[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6006 Introduced in House (IH)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6006
To establish a pilot program to provide fellowships to certain former
Sudanese refugees, known as the ``Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan'',
to assist in reconstruction efforts in South Sudan.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 13, 2016
Ms. Bass (for herself, Mr. Capuano, Ms. Lee, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Kelly
of Illinois, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Moore, Ms. Plaskett, Mr. Ellison, Mrs.
Watson Coleman, and Ms. Clarke of New York) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a pilot program to provide fellowships to certain former
Sudanese refugees, known as the ``Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan'',
to assist in reconstruction efforts in South Sudan.
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 ``Lost Boys and Girls Rebuilding
Infrastructure to Sustain Enduring Peace in South Sudan Act'' or the
``Lost Boys and Girls RISE Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The 21-year civil war between the North and the South
in Sudan, which ended with the signing of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement on January 9, 2005, caused many Sudanese people
to flee their homes to seek refuge elsewhere in Sudan, in
neighboring countries, and in the United States.
(2) During the civil war, government troops burned villages
in southern Sudan, killed the adults, and enslaved both women
and girls. Among the refugees from the conflict was a group of
at least 20,000 children, aged 5 to 17 years, who were homeless
orphans as a result of the war.
(3) The children suffered tremendous hardships during their
flight, enduring attacks not only from the army and marauding
bandits but also from lions and hyenas. Many others died from
starvation or thirst.
(4) A few years after the children arrived at the Panyindo
refugee camp in Ethiopia, armed soldiers forced them to leave
the camp by crossing the swollen Gilo River, and at least 1,000
children either drowned or were eaten by crocodiles while they
crossed. The children then began their journey to a refugee
camp in Kenya.
(5) In 1999, the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees determined that repatriation was no longer an option
for these children. Approximately 3,800 of the 20,000 children
were granted priority resettlement status in the United States,
with minors placed in foster homes and those over 18 resettled
as adults throughout the United States with assistance from the
Department of Health and Human Services.
(6) The story of these children, known as the ``Lost Boys
and Lost Girls of Sudan'', has been documented in a number of
books and films in the United States.
(7) The Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan have acquired a
reputation for being a resilient and highly motivated group of
individuals, with many of them gaining employment and pursuing
higher education simultaneously.
(8) Many of the Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan have
publically expressed interest in returning to their homeland to
contribute to reconstruction efforts.
(9) South Sudan is currently engulfed in a new civil war
and faces a humanitarian catastrophe and an upsurge of violence
between ethnic groups. Many of the Lost Boys and Lost Girls
have gained experience, education, and skills in the United
States, and want to return to South Sudan to assist in efforts
to rebuild the infrastructure of the country.
SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM TO ASSIST RECONSTRUCTION EFFORTS IN THE REPUBLIC
OF SOUTH SUDAN.
(a) Pilot Program.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development (in this Act referred to
as the ``Administrator'') shall establish a pilot program to
provide fellowships to up to 500 eligible individuals to assist
in developing agricultural, business development, educational,
medical, technological, or transportation infrastructure in
South Sudan.
(2) Duration.--
(A) In general.--The pilot program established
under paragraph (1) shall begin on the date on which
the Administrator determines that the condition
specified under subparagraph (B) is satisfied and shall
terminate on the date that is three years after the
date of such determination.
(B) Conditions specified.--The pilot program may
begin after the Secretary of State determines that it
is safe for United States citizens, especially citizens
of Sudanese or South Sudanese descent, to travel to
South Sudan and lifts the general travel warning for
South Sudan.
(3) Administrator and staff.--The Administrator shall
detail not fewer than two full-time employees of the Agency to
conduct the following:
(A) Identifying and recruiting individuals who
would be eligible, pursuant to subsection (b), to
participate in the pilot program.
(B) Evaluating applications submitted by
individuals to participate in the pilot program.
(C) Approving methods proposed by individuals
participating in the pilot program to provide
assistance in accordance with paragraph (1).
(D) Preparing orientation and debriefing materials,
regarding South Sudan and the nature of the assistance
provided through the pilot program, to be given to
individuals participating in the pilot program not
later than one week before and one week after such
participation, respectively.
(E) Assisting individuals participating in the
pilot program to locate adequate housing in South Sudan
for the duration of their participation.
(F) Distributing to individuals participating in
the pilot program any amounts awarded under subsection
(c).
(b) Eligibility.--An individual shall be eligible to participate in
the pilot program if the individual--
(1) is a citizen of the United States;
(2) was admitted to the United States as a refugee under
section 207 of the Immigration Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157)
from a refugee camp in Africa and identified by the Secretary
of State under the worldwide refugee application processing
priority system as ``Priority-2'' (P-2); and
(3) commits to participating in the pilot program for a
period of not less than one year and not more than three years.
(c) Award Amount.--The Administrator may make available to each
individual participating in the pilot program, on a first-come, first-
served basis--
(1) any amount necessary to cover the round-trip travel of
such individual between the United States and South Sudan;
(2) not more than $300 per month, to cover lodging and
living expenses for the duration of the participation of such
individual;
(3) not more than $25,000, over the duration of such
participation, toward the repayment of any Federal student loan
of such individual that is made, insured, or guaranteed under
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et
seq.) or any other loan made, insured, or guaranteed by the
Federal Government to such individual for enrollment in an
institution of higher education, as defined in section 102 of
such Act (20 U.S.C. 1002);
(4) any amount necessary to cover costs incurred during
such participation due to an emergency or under exigent
circumstances; and
(5) such other costs that the Administrator may determine
to be appropriate and associated with participation in the
pilot program.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, in
carrying out the pilot program, the Administrator should--
(1) consult with the members of the ``Lost Boys and Lost
Girls of Sudan'' community in the United States, for purposes
of identifying potentially eligible individuals and notifying
such individuals about the pilot program; and
(2) consider for participation in the pilot program
individuals who are recommended to the Administrator by a
Member of Congress.
(e) Report and Evaluation.--
(1) Report.--Not later than six months after the date of
the termination of the pilot program, the Administrator shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
summarizing the results of the pilot program and making
recommendations for changes.
(2) Evaluation by inspector general.--Not later than six
months after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually
thereafter until the date of the termination of the pilot
program, the Inspector General of the United States Agency for
International Development shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report evaluating the pilot program.
(3) Appropriate congressional committees.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
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