[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 430 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 430

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 
     should ensure that the Government of the Islamic Republic of 
     Afghanistan is making significant progress in fulfilling its 
deliverable requirements under the Tokyo Conference Agreement in order 
             to receive United States financial assistance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 4, 2013

    Mr. Jones (for himself and Ms. Speier) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 
     should ensure that the Government of the Islamic Republic of 
     Afghanistan is making significant progress in fulfilling its 
deliverable requirements under the Tokyo Conference Agreement in order 
             to receive United States financial assistance.

Whereas the international community committed over $16 billion to support 
        Afghanistan through 2015 based upon the roadmap outlined in the Tokyo 
        Mutual Accountability Framework, which included 17 areas of deliverables 
        from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan;
Whereas the United States Department of State told the Office of the Special 
        Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction that the Government of 
        Afghanistan ``has made little progress in meeting the July 2012 Tokyo 
        Conference anti-corruption benchmarks'';
Whereas the International Crisis Group has noted a ``reversal of progress'' in 
        women's rights and empowerment in Afghanistan since only ``a fraction of 
        the incidents of gender-based violence are tried . . . very few cases 
        even make it to the formal justice system'' and most are decided by 
        local councils ``mainly dominated by strongmen'';
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan agreed to better 
        the integrity of its public finance and commercial banking system;
Whereas in the third quarter of 2013, the Basel Institute on Governance released 
        its second annual Anti-Money Laundering Index, a review of countries at 
        risk for money laundering and terrorist financing activity;
Whereas Afghanistan was ranked most vulnerable in the world for money 
        laundering, followed by Iran, which held the top position in 2012;
Whereas the rankings were based on 5 risk categories, including money laundering 
        and terrorist financing, corruption, financial transparency and 
        standards, public transparency and accountability, and political and 
        legal;
Whereas the United States Department of State's 2013 International Narcotics 
        Control Strategy Report listed Afghanistan as a major money-laundering 
        country in 2012;
Whereas the report says illegal financial activities ``continue to pose serious 
        threats to the security and development of Afghanistan'';
Whereas the Kabul Bank collapsed in 2012 due to the rampant fraud resulting in 
        the loss of almost $1,000,000,000, which a forensic audit found to be 
        ``From its very beginning . . . a well-concealed Ponzi scheme'';
Whereas the sentences given to the 21 perpetrators by the Special Tribunal of 
        the Supreme Court on the Kabul Bank collapse were noted to be light and 
        sent a signal throughout the Government of Afghanistan that this type of 
        behavior is condoned;
Whereas 16 other individuals allegedly involved in the Kabul Bank collapse have 
        fled the country and no attempt has been made by the Government of 
        Afghanistan to pursue them according to the United States Department of 
        Justice;
Whereas Afghanistan's draft Anti-Money-Laundering/Combating the Financing of 
        Terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation does not meet globally recognized 
        standards;
Whereas the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan 
        Reconstruction has noted scores of instances in their investigations 
        where it has uncovered corruption in the Government of Afghanistan;
Whereas the United States Government has spent almost a $100,000,000,000 in 
        Afghanistan reconstruction and financial aid;
Whereas the United States Government has established a $175,000,000 bilateral 
        incentive program in addition to United States financial aid already 
        going to Afghanistan just to encourage the Government of Afghanistan to 
        comply with the Tokyo Conference Agreement commitments;
Whereas the international community has spent tens of billions of dollars in 
        financial assistance in Afghanistan;
Whereas there is little to show for the billions of dollars the United States 
        and international community have invested in Afghanistan;
Whereas the July 2013 Senior Officials Meeting Joint Report concluded the 
        Government of Afghanistan's revenue collection ``faces significant 
        challenges . . . limitations on the application of the rule of law, and 
        low organizational capacity, all leading to a potential leakage of 
        revenue'';
Whereas the Senior Officials Meeting Joint report also found that the Government 
        of Afghanistan's budget execution rate ``remains vulnerable to delays in 
        budget approval and the issuance of allotments'' and ``poor procurement 
        planning and contract management by executing agencies'';
Whereas the Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines' failure to secure parliamentary 
        approval for new mining laws jeopardizes a major contributor to the 
        country's self-reliance, growth, and revenue generation;
Whereas the Government of Afghanistan has yet to establish road and civil 
        aviation institutions by June 2013 to encourage and support regional 
        economic initiatives and resource corridors to drive economic growth; 
        and
Whereas the Senior Officials Meeting Joint Report found that international 
        donors were ``on target in meeting their Tokyo pledges'' and most had 
        already agreed to Financing Agreements with the Ministry of Finance 
        required under the Mutual Accountability Framework: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the President should ensure that the Government of the Islamic Republic 
of Afghanistan is meeting the deliverable schedule as set forth by the 
Tokyo Conference Agreement agreed to in July 2012 and further 
articulated in the Senior Officials Meeting Joint Report of July 3, 
2013.
                                 <all>