[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 192 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 192
To establish an interagency program to assist countries in North and
West Africa to improve immediate and long-term capabilities to counter
terrorist threats, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2019
Mr. McCaul (for himself and Mr. Keating) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an interagency program to assist countries in North and
West Africa to improve immediate and long-term capabilities to counter
terrorist threats, 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 ``Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism
Partnership Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, launched
in 2005, is an interagency program to assist partner countries
in the Sahel and Maghreb regions of Africa on their immediate
and long-term capabilities to address terrorist threats and
prevent the spread of violent extremism;
(2) armed groups and violent Islamist terrorist
organizations, such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko
Haram, the Islamic State of West Africa, and other affiliated
groups, have killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians,
displaced populations, destabilized local and national
governments, and caused mass human suffering in the affected
communities;
(3) it is in the national security interest of the United
States to combat the spread of radical Islamist extremism and
build partner countries' capacity to combat these threats in
Africa;
(4) extremist movements exploit vulnerable and marginalized
communities suffering from poverty, lack of economic
opportunity (particularly among youth populations), and weak
governance; and
(5) to address critical security, political, economic, and
humanitarian challenges in these regions of Africa, a
coordinated, interagency approach is needed to appropriately
allocate resources, share responsibility, de-conflict programs,
and maximize the effectiveness of United States defense,
diplomatic, and development capabilities.
SEC. 3. TRANS-SAHARA COUNTERTERRORISM PARTNERSHIP.
(a) Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary of State, in consultation
with the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development, shall
establish a partnership, to be known as the ``Trans-Sahara
Counterterrorism Partnership'' (TSCTP), to coordinate all
United States programs, projects, and activities in North and
West Africa that are conducted for any of the following
purposes:
(A) To build the capacity of foreign military and
law enforcement entities in such regions to conduct
counterterrorism operations.
(B) To improve the ability of foreign military and
law enforcement entities in such regions to cooperate
with the United States and other partner countries on
counterterrorism efforts.
(C) To enhance the border security capacity of
partner countries in such regions, including the
ability to monitor, restrain, and interdict terrorists.
(D) To strengthen the rule of law in such
countries, including access to justice, and the ability
of the law enforcement entities of such partner
countries to detect, disrupt, respond to, investigate,
and prosecute terrorist activity.
(E) To monitor and counter the financing of
terrorism.
(F) To further reduce any vulnerabilities among
affected populations in such regions to recruitment or
incitement of terrorist activities through public
diplomacy efforts, such as supporting youth employment,
promoting meaningful participation of women,
strengthening local governance and civil society
capacity, and improving access to economic
opportunities and education.
(G) To support independent, local-language media,
particularly in rural areas, to counter media
operations and recruitment propaganda by terrorist
organizations.
(2) Consultation.--In coordinating programs through the
TSCTP, the Secretary of State shall also consult, as
appropriate, with the Director of National Intelligence, the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Chief
Executive Officer of the United States Agency for Global Media
(formerly known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors), and
the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies.
(3) Congressional notification.--Not later than 15 days
before obligating amounts for an activity coordinated by the
TSCTP pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall
submit a notification, in accordance with the requirements of
section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2394-1), that includes the following:
(A) The foreign country and entity, as applicable,
whose capabilities are to be enhanced in accordance
with the purposes specified in paragraph (1).
(B) The amount, type, and purpose of support to be
provided.
(C) An assessment of the capacity of the foreign
country or entity to absorb the assistance to be
provided.
(D) The estimated cost and anticipated
implementation timeline for assistance.
(E) As applicable, a description of the
arrangements to sustain any equipment provided by the
activity beyond the completion date of such activity,
if applicable, and the estimated cost and source of
funds to support such sustainment.
(F) The amount, type, statutory authorization, and
purpose of any United States security assistance
provided to such foreign country during the three
preceding fiscal years pursuant to authorities under
title 10, United States Code, the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), or any other
``train and equip'' authorities of the Department of
Defense.
(b) Comprehensive Strategy for Counterterrorism Efforts.--
(1) Development.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation
with the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development, shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
comprehensive, interagency strategy that--
(A) states the objectives of the United States
counterterrorism effort in North and West Africa with
respect to the use of all forms of United States
assistance to counter violent extremism;
(B) includes a plan by the Secretary of State for
the manner in which programs shall be coordinated by
the TSCTP pursuant to subsection (a)(1), including
which agency or bureau of the Department of State, as
applicable, will be responsible for leading and
coordinating each such program; and
(C) outlines a plan to monitor and evaluate TSCTP
programs and identifies the key indicators that will be
used to measure performance and progress under the
strategy.
(2) Supporting material in annual budget request.--The
Secretary of State shall include, in the budget materials
submitted in support of the budget of the President (submitted
to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States
Code) for each fiscal year beginning after the date of the
enactment of this Act, a description of the requirements,
activities, and planned allocation of amounts requested by the
TSCTP.
(c) Monitoring and Evaluation of Programs and Activities.--
(1) Monitoring and evaluation.--The Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, shall monitor and evaluate the programs
coordinated by the TSCTP pursuant to subsection (a)(1) in
accordance with the plan outlined pursuant to subsection
(b)(1)(C).
(2) Report.--For the 5-year period beginning 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an
annual report on monitoring and evaluation efforts pursuant to
paragraph (1) that describes--
(A) the progress made in meeting the objectives
listed in the strategy required by subsection (b)(1),
including any lessons learned in carrying out TSCTP
programs and activities and any recommendations for
improving such programs and activities;
(B) the efforts taken to coordinate, de-conflict,
and streamline TSCTP programs to maximize resource
effectiveness;
(C) the extent to which each partner country has
demonstrated the ability to absorb the equipment or
training provided in the year previous under TSCTP
programs, and where applicable, the ability to maintain
and appropriately utilize such equipment provided;
(D) the extent to which each partner country is
investing its own resources to advance the goals
described in subsection (a)(1) or demonstrated a
commitment and willingness to cooperate with the United
States to advance such goals; and
(E) the actions taken by the government of each
partner country receiving assistance through programs
coordinated by the TSCTP to combat corruption, improve
transparency and accountability, and promote other
forms of good governance.
(d) Form.--The strategy required by subsection (b)(1) and the
report required by subsection (c)(2) shall be submitted in unclassified
form but may include a classified annex.
(e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Appropriations, and the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, the Committee on Appropriations, and the
Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
<all>