[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 793 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.793

                     One Hundred Thirteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
           the third day of January, two thousand and thirteen


                                 An Act


 
  To support revitalization and reform of the Organization of American 
                     States, 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 ``Organization of American States 
Revitalization and Reform Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) The Charter of the Organization of American States 
    recognizes that--
            (A) representative democracy is indispensable for the 
        stability, peace, and development of the Western Hemisphere; 
        and
            (B) a purpose of the Organization of American States is to 
        promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due 
        respect for the principle of nonintervention.
        (2) The United States supports the purposes and principles 
    enshrined in--
            (A) the Charter of the Organization of American States;
            (B) the Inter-American Democratic Charter; and
            (C) the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of 
        Man.
        (3) The United States supports the Organization of American 
    States in its efforts with all member states to meet our 
    commitments under the instruments set forth in paragraph (2).
        (4) Congress supports the Organization of American States as it 
    operates in a manner consistent with the Inter-American Democratic 
    Charter.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
    It is the policy of the United States--
        (1) to promote democracy and the rule of law throughout the 
    Western Hemisphere;
        (2) to promote and protect human rights and fundamental 
    freedoms in the Western Hemisphere; and
        (3) to support the practices, purposes, and principles 
    expressed in the Charter of the Organization of American States, 
    the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, the 
    Inter-American Democratic Charter, and other fundamental 
    instruments of democracy.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
    It is the sense of Congress that--
        (1) the Organization of American States (OAS) should be the 
    primary multi-lateral diplomatic entity for regional dispute 
    resolution and promotion of democratic governance and institutions;
        (2) the OAS is a valuable platform from which to launch 
    initiatives aimed to benefit the countries of the Western 
    Hemisphere;
        (3) the Summit of the Americas institution and process embodies 
    a valuable complement to regional dialogue and cooperation;
        (4) the Summit of the Americas process should be formally and 
    more effectively integrated into the work of the OAS, the Inter-
    American Development Bank, and other Members of the Joint Summit 
    Working Group, and the OAS should play a central role in overseeing 
    and managing the Summit process;
        (5) the OAS General Assembly and the Summit of the Americas 
    events should be combined geographically and chronologically in the 
    years in which they coincide;
        (6) the OAS has historically accepted too many mandates from 
    its member states, resulting in both lack of clarity on priorities 
    and loss of institutional focus, which in turn has reduced the 
    effectiveness of the organization;
        (7) to ensure an appropriate balance of priorities, the OAS 
    should review its core functions no less than annually and seek 
    opportunities to reduce the number of mandates not directly related 
    to its core functions;
        (8) key OAS strengths lie in strengthening peace and security, 
    promoting and consolidating representative democracy, regional 
    dispute resolution, election assistance and monitoring, fostering 
    economic growth and development cooperation, facilitating trade, 
    combating illicit drug trafficking and transnational crime, and 
    support for the Inter-American Human Rights System;
        (9) the core competencies referred to in paragraph (8) should 
    remain central to the strategic planning process of the OAS and the 
    consideration of future mandates;
        (10) any new OAS mandates should be accepted by the member 
    states only after an analysis is conducted and formally presented 
    consisting of a calculation of the financial costs associated with 
    the mandate, an assessment of the comparative advantage of the OAS 
    in the implementation of the mandate, and a description of the ways 
    in which the mandate advances the organization's core mission;
        (11) any new mandates should include, in addition to the 
    analysis described in paragraph (10), an identification of the 
    source of funding to be used to implement the mandate;
        (12) the OAS would benefit from enhanced coordination between 
    the OAS and the Inter-American Development Bank on issues that 
    relate to economic development;
        (13) the OAS would benefit from standard reporting requirements 
    for each project and grant agreement;
        (14) the OAS would benefit from effective implementation of--
            (A) transparent and merit-based human resource standards 
        and processes; and
            (B) transparent hiring, firing, and promotion standards and 
        processes, including with respect to factors such as gender and 
        national origin; and
        (15) it is in the interest of the United States, OAS member 
    states, and a modernized OAS to move toward an assessed fee 
    structure that assures the financial sustainability of the 
    organization and establishes, not later than five years after the 
    date of the enactment of this Act, that no member state pays more 
    than 50 percent of the organization's assessed fees.
SEC. 5. ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES REVITALIZATION AND REFORM 
STRATEGY.
    (a) Strategy.--
        (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
    enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
    Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
    Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a multiyear 
    strategy that--
            (A) identifies a path toward the adoption of necessary 
        reforms that prioritize and reinforce the OAS's core 
        competencies described in section 4(8);
            (B) outlines an approach to secure from the OAS effective 
        adoption of--
                (i) a results-based budgeting process in order to 
            strategically prioritize, and where appropriate, reduce 
            current and future mandates; and
                (ii) transparent hiring, firing, and promotion 
            practices;
            (C) reflects the inputs and coordination from other 
        Executive Branch agencies, as appropriate; and
            (D) identifies a path toward the adoption of necessary 
        reforms that would--
                (i) lead to an assessed fee structure in which no 
            member state would pay more than 50 percent of the OAS's 
            assessed yearly fees; and
                (ii) seek to minimize the negative financial impact on 
            the OAS and its operations.
        (2) Policy priorities and coordination.--The Secretary of State 
    shall--
            (A) carry out diplomatic engagement to build support for 
        reforms and budgetary burden sharing among OAS member states 
        and observers; and
            (B) promote donor coordination among OAS member states.
    (b) Briefings.--The Secretary of State shall offer to the 
committees referred to in subsection (a)(1) a quarterly briefing that--
        (1) reviews assessed and voluntary contributions;
        (2) analyzes the progress made by the OAS to adopt and 
    effectively implement a results-based budgeting process in order to 
    strategically prioritize, and where appropriate, reduce current and 
    future mandates;
        (3) analyzes the progress made by the OAS to adopt and 
    effectively implement transparent and merit-based human resource 
    standards and practices and transparent hiring, firing, and 
    promotion standards and processes, including with respect to 
    factors such as gender and national origin;
        (4) analyzes the progress made by the OAS to adopt and 
    effectively implement a practice of soliciting member quotas to be 
    paid on a schedule that will improve the consistency of its 
    operating budget; and
        (5) analyzes the progress made by the OAS to review, 
    streamline, and prioritize mandates to focus on core missions and 
    make efficient and effective use of available funding.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.