightmare of women's repression in Afghanistan' and urged `the parties to bring Afghan women into every stage of the political process'; and

(C) stated that `in Afghanistan today human rights means, above all, women's rights'.

(15) As a result of the changing situation in Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1378, calling on member states to support a transitional administration in Afghanistan, provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan, and furnish long-term assistance for the social and economic reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan.

(16) On December 5, 2001, in Bonn, Germany, representatives of the Afghan people agreed to a framework for the reestablishment of a government that is broad-based, multiethnic, gender-inclusive, and fully representative of the Afghan people.

(b) PURPOSES- The purposes of this Act are--

(1) to support a substantial United States commitment to the reconstruction of Afghanistan;

(2) to prevent the return to power of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and promote the long-term stability and physical security of an independent Afghanistan;

(3) to support a diplomatic framework for the achievement of a broad-based, multiethnic, gender-inclusive, fully representative government freely chosen by the Afghan people that respects the human rights of all the Afghan people;

(4) to authorize new, immediate, and sustained humanitarian assistance to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan and among Afghan refugees in neighboring countries;

(5) to authorize new assistance bilaterally, or through a multilateral fund or international foundation, for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan with a particular emphasis on meeting the educational, health, and sustenance needs of women and children to better enable their full participation in Afghan society; and

(6) to otherwise promote a secure environment in Afghanistan that will prevent the resurgence of foreign terrorists in Afghanistan.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD AFGHANISTAN.

(a) UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD TALIBAN REGIME- It shall be the policy of the United States to prevent the return to power of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan so as to diminish the risk of future terrorist attacks on the United States, and restore basic human freedoms to the people of Afghanistan.

(b) DIPLOMATIC FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROMOTION OF A FREE AND INDEPENDENT AFGHANISTAN- It shall be the policy of the United States--

(1) to support the convening of a traditional Afghan assembly (commonly referred to as a `Loya Jirga') in order to facilitate Afghanistan's transition from war to a broad-based, multiethnic, gender-inclusive, fully representative government freely chosen by the Afghan people, help lay the groundwork for Afghanistan's reconstruction and economic recovery, and strengthen Afghanistan's security;

(2) to maintain a significant United States commitment to the relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction of Afghanistan as part of a larger regional policy framework, paying particular attention to the education and physical and mental health care needs of the Afghan people, especially the needs of women and children;

(3) to support the objectives agreed to on December 5, 2001, in Bonn, Germany, and work toward ensuring the future independence of Afghanistan, establishing the principle that neighboring countries and other countries in the region do not threaten or interfere in one another's sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence, and supporting a coordinated and sustained international effort to reconstruct Afghanistan;

(4) to work with the United Nations and the international community in the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of combatants into Afghan society and in demining the Afghan countryside as well as programs to rehabilitate and assist mine victims, war orphans, and widows;

(5) to support bilateral and regional economic agreements and other measures to foster greater economic opportunity for the citizens of Afghanistan and the region generally;

(6) to promptly recognize a new broad-based, multiethnic, gender-inclusive, fully representative government in Afghanistan acceptable to the Afghan people; and

(7) in order to ensure security of the people of Afghanistan, to support the establishment of a multinational security force in Afghanistan.

SEC. 4. URGENT HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN.

(a) CURRENT HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS- Congress commends the President for allocating $320,000,000 in humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan and strongly urges that the President continue to provide additional humanitarian assistance in 2002 and 2003 in conjunction with other donors and international organizations.

(b) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF RELIEF ASSISTANCE- It should be the policy of the United States in promoting equitable distribution of relief and rehabilitation assistance in Afghanistan--

(1) to ensure noncombatants (particularly refugees and displaced persons) equal and ready access to all emergency food and relief assistance, with special emphasis on the needs of women and children;

(2) to provide relief, rehabilitation, and recovery assistance to promote self-reliance; and

(3) to ensure that relief is provided on the basis of need without regard to political affiliation, geographic location, or the ethnic, tribal or religious identity of the recipient.

(c) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE- The President is authorized to furnish assistance in accordance with this section on such other terms and conditions as the President may determine for the urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Afghanistan and report to the appropriate congressional committees on any further assistance provided under this section.

(d) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE INSIDE AFGHANISTAN- Assistance under this section shall be targeted to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the war-affected or drought-affected civilian population inside Afghanistan and shall include--

(1) emergency food, shelter, and medical assistance, including mental health treatment;

(2) clean drinking water and sanitation;

(3) preventative health care, including childhood vaccination, therapeutic feeding, maternal child health services, and infectious diseases surveillance and treatment;

(4) family tracing and reunification services for families separated by war; and

(5) basic education and vocational training with an emphasis on the educational needs of women and children.

(e) ASSISTANCE TO AFGHAN REFUGEES- Assistance under this section shall be targeted to meet the needs of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and other countries in the region and shall include--

(1) assistance described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d) for such refugees;

(2) assistance to families sheltering Afghan refugees in the form of economic stipends, food assistance, and household implements;

(3) assistance to communities in neighboring countries that have taken in large numbers of refugees in the form of rehabilitation or expansion of basic services, access to health and education facilities for refugees or other assistance aimed at easing the burden on local populations hosting refugees;

(4) assistance to international organizations and host governments in maintaining security by screening refugees to ensure the exclusion of armed combatants, members of foreign terrorist organizations, and other individuals not eligible for economic assistance from the United States; and

(5) assistance for voluntary refugee repatriation and reintegration inside Afghanistan and continued assistance to those refugees who are unable or unwilling to return, and to ensure that all screening and repatriation operations are conducted voluntarily, with safety and dignity.

(f) FOOD AID- Assistance under this section shall be targeted to meet the immediate, emergency food needs for the Afghan people and shall include assistance under title II of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, the Food for Progress Act of 1985, and section 416(b) of the Agricultural Act of 1949, as well as local procurement of surplus commodities. Such assistance should include--

(1) emergency food distribution to displaced, refugee, and other vulnerable populations affected by war or drought;

(2) school feeding programs to improve child nutrition and school attendance;

(3) food for work programs to facilitate the rehabilitation process by increasing self-sufficiency;

(4) emergency monetization programs to increase commercially available food stocks, decrease and stabilize food prices, and stimulate local economies; and

(5) food and agricultural production, including the provision of seeds and tools.

(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to the President--

(1) to carry out the activities described in subsection (d) for fiscal year 2003, $150,000,000;

(2) to carry out the activities described in subsection (e) for fiscal year 2003, $75,000,000; and

(3) to carry out the activities described in subsection (f) for fiscal year 2003, $175,000,000.

(h) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE- Assistance under this section may be provided notwithstanding any other provision of law.

SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR SECURITY DURING TRANSITION IN AFGHANISTAN.

(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS- It is the sense of Congress that, during the transition to a broad-based, multiethnic, gender-inclusive, fully representative government in Afghanistan, the United States should support, a multinational security force, to ensure security in Afghanistan and to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout the country.

(b) ASSISTANCE FOR MULTINATIONAL SECURITY FORCE-

(1) IN GENERAL- The President is authorized to provide assistance for the establishment and expenses of a multinational security force in Afghanistan.

(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to the President such sums as may be necessary to carry out paragraph (1) for fiscal years 2002 and 2003.

SEC. 6. REHABILITATION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF AFGHANISTAN.

(a) TARGETING ASSISTANCE TO AID THE POOR MAJORITY- It is the sense of Congress that United States development assistance for Afghanistan should be targeted to aid the poor majority of the people of Afghanistan (particularly refugees, women, and children) to the maximum extent practicable. The United States Government should--

(1) build upon the capabilities and experiences of the Afghan people both in country and in the diaspora, and of, international, and indigenous private and voluntary organizations active in local grassroots rehabilitation, reconstruction, and development efforts; and

(2) consult closely with the appropriate Afghan government and civil society representatives as well as other governments and international organizations participating in rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts and significantly incorporate their views into the policymaking process.

(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ASSISTANCE FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS- It is the sense of Congress that all United States assistance for Afghanistan should include a particular emphasis on meeting the educational, health, and sustenance needs of women and children, especially girls, to better enable their full participation in Afghan society.

(c) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE- The President is authorized to furnish assistance in accordance with this section on such other terms and conditions as the President may determine for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan if--

(1) with respect to assistance for fiscal year 2002, the President first determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that a broad-based, multiethnic, gender-inclusive fully representative interim authority has been established to govern Afghanistan and that a special independent commission for the convening of an emergency traditional Afghan assembly (commonly referred to as a `Loya Jirga') has been appointed;

(2) with respect to assistance for fiscal year 2003, the President first determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that a Loya Jirga has been convened and has decided on a broad-based, multiethnic, gender-inclusive, fully representative transitional authority for Afghanistan; and

(3) with respect to assistance for fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006, the President first determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees with respect to each such fiscal year that substantial progress has been made toward adopting a constitution and establishing a democratically elected government for Afghanistan.

(d) PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, AND ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED- Assistance under this section should include--

(1) projects to address the urgent needs of the Afghan people, including projects to--

(A) establish and maintain physical security, and rapidly expand humanitarian mine removal efforts;

(B) identify and provide critical agricultural supplies (seeds, fertilizer, tools) for the upcoming agricultural season;

(C) commence substantial public works programs for refugees and nonagricultural workers, especially returning fighters, and their families to generate income and reintegrate them into society; and

(D) reestablish basic primary health care and emergency services, and begin critical repairs of hospitals, airport runways, the air traffic control system, key bridges, and roads;

(2) rehabilitation and reconstruction projects to benefit the poorest people, including--

(A) disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programs for ex-combatants;

(B) demining of the Afghan countryside and assistance to mine victims, war orphans, and widows;

(C) reconstruction of permanent and semi-permanent shelters, including provision of building materials;

(D) primary health care and emergency water and power supplies;

(E) vocational training and capacity building programs and food for work programs;

(F) programs designed to facilitate recruitment of skilled professionals inside Afghanistan and from the Afghan diaspora to assist in the reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan; and

(G) the furnishing of seeds for planting, fertilizer, pesticides, farm implements, crop storage and preservation supplies, farm animals, vaccine and veterinary services to protect livestock, and repair and reconstruction of well and irrigation systems;

(3) programs to provide basic education, particularly for girls, including efforts to support the teaching of displaced children and rebuild schools;

(4) programs to educate young Afghan refugees, particularly girls, in neighboring countries if conflict within Afghanistan continues;

(5) assistance to reconstitute and expand the delivery of primary and maternal health care, including the reconstruction of health clinics and hospitals, the provision of mental health care services, the reestablishment of vaccination campaigns, and the establishment of diseases surveillance and treatment programs;

(6) programs that combat corruption, improve transparency and accountability, and otherwise promote good governance;

(7) assistance to establish credit, micro-enterprise, and income-generation programs for the poor, with particular emphasis on women;

(8) other programs to reestablish veterinary services, local crop research, and agricultural development projects; and

(9) programs designed to eliminate the cultivation of poppy through alternative development of licit crops.

(e) CONTRIBUTIONS TO MULTILATERAL FUND OR INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION-

(1) AUTHORITY- In addition to providing assistance under this section for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan on a bilateral basis--

(A) there is authorized to be appropriated to the President such sums as may be necessary for the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending September 30, 2006, to make a contribution or contributions to a multilateral fund or international foundation established for the development of a post-conflict Afghanistan; and

(B) the President is authorized, from amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (g), to make a contribution for any of the fiscal years 2002 through 2006 to a multilateral fund or international foundation established for the development of a post-conflict Afghanistan if the President first makes a determination and certification under subsection (c) for the fiscal year involved.

(2) LIMITATION- The amount of a contribution under paragraph (1)(B) may not exceed 50 percent in fiscal year 2002, and 75 percent in any subsequent fiscal year, of the amount appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (g) for such fiscal year.

(f) APPLICABLE ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES- Except to the extent inconsistent with the provisions of this section, the administrative authorities under chapters 1 and 2 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 shall apply to the provision of assistance under this section to the same extent and in the same manner as such authorities apply to the provision of economic assistance under part I of such Act.

(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry out this section (other than subsection (e)(1)(A)) for fiscal year 2002, $75,000,000, for fiscal year 2003, $200,000,000, for fiscal year 2004, $300,000,000, for fiscal year 2005, $300,000,000, and $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.

(h) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS- Of the amount made available to carry out this section for a fiscal year, not more than 5 percent of such amount may be used for administrative expenses for the United States Agency for International Development in connection with such assistance.

(i) REPORT RELATING TO REHABILITATION AND RECONSTRUCTION- As part of the annual submission of the budget of the United States, the President shall include a description of the activities conducted pursuant to this section and section 7 in the prior fiscal year, the progress made in meeting the development objectives for such year, a description of the United States development objectives for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan for the fiscal year involved and the amount of funds necessary to meet such objectives and the amount of funds to meet such objectives for the subsequent fiscal year.

(j) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE- Assistance under this section may be provided notwithstanding any other provision of law.

SEC. 7. AFGHANISTAN DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS INITIATIVES.

(a) ASSISTANCE TO DEMOCRACY- The President is authorized and encouraged to provide assistance under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (including chapter 4 of part II of the Act) to support the transition to a multiethnic democratic government in Afghanistan. Such assistance shall--

(1) focus on building the capacity of Afghans, particularly women, to participate in the selection of a broad-based, multiethnic, gender-inclusive, fully representative government in Afghanistan;

(2) support activities of a transitional administration or interim government to draft a new constitution, other legal frameworks, and other initiatives to promote the rule of law and combat corruption in Afghanistan;

(3) support activities to prepare Afghanistan for elections, including voter registration, civic education programs, political party building, and technical electoral assistance;

(4) support the development of civil society and independent news media;

(5) promote the participation of women in government and civil society through education and training; and

(6) promote reconciliation, conflict resolution, and prevention of further conflict with respect to Afghanistan, including establishing accountability for gross human rights violations.

(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry out this section for fiscal year 2002, $10,000,000, for fiscal year 2003, $25,000,000 and for fiscal year 2004, $25,000,000.

(c) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE- Assistance under this section may be provided notwithstanding any other provision of law.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR UNITED NATIONS DRUG CONTROL PROGRAM (UNDCP) INITIATIVES IN AFGHANISTAN.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the President not less than $12,500,000 for fiscal year 2002 and $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2003 and 2004 for a voluntary contribution of the United States to the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP) for antidrug initiatives to reduce or eliminate the trafficking of illicit drugs from Afghanistan, in particular heroin, including activities relating to precursor chemical control efforts.

SEC. 9. UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC FACILITIES.

(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- In addition to such sums as are otherwise authorized to be appropriated for `Embassy Security, Construction and Maintenance', there is authorized to be appropriated for `Embassy Security, Construction and Maintenance', for the fiscal year 2003, $65,000,000 to reestablish a United States embassy and appropriate consular facilities in Afghanistan, including offices for agencies responsible for carrying out the purposes of this Act that are located in such facilities.

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

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES- The term `appropriate congressional committees' means the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

(2) NATIONAL- The term `national' means, with respect to a foreign country, a national of the country, including a natural person, corporation, business association, partnership, or other entity operating as a business enterprise under the laws of the country.

END