Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act
H.R. 4031, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Authorization Act, would authorize a U.S. security and development program—the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI)—in 13 beneficiary Caribbean countries to strengthen safety, the rule of law, and resilience against crime and disasters. The bill lays out broad purposes: partnering with governments and civil society; countering organized crime, drugs, trafficking, and youth recruitment; building law enforcement and judicial capacity; preventing crime and helping at-risk youth; improving disaster preparedness and resilience; fighting corruption; countering influence from authoritarian regimes; and increasing public awareness of U.S. assistance. It would provide $88 million per year from 2025 through 2029 to fund these activities, require an implementation plan with milestones, and mandate annual progress reports to Congress. The bill also directs a focused strategy and coordination to boost disaster response and resilience, including public-facing information about U.S. assistance. Key elements include a detailed set of programmatic objectives (law enforcement, border/port security, anti-corruption, cybercrime, juvenile justice, and disaster readiness), requirements for interagency planning and accountability, and measures to monitor and mitigate foreign influence from authoritarian regimes. The plan emphasizes coordination with Haitian security efforts due to the ongoing security situation there and calls for public diplomacy to explain the benefits of U.S. security assistance.
Key Points
- 1Authorization and objectives of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI): A coordinated U.S. effort led by the Secretary of State and USAID to improve security, the rule of law, and resilience in beneficiary Caribbean countries through engagement with governments and civil society, and by countering transnational crime, trafficking, and youth recruitment.
- 2Funding authorization: The bill authorizes $88,000,000 per fiscal year for 2025 through 2029 to fund CBSI activities via the Department of State and USAID.
- 3Implementation plan and interagency coordination: Within 180 days of enactment, an implementation plan must be submitted outlining a multi-year strategy, measurable benchmarks, delineation of roles across State, USAID, DOJ, DoD, and other agencies, coordination and tracking requirements under relevant transparency laws, and a plan to co-locate related projects to maximize impact, including steps to enhance coordination with the Haitian National Police.
- 4Reporting and accountability: An annual (and one-year) progress update to Congress detailing results, benchmarks, and funding statistics by country, to track how the CBSI is meeting its objectives and using funds.
- 5Disaster resilience and natural disaster response focus: A five-year program to promote disaster resilience and response—coordinating across agencies and with the Inter-American Foundation—to share best practices, improve infrastructure resilience, and strengthen rapid-response capabilities, with a formal strategy and measurable benchmarks and annual progress reporting.