Combating Global Corruption Act of 2019

IC 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1309 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 23, 2019 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs AN ACT To identify and combat corruption in countries, to establish a tiered system of countries with respect to levels of corruption by their governments and their efforts to com- bat such corruption, and to assess United States assist- ance to designated countries in order to advance anti- corruption efforts in those countries and better serve United States taxpayers. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 S 1309 RFH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 3 It is the sense of Congress that— 4 (1) it is in the foreign policy interest of the 5 United States to help foreign countries promote 6 good governance and combat public corruption; 7 (2) multiple Federal departments and agencies 8 operate programs that promote good governance in 9 foreign countries and enhance such countries’ ability 10 to combat public corruption; and 11 (3) the Department of State should— 12 (A) promote coordination among the Fed- 13 eral departments and agencies implementing 14 programs to promote good governance and com- 15 bat public corruption in foreign countries in 16 order to improve effectiveness and efficiency; 17 and 18 (B) identify areas in which United States 19 efforts to help other countries promote good 20 governance and combat public corruption could 21 be enhanced. 22 SEC. 2. ANNUAL ASSESSMENT. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—For each of the fiscal years 2020 24 through 2026, the Secretary of State shall assess the ca- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 S 1309 RFH pacity and commitment of foreign governments to which 1 the United States provides foreign assistance under the 2 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) 3 or the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) 4 to combat public corruption. Each such assessment 5 shall— 6 (1) utilize independent, third party indicators 7 that measure transparency, accountability, and cor- 8 ruption in the public sector in such countries, includ- 9 ing the extent to which public power is exercised for 10 private gain, to identify those countries that are 11 most vulnerable to public corruption; 12 (2) consider, to the extent reliable information 13 is available, whether the government of a country 14 identified under paragraph (1)— 15 (A) has adopted measures to prevent pub- 16 lic corruption, such as measures to inform and 17 educate the public, including potential victims, 18 about the causes and consequences of public 19 corruption; 20 (B) has enacted laws and established gov- 21 ernment structures, policies, and practices that 22 prohibit public corruption; 23 (C) enforces such laws through a fair judi- 24 cial process; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 S 1309 RFH (D) vigorously investigates, prosecutes, 1 convicts, and sentences public officials who par- 2 ticipate in or facilitate public corruption, includ- 3 ing nationals of such country who are deployed 4 in foreign military assignments, trade delega- 5 tions abroad, or other similar missions who en- 6 gage in or facilitate public corruption; 7 (E) prescribes appropriate punishment for 8 serious, significant corruption that is commen- 9 surate with the punishment prescribed for seri- 10 ous crimes; 11 (F) prescribes appropriate punishment for 12 significant corruption that provides a suffi- 13 ciently stringent deterrent and adequately re- 14 flects the nature of the offense; 15 (G) convicts and sentences persons respon- 16 sible for such acts that take place wholly or 17 partly within the country of such government, 18 including, as appropriate, requiring the incar- 19 ceration of individuals convicted of such acts; 20 (H) holds private sector representatives ac- 21 countable for their role in public corruption; 22 and 23 (I) addresses threats for civil society to 24 monitor anti-corruption efforts; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 S 1309 RFH (3) further consider— 1 (A) verifiable measures taken by the gov- 2 ernment of a country identified under para- 3 graph (1) to prohibit government officials from 4 participating in, facilitating, or condoning pub- 5 lic corruption, including the investigation, pros- 6 ecution, and conviction of such officials; 7 (B) the extent to which such government 8 provides access, or, as appropriate, makes ade- 9 quate resources available, to civil society organi- 10 zations and other institutions to combat public 11 corruption, including reporting, investigating, 12 and monitoring; 13 (C) the extent to which an independent ju- 14 diciary or judicial body in such country is re- 15 sponsible for, and effectively capable of, decid- 16 ing public corruption cases impartially, on the 17 basis of facts and in accordance with law, with- 18 out any improper restrictions, influences, in- 19 ducements, pressures, threats, or interferences, 20 whether direct or indirect, from any source or 21 for any reason; 22 (D) the extent to which such government 23 cooperates meaningfully with the United States 24 to strengthen government and judicial institu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 S 1309 RFH tions and the rule of law to prevent, prohibit, 1 and punish public corruption; 2 (E) the extent to which such government— 3 (i) is assisting in international inves- 4 tigations of transnational public corruption 5 networks and in other cooperative efforts 6 to combat serious, significant corruption, 7 including cooperating with the govern- 8 ments of other countries to extradite cor- 9 rupt actors; 10 (ii) recognizes the rights of victims of 11 public corruption, ensures their access to 12 justice, and takes steps to prevent such 13 victims from being further victimized or 14 persecuted by corrupt actors, government 15 officials, or others; and 16 (iii) refrains from prosecuting legiti- 17 mate victims of public corruption or whis- 18 tleblowers due to such persons having as- 19 sisted in exposing public corruption, and 20 refrains from other discriminatory treat- 21 ment of such persons; and 22 (F) contain such other information relating 23 to public corruption as the Secretary of State 24 considers appropriate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 S 1309 RFH (b) IDENTIFICATION.—After conducting each assess- 1 ment under subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall 2 identify, of the countries described in subsection (a)(1)— 3 (1) which countries are meeting minimum 4 standards to combat public corruption; 5 (2) which countries are not meeting such min- 6 imum standards, but are making significant efforts 7 to do so; and 8 (3) which countries are not meeting such min- 9 imum standards and are not making significant ef- 10 forts to do so. 11 (c) REPORT.—Except as provided in subsection (d), 12 not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 13 of this Act, and annually thereafter through fiscal year 14 2026, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the 15 appropriate congressional committees, and make such re- 16 port publicly available. Such report shall— 17 (1) identify the countries described in sub- 18 section (a)(1) and paragraphs (2) and (3) of sub- 19 section (b); 20 (2) describe the methodology and data utilized 21 in the assessments under subsection (a); and 22 (3) identify the reasons for the identifications 23 referred to in paragraph (1). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 S 1309 RFH (d) BRIEFING IN LIEU OF REPORT.—The Secretary 1 of State may waive the requirement to submit and make 2 publicly available a written report under subsection (c) if 3 the Secretary— 4 (1) determines that publication of such report 5 would— 6 (A) undermine existing United States anti- 7 corruption efforts in 1 or more countries; or 8 (B) threaten the national interests of the 9 United States; and 10 (2) provides a briefing to the appropriate con- 11 gressional committees that— 12 (A) identifies the countries described in 13 subsection (a)(1) and paragraphs (2) and (3) of 14 subsection (b); 15 (B) describes the methodology and data 16 utilized in the assessment under subsection (a); 17 and 18 (C) identifies the reasons for such identi- 19 fications. 20 (e) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE DE- 21 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres- 22 sional committees’’ means— 23 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 24 Senate; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 S 1309 RFH (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 1 Senate; 2 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 3 House of Representatives; and 4 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 5 House of Representatives. 6 SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 7 For each country identified under paragraphs (2) and 8 (3) of section 2(b), the Secretary of State, in coordination 9 with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 10 International Development, as appropriate, shall— 11 (1) ensure that a corruption risk assessment 12 and mitigation strategy is included in the integrated 13 country strategy for such country; and 14 (2) utilize appropriate mechanisms to combat 15 corruption in such countries, including by ensur- 16 ing— 17 (A) the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses 18 in contracts, grants, and cooperative agree- 19 ments entered into by the Department of State 20 or the United States Agency for International 21 Development for or in such countries, which 22 allow for the termination of such contracts, 23 grants, or cooperative agreements, as the case 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 S 1309 RFH may be, without penalty if credible indicators of 1 public corruption are discovered; 2 (B) the inclusion of appropriate clawback 3 or flowdown clauses within the procurement in- 4 struments of the Department of State and the 5 United States Agency for International Devel- 6 opment that provide for the recovery of funds 7 misappropriated through corruption; 8 (C) the appropriate disclosure to the 9 United States Government, in confidential 10 form, if necessary, of the beneficial ownership 11 of contractors, subcontractors, grantees, cooper- 12 ative agreement participants, and other organi- 13 zations implementing programs on behalf of the 14 Department of State or the United States 15 Agency for International Development; and 16 (D) the establishment of mechanisms for 17 investigating allegations of misappropriated re- 18 sources and equipment. 19 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF EMBASSY ANTI-CORRUPTION 20 POINTS OF CONTACT. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall an- 22 nually designate an anti-corruption point of contact at the 23 United States diplomatic post to each country identified 24 under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 2(b), or which 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 S 1309 RFH the Secretary otherwise determines is in need of such a 1 point of contact. The point of contact shall be the chief 2 of mission or the chief of mission’s designee. 3 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each anti-corruption point 4 of contact designated under subsection (a) shall be respon- 5 sible for coordinating and overseeing the implementation 6 of a whole-of-government approach among the relevant 7 Federal departments and agencies operating programs 8 that— 9 (1) promote good governance in foreign coun- 10 tries; and 11 (2) enhance the ability of such countries— 12 (A) to combat public corruption; and 13 (B) to develop and implement corruption 14 risk assessment tools and mitigation strategies. 15 (c) TRAINING.—The Secretary of State shall imple- 16 ment appropriate training for anti-corruption points of 17 contact designated under subsection (a). 18 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 19 In this Act: 20 (1) CORRUPT ACTOR.—The term ‘‘corrupt 21 actor’’ means— 22 (A) any foreign person or entity that is a 23 government official or government entity re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 S 1309 RFH sponsible for, or complicit in, an act of public 1 corruption; and 2 (B) any company, in which a person or en- 3 tity described in subparagraph (A) has a sig- 4 nificant stake, which is responsible for, or 5 complicit in, an act of public corruption. 6 (2) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘foreign 7 assistance’’ means assistance made available 8 under— 9 (A) the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 10 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.); or 11 (B) the Arms Export Control Act (22 12 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.). 13 (3) GRAND CORRUPTION.—The term ‘‘grand 14 corruption’’ means public corruption committed at a 15 high level of government that— 16 (A) distorts policies or the central func- 17 tioning of the country; and 18 (B) enables leaders to benefit at the ex- 19 pense of the public good. 20 (4) PETTY CORRUPTION.—The term ‘‘petty cor- 21 ruption’’ means the unlawful exercise of entrusted 22 public power for private gain by low- or mid-level 23 public officials in their interactions with ordinary 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Dec 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1309.RFH S1309 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 S 1309 RFH citizens, including by bribery, nepotism, fraud, or 1 embezzlement. 2 (5) PUBLIC CORRUPTION.—The term ‘‘public 3 corruption’’ means the unlawful exercise of entrusted 4 public power for private gain, including by bribery, 5 nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement. 6 Passed the Senate December 19, 2019. Attest: JULIE E. ADAMS, Secretary. VerDate Sep 11 2014 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]