[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1221 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1221

   To counter the influence of the Russian Federation in Europe and 
                    Eurasia, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 24, 2017

 Mr. Cardin (for himself and Mr. Coons) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To counter the influence of the Russian Federation in Europe and 
                    Eurasia, 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 ``Countering Russian Influence in 
Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Government of the Russian Federation has sought to 
        exert influence throughout Europe and Eurasia, including in the 
        former states of the Soviet Union, by providing resources to 
        political parties, think tanks, and civil society groups that 
        sow distrust in democratic institutions and actors, promote 
        xenophobic and illiberal views, and otherwise undermine 
        European unity. The Government of the Russian Federation has 
        also engaged in well-documented corruption practices as a means 
        toward undermining and buying influence in European and 
        Eurasian countries.
            (2) The Government of the Russian Federation has largely 
        eliminated a once-vibrant Russian-language independent media 
        sector and severely curtails free and independent media within 
        the borders of the Russian Federation. Russian-language media 
        organizations that are funded and controlled by the Government 
        of the Russian Federation and disseminate information within 
        and outside of the Russian Federation routinely traffic in 
        anti-Western disinformation, while few independent, fact-based 
        media sources provide objective reporting for Russian-speaking 
        audiences inside or outside of the Russian Federation.
            (3) The Government of the Russian Federation continues to 
        violate its commitments under the Memorandum on Security 
        Assurances in connection with Ukraine's Accession to the Treaty 
        on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at Budapest 
        December 5, 1994, and the Conference on Security and Co-
        operation in Europe Final Act, concluded at Helsinki August 1, 
        1975 (commonly referred to as the ``Helsinki Final Act''), 
        which laid the groundwork for the establishment of the 
        Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, of which 
        the Russian Federation is a member, by its illegal annexation 
        of Crimea in 2014, its illegal occupation of South Ossetia and 
        Abkhazia in Georgia in 2008, and its ongoing destabilizing 
        activities in eastern Ukraine.
            (4) The Government of the Russian Federation continues to 
        ignore the terms of the August 2008 ceasefire agreement 
        relating to Georgia, which requires the withdrawal of Russian 
        Federation troops, free access by humanitarian groups to the 
        regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and monitoring of the 
        conflict areas by the European Union Monitoring Mission.
            (5) The Government of the Russian Federation is failing to 
        comply with the terms of the Minsk Agreement to address the 
        ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, signed in Minsk, Belarus, 
        on February 11, 2015, by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, 
        France, and Germany, as well as the Minsk Protocol, which was 
        agreed to on September 5, 2014.
            (6) The Government of the Russian Federation is--
                    (A) in violation of the Treaty between the United 
                States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist 
                Republics on the Elimination of their Intermediate-
                Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, signed at Washington 
                December 8, 1987, and entered into force June 1, 1988 
                (commonly known as the ``INF Treaty''); and
                    (B) failing to meet its obligations under the 
                Treaty on Open Skies, done at Helsinki March 24, 1992, 
                and entered into force January 1, 2002 (commonly known 
                as the ``Open Skies Treaty'').

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Government of the Russian Federation bears 
        responsibility for the continuing violence in Eastern Ukraine, 
        including the death on April 24, 2017, of Joseph Stone, a 
        citizen of the United States working as a monitor for the 
        Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe;
            (2) the President should call on the Government of the 
        Russian Federation--
                    (A) to withdraw all of its forces from the 
                territories of Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova;
                    (B) to return control of the borders of those 
                territories to their respective governments; and
                    (C) to cease all efforts to undermine the popularly 
                elected governments of those countries;
            (3) the Government of the Russian Federation has applied, 
        and continues to apply, to the countries and peoples of Georgia 
        and Ukraine, traditional uses of force, intelligence 
        operations, and influence campaigns, which represent clear and 
        present threats to the countries of Europe and Eurasia;
            (4) in response, the countries of Europe and Eurasia should 
        redouble efforts to build resilience within their institutions, 
        political systems, and civil societies;
            (5) the United States supports the institutions that the 
        Government of the Russian Federation seeks to undermine, 
        including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the 
        European Union;
            (6) a strong North Atlantic Treaty Organization is critical 
        to maintaining peace and security in Europe and Eurasia;
            (7) the United States should continue to work with the 
        European Union as a partner against aggression by the 
        Government of the Russian Federation, coordinating aid 
        programs, development assistance, and other counter-Russian 
        efforts;
            (8) the United States should encourage the establishment of 
        a commission for media freedom within the Council of Europe, 
        modeled on the Venice Commission regarding rule of law issues, 
        that would be chartered to provide governments with expert 
        recommendations on maintaining legal and regulatory regimes 
        supportive of free and independent media and an informed 
        citizenry able to distinguish between fact-based reporting, 
        opinion, and disinformation;
            (9) in addition to working to strengthen the North Atlantic 
        Treaty Organization and the European Union, the United States 
        should work with the individual countries of Europe and 
        Eurasia--
                    (A) to identify vulnerabilities to aggression, 
                disinformation, corruption, and so-called hybrid 
                warfare by the Government of the Russian Federation;
                    (B) to establish strategic and technical plans for 
                addressing those vulnerabilities;
                    (C) to ensure that the financial systems of those 
                countries are not being used to shield illicit 
                financial activity by officials of the Government of 
                the Russian Federation or individuals in President 
                Vladimir Putin's inner circle who have been enriched 
                through corruption;
                    (D) to investigate and prosecute cases of 
                corruption by Russian actors; and
                    (E) to work toward full compliance with the 
                Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public 
                Officials in International Business Transactions 
                (commonly referred to as the ``Anti-Bribery 
                Convention'') of the Organization for Economic Co-
                operation and Development; and
            (10) the President of the United States should use the 
        authority of the President to impose sanctions under--
                    (A) the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability 
                Act of 2012 (title IV of Public Law 112-208; 22 U.S.C. 
                5811 note); and
                    (B) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
                Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public 
                Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note).

SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    The United States, consistent with the principle of ex injuria jus 
non oritur, supports the policy known as the ``Stimson Doctrine'' and 
thus does not recognize territorial changes effected by force, 
including the illegal invasions and occupations of Abkhazia, South 
Ossetia, Crimea, Eastern Ukraine, and Transnistria.

SEC. 5. COORDINATING AID AND ASSISTANCE ACROSS EUROPE AND EURASIA.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated for the Countering Russian Influence Fund $250,000,000 for 
fiscal years 2018 and 2019.
    (b) Management of the Fund.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation 
with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development and, as appropriate, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
the Director of National Intelligence, and the Secretary of Defense, 
shall establish a working group to administer the Countering Russian 
Influence Fund in order to facilitate the achievement of the goals 
described in subsection (c) while minimizing the expense to United 
States taxpayers.
    (c) Use of Funds.--
            (1) Mandatory use of funds.--Amounts in the Countering 
        Russian Influence Fund shall be used for the following:
                    (A) To assist in protecting critical infrastructure 
                and electoral mechanisms from cyberattacks in the 
                following countries:
                            (i) Countries that are members of the North 
                        Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European 
                        Union that the Secretary of State determines--
                                    (I) are vulnerable to influence by 
                                the Russian Federation; and
                                    (II) lack the economic capability 
                                to effectively respond to aggression by 
                                the Russian Federation without the 
                                support of the United States.
                            (ii) Countries that are participating in 
                        the enlargement process of the North Atlantic 
                        Treaty Organization or the European Union, 
                        including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
                        Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Kosovo, Serbia, 
                        and Ukraine.
                    (B) To combat corruption, improve the rule of law, 
                and otherwise strengthen independent judiciaries and 
                prosecutors general offices in the countries described 
                in subparagraph (A).
            (2) Discretionary use of funds.--Amounts in the Countering 
        Russian Influence Fund may be used to seek to achieve the 
        following, to the extent practicable and as appropriate:
                    (A) Responding to the humanitarian crises and 
                instability caused or aggravated by the invasions and 
                occupations of Georgia and Ukraine by the Russian 
                Federation.
                    (B) Improving participatory legislative processes 
                and legal education, political transparency and 
                competition, and compliance with international 
                obligations in the countries described in paragraph 
                (1)(A).
                    (C) Building the capacity of civil society, media, 
                and other nongovernmental organizations countering the 
                influence and propaganda of the Russian Federation in 
                the countries described in paragraph (1)(A).
    (d) Implementation.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State, acting through 
        Coordinator of United States Assistance to Europe and Eurasia 
        (authorized pursuant to section 601 of the Support for East 
        European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5461) and 
        section 102 of the Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian 
        Democracies and Open Markets Support Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 
        5812)), shall coordinate efforts to implement the goals 
        described in subsection (c) and establish metrics relating to 
        efforts to achieve those goals.
            (2) Report on implementation.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than April 1 of each 
                year, the Secretary of State, acting through the 
                Coordinator of United States Assistance to Europe and 
                Eurasia, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
                committees a report on the programs and activities 
                carried out to achieve the goals described in 
                subsection (c) during the preceding fiscal year.
                    (B) Elements.--Each report required by subparagraph 
                (A) shall include, with respect to each program or 
                activity described in that subparagraph--
                            (i) the amount of funding for the program 
                        or activity;
                            (ii) the goal described in subsection (c) 
                        to which the program or activity relates; and
                            (iii) an assessment of whether or not the 
                        goal was met.
    (e) Coordination With Global Partners.--
            (1) In general.--In order to maximize cost efficiency, 
        eliminate duplication, and speed the achievement of the goals 
        described in subsection (c), the working group established 
        under subsection (b) shall ensure coordination with--
                    (A) the European Union and its institutions;
                    (B) the governments of countries that are members 
                of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the 
                European Union; and
                    (C) international organizations and quasi-
                governmental funding entities that carry out programs 
                and activities that seek to accomplish the goals 
                described in subsection (c).
            (2) Report by secretary of state.--Not later than April 1 
        of each year, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees a report that includes--
                    (A) the amount of funding provided to each country 
                referred to in subsection (c) by--
                            (i) the European Union or its institutions;
                            (ii) the government of each country that is 
                        a member of the European Union or the North 
                        Atlantic Treaty Organization; and
                            (iii) international organizations and 
                        quasi-governmental funding entities that carry 
                        out programs and activities that seek to 
                        accomplish the goals described in subsection 
                        (c); and
                    (B) an assessment of whether the funding described 
                in subparagraph (A) is commensurate with funding 
                provided by the United States for those goals.
    (f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to apply to or limit United States foreign assistance not 
provided using amounts available in the Countering Russian Influence 
Fund.

SEC. 6. REPORT ON MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS CONTROLLED AND FUNDED BY THE 
              GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that 
includes a description of media organizations that are controlled and 
funded by the Government of the Russian Federation, and any affiliated 
entities, whether operating within or outside the Russian Federation, 
including broadcast and satellite-based television, radio, Internet, 
and print media organizations.
    (b) Form of Report.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.

SEC. 7. TERMINATION.

    The provisions of this Act shall terminate on the date that is 5 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 8. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
        Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Armed 
        Services, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
        Affairs, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Select 
        Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
        Financial Services, the Committee on Armed Services, the 
        Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on 
        Appropriations, and the Permanent Select Committee on 
        Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
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