[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 793 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 793

 To support revitalization and reform of the Organization of American 
                    States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 24, 2013

Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Corker, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, and Mr. 
Rubio) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
                 to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 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) 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;
            (7) 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, addressing migration, 
        combating illicit drug trafficking and transnational crime, and 
        support for the Inter-American Human Rights System;
            (8) the core competencies referred to in paragraph (7) 
        should remain central to the strategic planning process of the 
        OAS and the consideration of future mandates;
            (9) any changes to 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;
            (10) any new mandates should include, in addition to the 
        analysis described in paragraph (9), an identification of the 
        source of funding to be used to implement the mandate;
            (11) the OAS would benefit from enhanced coordination 
        between the OAS and the Inter-American Development Bank on 
        issues that relate to economic development;
            (12) the OAS would benefit from standard reporting 
        requirements for each project and grant agreement; and
            (13) 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.

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(7);
                    (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; and
                    (C) reflects the inputs and coordination from other 
                Executive Branch agencies, as appropriate.
            (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;
                    (B) promote donor coordination among OAS member 
                states; and
                    (C) help set priorities for the OAS.
    (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.
                                 <all>