USIA for Strategic Competition Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7938 To improve and coordinate United States information statecraft strategy and capabilities for an era of strategic competition, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 4, 2020 Mr. MCCAUL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To improve and coordinate United States information statecraft strategy and capabilities for an era of strategic competition, 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 ‘‘United States Informa- 4 tion Abroad for Strategic Competition Act’’ or the ‘‘USIA 5 for Strategic Competition Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 (1) Beginning in 1983, the Soviet Union waged 9 a disinformation campaign against the United States 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7938 IH which came to be known as ‘‘Operation 1 INFEKTION’’, falsely accusing the Department of 2 Defense of engineering and spreading the AIDS 3 virus. 4 (2) In 1987, the Soviet Union publicly dis- 5 avowed its AIDS disinformation following the efforts 6 of the United States Active Measures Working 7 Group to refute these lies and discredit the Soviet 8 Union. 9 (3) Shortly thereafter, the Working Group en- 10 tered a period of institutional decline because its 11 work was perceived to contravene Department of 12 State efforts to engage with the Soviet Union, and 13 effectively ceased to exist following the fall of the 14 Soviet Union. 15 (4) The final report issued by members of the 16 Working Group, published by the United States In- 17 formation Agency in 1992 at the request of the 18 House of Representatives, warned that ‘‘[a]s long as 19 states and groups interested in manipulating world 20 opinion, limiting U.S. Government actions, or gener- 21 ating opposition to U.S. policies and interests con- 22 tinue to use these techniques, there will be a need 23 for the United States Information Agency to system- 24 atically monitor, analyze, and counter them.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7938 IH (5) In 2020, the Communist Party of China 1 (CCP) began a disinformation campaign against the 2 United States, falsely accusing the United States of 3 being the source of the SARS–CoV–2 novel 4 coronavirus and the United States Army of bringing 5 the virus to China. 6 SEC. 3. INFORMATION STATECRAFT. 7 (a) FINDING.—The 2017 National Security Strategy 8 establishes that it is a priority of United States Informa- 9 tion Statecraft to ‘‘improve our understanding of how ad- 10 versaries gain informational and psychological advantages 11 across all policies’’ and ‘‘empower a true public diplomacy 12 capability to compete effectively in this arena’’. 13 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to 14 advance United States foreign policy and national security 15 interests through a holistic approach to public diplomacy, 16 which shall include the following: 17 (1) Championing and promoting United States 18 values, including democratic governance, individual 19 liberty, and internationally recognized human rights. 20 (2) Supporting the international dissemination 21 of unbiased and fact-based information, and pro- 22 tecting the free flow of information globally. 23 (3) Refuting and countering foreign state and 24 nonstate propaganda, disinformation, and narratives 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7938 IH that undermine United States values, such as the 1 promotion of authoritarian governance, the denigra- 2 tion of individual liberty, and the disregard of inter- 3 nationally recognized human rights. 4 (4) Discrediting foreign state and nonstate ac- 5 tors responsible for such propaganda, 6 disinformation, and narratives, and seeking to re- 7 duce the ability of such actors to influence global 8 discourse. 9 (5) Coordinating and integrating such efforts 10 with the efforts of United States allies and partners 11 that share United States values. 12 (6) Providing for robust exchange, analytic, and 13 coordination mechanisms to accomplish such objec- 14 tives. 15 (c) GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT CENTER.—Paragraph (3) 16 of section 1287(b) of the National Defense Authorization 17 Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (22 U.S.C. 2656 note; Public 18 Law 114–328) is amended to read as follows: 19 ‘‘(3) As needed, support the development and 20 dissemination of fact-based narratives and analysis 21 to— 22 ‘‘(A) refute and counter propaganda and 23 disinformation directed at the United States 24 and United States allies and partner nations; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7938 IH ‘‘(B) discredit the actors responsible for 1 such propaganda and disinformation; and 2 ‘‘(C) reduce the ability of such actors to 3 influence global discourse.’’. 4 SEC. 4. ACTIVE MEASURES WORKING GROUP FOR THE CHI- 5 NESE COMMUNIST PARTY. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The ‘‘Communique´ on the Current State of 8 the Ideological Sphere’’, an April 22, 2013, notice 9 from the Communist Party of China’s (CCP) Cen- 10 tral Committee more commonly known as ‘‘Docu- 11 ment 9’’, establishes that under the leadership of 12 General Secretary Xi Jinping, the CCP considers 13 constitutional democracy, internationally recognized 14 human rights, liberal economics, independent jour- 15 nalism, and internal dissent to be security threats. 16 (2) In his remarks before the 19th Communist 17 Party Congress in 2017, which were titled in part 18 ‘‘Strive for the Great Success of Socialism with Chi- 19 nese Characteristics for a New Era’’, General Sec- 20 retary Xi Jinping said, ‘‘the banner of socialism with 21 Chinese characteristics is now flying high and proud 22 for all to see. It means that the path, the theory, the 23 system, and the culture of socialism with Chinese 24 characteristics have kept developing, blazing a new 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7938 IH trail for other developing countries to achieve mod- 1 ernization. It offers a new option for other countries 2 and nations.’’. 3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 4 gress that the CCP is hostile to United States values and 5 seeks to advance an alternate set of authoritarian values, 6 and therefore that the CCP and its ability to influence 7 global discourse is a national security threat to the United 8 States. 9 (c) RECONSTITUTION.—The Secretary of State shall 10 reconstitute the Active Measures Working Group (in this 11 section referred to as the ‘‘Working Group’’) for a period 12 of five years. 13 (d) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Working Group 14 shall be to create a regularly updated information 15 statecraft strategy for the whole of the United States Gov- 16 ernment to reduce the ability of the CCP to influence glob- 17 al discourse. 18 (e) MEMBERSHIP.—The Working Group shall include 19 the following officials: 20 (1) The Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy 21 of the Department of State. 22 (2) The Assistant Secretary of East Asian and 23 Pacific Affairs and the Assistant Secretary of South 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7938 IH and Central Asian Affairs of the Department of 1 State. 2 (3) The Special Envoy and Coordinator of the 3 Global Engagement Center. 4 (4) The Assistant Administrator of the Bureau 5 for Asia of the United States Agency for Inter- 6 national Development. 7 (5) The Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pa- 8 cific Security Affairs of the Department of Defense. 9 (6) The Commander of the United States Indo- 10 Pacific Command. 11 (7) Other officials the Secretary of State and 12 the President determine appropriate. 13 (f) CHAIR.—The Secretary of State shall designate 14 a member of the Working Group as the Chairperson. 15 (g) COOPERATION.—The President shall ensure that 16 the various agencies and departments of the United States 17 cooperate with the Working Group, adopt and effectuate 18 the information statecraft strategy required under sub- 19 section (h), and share information appropriately to ad- 20 vance the strategy. 21 (h) INFORMATION STATECRAFT STRATEGY.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Working 24 Group shall submit to the appropriate congressional 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7938 IH committees and distribute to each Federal depart- 1 ment and agency an information statecraft strategy. 2 (2) CONTENTS.—The information statecraft 3 strategy and biannual updates thereto required 4 under this subsection shall include the following: 5 (A) An identification of the specific CCP 6 narratives that most contribute to the CCP’s 7 ability to influence global discourse, and the en- 8 tities primarily responsible for advancing these 9 narratives and contributing to the CCP’s ability 10 to influence global discourse. 11 (B) An identification of counternarratives 12 most effective and most likely to reduce the 13 ability of the CCP to influence global discourse 14 and discredit the entities that contribute to the 15 CCP’s ability to influence global discourse. 16 (C) A detailed plan, including instructions 17 for public diplomacy officers at each United 18 States diplomatic or consular post, to imple- 19 ment such counternarratives. 20 (D) An identification of specific quan- 21 titative objectives for advancing such counter- 22 narratives, and an identification of the United 23 States officials responsible for accomplishing 24 such objectives. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7938 IH (E) A quantitative analysis of United 1 States efforts to accomplish such objectives in 2 the preceding six months, informed by the data 3 and analytical capabilities of the Under Sec- 4 retary for Public Diplomacy of the Department 5 of State and the Global Engagement Center. 6 (3) BIANNUAL UPDATES.—Not later than 180 7 days after the submission of the information 8 statecraft strategy under paragraph (1) and every 9 180 days thereafter for a period of five years, the 10 Working Group shall submit to the appropriate con- 11 gressional committees an updated information 12 statecraft strategy. 13 (4) FORM.—The information statecraft strategy 14 and biannual updates thereto required under this 15 subsection may be in classified form. 16 (5) CHIEF OF MISSION RESPONSIBILITIES.— 17 The Secretary of State should ensure that each 18 United States chief of mission— 19 (A) advances through both programming 20 and communications the objectives of the infor- 21 mation statecraft strategy and biannual updates 22 thereto; 23 (B) assigns at least one Foreign Service 24 officer to be primarily responsible for coordi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7938 IH nating such efforts at the United States diplo- 1 matic or consular post at which such chief of 2 mission is assigned; and 3 (C) provides quantitative data to the 4 Working Group about the efforts of such chief 5 of mission to accomplish the objectives of the 6 strategy, including updates thereto. 7 SEC. 5. SPECIAL FAST-TRACK PROCEDURES. 8 The Secretary of State shall establish procedures for 9 use in special circumstances, as determined by the Sec- 10 retary, to provide for rapid, synchronized releases of infor- 11 mation content globally, regionally, or across subsets of 12 United States diplomatic and consular posts. 13 SEC. 6. RESEARCH AND EVALUATION. 14 (a) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION ACTIVITIES.—The 15 Secretary of State, acting through the Director of Re- 16 search and Evaluation appointed pursuant to subsection 17 (b), shall— 18 (1) conduct regular research and evaluation of 19 public diplomacy programs and activities of the De- 20 partment of State, including through the routine use 21 of audience research, digital analytics, and impact 22 evaluations, to plan and execute such programs and 23 activities; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7938 IH (2) make available to Congress the findings of 1 such research and evaluations. 2 (b) DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.— 3 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 90 days 4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 5 retary of State shall appoint a Director of Research 6 and Evaluation (referred to in this subsection as the 7 ‘‘Director’’) in the Office of Policy, Planning, and 8 Resources for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs 9 of the Department of State. 10 (2) LIMITATION ON APPOINTMENT.—The ap- 11 pointment of the Director pursuant to paragraph (1) 12 shall not result in an increase in the overall full-time 13 equivalent positions within the Department of State. 14 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director shall— 15 (A) report to the Director of Policy Plan- 16 ning of the Office of Policy, Planning, and Re- 17 sources for Public Diplomacy and Public Af- 18 fairs of the Department of State; 19 (B) coordinate and oversee the research 20 and evaluation of public diplomacy programs 21 and activities of the Department to— 22 (i) improve public diplomacy strate- 23 gies and tactics; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7938.IH H7938 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7938 IH (ii) ensure that such programs and 1 activities are increasing the knowledge, un- 2 derstanding, and trust of the United 3 States by relevant target audiences; 4 (C) routinely organize and oversee audi- 5 ence research, digital analytics, and impact 6 evaluations across all public diplomacy bureaus 7 and offices of the Department; 8 (D) support t [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]