[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1309 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1309

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To identify and combat corruption in countries, to establish a tiered 
   system of countries with respect to levels of corruption by their 
governments and their efforts to combat such corruption, and to assess 
 United States assistance to designated countries in order to advance 
  anti-corruption efforts in those countries and better serve United 
                           States taxpayers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) it is in the foreign policy interest of the United 
        States to help foreign countries promote good governance and 
        combat public corruption;
            (2) multiple Federal departments and agencies operate 
        programs that promote good governance in foreign countries and 
        enhance such countries' ability to combat public corruption; 
        and
            (3) the Department of State should--
                    (A) promote coordination among the Federal 
                departments and agencies implementing programs to 
                promote good governance and combat public corruption in 
                foreign countries in order to improve effectiveness and 
                efficiency; and
                    (B) identify areas in which United States efforts 
                to help other countries promote good governance and 
                combat public corruption could be enhanced.

SEC. 2. ANNUAL ASSESSMENT.

    (a) In General.--For each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2026, 
the Secretary of State shall assess the capacity and commitment of 
foreign governments to which the United States provides foreign 
assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et 
seq.) or the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) to combat 
public corruption. Each such assessment shall--
            (1) utilize independent, third party indicators that 
        measure transparency, accountability, and corruption in the 
        public sector in such countries, including the extent to which 
        public power is exercised for private gain, to identify those 
        countries that are most vulnerable to public corruption;
            (2) consider, to the extent reliable information is 
        available, whether the government of a country identified under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    (A) has adopted measures to prevent public 
                corruption, such as measures to inform and educate the 
                public, including potential victims, about the causes 
                and consequences of public corruption;
                    (B) has enacted laws and established government 
                structures, policies, and practices that prohibit 
                public corruption;
                    (C) enforces such laws through a fair judicial 
                process;
                    (D) vigorously investigates, prosecutes, convicts, 
                and sentences public officials who participate in or 
                facilitate public corruption, including nationals of 
                such country who are deployed in foreign military 
                assignments, trade delegations abroad, or other similar 
                missions who engage in or facilitate public corruption;
                    (E) prescribes appropriate punishment for serious, 
                significant corruption that is commensurate with the 
                punishment prescribed for serious crimes;
                    (F) prescribes appropriate punishment for 
                significant corruption that provides a sufficiently 
                stringent deterrent and adequately reflects the nature 
                of the offense;
                    (G) convicts and sentences persons responsible for 
                such acts that take place wholly or partly within the 
                country of such government, including, as appropriate, 
                requiring the incarceration of individuals convicted of 
                such acts;
                    (H) holds private sector representatives 
                accountable for their role in public corruption; and
                    (I) addresses threats for civil society to monitor 
                anti-corruption efforts; and
            (3) further consider--
                    (A) verifiable measures taken by the government of 
                a country identified under paragraph (1) to prohibit 
                government officials from participating in, 
                facilitating, or condoning public corruption, including 
                the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of such 
                officials;
                    (B) the extent to which such government provides 
                access, or, as appropriate, makes adequate resources 
                available, to civil society organizations and other 
                institutions to combat public corruption, including 
                reporting, investigating, and monitoring;
                    (C) the extent to which an independent judiciary or 
                judicial body in such country is responsible for, and 
                effectively capable of, deciding public corruption 
                cases impartially, on the basis of facts and in 
                accordance with law, without any improper restrictions, 
                influences, inducements, pressures, threats, or 
                interferences, whether direct or indirect, from any 
                source or for any reason;
                    (D) the extent to which such government cooperates 
                meaningfully with the United States to strengthen 
                government and judicial institutions and the rule of 
                law to prevent, prohibit, and punish public corruption;
                    (E) the extent to which such government--
                            (i) is assisting in international 
                        investigations of transnational public 
                        corruption networks and in other cooperative 
                        efforts to combat serious, significant 
                        corruption, including cooperating with the 
                        governments of other countries to extradite 
                        corrupt actors;
                            (ii) recognizes the rights of victims of 
                        public corruption, ensures their access to 
                        justice, and takes steps to prevent such 
                        victims from being further victimized or 
                        persecuted by corrupt actors, government 
                        officials, or others; and
                            (iii) refrains from prosecuting legitimate 
                        victims of public corruption or whistleblowers 
                        due to such persons having assisted in exposing 
                        public corruption, and refrains from other 
                        discriminatory treatment of such persons; and
                    (F) contain such other information relating to 
                public corruption as the Secretary of State considers 
                appropriate.
    (b) Identification.--After conducting each assessment under 
subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall identify, of the countries 
described in subsection (a)(1)--
            (1) which countries are meeting minimum standards to combat 
        public corruption;
            (2) which countries are not meeting such minimum standards, 
        but are making significant efforts to do so; and
            (3) which countries are not meeting such minimum standards 
        and are not making significant efforts to do so.
    (c) Report.--Except as provided in subsection (d), not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 
thereafter through fiscal year 2026, the Secretary of State shall 
submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees, and make 
such report publicly available. Such report shall--
            (1) identify the countries described in subsection (a)(1) 
        and paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b);
            (2) describe the methodology and data utilized in the 
        assessments under subsection (a); and
            (3) identify the reasons for the identifications referred 
        to in paragraph (1).
    (d) Briefing in Lieu of Report.--The Secretary of State may waive 
the requirement to submit and make publicly available a written report 
under subsection (c) if the Secretary--
            (1) determines that publication of such report would--
                    (A) undermine existing United States anti-
                corruption efforts in 1 or more countries; or
                    (B) threaten the national interests of the United 
                States; and
            (2) provides a briefing to the appropriate congressional 
        committees that--
                    (A) identifies the countries described in 
                subsection (a)(1) and paragraphs (2) and (3) of 
                subsection (b);
                    (B) describes the methodology and data utilized in 
                the assessment under subsection (a); and
                    (C) identifies the reasons for such 
                identifications.
    (e) Appropriate Congressional Committee Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives.

SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

    For each country identified under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 
2(b), the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of 
the United States Agency for International Development, as appropriate, 
shall--
            (1) ensure that a corruption risk assessment and mitigation 
        strategy is included in the integrated country strategy for 
        such country; and
            (2) utilize appropriate mechanisms to combat corruption in 
        such countries, including by ensuring--
                    (A) the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses in 
                contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements entered 
                into by the Department of State or the United States 
                Agency for International Development for or in such 
                countries, which allow for the termination of such 
                contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements, as the 
                case may be, without penalty if credible indicators of 
                public corruption are discovered;
                    (B) the inclusion of appropriate clawback or 
                flowdown clauses within the procurement instruments of 
                the Department of State and the United States Agency 
                for International Development that provide for the 
                recovery of funds misappropriated through corruption;
                    (C) the appropriate disclosure to the United States 
                Government, in confidential form, if necessary, of the 
                beneficial ownership of contractors, subcontractors, 
                grantees, cooperative agreement participants, and other 
                organizations implementing programs on behalf of the 
                Department of State or the United States Agency for 
                International Development; and
                    (D) the establishment of mechanisms for 
                investigating allegations of misappropriated resources 
                and equipment.

SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF EMBASSY ANTI-CORRUPTION POINTS OF CONTACT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall annually designate an 
anti-corruption point of contact at the United States diplomatic post 
to each country identified under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 
2(b), or which the Secretary otherwise determines is in need of such a 
point of contact. The point of contact shall be the chief of mission or 
the chief of mission's designee.
    (b) Responsibilities.--Each anti-corruption point of contact 
designated under subsection (a) shall be responsible for coordinating 
and overseeing the implementation of a whole-of-government approach 
among the relevant Federal departments and agencies operating programs 
that--
            (1) promote good governance in foreign countries; and
            (2) enhance the ability of such countries--
                    (A) to combat public corruption; and
                    (B) to develop and implement corruption risk 
                assessment tools and mitigation strategies.
    (c) Training.--The Secretary of State shall implement appropriate 
training for anti-corruption points of contact designated under 
subsection (a).

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Corrupt actor.--The term ``corrupt actor'' means--
                    (A) any foreign person or entity that is a 
                government official or government entity responsible 
                for, or complicit in, an act of public corruption; and
                    (B) any company, in which a person or entity 
                described in subparagraph (A) has a significant stake, 
                which is responsible for, or complicit in, an act of 
                public corruption.
            (2) Foreign assistance.--The term ``foreign assistance'' 
        means assistance made available under--
                    (A) the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
                2151 et seq.); or
                    (B) the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et 
                seq.).
            (3) Grand corruption.--The term ``grand corruption'' means 
        public corruption committed at a high level of government 
        that--
                    (A) distorts policies or the central functioning of 
                the country; and
                    (B) enables leaders to benefit at the expense of 
                the public good.
            (4) Petty corruption.--The term ``petty corruption'' means 
        the unlawful exercise of entrusted public power for private 
        gain by low- or mid-level public officials in their 
        interactions with ordinary citizens, including by bribery, 
        nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement.
            (5) Public corruption.--The term ``public corruption'' 
        means the unlawful exercise of entrusted public power for 
        private gain, including by bribery, nepotism, fraud, or 
        embezzlement.

            Passed the Senate December 19, 2019.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
116th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                S. 1309

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To identify and combat corruption in countries, to establish a tiered 
   system of countries with respect to levels of corruption by their 
governments and their efforts to combat such corruption, and to assess 
 United States assistance to designated countries in order to advance 
  anti-corruption efforts in those countries and better serve United 
                           States taxpayers.