[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5593-S5595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6057. Mr. RISCH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) 
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize 
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the 
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense 
activities of the Department of Energy,

[[Page S5594]]

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 appropriate place, insert the following:

               Subtitle G--Western Hemisphere Partnership

     SEC. 1281. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Western Hemisphere 
     Partnership Act of 2022''.

     SEC. 1282. UNITED STATES POLICY IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

       It is the policy of the United States to promote security, 
     stability, economic prosperity, and democratic governance in 
     the Western Hemisphere by--
       (1) enhancing the capacity and technical capabilities of 
     partner nation government institutions, including civilian 
     law enforcement, the judiciary, and security forces;
       (2) encouraging private sector-led economic growth, respect 
     for property rights, the rule of law, and enforceable 
     investment rules; and
       (3) advancing the principles and practices expressed in the 
     Charter of the Organization of American States, the American 
     Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, and the Inter-
     American Democratic Charter.

     SEC. 1283. PROMOTING SECURITY AND STABILITY IN THE WESTERN 
                   HEMISPHERE.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the United States should strengthen security cooperation with 
     democratic nations in the Western Hemisphere to promote a 
     secure hemisphere and to address the negative impacts of 
     transnational criminal organizations and malign external 
     state actors.
       (b) Collaborative Efforts.--The Secretary of State, in 
     coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the heads of 
     other relevant Federal agencies, may support the improvement 
     of security conditions in the Western Hemisphere through 
     collaborative efforts that--
       (1) enhance the institutional capacity and technical 
     capabilities of defense and security institutions in 
     democratic partner nations to conduct national or regional 
     security missions, including through regular bilateral and 
     multilateral engagements, foreign military sales and 
     financing, international military education, and training 
     programs, and other means;
       (2) provide technical assistance and material support 
     (including, as appropriate, radars, vessels, and 
     communications equipment) to relevant security forces to 
     disrupt, degrade, and dismantle organizations involved in 
     illicit narcotics trafficking, transnational criminal 
     activities, illicit mining, and illegal, unreported, and 
     unregulated fishing, and other illicit activities;
       (3) enhance the institutional capacity and technical 
     capabilities of relevant civilian law enforcement and 
     judicial institutions to strengthen the rule of law, respect 
     of internationally-recognized human rights, and transparent 
     governance and to improve regional cooperation to disrupt, 
     degrade, and dismantle transnational organized criminal 
     networks, terrorist organizations, including training and 
     anticorruption programs and technical solutions and 
     resources;
       (4) enhance port management and maritime security 
     partnerships and airport management and aviation security 
     partnerships to disrupt, degrade, and dismantle transnational 
     criminal networks and facilitate the legitimate flow of 
     people, goods, and services;
       (5) strengthen cooperation to deter illegal migration 
     across the Western Hemisphere, dismantle human smuggling and 
     trafficking networks, and increase cooperation to 
     demonstrably strengthen migration management systems;
       (6) counter the malign influence of state and non-state 
     actors and misinformation and disinformation campaigns;
       (7) foster mechanisms for cooperation on emergency 
     preparedness and rapid recovery from natural disasters, 
     including by--
       (A) establishing regional preparedness, recovery, and 
     emergency management centers to facilitate rapid response to 
     survey and help maintain planning on regional disaster 
     anticipated needs and possible resources; and
       (B) training disaster recovery officials on latest 
     techniques and lessons learned from United States 
     experiences; and
       (8) foster regional mechanisms for early warning and 
     response to pandemics in the Western Hemisphere, including 
     through--
       (A) improved cooperation with and research by the United 
     States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through 
     regional pandemic response centers;
       (B) personnel exchanges for technology transfer and skills 
     development; and
       (C) surveying and mapping of health networks to build local 
     health capacity.
       (c) Limitations on Use of Technologies.--Operational 
     technologies transferred pursuant to subsection (b) to 
     partner governments for intelligence, defense, or law 
     enforcement purposes should be used solely for the purposes 
     for which the technology was intended. The United States 
     shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the use of such 
     operational technologies is consistent with United States 
     law, including protections of freedom of expression, freedom 
     of movement, and freedom of association.

     SEC. 1284. PROMOTING DIGITALIZATION AND CYBERSECURITY IN THE 
                   WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the United States should support digitalization and expand 
     cybersecurity cooperation in the Western Hemisphere to 
     promote economic prosperity and security of the region.
       (b) Promotion of Digitalization and Cybersecurity.--The 
     Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of other 
     relevant Federal agencies, may promote digitalization and 
     cybersecurity in the Western Hemisphere through collaborative 
     efforts that--
       (1) promote connectivity and facilitation for e-commerce by 
     trusted companies through bilateral or multilateral 
     agreements or other relevant memoranda of understanding--
       (A) to open market access on a national treatment, 
     nondiscriminatory basis;
       (B) to establish understandings and agreements on 
     cybersecurity and appropriate ``rules of the road'' on other 
     cyber issues through cyber diplomacy; and
       (C) to help partner countries make their cyber 
     infrastructure more resilient to attacks and easier to 
     restore after an attack;
       (2) advance the provision of digitized government services 
     with the greatest likelihood of promoting transparency, 
     lowering business costs, and expanding citizens' access to 
     public services and public information; and
       (3) develop robust cybersecurity partnerships--
       (A) to share best practices to mitigate the risks to 
     digital infrastructure from--
       (i) the inclusion of components and architectures from 
     untrusted providers in digital networks and communications 
     supply chains; and
       (ii) the management of architectures by untrusted 
     providers, particularly providers with close ties to, or that 
     are susceptible to pressure from, governments or security 
     services without reliable legal checks on governmental 
     powers;
       (B) to effectively respond to cybersecurity threats, 
     including state-sponsored threats; and
       (C) to strengthen resilience against cyberattacks and 
     cybercrime.
       (c) Notification Requirement.--Any agreement, instrument, 
     or memoranda of understanding, including any accompanying 
     annexes, apendices, and implementation plans, related to 
     efforts undertaken pursuant to subsection (b) should be 
     submitted to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
     and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives not later than 30 days after completion of 
     the agreement, instrument, or memoranda.

     SEC. 1285. PROMOTING ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIPS IN 
                   THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the United States should enhance economic and commercial ties 
     with partners in the region to promote a prosperous Western 
     Hemisphere by modernizing and deepening trade and investment 
     frameworks, encouraging market-based economic reforms, and 
     encouraging transparency and adherence to the rule of law in 
     investment dealings.
       (b) In General.--The Secretary of State, in coordination 
     with the United States Trade Representative, the Chief 
     Executive Officer of the Development Finance Corporation, and 
     other relevant Federal agencies, may support the improvement 
     of economic conditions in the Western Hemisphere through 
     collaborative efforts that--
       (1) facilitate a more open, transparent, and competitive 
     environment for United States businesses and promote robust 
     and comprehensive trade capacity-building and trade 
     facilitation by--
       (A) reducing trade and nontariff barriers between the 
     countries in the region, establishing a mechanism for 
     pursuing Mutual Recognition Agreements and Formalized 
     Regulatory Cooperation Agreements in priority sectors of the 
     economy;
       (B) establishing a forum for discussing and evaluating 
     technical and other assistance needs to help establish 
     streamlined ``single window'' processes to facilitate 
     movement of goods and common customs arrangements and 
     procedures to lower costs of goods in transit and speed to 
     destination;
       (C) building relationships and exchanges between relevant 
     regulatory bodies in the United States and democratic 
     countries in the Western Hemisphere to promote best practices 
     and transparency in rulemaking, implementation, and 
     enforcement, and provide training and assistance to help 
     improve supply chain management in the Western Hemisphere;
       (D) establishing regional fora for identifying, raising, 
     and addressing supply chain management issues, including 
     infrastructure needs and strengthening of investment rules 
     and regulatory frameworks; and
       (E) establishing a dedicated program of trade missions and 
     reverse trade missions to increase commercial contacts and 
     ties between the United States and Western Hemisphere partner 
     countries;
       (2) establish frameworks or mechanisms to review the long-
     term financial sustainability and security implications of 
     foreign investments in strategic sectors or services;
       (3) establish competitive and transparent infrastructure 
     project selection and procurement processes that promote 
     transparency, open competition, financial sustainability, and 
     robust adherence to global standards and norms; and
       (4) advance robust and comprehensive energy production and 
     integration, including

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     through a more open, transparent, and competitive environment 
     for United States companies competing in the Western 
     Hemisphere, including by--
       (A) facilitating further development of integrated regional 
     energy markets;
       (B) improving management of grids, including technical 
     capability to ensure the trustworthiness of electricity 
     providers, carriers, and management and distribution systems;
       (C) facilitating private sector-led development of reliable 
     power generation capacity;
       (D) establishing a process for surveying grid capacity and 
     management focused on identifying electricity service 
     efficiencies and establishing cooperative mechanisms for 
     providing technical assistance for--
       (i) grid management, power pricing, and tariff issues;
       (ii) establishing and maintaining appropriate regulatory 
     best practices; and
       (iii) proposals to establish regional power grids for the 
     purpose of promoting the sale of excess supply to consumers 
     across borders; and
       (E) exploring opportunities to partner with the private 
     sector and multilateral institutions, such as the World Bank 
     and the Inter-American Development Bank, to promote universal 
     access to reliable and affordable electricity in the Western 
     Hemisphere.

     SEC. 1286. PROMOTING TRANSPARENCY AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE 
                   IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the United States should support efforts to strengthen the 
     capacity of democratic governance institutions and processes 
     in the Western Hemisphere to promote a more transparent, 
     democratic, and prosperous region.
       (b) In General.--The Secretary of State, in coordination 
     with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
     International Development and heads of other relevant Federal 
     agencies, should support strengthening of democratic 
     institutions and promoting transparence in the Western 
     Hemisphere through collaborative efforts that--
       (1) strengthen the capacity of national electoral 
     institutions to ensure free, fair, and transparent electoral 
     processes, including through pre-election assessment 
     missions, technical assistance, and independent local and 
     international election monitoring and observation missions;
       (2) enhance the capabilities of democratically elected 
     national legislatures, parliamentary bodies, and autonomous 
     regulatory institutions to conduct oversight;
       (3) strengthen the capacity of subnational government 
     institutions to govern in a democratic and transparent 
     manner, including through training and technical assistance;
       (4) facilitate substantive collaborative dialogue between 
     government, civil society, and the private sector to generate 
     issue-based policies; and
       (5) combat corruption at local and national levels, 
     including through trainings, cooperation agreements, and 
     bilateral or multilateral anticorruption mechanisms that 
     strengthen attorneys general and prosecutors offices.

     SEC. 1287. WESTERN HEMISPHERE DEFINED.

       In this subtitle, the term ``Western Hemisphere'' does not 
     include Cuba, Nicaragua, or Venezuela, except for purposes of 
     section 1286.
                                 ______