Bill Summary
This legislation, called the "AN ACT," was passed by the United States Senate on December 19, 2019. Its purpose is to identify and combat corruption in other countries. It establishes a system to rank countries based on their levels of corruption and efforts to fight it. It also requires the Department of State to coordinate with other government agencies to promote good governance and combat public corruption in foreign countries. The Secretary of State is required to assess the capacity and commitment of foreign governments to combat public corruption, using independent, third party indicators. The report must be submitted annually and made publicly available. The legislation also includes provisions for transparency and accountability in US assistance to designated countries, such as including anti-corruption clauses in contracts and disclosing the beneficial ownership of contractors. The Secretary of State is also required to designate an anti-corruption point of contact at US diplomatic posts in designated countries and provide training for these individuals. The legislation defines terms such as "corrupt actor," "foreign assistance," "grand corruption," "petty corruption," and "public corruption."
Possible Impacts
1. The legislation requires the Secretary of State to assess the capacity and commitment of foreign governments to combat public corruption. This could affect foreign government officials who are responsible for or complicit in acts of public corruption, as they may face consequences and be held accountable for their actions.
2. The legislation also requires the Secretary of State to designate anti-corruption points of contact at U.S. diplomatic posts in designated countries. This could affect U.S. diplomats and officials who may be tasked with coordinating and overseeing anti-corruption efforts in these countries.
3. The legislation also requires the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses in contracts and grants entered into by the Department of State and USAID. This could affect companies and organizations that receive foreign assistance from the U.S., as they may be required to disclose the beneficial ownership of their entities and could face repercussions if they are found to be involved in public corruption.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1309 Referred in House (RFH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1309
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 23, 2019
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To identify and combat corruption in countries, to establish a tiered
system of countries with respect to levels of corruption by their
governments and their efforts to combat such corruption, and to assess
United States assistance to designated countries in order to advance
anti-corruption efforts in those countries and better serve United
States taxpayers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) it is in the foreign policy interest of the United
States to help foreign countries promote good governance and
combat public corruption;
(2) multiple Federal departments and agencies operate
programs that promote good governance in foreign countries and
enhance such countries' ability to combat public corruption;
and
(3) the Department of State should--
(A) promote coordination among the Federal
departments and agencies implementing programs to
promote good governance and combat public corruption in
foreign countries in order to improve effectiveness and
efficiency; and
(B) identify areas in which United States efforts
to help other countries promote good governance and
combat public corruption could be enhanced.
SEC. 2. ANNUAL ASSESSMENT.
(a) In General.--For each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2026,
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--
(1) 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;
(2) consider, to the extent reliable information is
available, whether the government of a country identified under
paragraph (1)--
(A) 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;
(B) has enacted laws and established government
structures, policies, and practices that prohibit
public corruption;
(C) enforces such laws through a fair judicial
process;
(D) 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;
(E) prescribes appropriate punishment for serious,
significant corruption that is commensurate with the
punishment prescribed for serious crimes;
(F) prescribes appropriate punishment for
significant corruption that provides a sufficiently
stringent deterrent and adequately reflects the nature
of the offense;
(G) 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;
(H) holds private sector representatives
accountable for their role in public corruption; and
(I) addresses threats for civil society to monitor
anti-corruption efforts; and
(3) further consider--
(A) 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;
(B) 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;
(C) 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;
(D) 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;
(E) the extent to which such government--
(i) 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;
(ii) 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
(iii) 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
(F) contain such other information relating to
public corruption as the Secretary of State considers
appropriate.
(b) Identification.--After conducting each assessment under
subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall identify, of the countries
described in subsection (a)(1)--
(1) which countries are meeting minimum standards to combat
public corruption;
(2) which countries are not meeting such minimum standards,
but are making significant efforts to do so; and
(3) which countries are not meeting such minimum standards
and are not making significant efforts to do so.
(c) Report.--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 2026, the Secretary of State shall
submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees, and make
such report publicly available. Such report shall--
(1) identify the countries described in subsection (a)(1)
and paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b);
(2) describe the methodology and data utilized in the
assessments under subsection (a); and
(3) identify the reasons for the identifications referred
to in paragraph (1).
(d) Briefing in Lieu of Report.--The Secretary of State may waive
the requirement to submit and make publicly available a written report
under subsection (c) if the Secretary--
(1) determines that publication of such report would--
(A) undermine existing United States anti-
corruption efforts in 1 or more countries; or
(B) threaten the national interests of the United
States; and
(2) provides a briefing to the appropriate congressional
committees that--
(A) identifies the countries described in
subsection (a)(1) and paragraphs (2) and (3) of
subsection (b);
(B) describes the methodology and data utilized in
the assessment under subsection (a); and
(C) identifies the reasons for such
identifications.
(e) Appropriate Congressional Committee Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
For each country identified under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section
2(b), the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development, as appropriate,
shall--
(1) ensure that a corruption risk assessment and mitigation
strategy is included in the integrated country strategy for
such country; and
(2) utilize appropriate mechanisms to combat corruption in
such countries, including by ensuring--
(A) the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses in
contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements entered
into by the Department of State or the United States
Agency for International Development for or in such
countries, which allow for the termination of such
contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements, as the
case may be, without penalty if credible indicators of
public corruption are discovered;
(B) the inclusion of appropriate clawback or
flowdown clauses within the procurement instruments of
the Department of State and the United States Agency
for International Development that provide for the
recovery of funds misappropriated through corruption;
(C) the appropriate disclosure to the United States
Government, in confidential form, if necessary, of the
beneficial ownership of contractors, subcontractors,
grantees, cooperative agreement participants, and other
organizations implementing programs on behalf of the
Department of State or the United States Agency for
International Development; and
(D) the establishment of mechanisms for
investigating allegations of misappropriated resources
and equipment.
SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF EMBASSY ANTI-CORRUPTION POINTS OF CONTACT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall annually designate an
anti-corruption point of contact at the United States diplomatic post
to each country identified under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section
2(b), or which the Secretary otherwise determines is in need of such a
point of contact. The point of contact shall be the chief of mission or
the chief of mission's designee.
(b) Responsibilities.--Each anti-corruption point of contact
designated under subsection (a) shall be responsible for coordinating
and overseeing the implementation of a whole-of-government approach
among the relevant Federal departments and agencies operating programs
that--
(1) promote good governance in foreign countries; and
(2) enhance the ability of such countries--
(A) to combat public corruption; and
(B) to develop and implement corruption risk
assessment tools and mitigation strategies.
(c) Training.--The Secretary of State shall implement appropriate
training for anti-corruption points of contact designated under
subsection (a).
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Corrupt actor.--The term ``corrupt actor'' means--
(A) any foreign person or entity that is a
government official or government entity responsible
for, or complicit in, an act of public corruption; and
(B) any company, in which a person or entity
described in subparagraph (A) has a significant stake,
which is responsible for, or complicit in, an act of
public corruption.
(2) Foreign assistance.--The term ``foreign assistance''
means assistance made available under--
(A) the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2151 et seq.); or
(B) the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et
seq.).
(3) Grand corruption.--The term ``grand corruption'' means
public corruption committed at a high level of government
that--
(A) distorts policies or the central functioning of
the country; and
(B) enables leaders to benefit at the expense of
the public good.
(4) Petty corruption.--The term ``petty corruption'' means
the unlawful exercise of entrusted public power for private
gain by low- or mid-level public officials in their
interactions with ordinary citizens, including by bribery,
nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement.
(5) Public corruption.--The term ``public corruption''
means the unlawful exercise of entrusted public power for
private gain, including by bribery, nepotism, fraud, or
embezzlement.
Passed the Senate December 19, 2019.
Attest:
JULIE E. ADAMS,
Secretary.