1.This Act may be cited as the
Egypt Accountability and Democracy
Promotion Act
.
2.The policy of the
United States shall be to use its foreign assistance for Egypt, including the
Foreign Military Financing
program, to advance United States
national security interests in Egypt, including encouraging the advancement of
political, economic, and religious freedom in Egypt.
3.Limitation on
security assistance to the Government of Egypt
(a)Of the amounts available for assistance for
Egypt under section 23 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2763; relating
to the Foreign Military Financing
program)—
(1)10 percent of that
amount shall be withheld from the Government of Egypt unless, not later than 30
days after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State has made the
certification described in subsection (c);
(2)50 percent of that
amount shall be withheld from the Government of Egypt if a further period of 30
days has elapsed immediately following the 30-day period described in paragraph
(1) without a certification described in subsection (c) being in effect;
and
(3)100 percent of
that amount shall be withheld from the Government of Egypt if a further period
of 120 days has elapsed immediately following the 30-day period described in
paragraph (2) without a certification described in subsection (c) being in
effect.
(b)If
the Secretary of State is unable to make the certification described in
subsection (c) and applies the withholding of funds described in paragraph (1),
(2), or (3) of subsection (a), as the case may be, the Secretary shall transmit
to the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains the reasons
therefor.
(c)A
certification described in this subsection is a certification transmitted by
the Secretary of State to the appropriate congressional committees that
contains a determination of the Secretary that—
(1)(A)the Government of Egypt
is not directly or indirectly controlled by or under the influence of a foreign
terrorist organization, its affiliates, or its supporters; and
(B)no member, affiliate, or supporter of
a foreign terrorist organization serves in a policy-making position in a
ministry, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Egypt;
(2)the Government of
Egypt—
(A)has adopted and
fully implemented legal reforms that protect the political, economic, and
religious freedoms and human rights of all citizens and residents of Egypt;
and
(B)is not acting to
restrict the political, economic, or religious freedoms and human rights of the
citizens and residents of Egypt;
(3)the Government of
Egypt is fully implementing the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty; and
(4)the Government of
Egypt is taking concrete, verifiable steps to detect and destroy the smuggling
network and tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip and to crack down on
violent extremist groups and activities in the Sinai Peninsula.
(d)Not
later than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary of State transmits to
the appropriate congressional committees an initial certification under
subsection (c), and every 6 months thereafter—
(1)the Secretary
shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a recertification
that the requirements contained in subsection (c) are continuing to be met;
or
(2)if the Secretary
is unable to make such a recertification, the Secretary shall apply the
withholding of funds described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a),
as the case may be, and the Secretary shall transmit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that contains the reasons therefor.
(e)The
Secretary of State may waive the limitation in subsection (a)(3) for one or
more 90-day periods with respect to up to 50 percent of the amount required to
be withheld under such subsection if, for each such 90-day period, the
Secretary determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees
that it is in the national security interests of the United States to do so and
transmits to the appropriate congressional committees a report with detailed
reasoning for the determination and certification.
(f)Transfer of
Certain Interest for EgyptAny interest earned from amounts in an
interest bearing account for Egypt to which funds made available under section
23 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2763; relating to the
Foreign Military Financing
program) shall be—
(1)transferred to and
consolidated with amounts available for assistance for the Middle East
Partnership Initiative under chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relating to the Economic Support
Fund
); and
(2)allocated for
democracy and governance programs for Egypt, including direct support for
secular, democratic nongovernmental organizations.
(g)Not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that
includes the following:
(1)A
description of the strategic objectives of the United States regarding the
provision of United States security assistance to the Government of
Egypt.
(2)A
description of biennial outlays of United States security assistance to the
Government of Egypt for the purposes of strategic planning, training, provision
of equipment, and construction of facilities, including funding streams.
(3)A
description of vetting and end-user monitoring systems in place by both Egypt
and the United States for defense articles and training provided by the United
States, including human rights vetting.
(4)A
description of actions that the Government of Egypt is taking to—
(A)fully implement
the Egypt-Israel peace treaty;
(B)detect and destroy the smuggling network
and tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip and to crack down on violent
extremist groups and activities in the Sinai Peninsula;
(C)repudiate, combat,
and stop incitement to violence against the United States and United States
citizens and prohibit the transmission within its domains of satellite
television or radio channels that broadcast such incitement; and
(D)adopt and
implement legal reforms that protect the religious and democratic freedoms of
all citizens and residents of Egypt.
(5)Recommendations,
including with respect to required resources and actions, to maximize the
effectiveness of United States security assistance provided to Egypt.
(h)Not later than 120 days after the date of the submission
of the report required under subsection (f), the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
that—
(1)reviews and
comments on the report required under subsection (f); and
(2)provides
recommendations regarding additional actions with respect to the provision of
United States security assistance to Egypt, if necessary.
(i)Appropriate
Congressional Committees DefinedIn this section, the term
appropriate congressional committees means—
(1)the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
(2)the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate.
4.Limitation on
economic assistance to Egypt
(a)Of the amounts available for assistance for
Egypt under chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relating to the Economic Support Fund
),
none of that amount may be provided for direct or indirect assistance to the
Government of Egypt unless a certification described in section 3(c) is in
effect.
(b)During
a period in which a certification described in section 3(c) is not in effect,
amounts that may not be provided for direct or indirect assistance to the
Government of Egypt pursuant to the limitation under subsection (a) shall be
reallocated for democracy and governance programs for Egypt, including direct
support for secular, democratic nongovernmental organizations, as well as
programming and support for rule of law and human rights, good governance,
political competition and consensus-building, and civil society.
5.Government of
Egypt definedIn this Act, the
term Government of Egypt means any person, agent, instrumentality,
or official of, is affiliated with, or is serving as a representative of the
Government of Egypt.