[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10195 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10195

To require the Secretary of State to develop a strategy for countering 
       the expansion of al-Qaeda in Mali, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 31, 2026

 Mr. Panetta (for himself and Mr. Wilson of South Carolina) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of State to develop a strategy for countering 
       the expansion of al-Qaeda in Mali, 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 ``Mali Security Partnership and 
Counterterrorism Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The al-Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-
        Muslimeen (JNIM) has significantly expanded its reach across 
        central Mali and the broader Sahel, conducting large-scale 
        attacks against security forces and establishing influence in 
        contested regions.
            (2) Militant groups including JNIM and the Islamic State 
        Sahel Province have consolidated territorial control across 
        Mali, escalating violence, destabilizing state authority, and 
        extending operations into littoral West African states.
            (3) JNIM's campaign in Mali has included economic 
        disruption tactics that have paralyzed key trade and transport 
        routes, undermined government authority, and contributed to 
        national shortages and economic distress.
            (4) The withdrawal of traditional international 
        counterterrorism forces, coupled with weakened regional 
        counterterrorism cooperation, has created a security vacuum 
        that extremist networks are exploiting to expand and entrench 
        themselves.
            (5) The Sahel region has become a global epicenter of 
        terrorism-related violence, with extremist activity in that 
        region accounting for a disproportionate share of worldwide 
        terrorist attacks and deaths and with expanded militant 
        networks posing spillover risks to neighboring coastal 
        countries.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON AL-QAEDA'S EXPANSION AND ILLEGAL FINANCING IN MALI.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, shall 
submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a 
report on the scope and trajectory of al-Qaeda's presence and influence 
in Mali, and the role of gold trafficking, informal taxation, and 
illicit trade networks in Mali in financing terrorist and violent 
extremist organizations. Such report shall also include--
            (1) an evaluation of al-Qaeda's territorial influence, 
        including areas of de facto control, operational freedom, or 
        governance activities;
            (2) an analysis of cross-border operations and coordination 
        with extremist elements in Burkina Faso and Niger, including 
        logistics, command-and-control linkages, and mobility 
        corridors;
            (3) an assessment of recruitment pipelines, including the 
        exploitation of local grievances, ethnic tensions, economic 
        vulnerabilities, and displacement;
            (4) an evaluation of financing mechanisms, including 
        taxation, extortion, illicit trade, and external support 
        networks;
            (5) an analysis of trends indicating whether al-Qaeda is 
        consolidating, expanding, or fragmenting its presence in Mali;
            (6) an assessment of how illegal gold production, transit, 
        and export networks are exploited by terrorist organizations, 
        including al-Qaeda-affiliated groups, for revenue generation;
            (7) an analysis of the use of coercive taxation, protection 
        payments, or control of mining sites by such organizations;
            (8) an identification of key transit routes, facilitators, 
        and financial intermediaries involved in the illegal gold trade 
        linked to extremist financing;
            (9) an assessment of existing United States and 
        international efforts to disrupt illegal mineral-based 
        financing and recommendations for strengthening such efforts; 
        and
            (10) an assessment of current sanctions against entities in 
        Mali, including the effects of such sanctions on the capacity 
        of the Government of Mali to combat terrorist networks.
    (b) Diplomatic Strategy.--In addition to the matters described in 
subsection (a), the report required under that subsection shall also 
include a United States diplomatic strategy for countering al-Qaeda 
influence in Mali, including--
            (1) proposed bilateral and multilateral diplomatic 
        initiatives to constrain al-Qaeda's freedom of movement and 
        influence;
            (2) engagement with regional partners and international 
        organizations to improve cross-border coordination and 
        information sharing;
            (3) efforts to address governance, economic, and security 
        conditions that facilitate extremist recruitment and financing; 
        and
            (4) metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of United 
        States diplomatic engagement in countering al-Qaeda's 
        expansion.
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