Kaine & Cornyn Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Security, Combat Corruption and Drug Trafficking in the Caribbean

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, and U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Caribbean Basin Security Authorization Act, bipartisan legislation to improve security cooperation, combat drug trafficking, strengthen the rule of law, counter malign influence from China and Russia, and expand natural disaster resilience in the Caribbean region.

“What happens in the Caribbean affects the security and economic prosperity of the United States,” said Kaine. “This bipartisan legislation is critical to promoting stability, countering China’s growing influence, and combating drug cartel activity in the region. Not only will I continue to urge the Administration to carry out the foreign assistance investments that Congress has previously voted to fund, I will continue to push for legislation like this one to work with our partners to protect our national security.”

The Caribbean Basin Security Authorization Act would boost support for the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), a foreign assistance program that began in 2009 and includes Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad, and Tobago. Specifically, the legislation would:

• Authorize funding between Fiscal Years 2025-2029 for CBSI to promote citizen safety, security, and rule of law; prioritize efforts to combat corruption; counter malign influence from the China, Russia, Iran, and other authoritarian regimes; and promote strategic engagement, including consultation with civil society and the private sector.
• Require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and the Inter-American Foundation, to promote efforts to improve disaster response and resilience.
• Require the Secretary of State, in consultation with USAID, to submit an implementation plan for CBSI within 180 days of enactment.
• Encourage increased law enforcement collaboration between CBSI beneficiaries and Haiti – a country that is on the brink of collapse.
• Promote greater U.S. interagency cooperation in implementing CBSI.

Full text of the bill is available here.

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