[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2749 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2749

  To update the Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999 to modify targeting of 
assistance in order to support the economic and political independence 
of the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus in recognition 
 of political and economic changes in these regions since enactment of 
                       the original legislation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 4, 2006

Mr. Brownback (for himself, Mr. Kyl, and Mrs. Hutchison) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To update the Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999 to modify targeting of 
assistance in order to support the economic and political independence 
of the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus in recognition 
 of political and economic changes in these regions since enactment of 
                       the original legislation.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Silk Road Strategy 
Act of 2006''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
TITLE I--UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD COUNTRIES IN CENTRAL ASIA AND THE 
                             SOUTH CAUCASUS

Sec. 101. Relationship between the United States and the countries of 
                            Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
Sec. 102. Protecting United States business abroad.
   TITLE II--PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF UNITED STATES INTERESTS IN 
                  CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

Sec. 201. Relationships between the United States and the countries of 
                            Central Asia and the South Caucasus since 
                            passage of the Silk Road Strategy Act of 
                            1999.
Sec. 202. United States interests in the countries of Central Asia and 
                            the South Caucasus.
Sec. 203. Sense of Congress on safeguarding of United States interests 
                            in the countries of Central Asia and the 
                            South Caucasus.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Central asia and the south caucasus.--The term 
        ``Central Asia and the South Caucasus'' means the area 
        including the countries of Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, 
        Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and 
        Uzbekistan.

TITLE I--UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD COUNTRIES IN CENTRAL ASIA AND THE 
                             SOUTH CAUCASUS

SEC. 101. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE COUNTRIES OF 
              CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS.

    (a) In General.--The United States has significant long-term 
interests in the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus. 
These interests concern security, economic development, energy, and 
human rights. Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States to 
seek political and economic stability in the social development of, and 
cooperative relationships with, the countries of Central Asia and the 
South Caucasus, including by providing assistance in accordance with 
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.).
    (b) Democracy, Tolerance, and the Development of Civil Society.--It 
is the policy of the United States to promote independent, democratic 
government and the protection of human rights, tolerance, and pluralism 
in Central Asia and the South Caucasus within the overall framework of 
United States national interests, including the global war on 
terrorism, counterproliferation efforts, the fight against extremism 
and ethnic and religious fanaticism, and energy security.
    (c) Conflict Resolution.--It is the policy of the United States to 
aid in the resolution of ethnic, religious, interstate, and 
intraregional conflicts and to support political, economic, and 
security cooperation in Central Asia and the South Caucasus in the 
interest of fostering regional stability, development of the rule of 
law, cooperation based on free markets supported by strong 
institutions, and economic interdependence.
    (d) Economic Assistance.--It is the policy of the United States to 
reduce poverty in Central Asia and the South Caucasus through economic 
growth, promoting sustainable development through private investment in 
all economic sectors, including agriculture, education, private sector 
development, and capacity-building.
    (e) Development of Infrastructure.--It is the policy of the United 
States to aid in the development of infrastructure in Central Asia and 
the South Caucasus for energy and energy transit, communications, 
transportation, and health and human services.
    (f) Defense and Border Control Assistance.--It is the policy of the 
United States to assist the countries of Central Asia and the South 
Caucasus in developing indigenous defense capabilities, securing 
borders, and implementing effective controls to prevent the 
proliferation of materials related to weapons of mass destruction and 
trafficking in conventional weapons, persons, and narcotics.

SEC. 102. PROTECTING UNITED STATES BUSINESS ABROAD.

    Consistent with the purposes of the Overseas Private Investment 
Corporation, it is the policy of the United States to promote and 
protect the interests of United States businesses and investments in 
Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

   TITLE II--PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF UNITED STATES INTERESTS IN 
                  CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

SEC. 201. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE COUNTRIES OF 
              CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS SINCE PASSAGE OF THE 
              SILK ROAD STRATEGY ACT OF 1999.

    (a) In General.--Since the enactment of the Silk Road Strategy Act 
of 1999 (22 U.S.C. 2296 et seq.), significant changes have occurred to 
the political, economic, and security conditions in Central Asia and 
the South Caucasus, requiring modifications to United States policy 
toward the countries in the region in order to protect and promote 
United States interests.
    (b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Since September 11, 2001, the need for mutually 
        beneficial security cooperation between the United States and 
        the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus has grown, 
        while the United States has come to view democratization of the 
        countries in the region as essential to enhanced security.
            (2) Such development features popular sovereignty, 
        institutional checks and balances, and a vibrant civil society. 
        These in turn require a civil administration that is competent, 
        honest, respectful of citizens' rights, and sensitive to the 
        needs of a market economy.
            (3) The liberation of Afghanistan from Taliban misrule and 
        the new course in Afghanistan toward political and economic 
        openness make possible the country's reintegration into Central 
        Asia.
            (4) The ouster of the Taliban from Afghanistan has 
        diminished threats to that country's neighbors in Central Asia, 
        allowing for accelerated progress toward democracy, open 
        economies, and the rule of law across the region. Afghanistan's 
        embrace of popular sovereignty and political pluralism 
        demonstrates the universal applicability of these values.
            (5) The Governments of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, which 
        have contributed to United States military deployments in Iraq, 
        Afghanistan, and Kosovo, are key United States partners in 
        diversification of energy sources and transportation routes, 
        enhancing and contributing to United States energy and security 
        interests.
            (6) In recognition of global and regional threats to 
        stability, prosperity, and democracy in Afghanistan, including 
        terrorism, political-religious extremism, and production and 
        trafficking of narcotics, and in recognition of Afghanistan's 
        geographic location and cultural and historical identity, 
        Afghanistan should be considered to be among the countries of 
        Central Asia, and not separate from them.
            (7) In recognition of security cooperation from the 
        Government of Kazakhstan, including deployment of the 
        Kazakhstan contingent in Iraq, progress toward a market 
        economy, United States business participation in energy and 
        infrastructure development in Kazakhstan, and an ongoing 
        Government of Kazakhstan policy of ethnic and religious 
        tolerance, a relationship with Kazakhstan is of high importance 
        to the United States.
            (8) The 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia, the 2004 Orange 
        Revolution in Ukraine, and the 2005 Tulip Revolution in 
        Kyrgyzstan demonstrate the essentialness of steady progress 
        toward democracy and the rule of law. While these revolutions 
        resulted in the ouster of corrupt and ineffective regimes by 
        largely peaceful protest movements, the long-term interests of 
        security, stability, good governance, and economic growth are 
        better served by evolutionary democratization.
            (9) Relations between the United States and the Republic of 
        Kyrgyzstan are of great importance, in particular in view of 
        the democratic developments in that country and in light of the 
        location of a United States military base at the Manas Airport 
        near Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
            (10) The President of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, 
        engages in persistent gross violations of human rights, 
        including the suppression of democratic and religious freedoms, 
        brutality, and leads a government that lacks accountability and 
        rejects the rule of law.
            (11) There has been a deterioration of democratic freedoms, 
        rule of law, norms of democracy, and human rights in 
        Uzbekistan, as well as a deterioration of relations between the 
        Governments of the United States and Uzbekistan.
            (12) The President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, engages in 
        continued gross violations of human rights, including the 
        killing of hundreds of protestors at a rally in Andijan in 
        2005.
            (13) The pressing need for diversification of energy 
        resources makes access to Central Asian and Caspian Sea oil and 
        gas resources a high energy security priority of the United 
        States.
            (14) The dangerous and destabilizing policy statements of 
        the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mahmoud 
        Ahmadinejad, and actions by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the 
        area of nuclear power, including uranium enrichment, threaten 
        international security in general and regional security in 
        Europe and Asia in particular.

SEC. 202. UNITED STATES INTERESTS IN THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA AND 
              THE SOUTH CAUCASUS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The economic and political stability of the countries 
        of Central Asia and the South Caucasus has a direct impact on 
        United States interests.
            (2) Stability, democratic development, protection of 
        property rights, including mineral rights, and rule of law in 
        countries with valuable energy resources and infrastructure, 
        including Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan, are 
        important to safeguard United States energy security.
            (3) Preventing any other country from establishing a 
        monopoly on energy resources or energy transport infrastructure 
        in the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus that 
        may restrict United States access to energy resources is 
        important to the energy security of the United States and other 
        consumers of energy in the developed and developing world.
            (4) Extensive trade relations with the energy-producing and 
        energy-transporting states of Central Asia and the South 
        Caucasus will enhance United States access to diversified 
        energy resources, thereby strengthening United States energy 
        security, as well as that of energy consumers in developed and 
        developing countries.
            (5) Stability in the countries of Central Asia and the 
        South Caucasus is important to the security interests of the 
        United States.
            (6) In order for the United States to maintain bases for 
        its troops in the proximity of the military conflicts in 
        Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States should seek to maintain 
        good relations with the countries of Central Asia and the South 
        Caucasus.
            (7) It is in the interest of the United States and the 
        global war on terror for the United States to maintain friendly 
        relations with Muslim states in Central Asia and the South 
        Caucasus that promote democracy, open economies, and the rule 
        of law in the region.
            (8) It is in the interest of the United States to make any 
        and all efforts to prevent the proliferation of materials for 
        weapons of mass destruction and the trafficking in narcotics 
        and persons, much of which can be attributed to porous borders 
        and insufficient security between the countries of Central Asia 
        and the South Caucasus.

SEC. 203. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON SAFEGUARDING OF UNITED STATES INTERESTS 
              IN THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA AND THE SOUTH CAUCASUS.

    (a) Promotion of Democracy, Tolerance, and the Development of Civil 
Society.--It is the sense of Congress that political legitimacy is 
founded upon popular sovereignty and is critical to stability, that key 
components of political legitimacy are regular elections, and that the 
United States Government should engage in the following programs and 
activities designed to promote democracy, tolerance, and the 
development of civil society in Central Asia and the South Caucasus:
            (1) Support for free and fair elections, including the 
        formation of election bodies that are broadly representative of 
        the political spectrum and the maintenance of equal conditions 
        for candidates and parties.
            (2) Instruct the United States delegation to the 
        Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and 
        to other international bodies to resist efforts by some member 
        states to undercut the role of OSCE election monitoring 
        conducted by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human 
        Rights (ODIHR) and to aggressively promote the role of 
        independent and local election monitors.
            (3) Support for the development of independent media 
        outlets, including print, radio, television, and Internet, and 
        the provision of authoritative news and a broader range of 
        media options than is currently available.
            (4) Support for satellite television broadcasting into 
        Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran in the native languages of 
        these countries through Radio Freedom/Radio Liberty, Radio 
        Farda, Al Alam, and independent radio and television 
        broadcasters in the United States and Europe, including in the 
        languages of Azerbaijani, Pashtun, Persian, Uzbek, and Turkmen, 
        specifically to inform the populations in those countries of 
        the ideas and values of freedom, democracy, and human rights 
        and development issues relating to their diasporas in the 
        United States.
            (5) Assistance in the establishment of regional academic 
        programs to train civil servants in modern systems and 
        principles of good governance, including the rule of law, 
        transparency, conduct of elections, respect for citizens' 
        rights, and the needs of a market economy.
            (6) Support for the establishment of reputable think tanks, 
        independent public policy research organizations, and centers 
        for strategic and economic studies in the countries of Central 
        Asia and the South Caucasus.
            (7) Support for the development of separation of powers, 
        specifically the emergence of independent legislative and 
        judicial branches of government.
    (b) Conflict Resolution.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
United States Government should engage in the following programs and 
activities designed to promote conflict resolution in Central Asia and 
the South Caucasus:
            (1) Active assistance in the resolution of regional 
        conflicts and the removal of impediments to cross-border 
        commerce.
            (2) Recognizing that China and Russia are neighbors and 
        regional powers of Central Asia and, in the case of Russia, of 
        the South Caucasus, and that those countries have in the past 
        taken steps at odds with United States security interests, such 
        as in the case of curbing the United States military presence 
        in Uzbekistan, the continuation and expansion of a strategic 
        dialogue with Russia and China, including United States 
        participation as an observer in the Shanghai Cooperation 
        Organization (SCO) for the purpose of promoting stability and 
        security in the region.
            (3) Acknowledgment of the importance of maintaining peace 
        in the Caspian region for the prosperity and long-term 
        stability of the countries in greater Central Asia, including 
        calling on the Caspian littoral nations, including Iran, to 
        step up maritime border delineation and demilitarization 
        efforts, making the Caspian Sea a zone characterized by peace 
        and cooperation.
            (4) Encouragement of conflict settlement in the South 
        Caucasus to further increase trade, specifically by supporting 
        the restoration, expansion, and usage of the railroad through 
        the Georgian region of Abkhazia, the highway through the 
        Georgian region of South Ossetia, and the ``Road of Peace'' 
        through the Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
            (5) Calling on the Governments of Azerbaijan and 
        Turkmenistan to resolve the outstanding debt issue, which is 
        hindering cross-border cooperation and development, and to 
        jointly develop the Kyapaz (Serdar) disputed offshore oil 
        field, which would contribute to the peace and stability of the 
        Caspian region.
            (6) Calling on the governments of the five littoral states 
        of the Caspian Sea, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and 
        Kazakhstan, to establish a legal order demarcating the seabed 
        and its resources based on a national sector regime, one that 
        goes beyond the Iranian-Soviet treaties of 1921 and 1940, which 
        defined rules for shipping and fishing, but not for oil and gas 
        exploration and development.
            (7) Assistance in the removal of legal and institutional 
        barriers to continental and regional trade and harmonization of 
        border and tariff regimes, including improved mechanisms for 
        transit through Pakistan to Afghanistan and other countries in 
        Central Asia, and the recognition of Turkey as a crucial energy 
        transit and consumer country, vital for the successful 
        development of large-scale energy infrastructure and cross-
        border projects.
    (c) Economic Cooperation and International Trade.--It is the sense 
of Congress that the United States Government should engage in the 
following programs and activities designed to promote economic 
cooperation and international trade with countries in Central Asia and 
the South Caucasus:
            (1) Assistance in accelerating the broad and equitable 
        privatization of state enterprises in a manner that does not 
        promote oligarchical rule and the deregulation of national 
        economies in a manner that allows equal access to nonresident 
        companies to privatization procedures.
            (2) Expansion of activity under the Trade and Investment 
        Framework Agreement (TIFA), including reducing barriers to 
        trade and investment, protection of workers' and property 
        rights, fostering an environment of transparency and 
        predictability, encouraging private sector growth and foreign 
        and domestic investment, and removing impediments to increased 
        intraregional trade and investment, particularly with respect 
        to Afghanistan.
            (3) Support for the completion of the review process of the 
        Export-Import Bank of the eligibility of countries in the 
        region for financing under the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 
        (12 U.S.C. 635 et seq.).
            (4) The facilitation of greater access for Afghanistan and 
        other countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia to loans 
        from the Export-Import Bank.
    (d) Economic Reform.--It is the sense of Congress that the United 
States Government should engage in the following programs and 
activities designed to promote economic reform in Central Asia and the 
South Caucasus:
            (1) Promotion of structural reforms in financial and 
        banking institutions that increase transparency and efficiency 
        and enhance macroeconomic stability.
            (2) Promotion of the development of the Trans-Caspian Oil 
        and Gas Pipelines (TCOP/TCGP), while encouraging the 
        Governments of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and particularly 
        Turkmenistan to improve their business climate and investor 
        confidence by fully disclosing their internationally audited 
        hydrocarbon reserves.
            (3) In light of greatly increased revenues from energy 
        exports and the related dangers of macroeconomic instability 
        and economic overheating, the establishment of a bank, the 
        Caspian Bank of Reconstruction and Development (CBRD), where 
        excess revenues can be funneled to infrastructure development 
        projects in the region, and the tasking of the Export-Import 
        Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation with 
        assisting in setting up and operating the bank.
            (4) Support for countries in the region seeking 
        qualification for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) funds, 
        including assistance in achieving necessary further reforms, 
        recognizing that while Armenia and Georgia have qualified and 
        signed compacts with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, 
        other advanced economies of the region, such as Azerbaijan, 
        Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, should be aided with more rapid 
        improvement of their rankings to become first ``threshold'' and 
        then ``candidate'' countries for purposes of such assistance.
            (5) Support for countries in the region seeking accession 
        to the World Trade Organization (WTO), furnishing assistance to 
        facilitate economic reform for countries in the region, and 
        extension of unconditional and permanent nondiscriminatory 
        treatment (permanent normal trade relations treatment) to 
        countries in the region, especially to Azerbaijan and 
        Kazakhstan.
            (6) Encouraging governments of countries in Central Asia 
        and the South Caucasus and United States businesses operating 
        in the region to adhere to the Extractive Industries 
        Transparency Initiative (EITI), and in recognition that 
        Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have joined the EITI 
        initiative, encouraging other countries of the region to follow 
        suit.
            (7) In conjunction with increasing transparency of energy-
        related payments and revenues by the governments of, and 
        companies in, the Central Asia and South Caucasus region, 
        encouraging geological data on all energy resources and assets 
        in the region to be made available to better understand 
        remaining reserves, which would stabilize the global energy 
        markets.
            (8) Promotion of antimonopoly initiatives, particularly to 
        diversify transportation routes for hydrocarbon and electric 
        energy, and promotion of competition in these sectors.
    (e) Infrastructure Development.--It is the sense of Congress that 
the United States Government should engage in the following programs 
and activities designed to promote infrastructure development in 
Central Asia and the South Caucasus:
            (1) Assistance in the development of the infrastructure 
        necessary for communications, transportation, education, 
        health, and energy and trade on an east-west axis in order to 
        build strong international relations and commerce between the 
        countries in the South Caucasus and Central Asia region and the 
        Euro-Atlantic community.
            (2) Support for activities that promote the participation 
        of United States businesses and investors in the planning, 
        financing, and construction of infrastructure for 
        communications, transportation, and trade, including aviation, 
        highways, railroads, port facilities, shipping, banking, 
        insurance, telecommunications networks, and gas and oil 
        pipelines.
            (3) Support for the development of physical infrastructure 
        for continental and regional trade, including the completion of 
        the crucial core road system in Afghanistan, the linking of 
        other regional roads with the road system, and working with 
        other donors to complete east-west and north-south transport 
        corridors in the region.
            (4) Support for the addition of a crucial rail link in 
        Kazakhstan from Almaty to the port city of Aktau, which would 
        allow tankers and cargo ships to transport crude oil and other 
        goods across the Caspian to Baku, and from there to Europe 
        through Georgia and Turkey; this east-west corridor, which is 
        already partially financially supported by the European Union 
        within the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) 
        initiative, would greatly increase and accelerate cargo and 
        container traffic across the Caspian Sea and from the greater 
        Central Asian region.
            (5) Support for the construction of energy transit 
        infrastructure, including the Trans-Caspian Oil Pipeline (TCOP) 
        in Kazakhstan, from Aktau to Baku, which would carry oil from 
        the Karachaganak field, and the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline 
        (TCGP), from Turkmenistan or neighboring areas of Kazakhstan to 
        Baku, which would carry natural gas.
    (f) Defense and Border Control Assistance.--It is the sense of 
Congress that the United States Government should support regionwide 
initiatives in Central Asia and the South Caucasus to train and 
coordinate border control, law enforcement, and security forces between 
contiguous countries.
    (g) Additional Mechanisms for Implementation of This Act and 
Achievement of Its Objectives.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
United States Government should, for the purpose of further 
implementing, and achieving the objectives of, this Act, promote and 
support establishment of one or more of the following:
            (1) A Silk Road Advisory Board, which would include experts 
        with the necessary contacts and expertise in the region in 
        sectors such as sustainable agricultural development, oil and 
        gas extraction, energy transportation infrastructure planning 
        and construction, democratic development, banking, finance, and 
        legal reform.
            (2) A specialized private sector energy consultancy, tasked 
        with coordinating business community projects and promoting 
        investment opportunities in trade as well as infrastructure for 
        the production, transportation, and refining of energy and 
        petrochemicals.
            (3) An annual conference of the sponsors and beneficiaries 
        of assistance provided pursuant to this Act to be held in 
        conjunction with the annual United Nations Economic Council of 
        Europe (UNECE) Energy Security Forum, which seeks to promote 
        the security of energy supplies for all members of the Economic 
        Council of Europe through well-balanced networks of energy 
        transportation infrastructure, improvements in sustainable 
        energy technology and efficiency, and through the integration 
        of legal standards for transparent energy extraction, 
        transportation, and pricing.
                                 <all>