[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5754-S5755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6230. Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. Markey) 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,
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 D of title XII, add the following:
SEC. 1254. INDO-PACIFIC ENGAGEMENT.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Indo-
Pacific Engagement Act''.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Congressional foreign affairs committees.--The term
``congressional foreign affairs committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and
Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(D) the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, Related
Programs of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Indo-pacific region.--The term ``Indo-Pacific region''
means--
(A) the countries under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of
East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Department of State;
and
(B) the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
(3) Principals.--The term ``principals'' means--
(A) the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and
Pacific Affairs;
(B) the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central
Asian Affairs; and
(C) the Assistant Administrator for Asia of the United
States Agency for International Development.
(c) Report.--
(1) In general.--Each time the President submits a budget
to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United
States Code, for each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2028,
the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of
State for South and Central Asian Affairs and the Assistant
Administrator for Asia of the United States Agency for
International Development, shall submit a report to the
congressional foreign affairs committees that assesses the
resources and activities required to achieve the policy
objectives described in paragraph (3).
(2) Criteria.--The report required under paragraph (1)--
(A) shall reflect the objective, autonomous, and
independent assessment of the activities, resources, and
costs required to achieve policy objectives described in
paragraph (3) by the principals, the subordinate and parallel
offices providing input into the assessment, with the
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs serving as the final decision-making authority on the
contents of the report;
(B) shall cover a period of 5 fiscal years, beginning with
the fiscal year following the fiscal year during which the
report is submitted;
(C) shall incorporate input from United States Ambassadors
in the Indo-Pacific region provided explicitly for the
required report;
(D) may include information gathered through consultation
with program offices and subject matter experts in relevant
functional bureaus, as deemed necessary by the principals;
and
(E) shall not be subject to fiscal guidance or global
strategic tradeoffs associated with the annual President's
budget request.
(3) Policy objectives.--The report required under paragraph
(1) shall assess the activities and resources required--
(A) to implement the Interim National Security Strategic
Guidance, or the most recent National Security Strategy, with
respect to the Indo-Pacific region;
[[Page S5755]]
(B) to implement the 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy of the
United States, or successor documents, that set forth the
United States Government's strategy toward the Indo-Pacific
region;
(C) to implement the State-USAID Joint Strategic Plan with
respect to the Indo-Pacific region;
(D) to enhance meaningful diplomatic and economic relations
with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific and demonstrate
an enduring United States commitment to the Indo-Pacific
region; and
(E) to secure and advance United States national interests
in the Indo-Pacific region, including through countering the
malign influence of the Government of the People's Republic
of China.
(4) Matters to be included.--The report required under
paragraph (1) shall include--
(A) a description of the bilateral and multilateral goals
of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and the
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs for the period
covered in the report that the principals deem necessary to
accomplish the policy objectives described in paragraph (3),
disaggregated by country and forum;
(B) a timeline with annual benchmarks for achieving the
policy objectives described in paragraph (3);
(C) an assessment of the sufficiency of United States
diplomatic personnel and facilities currently available in
the Indo-Pacific region to achieve the policy objectives
described in paragraph (3), through consultation with United
States embassies in the region, including--
(i) a list, in priority order, of locations in the Indo-
Pacific region that require additional diplomatic personnel
or facilities;
(ii) a description of locations where the United States may
be able to collocate diplomatic personnel at allied or
partner embassies and consulates;
(iii) a discussion of embassies or consulates where
diplomatic staff could be reduced within the Indo-Pacific
region, as appropriate; and
(iv) a detailed description of the fiscal and personnel
resources required to fill gaps identified;
(D) a detailed plan to expand United States diplomatic
engagement and foreign assistance presence in the Pacific
Island nations during the succeeding 5-year period, including
a description of ``quick impact'' programs that can be
developed and implemented within the first fiscal year of the
period covered in the report;
(E) a discussion of the resources needed to enhance United
States strategic messaging and spotlight coercive behavior by
the People's Republic of China;
(F) a detailed description of the resources and policy
tools needed to expand the United States' ability to offer
high-quality infrastructure projects in strategically
significant parts of the Indo-Pacific region, with a
particular focus on expanding investments in Southeast Asia
and the Pacific Islands;
(G) a gap assessment of security assistance by country, and
of the resources needed to fill those gaps;
(H) a description of the resources and policy tools needed
to facilitate continued private sector investment in partner
countries in the Indo-Pacific region; and
(I) a discussion of any additional bilateral or regional
assistance resources that the principals determine are
necessary to achieve the policy objectives described in
paragraph (3).
(5) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in an unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex.
(6) Distribution.--Not later than February 1 each year, the
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs shall make the report required under paragraph (1)
available to--
(A) the Secretary of State;
(B) the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID);
(C) the Deputy Secretary of State;
(D) the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and
Resources;
(E) the Deputy Administrator for Policy and Programming at
USAID;
(F) the Deputy Administrator for Management and Resources
at USAID;
(G) the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs;
(H) the Director of Foreign Assistance at the Department of
State;
(I) the Director of the Office of Foreign Assistance at
USAID; and
(J) the Director of Policy Planning at the Department of
State.
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