§ 9543. Coordinating aid and assistance across Europe and Eurasia

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(a)Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated for the Countering Russian Influence Fund $250,000,000 for fiscal years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

(b)Use of funds Amounts in the Countering Russian Influence Fund shall be used to effectively implement, prioritized in the following order and subject to the availability of funds, the following goals:

(1)To assist in protecting critical infrastructure and electoral mechanisms from cyberattacks in the following countries:

(A)Countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union that the Secretary of State determines—

(i)are vulnerable to influence by the Russian Federation; and

(ii)lack the economic capability to effectively respond to aggression by the Russian Federation without the support of the United States.

(B)Countries that are participating in the enlargement process of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Kosovo, Serbia, and Ukraine.

(2)To combat corruption, improve the rule of law, and otherwise strengthen independent judiciaries and prosecutors general offices in the countries described in paragraph (1).

(3)To respond to the humanitarian crises and instability caused or aggravated by the invasions and occupations of Georgia and Ukraine by the Russian Federation.

(4)To improve participatory legislative processes and legal education, political transparency and competition, and compliance with international obligations in the countries described in paragraph (1).

(5)To build the capacity of civil society, media, and other nongovernmental organizations countering the influence and propaganda of the Russian Federation to combat corruption, prioritize access to truthful information, and operate freely in all regions in the countries described in paragraph (1).

(6)To assist the Secretary of State in executing the functions specified in section 1287(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) for the purposes of recognizing, understanding, exposing, and countering propaganda and disinformation efforts by foreign governments, in coordination with the relevant regional Assistant Secretary or Assistant Secretaries of the Department of State.

(7)To assist United States agencies that operate under the foreign policy guidance of the Secretary of State in providing assistance under section 9563 of this title.

(c)Revision of activities for which amounts may be used The Secretary of State may modify the goals described in subsection

(b)if, not later than 15 days before revising such a goal, the Secretary notifies the appropriate congressional committees of the revision.

(d)Implementation

(1)In general The Secretary of State shall, acting through the Coordinator of United States Assistance to Europe and Eurasia (authorized pursuant to section 5461 of this title and section 5812 of this title), and in consultation with the Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development, the Director of the Global Engagement Center of the Department of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, coordinate and carry out activities to achieve the goals described in subsection (b).

(2)Method Activities to achieve the goals described in subsection

(b)shall be carried out through—

(A)initiatives of the United States Government;

(B)Federal grant programs such as the Information Access Fund; or

(C)nongovernmental or international organizations, such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Black Sea Trust, the Balkan Trust for Democracy, the Prague Civil Society Centre, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, the European Endowment for Democracy, and related organizations.

(3)Report on implementation

(A)In general Not later than April 1 of each year, the Secretary of State, acting through the Coordinator of United States Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the programs and activities carried out to achieve the goals described in subsection

(b)during the preceding fiscal year.

(B)Elements Each report required by subparagraph

(A)shall include, with respect to each program or activity described in that subparagraph—

(i)the amount of funding for the program or activity;

(ii)the goal described in subsection

(b)to which the program or activity relates; and

(iii)an assessment of whether or not the goal was met.

(e)Coordination With global partners

(1)In general In order to maximize cost efficiency, eliminate duplication, and speed the achievement of the goals described in subsection (b), the Secretary of State shall ensure coordination with—

(A)the European Union and its institutions;

(B)the governments of countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union; and

(C)international organizations and quasi-governmental funding entities that carry out programs and activities that seek to accomplish the goals described in subsection (b).

(2)Report by Secretary of State Not later than April 1 of each year, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes—

(A)the amount of funding provided to each country referred to in subsection

(b)by—

(i)the European Union or its institutions;

(ii)the government of each country that is a member of the European Union or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; and

(iii)international organizations and quasi-governmental funding entities that carry out programs and activities that seek to accomplish the goals described in subsection (b); and

(B)an assessment of whether the funding described in subparagraph

(A)is commensurate with funding provided by the United States for those goals.

(f)Rule of construction Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to or limit United States foreign assistance not provided using amounts available in the Countering Russian Influence Fund.

(g)Ensuring adequate staffing for governance activities In order to ensure that the United States Government is properly focused on combating corruption, improving rule of law, and building the capacity of civil society, media, and other nongovernmental organizations in countries described in subsection (b)(1), the Secretary of State shall establish a pilot program for Foreign Service officer positions focused on governance and anticorruption activities in such countries.

(Pub. L. 115–44, title II, § 254, Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 928; Pub. L. 116–94, div. P, title XX, § 2004(d)(2), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3225.)

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