Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Liberia Stabilization, Economic Empowerment, Development and Security Act of 2008

or the

Liberia SEEDS Act of 2008

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)Since the founding of Liberia, the Liberian people have been staunch Unites States allies and friends in sub-Saharan Africa, and the history of Liberia is closely entwined with that of the United States. (2)After two brutal civil wars, peace in Liberia was achieved as a result of implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2003, which was signed in Accra, Ghana, on August 18, 2003, following the cessation of Liberia’s second national armed civil conflict, which lasted from 1999 to 2003, and followed the first such conflict, which took place from 1989 to1997. (3)The Liberian people demonstrated their deep commitment to a system of democratic, constitutionally based government by turning out in large numbers to vote in peaceful, free, and fair presidential and legislative elections on October 11, 2005, and in a free and fair presidential run-off election held on November 8, 2005, which resulted in the election to office of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, who became the first woman elected president of an African country. (4)The robust and active efforts by the Government of President Sirleaf to promote the socio-economic development of Liberia are severely challenged by the abiding legacies of Liberia’s two recent civil wars, and by over a decade of misgovernance that preceded and contributed to the outbreak of the first of these conflicts, including— (A)the near-total destruction of Liberia’s public systems for electricity generation and transmission, potable water distribution and treatment, and public sanitation, and the long-term and substantial neglect of Liberia’s limited national all weather road system; (B)the widespread lack of well-functioning central government institutions, public sector corruption, and the general absence of democratic accountability; and (C)a history of numerous citizen abuses, curtailments of constitutional freedoms, and often serious and criminal violations of human rights, including extortion, child abduction, rape, torture, and extra-judicial killings, by many members of the former Armed Forces of Liberia, national police, and other public security agencies, caused by the politicization of public security functions, widespread personal corruption among military and police personnel, and lack of personnel training. (5)Since 2003, the United States has invested over $1,500,000,000 to help end the Liberian conflict, consolidate the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2003, support the national democratic elections of 2005, deliver emergency humanitarian assistance to the Liberian people, and assist in the post-war economic and political reconstruction of Liberia.

Declaration of policy

Congress makes the following declarations: (1)In order to support the democratic and socio-economic aspirations of the Liberian people, the United States should continue to support and assist the Government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and its energetic and dedicated efforts to rebuild Liberia economically, socially, and politically, to expand constitutional freedoms and protections and the rule of law, and to improve the lives of the Liberian people. (2)The United States should also continue to provide assistance to the people of Liberia in order to— (A)assist Liberia in making irrevocable and permanent the peace achieved as a result of implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2003 signed in Accra, Ghana, on August 18, 2003; (B)ensure that Liberia never again becomes a source of regional military or political instability, a threat to the sovereignty or territorial integrity of neighboring countries, or a source of insecurity for those countries’ citizens; and (C)protect the interests and substantial past and current investments of the United States in Liberia. (3)Among other important objectives, assistance provided by United States for the Liberian people should seek to— (A)build a robust, private sector-based, market-driven economy capable of substantially alleviating the most severe and widespread forms of poverty in Liberia, in accordance with the United Nations Millennium Declaration (A/RES/55/2), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 18, 2000; (B)build a democratic, accountable, and fully participatory democratic political system, based on the constitutional rule of law and well-functioning government institutions capable of effectively providing public goods and services to the Liberian people and of resolving key problems, including unmet basic socio-economic needs, the inequitable distribution of resources, and the persisting impact of undemocratic practices under past Liberian governments, which contributed to the outbreak of Liberia’s two armed civil conflicts; (C)help foster close bilateral cooperation between the United States and Liberia and support cooperation between Liberia and multilateral and international organizations; and (D)assist efforts by the Government of Liberia to ensure effective governance, and achieve social development and sustainable, private sector-led economic growth by— (i)reconstructing or refurbishing basic physical infrastructure; (ii)pursuing efforts to ensure government accountability, and public sector fiscal and operational transparency and effectiveness; (iii)pursuing efforts to ensure public safety and security and adherence to the rule of law; (iv)ensuring that ex-combatants and war-affected youth are given access to job training and opportunities to work on public work projects in order to enable them to contribute as gainfully employed citizens to the development of their country; and (v)supporting Liberian efforts to advance the pursuit of transitional justice, national reconciliation, and accountability for crimes by government officials and others, including human rights violations and misappropriations of public funds.

Purposes of assistance

The purposes of assistance authorized by this Act are to ensure that the United States, in furtherance of its security and other national interests, fulfills the U.S. Foreign Assistance Framework objectives of Peace and Security, Governing Justly and Democratically, and Economic Growth by providing targeted assistance to support efforts by the people and Government of Liberia to— (1)ensure that all Government of Liberia revenues, in particular revenues derived from the ecologically and financially sustainable use or sale of Liberia’s abundant natural resources, are used in an accountable, transparent, and equitable manner for public purposes, including by continuing to— (A)provide assistance to support national fiscal management and oversight capacity development and reforms under the donor-backed Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP) during its remaining period of operation; and (B)invest in economic good governance programs or capacity-building efforts that are endorsed or implemented by the Liberia Reconstruction and Development Committee (LRDC), its component subcommittees or associated organs, or any similar entity that may in the future succeed the LRDC; (2)build a robust, free market system, spur economic revitalization and growth, help alleviate poverty, and advance access to basic services by reconstructing or refurbishing basic physical infrastructure, or major elements thereof, including public electricity generation and transmission, clean water delivery, and sewerage systems, which were substantially destroyed by years of armed conflict, and support the Government of Liberia’s efforts to improve key sections of Liberia’s national all weather road system, which is rudimentary, fragmented, and in need of substantial repairs; (3)create a stream-lined and simplified legal and regulatory investment regime, including an integrated one-stop investment licensing system, in order to facilitate and increase domestic and foreign investment and foster entrepreneurship; (4)enhance Liberian Government accountability and effectiveness, including with respect to managerial and administrative competency in order to ensure that all central government ministries, functional agencies, and other public entities— (A)develop capacities to provide efficient, cost-effective, ethical, and rule of law-based public goods and services to the Liberian people; and (B)implement measures to counter and overcome the persisting effects of Liberia’s long legacy of poor governance, corrupt practices, and the frequent absence of democratic accountability under previous Liberian administrations; (5)foster an informed and independent national legislature capable of effectively crafting and enacting laws, budgets, and appropriation measures, interacting with the executive branch as a responsible and co-equal branch of government, and carrying out legislative oversight functions; (6)build the operational capacity of the Liberian National Police, other civilian public security agencies, and other elements of the justice system, including the court and penal systems, in order to— (A)ensure that civilian public security agencies are capable of providing public safety, and that together with the other elements of the justice system, effectively, equitably, and without ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, or age-based prejudice, constitutionally enforce Liberian laws; and (B)prevent the recurrence of past patterns of behavior by public security agencies during the tenure of multiple past Liberian administrations, during which ill-trained personnel frequently abetted abuses of political power by the national government, engaged in corrupt acts, and committed numerous and often serious abuses of human rights and civic freedoms; (7)build a national system of vocational education available, in particular, to war-affected youth and ex-combatants, and to employ such persons, among others, in the construction of public works projects, both as a means of making them productive citizens and in order to deter their potential participation in illicit income-generating activities; and (8)assist Liberian Government efforts to advance post-war national reconciliation, transitional justice, and legal accountability for past or current acts of misgovernance by government officials and others.

Authorization of assistance

(a)

Development assistance

The President is authorized to provide assistance to Liberia for the following activities and purposes: (1)

Roads and bridges

Phased refurbishment or upgrading of existing key roads and bridges, initially targeting routes that carry the highest goods and services traffic, that support farm-to-market transport needs, or that provide linkages between key urban and rural population centers, notably those that provide linkages to isolated regions of the country. (2)

Freeport of Monrovia

Rehabilitation of Monrovia Freeport, initially targeting priority needs pertaining to the following objectives: (A)Measures to facilitate and secure sea-going vessel navigation within the harbor, including dredging of silted areas, removal of shipwrecks, and installation of navigation lights or signals. (B)Rehabilitation of port wharf berths and piers, including installation of equipment necessary for loading and unloading sea-going vessels or for purposes of delivering maintenance services to such vessels. (C)Rehabilitation of warehouse buildings nearby or adjacent to the main wharves, associated adjacent port roads and facilities or equipment necessary for transferring goods between sea-going vessels and land-based vehicles and for loading or unloading land-based vehicles. (D)Upgrading of goods transit, transfer, and import and export processing and customs systems at the port, including with respect to automation and streamlining of required paperwork and permit processing, and enhancement of port security, including through the provision of training to the Liberian Port Police and improvements to the perimeter security of the entire port zone. (3)

Water and sanitation

Phased design and reconstruction of potable water sources, such as reservoirs, wells, boreholes, and water distribution and treatment systems, and sewerage infrastructure, initially in areas with the highest population densities, in order to provide widespread public access to basic potable water and water sanitation. (4)

Electricity sector

Subject to subsection (e)(2), phased reconstruction of electricity generating plants, and associated electrical power transmission and distribution networks and support for feasibility studies related to that purpose, initially beginning in areas with the highest population concentrations, with the eventual aim of connecting all major population centers to a national power grid or otherwise ensuring access to electrical power throughout Liberia, to include the following: (A)

EPPII

Continued support for the Emergency Power Program II in the city of Monrovia, as necessary. (B)

Rural power

Small electrical power generation projects using biomass, micro-hydrological, solar, or other small scale, renewable, or local resource technologies to serve the short and medium-term needs of key secondary and rural population centers in Liberia. (C)

Medium and long term power

Assistance in support of the following: (i)The design and reconstruction of a customer demand-driven, market-based, medium term electrical generation and distribution system serving Monrovia and adjacent urban zones. (ii)An assessment of future electrical demand in key secondary population centers in Liberia and of the associated costs required for extending electrical power to these centers from main electrical power generation hubs in Buchanan, Yekepa, Monrovia, Mt. Coffee, or other potential generation sites. (iii)Preparatory activities to be undertaken prior to the physical rehabilitation of the Mt. Coffee hydro-electric dam and plant facility, including an environmental impact assessment, a study of potential local socio-economic and population displacement impacts, engineering and cost assessments of the facility, architectural and engineering designs necessary for its rehabilitation, and the formulation of a market-based, customer demand-driven business plan aimed at ensuring that the rehabilitated facility can be operated on a financially sustainable basis. (5)

Targeted job training and medium-term employment

Expansion of support for vocational education programs available to war-affected youth and ex-combatants, including those who have previously received reintegration and job training assistance but remain unemployed or underemployed, among other populations, and support for the employment of jobless war-affected youth and ex-combatants in public works projects undertaken by the Liberian Government or its development partners. (b)

Economic Support Fund assistance

The President is authorized to provide assistance to Liberia for the following activities and purposes: (1)

Public sector

Assistance to support the establishment of a government employee training institute, assistance to support and enhance one or more existing Government of Liberia-designated public sector training organizations, such as the Liberia Institute of Public Administration, or assistance for both objectives, to be undertaken— (A)for the purpose of making general and specialized managerial, administrative, and service delivery training available to employees of the Government of Liberia, including employees of central government ministries, independent agencies, commissions, county and local governments, and other civilian government entities, including judicial, police, and security agencies; (B)in partnership with one or more external partner organizations that possess technical training expertise in public sector training, such as the Les Aspin Center for Government at Marquette University; and (C)with the objective of developing a permanent Government of Liberia capacity to maintain a qualified and well-trained public sector work force. (2)

Good governance

Technical assistance to enhance Liberian Government accountability and effectiveness, improve transparent and accountable fiscal management and revenue collection and expenditure processes and institutions, and ensure that central government ministries, functional agencies, and other public entities develop an enhanced capacity to provide efficient, cost-effective, ethical, and rule of law-based public goods and services to the Liberian people, including support for related capacity development efforts being pursued under the Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP) during its remaining period of operation, and support for economic good governance capacity building programs or initiatives endorsed or implemented by the Liberia Reconstruction and Development Committee (LRDC), its Steering Committee, or its four Working Committees, as long as the United States shall possess a formal role as a participant or partner on the LRDC or any analogous Liberian entity that may in the future succeed the LRDC, including by supporting efforts to— (A)improve budgeting and expenditure management; (B)improve procurement practices and granting of concessions; (C)establish, implement, and institutionalize processes to control corruption; (D)provide technical support to key financial management institutions of government; (E)build the professional capacity of Liberian public sector institutions and professionals; and (F)foster consultations between the LRDC, other Liberian Government organs, and representatives of interested Liberian civil society groups and nongovernmental organizations in matters pertaining to public policy decision making in order to ensure that diverse political and policy perspectives are considered during the formulation of such policies. (3)

United States education to build government capacity

Assistance to facilitate educational exchanges to enable Liberian Government officials and professional staff, to include members of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, to pursue training or educational opportunities in the United States, so long as such education relates directly to their official duties. (4)

Transitional justice and accountability

Assistance to support— (A)the efforts of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia to investigate the causes of Liberia’s past conflicts, promote national reconciliation, and ensure accountability for crimes committed during those conflicts; and (B)efforts by the Liberian Government, notably those of the Liberian Solicitor General, to legally track, freeze, and seek restitution to Liberia of public funds determined to have been misappropriated by officials of the present or past Liberian Governments. (c)

International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement assistance

The President is authorized to provide assistance to Liberia for the following activities and purposes: (1)

Police and security agencies

Support for operational capacity improvements for Liberia’s national police and security agencies, including the following: (A)An instructional and administrative capacity building program for Liberia’s national Police Academy, including funding for physical infrastructure for this purpose, if necessary, in order to— (i)enable the Police Academy to independently provide quality basic, recurrent, advanced, and specialized training for officers of the Liberia National Police; and (ii)under an expanded mandate, to develop a capacity to provide similar training to other civilian Liberian security agencies, including the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, the Port Police, and the National Security Agency. (B)An assessment of the current individual kit, vehicular, and communication equipment needs of the Liberia National Police, and provision of such assets, if warranted, as determined by such an assessment. (2)

Police technical assistance

Support for the following: (A)Maintenance of the current Civilian Police (CivPol) program of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Liberia National Police Law Enforcement Affairs of the Department of State, and a gradual reformulation of the program, when and as necessary, in order to deploy United States civilian police officers and instructors to provide capacity building assistance and advice to the Police Academy and Liberian National Police in anticipation of, during, and following the withdrawal and termination of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). (B)An expansion of the Liberia National Police Senior Advisory Team (S.A.T.) program of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Liberia National Police Law Enforcement Affairs of the Department of State, including increased numbers of United States police advisors deployed to— (i)advise and help improve the capability of the Liberian National Police, including through the deployment of additional advisors in a roving capacity to support implementation of S.A.T. program goals at various levels of the Liberia National Police, including at the precinct level, and in the various counties of Liberia; and (ii)advise and help improve the capability of the Liberian Port Police at the Freeport of Monrovia and other jurisdictions served by the Port Police, in coordination with other specialized port security training that may be provided to the Port Police. (C)Maintenance of the current United States Liberia National Police Emergency Response Unit (ERU) support program until such time as the ERU is able to function independently in the absence of United States or other donor technical assistance. (3)

Justice sector

Support and expansion of the current Justice Sector Support Liberia (JSSL) technical assistance program of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the Department of State in order to— (A)broaden the impact of JSSL assistance programs in Monrovia, and to extend its scope and impact to the county level; (B)expand access to the judicial system by establishing or supporting current programs to provide legal information services to indigent persons, expand human rights-focused training for members of the judiciary, justice ministry, penal system personnel, police, traditional leaders, and communities experiencing high levels of rights violations, and to ensure that cases of alleged violations of human rights and other criminal actions by police officials or judicial or penal system personnel are justly and fully adjudicated; and (C)promote police officer professionalism, knowledge of ethical and human rights norms, and interaction with civil society groups, in part by conducting a rapid field assessment of the capacity of Liberian nongovernmental law enforcement capacity building organizations, including the Liberia National Law Enforcement Association (LINLEA), the Liberia Female Law Enforcement Association (LIFLEA), and the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL), to conduct training and educational workshops for Liberian law enforcement personnel and, if an assessed organization is determined on the basis of such an assessment to be capable of conducting such educational efforts, by providing assistance to expand and enhance such capabilities. (d)

Role of Liberian NGOs, businesses, and other entities

It is the sense of Congress that a substantial portion of United States assistance to Liberia should be used to build the capacity of Liberian nongovernmental organizations and businesses and to foster the growth of market-based economic competition, and that therefore, to the maximum extent practicable, the President should provide assistance authorized under this section through Liberian nongovernmental organizations, businesses, and other Liberian entities, in part through the use of a locally-accessible, public bid competition system to assign contracts for the delivery of goods and services funded by United States assistance programs in Liberia. (e)

Conditions on assistance

(1)

In general

Assistance authorized under this section may be made available to Liberia only if— (A)the Government of Liberia requests the assistance; (B)the Government of Liberia and the Government of the United States consult with each other on all proposed projects to be carried out using the assistance; (C)the Government of Liberia integrates the assistance into its strategic planning and agrees to assume responsibility for future recurrent funding and management of programs receiving United States assistance authorized under this section; and (D)the President certifies to Congress that the United States occupies a formal role as a participant or partner on the Liberia Reconstruction and Development Committee (LRDC), its Steering Committee, and its four Working Committees, or on any other similar Liberian Government entity established to coordinate donor development assistance. (2)

Limitations relating to the electricity sector

In order to preserve and efficiently utilize Liberia’s limited public revenues and technically proficient and trained personnel, assistance provided under subsection (a)(4)— (A)should, to the extent practicable, fund programs undertaken by the Liberia Electricity Corporation, the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy, or any related, currently existing public entities with a mandate pertaining to the financing, regulation, generation, transmission, or sale of electrical power; and (B)may be used to fund needs assessments and feasibility studies pertaining to the potential establishment of new government electrical sector entities, such as a St. Paul River Authority, a Rural and Renewable Energy Agency, or a transmission concessionaire for a proposed high voltage transmission corridors, but shall not be used to directly fund the establishment of such entities.

Report

Not less than once at the end of each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2013 for which funds to implement this Act are appropriated, the President shall transmit to Congress a report on the implementation of this Act, including the progress of and prospects for development in Liberia as a result of United States assistance provided under this Act.

Authorization of appropriations

(a)

In general

To carry out this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated to the President $225,000,000 for fiscal years 2009 through 2013. (b)

Sense of Congress

Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a), it is the sense of Congress that— (1)65 percent of such amounts should be allocated to carry out Development Assistance programs authorized under section 5(a); (2)17.5 percent of such amounts should be allocated to carry out Economic Support Fund Assistance programs authorized under section 5(b), of which— (A)25 percent should be used to carry out section 5(b)(1); (B)2.5 percent should be used to carry out section 5(b)(4)(A); and (C)2.5 percent should be used to carry out section 5(b)(4)(B); and (3)17.5 percent of such amounts should be allocated to carry out International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement Assistance programs authorized under section 5(c), of which 25 percent should be used to carry out section 5(c)(1). (c)

Availability and related provisions

Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a)— (1)are authorized to remain available until expended; and (2)are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes.

Relationship to other authorities

The authority to provide assistance in this Act shall be in addition to any other authority to provide assistance to the Government of Liberia.

Sunset

The authorities provided in this Act shall expire on October 1, 2013.