[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 199 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8273-S8274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4677. Ms. KLOBUCHAR submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed
to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle A of title XII, add the following:
SEC. 1210. GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Global
Electoral Exchange Act of 2021''.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) recent elections globally have illustrated the urgent
need for the promotion and exchange of international best
election practices, particularly in the areas of
cybersecurity, results transmission, transparency of
electoral data, election dispute resolution, and the
elimination of discriminatory registration practices and
other electoral irregularities;
(2) the advancement of democracy worldwide promotes United
States interests, as stable democracies provide new market
opportunities, improve global health outcomes, and promote
economic freedom and regional security;
(3) credible elections are the cornerstone of a healthy
democracy and enable all persons to exercise their basic
human right to have a say in how they are governed;
(4) inclusive elections strengthen the credibility and
stability of democracies more broadly;
(5) at the heart of a strong election cycle is the
professionalism of the election management body and an
empowered civil society;
(6) the development of local expertise via peer-to-peer
learning and exchanges promotes the independence of such
bodies from internal and external influence; and
(7) supporting the efforts of peoples in democratizing
societies to build more representative governments in their
respective countries is in the national interest of the
United States.
(c) Global Electoral Exchange.--
(1) In general.--The Global Engagement Center (referred to
in this section as the ``Center'') at the Department of State
is authorized to establish and administer a Global Electoral
Exchange Program (referred to in this section as the
``Program'') to promote the utilization of sound election
administration practices around the world.
(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the Program shall include the
promotion and exchange of international best election
practices, including in the areas of--
(A) cybersecurity;
(B) the protection of election systems against influence
campaigns;
(C) results transmission;
(D) transparency of electoral data;
(E) election dispute resolution;
(F) the elimination of discriminatory registration
practices and electoral irregularities;
(G) inclusive and equitable promotion of candidate
participation;
(H) equitable access to polling places, voter education
information, and voting mechanisms (including by persons with
disabilities); and
(I) other sound election administration practices.
(3) Exchange of electoral authorities.--
(A) In general.--The Center, in consultation, as
appropriate, with the United States Agency for International
Development, may award grants to any United States-based
organization that--
(i) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a)
of such Code;
(ii) has experience in, and a primary focus on, foreign
comparative election systems or subject matter expertise in
the administration or integrity of such systems; and
(iii) submits an application in such form, and satisfying
such requirements, as the Center may require.
(B) Types of grants.--An organization described in
subparagraph (A) may receive a grant under this paragraph to
design and implement programs that--
(i) bring to the United States election administrators and
officials, including government officials, poll workers,
civil society representatives, members of the judiciary, and
others who participate in the organization and administration
of public elections in a foreign country that faces
challenges to
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its electoral process to study election procedures in the
United States for educational purposes; or
(ii) take election administrators and officials of the
United States or of another country, including government
officials, poll workers, civil society representatives,
members of the judiciary, and others who participate in the
organization and administration of public elections to
another country to study and discuss election procedures in
such country for educational purposes.
(C) Limits on activities.--Activities administered under
the Program may not--
(i) include observation of an election for the purposes of
assessing the validity or legitimacy of that election;
(ii) facilitate any advocacy for a certain electoral result
by a grantee when participating in the Program; or
(iii) be carried out without proper consultation with State
and local authorities in the United States that administer
elections.
(D) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Center should establish and maintain a network of Global
Electoral Exchange Program alumni, to promote communication
and further exchange of information regarding sound election
administration practices among current and former Program
participants.
(E) Limitation.--A recipient of a grant under the Program
may only use such grant for the purpose for which such grant
was awarded, unless otherwise authorized by the Center.
(F) Nonduplicative.--Grants made under this paragraph may
not be duplicative of any other grants made under any other
provision of law for similar or related purposes.
(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2022 through 2026 to carry out this subsection.
(d) Congressional Oversight.--Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter
for the following 2 years, the Center shall provide a
briefing to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate
and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives regarding the status of any activities
carried out pursuant to subsection (c) during the preceding
year, which shall include--
(1) a summary of all exchanges conducted under the Global
Electoral Exchange Program, including information regarding
grantees, participants, and the locations where program
activities were held;
(2) a description of the criteria used to select grantees
under the Global Electoral Exchange Program; and
(3) recommendations for the improvement of the Global
Electoral Exchange Program in furtherance of the purpose
specified in subsection (c)(2).
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