Sec. 1702. Annual assessment
839 words·~4 min read·
/bill/117/hr/1157/rh/section-1702·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
For each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027, the Secretary of State shall assess the capacity and commitment of foreign governments to which the United States provides foreign assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) to combat public corruption. Each such assessment shall— utilize independent, third party indicators that measure transparency, accountability, and corruption in the public sector in such countries, including the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain, to identify those countries that are most vulnerable to public corruption; consider, to the extent reliable information is available, whether the government of a country identified under paragraph (1)— has adopted measures to prevent public corruption, such as measures to inform and educate the public, including potential victims, about the causes and consequences of public corruption; has enacted laws and established government structures, policies, and practices that prohibit public corruption; enforces such laws through a fair judicial process; vigorously investigates, prosecutes, convicts, and sentences public officials who participate in or facilitate public corruption, including nationals of such country who are deployed in foreign military assignments, trade delegations abroad, or other similar missions who engage in or facilitate public corruption; prescribes appropriate punishment for serious and significant corruption that is commensurate with the punishment prescribed for serious crimes; prescribes appropriate punishment for significant corruption that provides a sufficiently stringent deterrent and adequately reflects the nature of the offense; convicts and sentences persons responsible for such acts that take place wholly or partly within the country of such government, including, as appropriate, requiring the incarceration of individuals convicted of such acts; holds private sector representatives accountable for their role in public corruption; and addresses threats for civil society to monitor anti-corruption efforts; further consider— verifiable measures taken by the government of a country identified under paragraph
(1)to prohibit government officials from participating in, facilitating, or condoning public corruption, including the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of such officials; the extent to which such government provides access, or, as appropriate, makes adequate resources available, to civil society organizations and other institutions to combat public corruption, including reporting, investigating, and monitoring; the extent to which an independent judiciary or judicial body in such country is responsible for, and effectively capable of, deciding public corruption cases impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with law, without any improper restrictions, influences, inducements, pressures, threats, or interferences, whether direct or indirect, from any source or for any reason; the extent to which such government cooperates meaningfully with the United States to strengthen government and judicial institutions and the rule of law to prevent, prohibit, and punish public corruption; and the extent to which such government— is assisting in international investigations of transnational public corruption networks and in other cooperative efforts to combat serious, significant corruption, including cooperating with the governments of other countries to extradite corrupt actors; recognizes the rights of victims of public corruption, ensures their access to justice, and takes steps to prevent such victims from being further victimized or persecuted by corrupt actors, government officials, or others; and refrains from prosecuting legitimate victims of public corruption or whistleblowers due to such persons having assisted in exposing public corruption, and refrains from other discriminatory treatment of such persons; and contain such other information relating to public corruption as the Secretary of State considers appropriate. After conducting each assessment under subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall identify, of the countries described in subsection (a)(1)— which countries are meeting minimum standards to combat public corruption; which countries are not meeting such minimum standards but are making significant efforts to do so; and which countries are not meeting such minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. Except as provided in subsection (d), not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter through fiscal year 2027, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees, the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report, and make such report publicly available, that— identifies the countries described in subsection (a)(1) and paragraphs
(2)and
(3)of subsection (b); describes the methodology and data utilized in the assessments under subsection (a); and identifies the reasons for the identifications referred to in paragraph (1). The Secretary of State may waive the requirement to submit and make publicly available a written report under subsection
(c)if the Secretary— determines that publication of such report would— undermine existing United States anti-corruption efforts in one or more countries; or threaten the national interests of the United States; and provides to the appropriate congressional committees a briefing that— identifies the countries described in subsection (a)(1) and paragraphs
(2)and
(3)of subsection (b); describes the methodology and data utilized in the assessment under subsection (a); and identifies the reasons for the identifications referred to in subparagraph (A).
Connectionstraces to 2
Citation graph
cites case law
Cites 2Cited by 0 across 0 sources