Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4133) to authorize appropriations for the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, enhance the United States-Caribbean security partnership, prioritize disaster resilience, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4133.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4133, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act of 2022.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Representative Espaillat, for drafting this important measure.

CBSI has been essential in helping our partners in the Caribbean improve their capacity to combat transnational crime, violence, and regional instability while also enhancing our own security and strengthening our critical partnerships in the region.

By supporting a multiyear authorization, we can effectively assist our Caribbean partners in citizen safety, security, and the rule of law in the Caribbean Basin; reducing corruption and the malign influence of authoritarian regimes like Xi Jinping's China and Vladimir Putin's Russia; and strengthening the ability of countries in the region to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

According to a status report from the State Department's U.S. Strategy for Engagement in the Caribbean released in July of 2019 is says: ``Rising crime and endemic corruption threaten governments' ability to provide security and good governance'' in many of the nations in the region.

With ongoing efforts to mitigate transnational organized crime in Central America and Mexico, the drug trade and in other illegal activities likely will move further into the Caribbean, particularly as the regional economic outlook deteriorates due to the continuing economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Given the tragic impacts of the recent hurricane season in the Caribbean and trends pointing toward more frequent and intense natural disasters, this renewed support for CBSI can also help make it possible for our friends in the region to become more climate resilient by building robust rapid-response mechanisms and resilient infrastructure responses throughout the region.

The support from CBSI can help to avoid a climate of fear and uncertainty among citizens that leads to diminished economic growth.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat), my good friend and author of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for his leadership and bipartisanship on this important bill. I really can't add to the eloquence of our friend and colleague from New York (Mr. Espaillat).

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important and critical piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia for this opportunity to speak about H.R. 4133, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.

For more than 10 years, Mr. Speaker, Congress has supported funding CBSI, appropriating during that time $831 million, and supporting 13 Caribbean nations.

H.R. 4133, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act will authorize appropriations of $75 million each year from 2022 to 2026. It also requires the Department of State to develop a strategy to improve disaster resilience in the Caribbean--and to report progress made under the initiative.

We all know how the Caribbean stands in the pathway of hurricanes and other natural disasters. As such, they must really improve disaster resiliency in those island nations. CBSI supports our allies in the Caribbean by promoting citizen safety, citizen security, and adhering to the rule of law. It also reduces trafficking in narcotics. It will help us interdict narcotics in the Caribbean region, which is the third border of our country.

It also reduces corruption and the malign influence of foreign adversaries in the region. We all know how foreign adversaries are looking to ill-invest in that region and circumvent, in many cases, transparency measures. It strengthens the ability to respond, as I said earlier, Mr. Speaker, to natural disasters. It is so important.

These island nations are in jeopardy. They are in serious trouble with hurricanes and rising sea levels and other natural disasters. You better than anybody, Mr. Speaker, know about this. This Caribbean Basin Security Initiative would also provide funding for that.

By empowering our neighbors in the Caribbean, we will in turn bolster the national security of the United States. Our allies in the Caribbean are facing many, many challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, strained global supply chains, and increased energy costs. That seems to be a common problem in island nations: increased energy costs. As such, they are really up for grabs by some of our adversaries who often take advantage in a crisis. We must do more to really help out our neighbors, our allies in that region.

We must continue funding for CBSI. It is critical to help Caribbean nations strengthen their economies, and in turn, strengthen our very own.

It is especially important that we continue our engagement in the Caribbean as our foreign adversaries attempt to spread their influence throughout the region. A safe and prosperous Caribbean region is in the United States' national security interests.

As we prepare to host the ninth Summit of the Americas in California in June, I urge my colleagues to support CBSI and reaffirm our commitment to enhancing U.S.-Caribbean relations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, narcotics trafficking and illicit money from the Caribbean is fueling America's drug crisis and is destabilizing the Western Hemisphere. The same groups that traffic narcotics, weapons, and humans also spread misery throughout the region and into the U.S. homeland.

At the same time, malign actors like the Chinese Communist Party spread their web of influence in the region. This problem is especially troubling since the Caribbean is home to a large concentration of Taiwan's diplomatic allies.

As evidenced by Nicaragua's recent decision to sever long-standing ties with Taiwan, the CCP is employing a range of tools to advance its malign agenda in the Caribbean and throughout Latin America.

Congress must remain committed to working with our allies to address shared security threats, cooperating on regional challenges, and promoting democratic governance. That is why I am supporting the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act.

As the CCP exerts its malign influence and drugs flow into the United States, now is the time to work with our allies in the region to ensure our national security interests are protected.

This legislation will expand our Caribbean partners' ability to surveil illicit actors in the water and in the air, improve local law enforcement's ability to intercept narcotics trafficking, strengthen local criminal justice institutions, and support natural disaster response efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. and our partners must seriously confront the growing threat posed by the CCP in the Caribbean and beyond.

As the situation at our border gets worse, deadly drugs like fentanyl are surging across our southern border from illicit actors in Latin America. We must address the issue immediately. We cannot ignore the Caribbean, America's third border.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Sires, Mr. Green, and Mr. Connolly for leading this measure. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.