S.Amdt. 4345

SA 4345. Mr. RUBIO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed to
the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title XII, add the following:

Subtitle H--Protecting Central American Women and Children

SEC. 1291. SHORT TITLE.

This subtitle may be cited as the ``Central American Women
and Children Protection Act of 2021''.

SEC. 1292. WOMEN AND CHILDREN PROTECTION COMPACTS.

(a) Authorization to Enter Into Compacts.--The Secretary of
State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development, is authorized to
enter into multi-year,

[[Page S7875]]

bilateral agreements of not longer than 6 years in duration,
developed in conjunction with the governments of El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Honduras (referred to in this subtitle as
``Compact Countries''). Such agreements shall be known as
Women and Children Protection Compacts (referred to in this
subtitle as ``Compacts'').
(b) Purpose.--Each Compact shall--
(1) set out the shared goals and objectives of the United
States and the government of the Compact Country; and
(2) be aimed at strengthening the Compact Country's
efforts--
(A) to strengthen criminal justice and civil court systems
to protect women and children and serve victims of domestic
violence, sexual violence, trafficking, and child
exploitation and neglect, and hold perpetrators accountable;
(B) to secure, create, and sustain safe communities,
building on best practices to prevent and deter violence
against women and children;
(C) to ensure that schools are safe and promote the
prevention and early detection of domestic abuse against
women and children within communities; and
(D) to enhance security within areas experiencing endemic
domestic, gang, gender-based and drug-related or similar
criminal violence against women and children.
(c) Compact Elements.--Each Compact shall--
(1) establish a 3- to 6-year cooperative strategy and
assistance plan for achieving the shared goals and objectives
articulated in such Compact;
(2) be informed by the assessments of--
(A) the areas within the Compact Country experiencing the
highest incidence of violence against women and children;
(B) the ability of women and children to access protection
and obtain effective judicial relief; and
(C) the judicial capacity to respond to reports within the
Compact Country of femicide, sexual and domestic violence,
and child exploitation and neglect, and to hold the
perpetrators of such criminal acts accountable;
(3) seek to address the driving forces of violence against
women and children, which shall include efforts to break the
binding constraints to inclusive economic growth and access
to justice;
(4) identify clear and measurable goals, objectives, and
benchmarks under the Compact to detect, deter and respond to
violence against women and children;
(5) set out clear roles, responsibilities, and objectives
under the Compact, which shall include a description of the
anticipated policy and financial commitments of the central
government of the Compact Country;
(6) seek to leverage and deconflict contributions and
complementary programming by other donors;
(7) include a description of the metrics and indicators to
monitor and measure progress toward achieving the goals,
objectives, and benchmarks under the Compact, including
reductions in the prevalence of femicide, sexual assault,
domestic violence, and child abuse and neglect;
(8) provide for the conduct of an impact evaluation not
later than 1 year after the conclusion of the Compact; and
(9) provide for a full accounting of all funds expended
under the Compact, which shall include full audit authority
for the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of
State, the Office of the Inspector General of the United
States Agency for International Development, and the
Government Accountability Office, as appropriate.
(d) Funding Limitation.--Compacts may not provide for any
United States assistance to be made available directly to the
Government of El Salvador, the Government of Guatemala, or
the Government of Honduras.
(e) Termination or Suspension.--Any Compact may be
suspended or terminated, with respect to a country or an
entity receiving assistance pursuant to the Compact, if the
Secretary of State determines that such country or entity has
failed to make sufficient progress towards the goals of the
Compact.
(f) Sunset.--The authority to enter into Compacts under
this subtitle shall expire on September 30, 2023.

SEC. 1293. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.

Not later than 15 days before entering into a Compact with
the Government of Guatemala, the Government of Honduras, or
the Government of El Salvador, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, shall submit to the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee
on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives--
(1) a copy of the proposed Compact;
(2) a detailed summary of the cooperative strategy and
assistance plan required under section 1292(c); and
(3) a copy of any annexes, appendices, or implementation
plans related to the Compact.

SEC. 1294. COMPACT PROGRESS REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS.

(a) Progress Report.--Not later than 1 year after entering
into a Compact, and annually during the life of the Compact,
the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, shall submit a report to the congressional
committees listed in section 1293 that describes the progress
made under the Compact.
(b) Contents.--The report submitted under subsection (a)
shall include--
(1) analysis and information on the overall rates of
gender-based violence against women and children in El
Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, including by using
survivor surveys, regardless of whether or not these acts of
violence are reported to government authorities;
(2) analysis and information on incidences of cases of
gender-based violence against women and children reported to
the authorities in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and
the percentage of alleged perpetrators investigated,
apprehended, prosecuted, and convicted;
(3) analysis and information on the capacity and resource
allocation of child welfare systems in El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Honduras to protect unaccompanied children;
(4) the percentage of reported violence against women and
children cases reaching conviction;
(5) a baseline and percentage changes in women and children
victims receiving legal and other social services;
(6) a baseline and percentage changes in school retention
rates;
(7) a baseline and changes in capacity of police,
prosecution service, and courts to combat violence against
women and children;
(8) a baseline and changes in capacity of justice,
protection, and other relevant ministries to support
survivors of gender-based violence against women and
children; and
(9) independent external evaluation of funded programs,
including compliance with terms of the Compacts by El
Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and by the recipients of
the assistance.
(c) Briefing.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development shall provide a briefing to the congressional
committees listed in section 1293 regarding--
(1) the data and information collected pursuant to this
section; and
(2) the steps taken to protect and assist victims of
domestic violence, sexual violence, trafficking, and child
exploitation and neglect.
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