[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6911 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6911

 To authorize assistance to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the 
               people of Georgia, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 16, 2008

Mr. Berman (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. 
    Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Wexler, Ms. Schwartz, and Mr. Shuster) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize assistance to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of the 
               people of Georgia, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stability and Democracy for Georgia 
Act of 2008'' or the ``STAND for Georgia Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. DECLARATIONS OF POLICY.

    Congress makes the following declarations:
            (1) The United States condemns the attack on the sovereign 
        territory of Georgia by the military of the Russian Federation 
        in August 2008 in contravention of international law, including 
        the United Nations Charter and the Sochi Agreement of 1992 that 
        governed the conduct of Russian peacekeepers in the region of 
        South Ossetia.
            (2) The United States strongly supports the sovereignty and 
        territorial integrity of Georgia and is committed to working 
        with the European Union and other partners to achieve this 
        objective.
            (3) The United States appreciates the efforts of the 
        European Union, led by French President Sarkozy, to negotiate a 
        ceasefire agreement to resolve the conflict.
            (4) The Russian Federation should fully withdraw all troops 
        to their pre-conflict positions.
            (5) The United States condemns the Russian Federation's 
        recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, 
        an act that violates legal principles of territorial integrity 
        and undermines the ceasefire agreement.
            (6) In addition to independent monitors to observe the 
        implementation of the ceasefire agreement, an international 
        peacekeeping force should be established to prevent further 
        violence in the conflict zones of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES OF ASSISTANCE.

    The purposes of assistance authorized under this Act are--
            (1) to provide humanitarian relief to individuals displaced 
        internally in Georgia as a result of the August 2008 conflict 
        with the Russian Federation, as well as those individuals who 
        fled conflicts in or were expelled from South Ossetia and 
        Abkhazia in the early 1990s;
            (2) to respond to the direct request from the Government of 
        Georgia for assistance in the rebuilding of its infrastructure 
        following the August 2008 invasion of Georgia by the Russian 
        Federation;
            (3) to assist Georgia in strengthening its economic and 
        energy infrastructure;
            (4) to strengthen Georgia's democratic institutions; and
            (5) to enhance the relationship between the United States 
        and Georgia.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--The President is authorized to provide assistance 
for Georgia to support the activities described in subsection (b).
    (b) Activities Supported.--Activities that may be supported by 
assistance under subsection (a) include the following:
            (1) Urgent humanitarian needs.--To assist efforts in 
        meeting the urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Georgia, 
        including--
                    (A) provision of urgent medical care to individuals 
                wounded during the August 2008 conflict with the 
                Russian Federation;
                    (B) provision of short- and medium-term housing 
                facilities for individuals displaced by the conflict;
                    (C) provision of assistance to facilitate the 
                voluntary return and resettlement of all internally 
                displaced persons in conditions of security and 
                dignity; and
                    (D) reconstruction of civilian and administrative 
                infrastructure, including police stations, roads, 
                schools, and hospitals damaged in the conflict.
            (2) Reconstruction.--To assist efforts in reconstruction of 
        critical infrastructure destroyed during the August 2008 
        conflict with the Russian Federation, including--
                    (A) provision of direct United States budgetary 
                support to the Government of Georgia to replace funds 
                the Government of Georgia is expending to pay for 
                emergency reconstruction needs, including 
                reconstruction needs relating to transportation and 
                energy infrastructure (including international 
                pipelines and power grids); and
                    (B) provision of assistance to help address 
                environmental damage caused by bombing by the military 
                forces of the Russian Federation, including the 
                destruction of forest areas near the Borjomi-Kharagauli 
                National Park.
            (3) Economic development.--To assist the Government of 
        Georgia in leading the economic recovery of Georgia, 
        including--
                    (A) development of critical infrastructure that 
                enhances Georgia's energy security and encourages 
                diversification of Georgia's foreign energy sources, 
                including development of regional natural gas storage 
                facilities and the construction of hydroelectric 
                plants;
                    (B) enhancement of bilateral trade between the 
                United States and Georgia;
                    (C) retention of Georgia's status as an attractive 
                destination for foreign direct investment, through--
                            (i) establishment of national 
                        entrepreneurial programs to create jobs and 
                        stimulate small business growth; and
                            (ii) expansion of programs to enhance 
                        cooperation between United States and Georgian 
                        scientists and engineers.
            (4) Governance.--To assist efforts in strengthening civil 
        society, democratic institutions, and independent media in 
        Georgia.
    (c) Broadcasting.--Funds made available to carry out this Act may 
be used to extend broadcasting efforts by the Broadcasting Board of 
Governors to Georgia and to enhance Russian- and Georgian-language 
Internet and broadcast capacity for the Voice of America and Radio Free 
Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.

SEC. 5. REPORT.

    (a) In General.--The President shall transmit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report concerning the programs, projects, 
and activities carried out under this Act during the preceding fiscal 
year. The first report shall be transmitted not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act and a subsequent report 
shall be transmitted not later than October 31 of the following year.
    (b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required under subsection 
(a) shall include the following:
            (1) Urgent humanitarian needs.--A description of the 
        activities carried out under section 4(b)(1).
            (2) Reconstruction.--A description of the activities 
        carried out under section 4(b)(2), including a description of--
                    (A) the progress in reconstructing critical 
                infrastructure in Georgia;
                    (B) the use of funds by the Government of Georgia 
                provided through direct United States budgetary support 
                pursuant to this Act to pay for emergency 
                reconstruction needs, including--
                            (i) a project-by-project description of how 
                        the funds were used;
                            (ii) the progress of reconstruction 
                        relating to each project; and
                            (iii) the overall amount expended for each 
                        project; and
                    (C) the progress in addressing environmental damage 
                caused by bombing by the military forces of the Russian 
                Federation.
            (3) Economic development.--A description of the activities 
        carried out under section 4(b)(3), including an assessment of 
        the progress in stabilizing and improving the economic 
        situation in Georgia.
            (4) Governance.--A description of activities carried out 
        under section 4(b)(4), including an assessment of the strength 
        and development of democratic institutions in Georgia and 
        recommendations for other activities relating to governance in 
        Georgia that could be supported by United States assistance.
            (5) Broadcasting.--A description of activities carried out 
        under section 4(c).
    (c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate.

SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--Of the amounts appropriated for fiscal year 2008 
for the activities of the Department of State, the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the 
United States Agency for International Development, or otherwise 
transferred to those agencies, $470,000,000 is authorized to be made 
available to carry out this Act.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) Congress strongly supports providing a total of 
        $1,000,000,000 in assistance for Georgia to support the 
        activities described in section 4, consistent with President 
        George W. Bush's pledge of September 3, 2008;
            (2) in order to provide this amount to fulfill the 
        President's pledge, Congress is authorizing $470,000,000 for 
        fiscal year 2008 to carry out this Act and Congress is 
        committed to authorizing the remaining funds for fiscal year 
        2009 in a subsequent Act of Congress; and
            (3) any funds reprogrammed from amounts appropriated for 
        fiscal year 2008 to carry out the FREEDOM Support Act (22 
        U.S.C. 5801 et seq.; Public Law 102-511) or the Support for 
        East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5401 et 
        seq.; Public Law 101-179) should be replenished through a 
        subsequent Act of Congress.
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