II 

Calendar No. 155 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 727 

To combat international extremism by addressing global fragility and violence 

and stabilizing conflict-affected areas, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 7, 2019 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. 

YOUNG, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. 

GARDNER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. KAINE, Mr. 

PETERS, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. ISAKSON, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

JULY 18, 2019 

Reported by Mr. RISCH, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To combat international extremism by addressing global fragility and violence and stabilizing conflict-affected areas, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Fragility Act 

3 of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE5 FINED. 

6 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’’ means— 

8 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

9 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

10 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

11 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep12 resentatives. 

13 TITLE I—DEVELOPMENT OF A 

14 COMPREHENSIVE, TEN-YEAR, 

15 GLOBAL FRAGILITY STRAT16 EGY, AND SELECTION OF PRI17 ORITY COUNTRIES 

18 SEC. 101. GLOBAL FRAGILITY STRATEGY. 

19 (a) STRATEGY.—The President, in coordination with 

20 the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United 

21 States Agency for International Development (USAID), 

22 the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other relevant 

23 Federal agencies, shall establish a comprehensive, inte24 grated, ten-year strategy, to be referred to as the ‘‘Global 

25 Fragility Strategy’’, to contribute to the stabilization of 

26 conflict-affected areas, address global fragility, and 


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1 strengthen the capacity of the United States to be an ef2 fective leader of international efforts to prevent extremism 

3 and violent conflict. The strategy shall focus on addressing 

4 long-term causes of fragility and violence, and shall— 

5 (1) consider the causes of fragility and violence 

6 at both the local and national levels, the external ac7 tors that reinforce and exploit such conditions, and 

8 successful prevention strategies and their key fea9 tures; 

10 (2) include specific objectives and multisectoral 

11 approaches to reduce fragility and the causes of vio12 lence, including those that strengthen state-society 

13 relations, curb extremist ideology, and make society 

14 less vulnerable to the spread of extremism and vio15 lence; 

16 (3) encourage and empower local and national 

17 actors to address the concerns of their citizens, in18 cluding in vulnerable communities, and build com19 munity resilience against violence and extremism; 

20 (4) address the long-term underlying causes of 

21 fragility and violence through participatory, locally 

22 led programs, empowering marginalized groups such 

23 as youth and women, inclusive dialogues and conflict 

24 resolutions processes, justice sector reform, good 

25 governance across all sectors, community policing 


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1 and civilian security, and accountable and fair serv2 ice delivery; 

3 (5) describe approaches that ensure national 

4 leadership where appropriate and participatory en5 gagement by civil society and local partners in the 

6 design implementation and monitoring of programs; 

7 (6) assign roles for relevant Federal agencies to 

8 avoid duplication of efforts, while ensuring that— 

9 (A) the Department of State is responsible 

10 for leading the strategy, establishing United 

11 States foreign policy, advancing diplomatic and 

12 political efforts, and guiding security assistance 

13 and related civilian security efforts; 

14 (B) USAID is responsible for overseeing 

15 prevention programs, and is the lead imple16 menting agency for development, humanitarian, 

17 and related non-security program policy; 

18 (C) activities undertaken or supported by 

19 the Department of Defense in relation to the 

20 Global Fragility Strategy are established 

21 through joint formulation and with the concur22 rence of the Secretary of State; and 

23 (D) other Federal agencies support the ac24 tivities of the Department of State and USAID 

25 as appropriate, with the concurrence of the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:44 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S727.RS S727

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1 retary of State and the Administrator of the 

2 United States Agency for International Devel3 opment; 

4 (7) describe programs that agencies will under5 take to achieve the stated objectives, including de6 scriptions of existing programs and funding by fiscal 

7 year and account; 

8 (8) identify mechanisms to improve coordina9 tion between the United States, foreign govern10 ments, and international organizations, including the 

11 World Bank, the United Nations, regional organiza12 tions, and private sector organizations; 

13 (9) address efforts to expand public-private 

14 partnerships and leverage private sector resources; 

15 (10) describe the criteria, metrics, and mecha16 nisms for monitoring and evaluation of programs 

17 and objectives in the strategy; 

18 (11) describe how the strategy will ensure that 

19 programs are country-led and context-specific; and 

20 (12) identify mechanisms or activities to reduce 

21 the risk that the programs, policies, or resources of 

22 the United States and its partners will facilitate cor23 ruption, empower or abet repressive local actors, or 

24 be exploited by extremists to gain support for their 

25 cause. 


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1 (b) REPORT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

4 President shall submit to the appropriate congres5 sional committees a report setting forth the strategy 

6 described in subsection (a), which shall be submitted 

7 in unclassified form, but may include a classified 

8 annex if necessary. 

9 (2) REPORT CONTENTS.—The report required 

10 under paragraph (1) shall include the elements de11 scribed in paragraph (3), and may include additional 

12 elements relevant to the strategy described in sub13 section (a). 

14 (3) REPORT ELEMENTS.—The elements re15 ferred to in paragraph (2) are as follows: 

16 (A) The objectives, general and specific, of 

17 the strategy. 

18 (B) An identification of the relevant Fed19 eral agencies that will be involved and the as20 signment of priorities to such agencies. 

21 (C) A description of the compact-based 

22 partnerships that will be established to ensure 

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1 sults and resources needed to support such 

2 partnerships. 

3 (D) Identification of the authorities, staff4 ing, and other requirements needed to effec5 tively implement the Global Fragility Strategy. 

6 (E) A description of the ways in which 

7 United States leadership will be used to en8 hance overall international prevention efforts, 

9 including through increasing the engagement of 

10 the member states of the Group of Eight and 

11 Group of Twenty. 

12 (F) Identification of which officials of the 

13 Department of State, USAID, and the Depart14 ment of Defense, with a rank not lower than 

15 Assistant Secretary or Assistant Administrator, 

16 will be responsible for overseeing and leading 

17 the strategy. 

18 (G) A list of priority countries selected 

19 pursuant to section 102, including descriptions 

20 of the rationale for such selections. 

21 (c) STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION.—The Global 

22 Fragility Strategy required under this section shall be de23 veloped in consultation with representatives of civil society 

24 and national and local governance entities in countries de25 scribed in section 103, as well as relevant international 


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1 development organizations with experience implementing 

2 programs in fragile countries, multilateral organizations 

3 and donors, relevant private, academic, and philanthropic 

4 entities, and the appropriate congressional committees. 

5 SEC. 102. SELECTION OF PRIORITY COUNTRIES. 

6 The President, in coordination with the Secretary of 

7 State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

8 International Development, and the Secretary of Defense, 

9 and in consultation with the appropriate congressional 

10 committees, shall select certain countries as ‘‘priority 

11 countries’’ for the purpose of implementing the strategy 

12 required under section 101(a)— 

13 (1) on the basis of— 

14 (A) the national security interest of the 

15 United States; 

16 (B) clearly defined indicators of the levels 

17 of violence or fragility in such, such as the 

18 country’s— 

19 (i) ranking on recognized global fra20 gility lists; 

21 (ii) ranking on select United States 

22 Government conflict and atrocity early 

23 warning watch lists; and 

24 (iii) levels of violence, including vio25 lence committed by armed groups, state 


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1 actors, and violent extremist organizations, 

2 gender-based violence, and violence against 

3 children and youth; and 

4 (C) an assessment of the commitment and 

5 capacity of national and sub-national govern6 ment entities and civil society partners in such 

7 country to work with Federal departments and 

8 agencies on the Global Fragility Strategy, in9 cluding by demonstrating commitment to— 

10 (i) improving inclusive, transparent, 

11 and accountable power structures, includ12 ing effective, legitimate, and resilient na13 tional and sub-national institutions; and 

14 (ii) ensuring strong foundations for 

15 human rights, rule of law, and equal access 

16 to justice; and 

17 (2) in a manner that ensures that not fewer 

18 than five countries are selected, and such countries 

19 are in the areas of responsibility of at least three ge20 ographic bureaus of the Department of State. 

21 SEC. 103. PRIORITY COUNTRY PLANS. 

22 Not later than one year after the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, the President, in coordination with the 

24 Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United States 

25 Agency for International Development, the Secretary of 


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1 Defense, and the heads of other relevant Federal depart2 ments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate con3 gressional committees ten-year plans to align and inte4 grate under the Global Fragility Strategy established pur5 suant to section 101 all diplomatic, development, security 

6 assistance and cooperation, and other relevant activities 

7 of the United States Government with respect to each of 

8 the countries selected pursuant to section 102. Each such 

9 country plan shall include the following elements: 

10 (1) Specific multi-year interagency plans for co11 ordination and implementation under each such 

12 plan. 

13 (2) An up-to-date baseline analysis for each 

14 such country, including an analysis of power dynam15 ics, impacts of violence, and conditions that con16 tribute to violence and fragility. 

17 (3) Prioritized descriptions of the goals and ob18 jectives for stabilizing conflict-affected areas, reduc19 ing fragility, and preventing the spread of extremism 

20 and violence in each such country. 

21 (4) Descriptions of how and when the relevant 

22 goals, objectives, plans, and benchmarks for each 

23 such country will be incorporated into relevant 

24 United States country plans and strategies. 


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1 (5) Interagency plans to ensure that appro2 priate local actors, including government and civil 

3 society entities, have an appropriate ownership stake 

4 in relevant activities under each such plan. 

5 (6) Interagency plans to integrate existing and 

6 planned security assistance and cooperation pro7 grams in each such country with the strategy, and 

8 to mitigate risks associated with such programs, in9 cluding risks related to corruption, governance, and 

10 human rights. 

11 (7) Assessment, monitoring, and evaluation 

12 frameworks for diplomatic, development, and secu13 rity activities, which shall be informed by consulta14 tions with the stakeholders specified in section 

15 101(c), with clear, date-certain metrics for each such 

16 country. 

17 (8) Descriptions of available policy tools and 

18 how such tools will be used to reduce fragility, pre19 vent the spread of extremism and violence, and sta20 bilize conflict-affected areas in each such country. 

21 (9) A description of how planning and imple22 mentation for each such country will be coordinated 

23 to ensure such planning and implementation are 

24 conducted in partnership between the United States 

25 Government and— 


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1 (A) governments of such countries; 

2 (B) international development organiza3 tions; 

4 (C) relevant international donors; 

5 (D) multilateral organizations; and 

6 (E) the private sector. 

7 (10) A regional component outlining plans to 

8 address relevant transnational issues and how such 

9 country is affected by or at risk of regional fragility 

10 or violence. 

11 SEC. 104. IMPLEMENTATION. 

12 The President, in coordination with the Secretary of 

13 State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

14 International Development, the Secretary of Defense, the 

15 heads of other relevant Federal agencies, relevant United 

16 States ambassadors, USAID mission directors, geographic 

17 combatant commanders, and other relevant individuals 

18 with responsibility over activities in each priority country 

19 selected pursuant to section 102, shall ensure that— 

20 (1) the Global Fragility Strategy required 

21 under section 101, including each of the country 

22 plans developed under section 103, is implemented, 

23 updated, and coordinated on a regular and iterative 

24 basis; and 


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1 (2) the strategy is used to guide United States 

2 Government policy and incorporated into relevant 

3 strategies and plans across the United States Gov4 ernment such that the activities of all Federal agen5 cies are consistent with the strategy. 

6 SEC. 105. BIENNIAL REPORTS AND CONGRESSIONAL CON7 SULTATION. 

8 (a) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Not later than two years 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every two 

10 years thereafter until the date that is ten years after such 

11 date of enactment, the President, the Secretary of State, 

12 the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter13 national Development, the Secretary of Defense, and the 

14 heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies 

15 shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional com16 mittees an unclassified report, which may include a classi17 fied annex, on progress made and lessons learned with re18 spect to the implementation of the Global Fragility Strat19 egy established pursuant to section 101. The report shall 

20 include the following elements: 

21 (1) Descriptions of steps taken to incorporate 

22 the strategy into any relevant, existing country and 

23 regional plans or strategies. 

24 (2) Accountings of all funding received and ob25 ligated to implement each such country and regional 


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1 plan during the previous two years, as well as fund2 ing requested, planned, and projected for the fol3 lowing two years. 

4 (3) Descriptions of progress made towards 

5 achieving specific targets, metrics, and indicators for 

6 each priority country. 

7 (4) Descriptions of any changes made to pro8 grams based on the results of assessment, moni9 toring, and evaluation for each priority country. 

10 SEC. 106. GAO REVIEW. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

13 of the United States shall consult with the appropriate 

14 congressional committees regarding opportunities for inde15 pendent review of the activities implemented under the 

16 Global Fragility Strategy established pursuant to section 

17 101. 

18 (b) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The heads of 

19 relevant Federal departments and agencies shall ensure 

20 that all relevant data, documents, and other information 

21 is made available to the Comptroller General of the United 

22 States for purposes of conducting independent reviews 

23 pursuant to this section. 


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1 TITLE II—AUTHORIZATION OF 

2 APPROPRIATIONS 

3 SEC. 201. STABILIZATION AND PREVENTION FUND. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is authorized a fund to 

5 be known as the ‘‘Prevention and Stabilization Fund’’ (in 

6 this section referred to as ‘‘The Fund’’), which shall re7 place the Relief and Recovery Fund. 

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec10 essary for the Prevention and Stabilization Fund to sup11 port stabilization of conflict-affected areas and mitigate 

12 fragility, including through the Global Fragility Strategy. 

13 (c) PURPOSES OF THE FUND.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts authorized to be 

15 appropriated to the Fund shall be used— 

16 (A) to support stabilization of conflict-af17 fected areas and prevent global fragility, includ18 ing through the Global Fragility Strategy estab19 lished pursuant to section 101; and 

20 (B) to provide assistance to areas liberated 

21 or at risk from, or under the control of, the Is22 lamic State of Iraq and Syria, other terrorist 

23 organizations, or violent extremist organiza24 tions, including for stabilization assistance for 


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1 vulnerable ethnic and religious minority commu2 nities affected by conflict. 

3 (2) AMOUNTS IN ADDITION.—Amounts author4 ized to be appropriated to the Fund under this sec5 tion are in addition to any funds otherwise made 

6 available for the purposes described in paragraph 

7 (1). 

8 SEC. 202. COMPLEX CRISES FUND. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is authorized a fund, 

10 which shall be known as the ‘‘Complex Crises Fund’’ (in 

11 this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’), to be adminis12 tered by the United States Agency for International Devel13 opment, to support programs and activities to prevent or 

14 respond to emerging or unforeseen events overseas. 

15 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec17 essary for the Fund, including to support the Global Fra18 gility Strategy, which shall remain available remain avail19 able until expended. 

20 (c) PURPOSES OF ASSISTANCE.—Notwithstanding 

21 any other provision of law, except section 620M of the 

22 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d), 

23 amounts in the Fund may be used to carry out the provi24 sions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

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1 vent or respond to emerging or unforeseen events overseas, 

2 including through support to the Global Fragility Strat3 egy. 

4 (d) LIMITATIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund may 

6 not be expended for lethal assistance or to respond 

7 to natural disasters. 

8 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more 

9 than five percent of the amounts in the Fund may 

10 be used for administrative expenses. 

11 (e) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 

12 five days before amounts from the Fund are obligated, the 

13 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter14 national Development shall submit notification of such ob15 ligation to the appropriate congressional committees. 

16 (f) WAIVER.—The notification requirement under 

17 subsection (e) be may be waived if— 

18 (1) notification by the deadline specified in such 

19 paragraph would pose a substantial risk to human 

20 health or welfare; and 

21 (2) the appropriate congressional committees— 

22 (A) are notified not later than three days 

23 after an obligation of amounts from the Fund; 

24 and 


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1 (B) are provided with an explanation of 

2 the emergency circumstances that necessitated 

3 such waiver. 

4 TITLE III—PARTNERSHIP 

5 DEVELOPMENT FUND 

6 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND. 

7 (a) NEGOTIATIONS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF

8 FUND.—The Secretary of State, in consultation with the 

9 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter10 national Development and the heads of other relevant 

11 Federal agencies, shall seek to enter into negotiations with 

12 key bilateral and multilateral donors, including the World 

13 Bank, and with developing countries where fragility 

14 threatens to exacerbate violent extremism and undermine 

15 development, including members of the g7+, toward the 

16 establishment, in accordance with the provisions of this 

17 title, of the Partnership Development Fund. 

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Partnership 

19 Development Fund shall be to use contributed funds— 

20 (1) to assist in addressing the sources of fra21 gility in priority countries selected pursuant to sec22 tion 102 of this Act or otherwise determined by the 

23 Partnership Development Fund; and 

24 (2) to strengthen national and local good gov25 ernance and conflict resolution capacity over the 


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1 long-term, moving beyond uncoordinated, short-term 

2 investments by improving international coordination 

3 and enabling support for comprehensive, compact4 based agreements that support country-led strate5 gies. 

6 SEC. 302. CONSULTATIONS AND PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PARTNERSHIP DEVELOP8 MENT FUND.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall con10 sult with the appropriate congressional committees on 

11 plans for the establishment of the Partnership Develop12 ment Fund, including the mechanism though which donor 

13 funds will be received and distributed, the makeup and 

14 composition of a Board of Directors, qualifications of such 

15 Board members, composition of a secretariat, and mecha16 nisms for oversight and accountability. The Board shall 

17 consist of representatives of participating donor countries, 

18 fragility- and conflict-affected countries, civil society, and 

19 multilateral and nongovernmental organizations. The 

20 President shall, with the advice and consent of the Senate, 

21 appoint a United States Board member and an alternate 

22 member for a four-year term. 

23 (b) PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FUND GRANTS.— 

24 The Partnership Development Fund shall provide grants 

25 to support policies and programs that assist recipient 


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1 countries in achieving lasting stability, resilience to violent 

2 extremism, and development, including by building capac3 ity in national and local government, civil society, and the 

4 private sector. The Fund shall include criteria for can5 didate governments and nongovernmental entities to re6 ceive grants through multi-year, compact-based agree7 ments, established through inclusive and open processes 

8 and that are linked to a national development plan and 

9 based on joint analysis and strategic planning. 

10 SEC. 303. CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS AND DISCLOSURE ON 

11 THE PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FUND. 

12 (a) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

13 (1) ANNUAL REPORTS BY THE FUND.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

16 annually thereafter for the duration of the 

17 Fund, the United States representative to the 

18 Fund shall provide to the appropriate congres19 sional committees a report on the Fund. 

20 (B) REPORT ELEMENTS.—The report re21 quired under subparagraph (A) shall include a 

22 description of— 

23 (i) the goals of the Fund; 


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1 (ii) the programs, projects, and activi2 ties, including approaches to scaling pro3 grams, supported by the Fund; 

4 (iii) private and governmental con5 tributions to the Fund; 

6 (iv) the criteria for determining the 

7 programs and activities that should be as8 sisted by the Fund, and the metrics for the 

9 monitoring and evaluation of such pro10 grams and activities; and 

11 (v) the country-level processes estab12 lished to support compact-based agree13 ments and promote international coordina14 tion. 

15 (2) GAO REPORT ON FUND EFFECTIVENESS.— 

16 Not later than three years after the date of the en17 actment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

18 United States shall submit to the appropriate con19 gressional committees a report evaluating the effec20 tiveness of the Fund, including— 

21 (A) the effectiveness of the programs, 

22 projects, and activities described in paragraph 

23 (1)(B)(ii) in violence reduction and mitigating 

24 fragility as a root cause; and 


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1 (B) an assessment of the merits of contin2 ued United States financial contributions to the 

3 Fund. 

4 (b) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF ACTIVITIES.—Not later 

5 than 90 days after the end of each fiscal quarter, the Fund 

6 should make available to the public the following informa7 tion with respect to awarded grants: 

8 (1) The name of each entity to which assistance 

9 is provided. 

10 (2) The amount of assistance provided to the 

11 entity. 

12 (3) A description of the compact-based agree13 ment, including a detailed description of the objec14 tives and measures for results of the program or 

15 project, which should continue to be monitored in 

16 the years following the end of the grant period to de17 termine the enduring impact of the grant. 

18 SEC. 304. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 In addition to any other funds authorized to be ap20 propriated for multilateral or bilateral programs related 

21 to conflict prevention, countering violent extremism, sta22 bilization, or economic development, there is authorized to 

23 be appropriated to the Department of State such sums 

24 as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

25 2022 for contributions to the Partnership. 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Fragility Act 

3 of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE5 FINED. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT8 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit9 tees’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

11 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

12 Senate; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

14 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

15 Representatives. 

16 (2) RELEVANT FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OR AGEN17 CY.—The term ‘‘relevant Federal department or agen18 cy’’ means the Department of State, the United States 

19 Agency for International Development, the Depart20 ment of Defense, the Department of Treasury, and 

21 any other Federal department or agency the President 

22 determines is relevant to carry out the purposes of 

23 this Act. 

24 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

25 It is the policy of the United States to— 


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1 (1) ensure that all relevant Federal departments 

2 and agencies coordinate to achieve coherent, long-term 

3 goals for programs designed to stabilize conflict-af4 fected areas and prevent violence and fragility glob5 ally, including when implementing the Global Fra6 gility Strategy established pursuant to section 4; 

7 (2) seek to improve global, regional, and local co8 ordination of relevant international and multilateral 

9 development and donor organizations regarding ef10 forts to stabilize conflict-affected areas and prevent vi11 olence and fragility globally, and, where practicable 

12 and appropriate, align such efforts with multilateral 

13 goals and indicators; 

14 (3) expand and enhance the effectiveness of 

15 United States foreign assistance programs and activi16 ties to stabilize conflict-affected areas and prevent vio17 lence and fragility globally; 

18 (4) support the research and development of ef19 fective approaches to stabilize conflict-affected areas 

20 and prevent violence and fragility globally, and data 

21 collection efforts relevant to such approaches; and 

22 (5) improve the tools and authorities for assess23 ment, monitoring, and evaluation needed to enable 

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1 affected areas and prevent violence and fragility glob2 ally, as necessary and appropriate. 

3 SEC. 4. GLOBAL FRAGILITY STRATEGY. 

4 (a) STRATEGY.—The President, in coordination with 

5 the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United 

6 States Agency for International Development (‘‘USAID’’), 

7 the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other relevant 

8 Federal departments and agencies, shall establish a com9 prehensive, integrated, ten-year strategy, to be referred to 

10 as the ‘‘Global Fragility Strategy’’, to contribute to the sta11 bilization of conflict-affected areas, address global fragility, 

12 and strengthen the capacity of the United States to be an 

13 effective leader of international efforts to prevent extremism 

14 and violent conflict. The strategy shall focus on addressing 

15 long-term causes of fragility and violence, and shall— 

16 (1) consider the causes of fragility and violence 

17 at both the local and national levels, the external ac18 tors that reinforce and exploit such conditions, and 

19 successful prevention strategies and their key features; 

20 (2) include specific objectives and multisectoral 

21 approaches to reduce fragility and the causes of vio22 lence, including those that strengthen state-society re23 lations, curb extremist ideology, and make society less 

24 vulnerable to the spread of extremism and violence; 


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1 (3) encourage and empower local and national 

2 actors to address the concerns of their citizens, includ3 ing those in vulnerable communities, and build com4 munity resilience against violence and extremism; 

5 (4) address the long-term underlying causes of 

6 fragility and violence through participatory, locally 

7 led programs, empowering marginalized groups such 

8 as youth and women, inclusive dialogues and conflict 

9 resolutions processes, justice sector reform, good gov10 ernance across all sectors, community policing and ci11 vilian security, and inclusive and accountable service 

12 delivery; 

13 (5) describe approaches that ensure national 

14 leadership where appropriate and participatory en15 gagement by civil society and local partners in the 

16 design, implementation, and monitoring of programs; 

17 (6) assign roles for relevant Federal departments 

18 and agencies to avoid duplication of efforts, while en19 suring that— 

20 (A) the Department of State is responsible 

21 for leading the strategy, establishing United 

22 States foreign policy, advancing diplomatic and 

23 political efforts, and guiding security assistance 

24 and related civilian security efforts; 


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1 (B) USAID is responsible for overseeing 

2 prevention programs, and is the lead imple3 menting agency for development, humanitarian, 

4 and related non-security program policy; 

5 (C) activities undertaken or supported by 

6 the Department of Defense in relation to the 

7 Global Fragility Strategy are established through 

8 joint formulation and with the concurrence of the 

9 Secretary of State; and 

10 (D) other relevant Federal departments and 

11 agencies support the activities of the Department 

12 of State and USAID as appropriate, with the 

13 concurrence of the Secretary of State and the Ad14 ministrator of the United States Agency for 

15 International Development; 

16 (7) describe programs that relevant Federal de17 partments and agencies will undertake to achieve the 

18 stated objectives, including descriptions of existing 

19 programs and funding by fiscal year and account; 

20 (8) identify mechanisms to improve coordination 

21 between the United States, foreign governments, and 

22 international organizations, including the World 

23 Bank, the United Nations, regional organizations, 

24 and private sector organizations; 


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1 (9) address efforts to expand public-private part2 nerships and leverage private sector resources; 

3 (10) describe the criteria, metrics, and mecha4 nisms for monitoring and evaluation of programs and 

5 objectives in the strategy; 

6 (11) describe how the strategy will ensure that 

7 programs are country-led and context-specific; and 

8 (12) identify mechanisms or activities to reduce 

9 the risk that the programs, policies, or resources of the 

10 United States and its partners will facilitate corrup11 tion, empower or abet repressive local actors, or be ex12 ploited by extremists to gain support for their cause. 

13 (b) STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION.—The Global Fra14 gility Strategy required under this section shall be devel15 oped in consultation with representatives of civil society 

16 and national and local governance entities in countries and 

17 regions described in section 5, as well as relevant inter18 national development organizations with experience imple19 menting programs in fragile states, multilateral organiza20 tions and donors, relevant private, academic, and philan21 thropic entities, and the appropriate congressional commit22 tees. 

23 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to 

25 the appropriate congressional committees a report setting 


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1 forth the strategy described in subsection (a), which shall 

2 be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classi3 fied annex if necessary, and shall include, at a minimum, 

4 the following elements: 

5 (1) The objectives, general and specific, of the 

6 strategy. 

7 (2) An identification of the relevant Federal de8 partments and agencies that will be involved and the 

9 assignment of priorities to such departments and 

10 agencies. 

11 (3) A description of the compact-based partner12 ships that will be established to ensure local leader13 ship of strategies, policy, and programs, as well as 

14 mutual accountability for results and resources need15 ed to support such partnerships. 

16 (4) An identification of the authorities, staffing, 

17 and other requirements, as necessary and appro18 priate, needed to effectively implement the Global 

19 Fragility Strategy. 

20 (5) A description of the ways in which United 

21 States leadership will be used to enhance overall 

22 international prevention efforts, including through in23 creasing the engagement of the member states of the 

24 Group of Eight and Group of Twenty. 


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1 (6) An identification of which officials of the De2 partment of State, USAID, and the Department of 

3 Defense, with a rank not lower than Assistant Sec4 retary or Assistant Administrator, will be responsible 

5 for leading and overseeing the strategy. 

6 (7) A list of priority countries and regions se7 lected pursuant to section 5, including descriptions of 

8 the rationale for such selections. 

9 SEC. 5. SELECTION OF PRIORITY COUNTRIES AND RE10 GIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, in coordination 

12 with the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United 

13 States Agency for International Development, and the Sec14 retary of Defense, and in consultation with the appropriate 

15 congressional committees specified in subsection (b), shall 

16 select certain countries as ‘‘priority countries’’ and certain 

17 regions as ‘‘priority regions’’ for the purpose of imple18 menting the Global Fragility Strategy required under sec19 tion 4— 

20 (1) on the basis of— 

21 (A) the national security interests of the 

22 United States; 

23 (B) clearly defined indicators of the levels of 

24 violence or fragility in such country or region, 

25 such as the country’s or region’s— 


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1 (i) ranking on recognized global fra2 gility lists, such as the Organization for 

3 Economic Co-operation and Development 

4 States of Fragility report, the Fund for 

5 Peace Fragile States Index, the World Bank 

6 Harmonized List of Fragile Situations, the 

7 Institute for Economics and Peace Global 

8 Peace Index, and the Holocaust Museum 

9 Early Warning Project Risk Assessment; 

10 (ii) ranking on select United States 

11 Government conflict and atrocity early 

12 warning watch lists; and 

13 (iii) levels of violence, including vio14 lence committed by armed groups, state ac15 tors, and violent extremist organizations, 

16 gender-based violence, and violence against 

17 children and youth; and 

18 (C) an assessment of— 

19 (i) the commitment and capacity of 

20 national and sub-national government enti21 ties and civil society partners in such coun22 try or region to work with relevant Federal 

23 departments and agencies on the Global 

24 Fragility Strategy, including by dem25 onstrating commitment to— 


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1 (I) improving inclusive, trans2 parent, and accountable power struc3 tures, including effective, legitimate, 

4 and resilient national and sub-na5 tional institutions; and 

6 (II) ensuring strong foundations 

7 for human rights, rule of law, and 

8 equal access to justice; and 

9 (ii) the likelihood that United States 

10 assistance under the Global Fragility Strat11 egy would measurably help to reduce fra12 gility, prevent the spread of extremism and 

13 violence, and stabilize conflict-affected areas 

14 in each such country or region; and 

15 (2) in a manner that ensures that not fewer than 

16 five countries or regions are selected, and such coun17 tries or regions are in the areas of responsibility of 

18 at least three geographic bureaus of the Department 

19 of State. 

20 (b) CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS.—Prior to final21 ization of the selection of priority countries and regions 

22 under subsection (a), representatives from the Department 

23 of State, USAID, the Department of Defense, and other rel24 evant Federal departments and agencies, as necessary and 

25 appropriate, shall brief the appropriate congressional comVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:44 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S727.RS S727

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1 mittees on the countries and regions being considered and 

2 shall consider congressional input on such prioritization. 

3 SEC. 6. PRIORITY COUNTRY AND REGIONAL PLANS. 

4 Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act, the President, in coordination with the Sec6 retary of State, the Administrator of the United States 

7 Agency for International Development, the Secretary of De8 fense, and the heads of other relevant Federal departments 

9 and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

10 committees ten-year plans to align and integrate under the 

11 Global Fragility Strategy established pursuant to section 

12 4 all relevant diplomatic, development, and security assist13 ance and activities of the United States Government with 

14 respect to each of the countries and regions selected pursu15 ant to section 5. Each such country and regional plan shall 

16 include the following elements: 

17 (1) Specific multi-year interagency plans for co18 ordination and implementation under each such plan. 

19 (2) An up-to-date baseline analysis for each such 

20 country or region, including an analysis of power dy21 namics, impacts of violence, and conditions that con22 tribute to violence and fragility. 

23 (3) Prioritized descriptions of the goals and ob24 jectives for stabilizing conflict-affected areas, reducing 


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1 fragility, and preventing the spread of extremism and 

2 violence in each such country. 

3 (4) Descriptions of how and when the relevant 

4 goals, objectives, plans, and benchmarks for each such 

5 country or region will be incorporated into relevant 

6 United States country or regional plans and strate7 gies, including the National Security Strategy of the 

8 United States, the Security Assistance Review, De9 partment of State Integrated Country Strategies, 

10 USAID Country Development Cooperation Strategies, 

11 and Department of Defense Campaign Plans, Oper12 ational Plans, and Regional Strategies, as well as 

13 any equivalent or successor plans or strategies. 

14 (5) Interagency plans to ensure that appropriate 

15 local actors, including government and civil society 

16 entities, have an appropriate ownership stake in de17 veloping, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating 

18 relevant activities under each such plan. 

19 (6) Interagency plans to integrate existing and 

20 planned security assistance and cooperation programs 

21 in each such country or region with the strategy, and 

22 to mitigate risks associated with such programs, in23 cluding risks related to corruption, governance, and 

24 human rights. 


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1 (7) Assessment, monitoring, and evaluation 

2 frameworks for diplomatic, development, and security 

3 assistance and activities, which shall be informed by 

4 consultations with the stakeholders specified in section 

5 4(b), with clear, date-certain metrics for each such 

6 country or region. 

7 (8) Descriptions of available policy tools and 

8 how such tools will be used to reduce fragility, prevent 

9 the spread of extremism and violence, and stabilize 

10 conflict-affected areas in each such country or region. 

11 (9) A description of how planning and imple12 mentation of assistance under the Global Fragility 

13 Strategy for each such country or region will be co14 ordinated in a manner that strengthens partnerships 

15 and leverages the unique expertise and resources of the 

16 United States Government and— 

17 (A) governments of such countries; 

18 (B) international development organiza19 tions; 

20 (C) relevant international donors; 

21 (D) multilateral organizations; and 

22 (E) the private sector. 

23 (10) A regional component outlining plans to 

24 address relevant transnational issues and how each 


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1 such country is affected by or at risk of regional fra2 gility or violence. 

3 SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION. 

4 The President, in coordination with the Secretary of 

5 State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

6 International Development, the Secretary of Defense, the 

7 heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, 

8 relevant United States ambassadors, USAID mission direc9 tors, geographic combatant commanders, and other relevant 

10 individuals with responsibility over activities in each pri11 ority country or region selected pursuant to section 5, shall 

12 ensure that— 

13 (1) the Global Fragility Strategy required under 

14 section 4, including each of the country plans devel15 oped under section 6, is implemented, updated, and 

16 coordinated on a regular and iterative basis; and 

17 (2) the strategy is used to guide United States 

18 Government policy at a senior level and incorporated 

19 into relevant strategies and plans across the United 

20 States Government such that the activities of all rel21 evant Federal departments and agencies are con22 sistent with the strategy. 


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1 SEC. 8. BIENNIAL REPORTS AND CONGRESSIONAL CON2 SULTATION. 

3 (a) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Not later than two years 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every two 

5 years thereafter until the date that is ten years after such 

6 date of enactment, the President, the Secretary of State, the 

7 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter8 national Development, the Secretary of Defense, and the 

9 heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies 

10 shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional com11 mittees an unclassified report, which may include a classi12 fied annex, on progress made and lessons learned with re13 spect to implementation of the Global Fragility Strategy 

14 established pursuant to section 4. The report shall include 

15 the following elements: 

16 (1) Descriptions of steps taken to incorporate the 

17 strategy into any relevant, existing country and re18 gional plans or strategies. 

19 (2) Accountings of all funding received and obli20 gated to implement each such country and regional 

21 plan during the previous two years, and, to the extent 

22 feasible, projections of funding to be requested, 

23 planned, and implemented for the following two 

24 years. 


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1 (3) Descriptions of progress made towards 

2 achieving specific targets, metrics, and indicators for 

3 each priority country and region. 

4 (4) Descriptions of any changes made to pro5 grams based on the results of assessment, monitoring, 

6 and evaluation for each priority country and region. 

7 (b) CONGRESSIONAL CONSULTATION.—The Secretary 

8 of State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

9 International Development, and the Secretary of Defense 

10 shall provide to any appropriate congressional committee 

11 regular briefings on the implementation of this Act upon 

12 the request of any such committee. 

13 SEC. 9. GAO REVIEW. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

16 of the United States shall consult with the appropriate con17 gressional committees regarding opportunities for inde18 pendent review of the activities implemented under the 

19 Global Fragility Strategy established pursuant to section 

20 4. 

21 (b) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The heads of rel22 evant Federal departments and agencies shall ensure that 

23 all relevant data, documents, and other information is 

24 made available to the Comptroller General of the United 


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1 States for purposes of conducting independent reviews pur2 suant to this section. 

3 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 (a) PREVENTION AND STABILIZATION FUND.— 

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

6 the Treasury of the United States a fund, which shall 

7 be known as the ‘‘Prevention and Stabilization Fund’’ 

8 (in this subsection referred to as ‘‘The Fund’’), to be 

9 administered by the Department of State and 

10 USAID, as appropriate, to support stabilization of 

11 conflict-affected areas and to mitigate fragility, in12 cluding through the Global Fragility Strategy estab13 lished pursuant to section 4, which shall replace the 

14 Relief and Recovery Fund. 

15 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

17 $200,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 

18 2024, which shall remain available until expended. 

19 (3) PURPOSES OF THE FUND.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts authorized to 

21 be appropriated to the Fund shall be used— 

22 (i) to support stabilization of conflict23 affected areas and prevent global fragility, 

24 including through the Global Fragility 


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1 Strategy established pursuant to section 4; 

2 and 

3 (ii) to provide assistance to areas liber4 ated or at risk from, or under the control of, 

5 the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, other 

6 terrorist organizations, or violent extremist 

7 organizations, including for stabilization 

8 assistance for vulnerable ethnic and reli9 gious minority communities affected by con10 flict. 

11 (B) AMOUNTS IN ADDITION.—Amounts au12 thorized to be appropriated to the Fund under 

13 this section are in addition to any funds other14 wise made available for the purposes described in 

15 paragraph (1). 

16 (4) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Funds may 

17 not be obligated under this section unless the congres18 sional committees specified in section 634A of the 

19 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394–1) 

20 are notified of the amount and nature of such pro21 posed obligation at least 15 days in advance of such 

22 proposed obligation, in accordance with the proce23 dures applicable to notifications regarding 

24 reprogrammings pursuant to such section. 

25 (b) COMPLEX CRISIS FUND.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

2 the Treasury of the United States a fund, which shall 

3 be known as the ‘‘Complex Crises Fund’’ (in this sub4 section referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’), to be administered 

5 by USAID, to support programs and activities to pre6 vent or respond to emerging or unforeseen events over7 seas, including to support the Global Fragility Strat8 egy established pursuant to section 4. 

9 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

11 $30,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 

12 2024, which shall remain available until expended. 

13 (3) PURPOSES OF THE FUND.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

15 other provision of law, except section 620M of the 

16 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

17 2378d), amounts in the Fund may be used to 

18 carry out the provisions of the Foreign Assist19 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) to sup20 port programs and activities to prevent or re21 spond to emerging or unforeseen foreign chal22 lenges and complex crises overseas, including 

23 through the Global Fragility Strategy established 

24 pursuant to section 4. 


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1 (B) AMOUNTS IN ADDITION.—Amounts au2 thorized to be appropriated to the Fund are in 

3 addition to any amounts otherwise made avail4 able for the purposes described in subparagraph 

5 (A). 

6 (4) LIMITATIONS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund 

8 may not be expended for lethal assistance or to 

9 respond to natural disasters. 

10 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more 

11 than five percent of the amounts in the Fund 

12 may be used for administrative expenses. 

13 (5) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later 

14 than five days before amounts from the Fund are obli15 gated, the Administrator of the United States Agency 

16 for International Development shall submit notifica17 tion of such obligation to the appropriate congres18 sional committees. 

19 (6) WAIVER.—The notification requirement 

20 under paragraph (5) may be waived if— 

21 (A) notification by the deadline specified in 

22 such paragraph would pose a substantial risk to 

23 human health or welfare; and 

24 (B) the appropriate congressional commit25 tees— 


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1 (i) are notified not later than three 

2 days after an obligation of amounts from 

3 the Fund; and 

4 (ii) are provided with an explanation 

5 of the emergency circumstances that neces6 sitated such waiver. 

7 SEC. 11. IMPROVING AND LEVERAGING ASSISTANCE FOR 

8 THE GLOBAL FRAGILITY STRATEGY. 

9 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

10 that the President, the Secretary of State, the Administrator 

11 of the United States Agency for International Development, 

12 the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other relevant 

13 Federal departments and agencies should work with the ap14 propriate congressional committees to provide sufficient 

15 types and levels of funding to— 

16 (1) allow for more adaptive and responsive pol17 icy and program planning, implementation, and scal18 ing under the Global Fragility Strategy established 

19 pursuant to section 4, including through more flexible 

20 funding mechanisms and exemptions from specific 

21 and minimum funding levels when such exemptions 

22 would make such programs better able to respond to 

23 local needs, the results of monitoring and evaluation, 

24 or changed circumstances in relevant countries; 


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1 (2) better integrate the strategy and other con2 flict and violence reduction objectives and activities 

3 into other policy and program areas, where appro4 priate; and 

5 (3) support transparent and accountable multi6 lateral funds, initiatives, and strategies to enhance 

7 and better coordinate private and public efforts to 

8 stabilize conflict-affected areas and prevent violence 

9 and fragility globally. 

10 (b) OTHER FUNDING AND COST MATCHING.—The 

11 Global Fragility Strategy established pursuant to section 

12 4— 

13 (1) may be supported by funds other than funds 

14 authorized to be appropriated pursuant to section 10; 

15 and 

16 (2) shall seek to leverage funds from sources other 

17 than the United States Government in order to pro18 mote coordination and cost-matching to the max19 imum extent practicable. 

20 (c) MULTI-DONOR GLOBAL FRAGILITY FUND.— 

21 (1) AUTHORITY.—Pursuant to sections 607 and 

22 632 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

23 2357 and 2392), and consistent with subsection (b), 

24 the Secretary of State is authorized to establish fund25 ing mechanisms, to include the establishment of a 


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1 Global Fragility Fund, to leverage, receive, coordi2 nate, and program funds provided by other donors 

3 and private sector partners to carry out the purposes 

4 of this Act. 

5 (2) PURPOSES.—A funding mechanism estab6 lished pursuant to paragraph (1) should— 

7 (A) include input from and participation 

8 by key bilateral and multilateral donors, includ9 ing the World Bank, representatives of civil soci10 ety, relevant nongovernmental organizations and 

11 private sector entities, and developing countries 

12 where fragility threatens to exacerbate violent ex13 tremism and undermine development; 

14 (B) enhance donor coordination and co15 operation; 

16 (C) advance clearly defined goals, objectives, 

17 and metrics for monitoring, evaluating, and 

18 measuring progress; and 

19 (D) focus on strengthening national and 

20 local good governance and conflict resolution ca21 pacity in fragile and conflict-affected areas over 

22 the long-term through comprehensive, compact23 based agreements that support country-led strate24 gies. 


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1 SEC. 12. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON TRANSFERS OF DEFENSE 

2 ARTICLES AND SERVICES TO PRIORITY COUN3 TRIES AND REGIONS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that the United States Gov5 ernment should work to ensure that defense articles and 

6 services provided to priority countries and regions pursuant 

7 to the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) 

8 and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 

9 et seq.) are not used by non-state actors for the commission 

10 of war crimes or other gross violations of internationally 

11 recognized human rights in those countries or regions. 


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Calendar No. 155 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 727 

A BILL 

To combat international extremism by addressing 

flict-affected areas, and for other purposes. global fragility and violence and stabilizing conJULY 18, 2019 

Reported with an amendment 


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