22 U.S.C. § 9542 — Sense of Congress

Page 2263 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 9542 Europe and Eurasia, including in the former states of the Soviet Union, by providing re- sources to political parties, think tanks, and civil society groups that sow distrust in demo- cratic institutions and actors, promote xenophobic and illiberal views, and otherwise undermine European unity. The Government of the Russian Federation has also engaged in well-documented corruption practices as a means toward undermining and buying influ- ence in European and Eurasian countries. (2) The Government of the Russian Federa- tion has largely eliminated a once-vibrant Russian-language independent media sector and severely curtails free and independent media within the borders of the Russian Fed- eration. Russian-language media organiza- tions that are funded and controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation and disseminate information within and outside of the Russian Federation routinely traffic in anti-Western disinformation, while few inde- pendent, fact-based media sources provide ob- jective reporting for Russian-speaking audi- ences inside or outside of the Russian Federa- tion. (3) The Government of the Russian Federa- tion continues to violate its commitments under the Memorandum on Security Assur- ances in connection with Ukraine’s Accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nu- clear Weapons, done at Budapest December 5, 1994, and the Conference on Security and Co- operation in Europe Final Act, concluded at Helsinki August 1, 1975 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Helsinki Final Act’’), which laid the ground-work for the establishment of the Or- ganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, of which the Russian Federation is a member, by its illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, its illegal occupation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia in 2008, and its ongo- ing destabilizing activities in eastern Ukraine. (4) The Government of the Russian Federa- tion continues to ignore the terms of the Au- gust 2008 ceasefire agreement relating to Geor- gia, which requires the withdrawal of Russian Federation troops, free access by humani- tarian groups to the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and monitoring of the conflict areas by the European Union Monitoring Mis- sion. (5) The Government of the Russian Federa- tion is failing to comply with the terms of the Minsk Agreement to address the ongoing con- flict in eastern Ukraine, signed in Minsk, Belarus, on February 11, 2015, by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany, as well as the Minsk Protocol, which was agreed to on September 5, 2014. (6) The Government of the Russian Federa- tion is— (A) in violation of the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimi- nation of their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, signed at Wash- ington December 8, 1987, and entered into force June 1, 1988 (commonly known as the ‘‘INF Treaty’’); and (B) failing to meet its obligations under the Treaty on Open Skies, done at Helsinki March 24, 1992, and entered into force Janu- ary 1, 2002 (commonly known as the ‘‘Open Skies Treaty’’). (Pub. L. 115–44, title II, § 251, Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 925.) § 9542. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Government of the Russian Federa- tion bears responsibility for the continuing vi- olence in Eastern Ukraine, including the death on April 24, 2017, of Joseph Stone, a citizen of the United States working as a monitor for the Organization for Security and Co-oper- ation in Europe; (2) the President should call on the Govern- ment of the Russian Federation— (A) to withdraw all of its forces from the territories of Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova; (B) to return control of the borders of those territories to their respective govern- ments; and (C) to cease all efforts to undermine the popularly elected governments of those countries; (3) the Government of the Russian Federa- tion has applied, and continues to apply, to the countries and peoples of Georgia and Ukraine, traditional uses of force, intelligence operations, and influence campaigns, which represent clear and present threats to the countries of Europe and Eurasia; (4) in response, the countries of Europe and Eurasia should redouble efforts to build resil- ience within their institutions, political sys- tems, and civil societies; (5) the United States supports the institu- tions that the Government of the Russian Fed- eration seeks to undermine, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union; (6) a strong North Atlantic Treaty Organiza- tion is critical to maintaining peace and secu- rity in Europe and Eurasia; (7) the United States should continue to work with the European Union as a partner against aggression by the Government of the Russian Federation, coordinating aid pro- grams, development assistance, and other counter-Russian efforts; (8) the United States should encourage the establishment of a commission for media free- dom within the Council of Europe, modeled on the Venice Commission regarding rule of law issues, that would be chartered to provide gov- ernments with expert recommendations on maintaining legal and regulatory regimes sup- portive of free and independent media and an informed citizenry able to distinguish between fact-based reporting, opinion, and disinformation; (9) in addition to working to strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union, the United States should work with the individual countries of Europe and Eurasia— (A) to identify vulnerabilities to aggres- sion, disinformation, corruption, and so- called hybrid warfare by the Government of the Russian Federation; Page 2264 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 9543 1 See References in Text note below. (B) to establish strategic and technical plans for addressing those vulnerabilities; (C) to ensure that the financial systems of those countries are not being used to shield illicit financial activity by officials of the Government of the Russian Federation or in- dividuals in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle who have been enriched through corruption; (D) to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption by Russian actors; and (E) to work toward full compliance with the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Anti-Bribery Convention’’) of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development; and (10) the President of the United States should use the authority of the President to impose sanctions under— (A) the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Ac- countability Act of 2012 (title IV of Public Law 112–208; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note); and (B) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note).1 (Pub. L. 115–44, title II, § 252, Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 926.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, referred to in par. (10)(A), is title IV of Pub. L. 112–208, Dec. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 1502, which is set out as a note under section 5811 of this title. The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, referred to in par. (10)(B), is subtitle F (§§ 1261–1264) of title XII of div. A of Pub. L. 114–328, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2533, which is classified generally to chapter 108 (§ 10101 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 10101 of this title and Tables. § 9543. Coordinating aid and assistance across Europe and Eurasia (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 infra- structure 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 ef- fectively respond to aggression by the Rus- sian 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, Ser- bia, 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 in- vasions and occupations of Georgia and Ukraine by the Russian Federation. (4) To improve participatory legislative processes and legal education, political trans- parency and competition, and compliance with international obligations in the countries de- scribed in paragraph (1). (5) To build the capacity of civil society, media, and other nongovernmental organiza- tions countering the influence and propaganda of the Russian Federation to combat corrup- tion, prioritize access to truthful information, and operate freely in all regions in the coun- tries described in paragraph (1). (6) To assist the Secretary of State in exe- cuting 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 recog- nizing, understanding, exposing, and coun- tering 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 op- erate 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 commit- tees 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 Ad- ministrator for the United States Agency for International Development, the Director of the Global Engagement Center of the Depart- ment of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Gov- ernors, and the heads of other relevant Fed- eral agencies, coordinate and carry out activi- ties to achieve the goals described in sub- section (b). (2) Method Activities to achieve the goals described in subsection (b) shall be carried out through—