Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act

II Calendar No. 475 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 192 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 11, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations JUNE 3, 2020 Reported by Mr. RISCH, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] AN ACT To establish an interagency program to assist countries in North and West Africa to improve immediate and long- term capabilities to counter terrorist threats, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trans-Sahara Counter- 4 terrorism Partnership Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H192.RS H192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 192 RS (1) the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Part- 1 nership, launched in 2005, is an interagency pro- 2 gram to assist partner countries in the Sahel and 3 Maghreb regions of Africa on their immediate and 4 long-term capabilities to address terrorist threats 5 and prevent the spread of violent extremism; 6 (2) armed groups and violent Islamist terrorist 7 organizations, such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic 8 Maghreb, Boko Haram, the Islamic State of West 9 Africa, and other affiliated groups, have killed tens 10 of thousands of innocent civilians, displaced popu- 11 lations, destabilized local and national governments, 12 and caused mass human suffering in the affected 13 communities; 14 (3) it is in the national security interest of the 15 United States to combat the spread of radical 16 Islamist extremism and build partner countries’ ca- 17 pacity to combat these threats in Africa; 18 (4) extremist movements exploit vulnerable and 19 marginalized communities suffering from poverty, 20 lack of economic opportunity (particularly among 21 youth populations), and weak governance; and 22 (5) to address critical security, political, eco- 23 nomic, and humanitarian challenges in these regions 24 of Africa, a coordinated, interagency approach is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H192.RS H192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 192 RS needed to appropriately allocate resources, share re- 1 sponsibility, de-conflict programs, and maximize the 2 effectiveness of United States defense, diplomatic, 3 and development capabilities. 4 SEC. 3. TRANS-SAHARA COUNTERTERRORISM PARTNER- 5 SHIP. 6 (a) TRANS-SAHARA COUNTERTERRORISM PARTNER- 7 SHIP.— 8 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State, 9 in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and 10 the Administrator of the United States Agency for 11 International Development, shall establish a partner- 12 ship, to be known as the ‘‘Trans-Sahara Counterter- 13 rorism Partnership’’ (TSCTP), to coordinate all 14 United States programs, projects, and activities in 15 North and West Africa that are conducted for any 16 of the following purposes: 17 (A) To build the capacity of foreign mili- 18 tary and law enforcement entities in such re- 19 gions to conduct counterterrorism operations. 20 (B) To improve the ability of foreign mili- 21 tary and law enforcement entities in such re- 22 gions to cooperate with the United States and 23 other partner countries on counterterrorism ef- 24 forts. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H192.RS H192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 192 RS (C) To enhance the border security capac- 1 ity of partner countries in such regions, includ- 2 ing the ability to monitor, restrain, and inter- 3 dict terrorists. 4 (D) To strengthen the rule of law in such 5 countries, including access to justice, and the 6 ability of the law enforcement entities of such 7 partner countries to detect, disrupt, respond to, 8 investigate, and prosecute terrorist activity. 9 (E) To monitor and counter the financing 10 of terrorism. 11 (F) To further reduce any vulnerabilities 12 among affected populations in such regions to 13 recruitment or incitement of terrorist activities 14 through public diplomacy efforts, such as sup- 15 porting youth employment, promoting meaning- 16 ful participation of women, strengthening local 17 governance and civil society capacity, and im- 18 proving access to economic opportunities and 19 education. 20 (G) To support independent, local-lan- 21 guage media, particularly in rural areas, to 22 counter media operations and recruitment prop- 23 aganda by terrorist organizations. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H192.RS H192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 192 RS (2) CONSULTATION.—In coordinating programs 1 through the TSCTP, the Secretary of State shall 2 also consult, as appropriate, with the Director of 3 National Intelligence, the Secretary of the Treasury, 4 the Attorney General, the Chief Executive Officer of 5 the United States Agency for Global Media (for- 6 merly known as the Broadcasting Board of Gov- 7 ernors), and the heads of other relevant Federal de- 8 partments and agencies. 9 (3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later 10 than 15 days before obligating amounts for an activ- 11 ity coordinated by the TSCTP pursuant to para- 12 graph (1), the Secretary of State shall submit a no- 13 tification, in accordance with the requirements of 14 section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 15 (22 U.S.C. 2394–1), that includes the following: 16 (A) The foreign country and entity, as ap- 17 plicable, whose capabilities are to be enhanced 18 in accordance with the purposes specified in 19 paragraph (1). 20 (B) The amount, type, and purpose of sup- 21 port to be provided. 22 (C) An assessment of the capacity of the 23 foreign country or entity to absorb the assist- 24 ance to be provided. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H192.RS H192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 192 RS (D) The estimated cost and anticipated im- 1 plementation timeline for assistance. 2 (E) As applicable, a description of the ar- 3 rangements to sustain any equipment provided 4 by the activity beyond the completion date of 5 such activity, if applicable, and the estimated 6 cost and source of funds to support such 7 sustainment. 8 (F) The amount, type, statutory authoriza- 9 tion, and purpose of any United States security 10 assistance provided to such foreign country dur- 11 ing the three preceding fiscal years pursuant to 12 authorities under title 10, United States Code, 13 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 14 2151 et seq.), or any other ‘‘train and equip’’ 15 authorities of the Department of Defense. 16 (b) COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR COUNTERTER- 17 RORISM EFFORTS.— 18 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 180 days 19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 20 retary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 21 Defense and the Administrator of the United States 22 Agency for International Development, shall submit 23 to the appropriate congressional committees a com- 24 prehensive, interagency strategy that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H192.RS H192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 192 RS (A) states the objectives of the United 1 States counterterrorism effort in North and 2 West Africa with respect to the use of all forms 3 of United States assistance to counter violent 4 extremism; 5 (B) includes a plan by the Secretary of 6 State for the manner in which programs shall 7 be coordinated by the TSCTP pursuant to sub- 8 section (a)(1), including which agency or bu- 9 reau of the Department of State, as applicable, 10 will be responsible for leading and coordinating 11 each such program; and 12 (C) outlines a plan to monitor and evaluate 13 TSCTP programs and identifies the key indica- 14 tors that will be used to measure performance 15 and progress under the strategy. 16 (2) SUPPORTING MATERIAL IN ANNUAL BUDG- 17 ET REQUEST.—The Secretary of State shall include, 18 in the budget materials submitted in support of the 19 budget of the President (submitted to Congress pur- 20 suant to section 1105 of title 31, United States 21 Code) for each fiscal year beginning after the date 22 of the enactment of this Act, a description of the re- 23 quirements, activities, and planned allocation of 24 amounts requested by the TSCTP. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H192.RS H192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 192 RS (c) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS 1 AND ACTIVITIES.— 2 (1) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.—The Sec- 3 retary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 4 Defense and the Administrator of the United States 5 Agency for International Development, shall monitor 6 and evaluate the programs coordinated by the 7 TSCTP pursuant to subsection (a)(1) in accordance 8 with the plan outlined pursuant to subsection 9 (b)(1)(C). 10 (2) REPORT.—For the 5-year period beginning 11 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 12 the Secretary of State shall submit to the appro- 13 priate congressional committees an annual report on 14 monitoring and evaluation efforts pursuant to para- 15 graph (1) that describes— 16 (A) the progress made in meeting the ob- 17 jectives listed in the strategy required by sub- 18 section (b)(1), including any lessons learned in 19 carrying out TSCTP programs and activities 20 and any recommendations for improving such 21 programs and activities; 22 (B) the efforts taken to coordinate, de-con- 23 flict, and streamline TSCTP programs to maxi- 24 mize resource effectiveness; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H192.RS H192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 192 RS (C) the extent to which each partner coun- 1 try has demonstrated the ability to absorb the 2 equipment or training provided in the year pre- 3 vious under TSCTP programs, and where appli- 4 cable, the ability to maintain and appropriately 5 utilize such equipment provided; 6 (D) the extent to which each partner coun- 7 try is investing its own resources to advance the 8 goals described in subsection (a)(1) or dem- 9 onstrated a commitment and willingness to co- 10 operate with the United States to advance such 11 goals; and 12 (E) the actions taken by the government of 13 each partner country receiving assistance 14 through programs coordinated by the TSCTP 15 to combat corruption, improve transparency 16 and accountability, and promote other forms of 17 good governance. 18 (d) FORM.—The strategy required by subsection 19 (b)(1) and the report required by subsection (c)(2) shall 20 be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classi- 21 fied annex. 22 (e) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- 23 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres- 24 sional committees’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H192.RS H192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 192 RS (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the 1 Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 2 Appropriations, and the Permanent Select Com- 3 mittee on Intelligence of the House of Representa- 4 tives; and 5 (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the 6 Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 7 Appropriations, and the Select Committee on Intel- 8 ligence of the Senate. 9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 10 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trans-Sahara Counter- 11 terrorism Partnership Program Act of 2020’’. 12 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 13 It is the sense of Congress that— 14 (1) terrorist and violent extremist organizations, 15 such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko 16 Haram, the Islamic State of West Africa, and other 17 affiliated groups, have killed tens of thousands of in- 18 nocent civilians, displaced populations, destabilized 19 local and national governments, and caused mass 20 human suffering in the affected communities; 21 (2) poor governance, political and economic 22 marginalization, and lack of accountability for 23 human rights abuses by security forces are drivers of 24 extremism; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H192.RS H192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 192 RS (3) it is in the national security interest of the 1 United States to combat the spread of terrorism and 2 violent extremism and build the capacity of partner 3 countries to combat these threats in Africa; 4 (4) terrorist and violent extremist organizations 5 exploit vulnerable and marginalized communities suf- 6 fering from poverty, lack of economic opportunity 7 (particularly among youth populations), corruption, 8 and weak governance; and 9 (5) a comprehensive, coordinated interagency ap- 10 proach is needed to develop an effective strategy to ad- 11 dress the security challenges in the Sahel-Maghreb, 12 appropriately allocate resources, de-conflict programs, 13 and maximize the effectiveness of United States de- 14 fense, diplomatic, and development capabilities. 15 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 16 It is the policy of the United States to assist countries 17 in North and West Africa, and other allies and partners 18 active in those regions, in combating terrorism and violent 19 extremism through a coordinated interagency approach 20 with a consistent strategy that appropriately balances secu- 21 rity activities with diplomatic and development efforts to 22 address the political, socioeconomic, governance, and devel- 23 opment challenges in North and West Africa that contribute 24 to terrorism and violent extremism. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H192.RS H192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 192 RS SEC. 4. TRANS-SAHARA COUNTERTERRORISM PARTNER- 1 SHIP PROGRAM. 2 (a) TRANS-SAHARA COUNTERTERRORISM PARTNER- 3 SHIP PROGRAM.— 4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State, 5 in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the 6 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter- 7 national Development, shall establish a partnership 8 program, to be known as the ‘‘Trans-Sahara Counter- 9 terrorism Partnership (TSCTP) Program’’ to coordi- 10 nate all programs, projects, and activities of the 11 United States Government in countries in North and 12 West Africa that are conducted for any of the fol- 13 lowing purpos [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]