[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.