II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1221 

To counter the influence of the Russian Federation in Europe and Eurasia, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2017 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To counter the influence of the Russian Federation in 

Europe and Eurasia, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Russian 

5 Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The Government of the Russian Federation 

9 has sought to exert influence throughout Europe and 

10 Eurasia, including in the former states of the Soviet 


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1 Union, by providing resources to political parties, 

2 think tanks, and civil society groups that sow dis3 trust in democratic institutions and actors, promote 

4 xenophobic and illiberal views, and otherwise under5 mine European unity. The Government of the Rus6 sian Federation has also engaged in well-documented 

7 corruption practices as a means toward undermining 

8 and buying influence in European and Eurasian 

9 countries. 

10 (2) The Government of the Russian Federation 

11 has largely eliminated a once-vibrant Russian-lan12 guage independent media sector and severely curtails 

13 free and independent media within the borders of 

14 the Russian Federation. Russian-language media or15 ganizations that are funded and controlled by the 

16 Government of the Russian Federation and dissemi17 nate information within and outside of the Russian 

18 Federation routinely traffic in anti-Western 

19 disinformation, while few independent, fact-based 

20 media sources provide objective reporting for Rus21 sian-speaking audiences inside or outside of the Rus22 sian Federation. 

23 (3) The Government of the Russian Federation 

24 continues to violate its commitments under the 

25 Memorandum on Security Assurances in connection 


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1 with Ukraine’s Accession to the Treaty on the Non2 Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at Budapest 

3 December 5, 1994, and the Conference on Security 

4 and Co-operation in Europe Final Act, concluded at 

5 Helsinki August 1, 1975 (commonly referred to as 

6 the ‘‘Helsinki Final Act’’), which laid the ground7 work for the establishment of the Organization for 

8 Security and Co-operation in Europe, of which the 

9 Russian Federation is a member, by its illegal an10 nexation of Crimea in 2014, its illegal occupation of 

11 South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia in 2008, and 

12 its ongoing destabilizing activities in eastern 

13 Ukraine. 

14 (4) The Government of the Russian Federation 

15 continues to ignore the terms of the August 2008 

16 ceasefire agreement relating to Georgia, which re17 quires the withdrawal of Russian Federation troops, 

18 free access by humanitarian groups to the regions of 

19 South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and monitoring of the 

20 conflict areas by the European Union Monitoring 

21 Mission. 

22 (5) The Government of the Russian Federation 

23 is failing to comply with the terms of the Minsk 

24 Agreement to address the ongoing conflict in eastern 

25 Ukraine, signed in Minsk, Belarus, on February 11, 


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1 2015, by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, 

2 and Germany, as well as the Minsk Protocol, which 

3 was agreed to on September 5, 2014. 

4 (6) The Government of the Russian Federation 

5 is— 

6 (A) in violation of the Treaty between the 

7 United States of America and the Union of So8 viet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of 

9 their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range 

10 Missiles, signed at Washington December 8, 

11 1987, and entered into force June 1, 1988 

12 (commonly known as the ‘‘INF Treaty’’); and 

13 (B) failing to meet its obligations under 

14 the Treaty on Open Skies, done at Helsinki 

15 March 24, 1992, and entered into force Janu16 ary 1, 2002 (commonly known as the ‘‘Open 

17 Skies Treaty’’). 

18 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that— 

20 (1) the Government of the Russian Federation 

21 bears responsibility for the continuing violence in 

22 Eastern Ukraine, including the death on April 24, 

23 2017, of Joseph Stone, a citizen of the United 

24 States working as a monitor for the Organization for 

25 Security and Co-operation in Europe; 


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1 (2) the President should call on the Govern2 ment of the Russian Federation— 

3 (A) to withdraw all of its forces from the 

4 territories of Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova; 

5 (B) to return control of the borders of 

6 those territories to their respective govern7 ments; and 

8 (C) to cease all efforts to undermine the 

9 popularly elected governments of those coun10 tries; 

11 (3) the Government of the Russian Federation 

12 has applied, and continues to apply, to the countries 

13 and peoples of Georgia and Ukraine, traditional uses 

14 of force, intelligence operations, and influence cam15 paigns, which represent clear and present threats to 

16 the countries of Europe and Eurasia; 

17 (4) in response, the countries of Europe and 

18 Eurasia should redouble efforts to build resilience 

19 within their institutions, political systems, and civil 

20 societies; 

21 (5) the United States supports the institutions 

22 that the Government of the Russian Federation 

23 seeks to undermine, including the North Atlantic 

24 Treaty Organization and the European Union; 


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1 (6) a strong North Atlantic Treaty Organiza2 tion is critical to maintaining peace and security in 

3 Europe and Eurasia; 

4 (7) the United States should continue to work 

5 with the European Union as a partner against ag6 gression by the Government of the Russian Federa7 tion, coordinating aid programs, development assist8 ance, and other counter-Russian efforts; 

9 (8) the United States should encourage the es10 tablishment of a commission for media freedom 

11 within the Council of Europe, modeled on the Venice 

12 Commission regarding rule of law issues, that would 

13 be chartered to provide governments with expert rec14 ommendations on maintaining legal and regulatory 

15 regimes supportive of free and independent media 

16 and an informed citizenry able to distinguish be17 tween fact-based reporting, opinion, and 

18 disinformation; 

19 (9) in addition to working to strengthen the 

20 North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Euro21 pean Union, the United States should work with the 

22 individual countries of Europe and Eurasia— 

23 (A) to identify vulnerabilities to aggres24 sion, disinformation, corruption, and so-called 


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1 hybrid warfare by the Government of the Rus2 sian Federation; 

3 (B) to establish strategic and technical 

4 plans for addressing those vulnerabilities; 

5 (C) to ensure that the financial systems of 

6 those countries are not being used to shield il7 licit financial activity by officials of the Govern8 ment of the Russian Federation or individuals 

9 in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle who 

10 have been enriched through corruption; 

11 (D) to investigate and prosecute cases of 

12 corruption by Russian actors; and 

13 (E) to work toward full compliance with 

14 the Convention on Combating Bribery of For15 eign Public Officials in International Business 

16 Transactions (commonly referred to as the 

17 ‘‘Anti-Bribery Convention’’) of the Organization 

18 for Economic Co-operation and Development; 

19 and 

20 (10) the President of the United States should 

21 use the authority of the President to impose sanc22 tions under— 

23 (A) the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Ac24 countability Act of 2012 (title IV of Public Law 

25 112–208; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note); and 


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1 (B) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 

2 Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of 

3 Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note). 

4 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

5 The United States, consistent with the principle of 

6 ex injuria jus non oritur, supports the policy known as 

7 the ‘‘Stimson Doctrine’’ and thus does not recognize terri8 torial changes effected by force, including the illegal inva9 sions and occupations of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Crimea, 

10 Eastern Ukraine, and Transnistria. 

11 SEC. 5. COORDINATING AID AND ASSISTANCE ACROSS EU12 ROPE AND EURASIA. 

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated for the Countering Rus15 sian Influence Fund $250,000,000 for fiscal years 2018 

16 and 2019. 

17 (b) MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND.—Not later than 90 

18 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec19 retary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of 

20 the United States Agency for International Development 

21 and, as appropriate, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

22 the Director of National Intelligence, and the Secretary 

23 of Defense, shall establish a working group to administer 

24 the Countering Russian Influence Fund in order to facili25 tate the achievement of the goals described in subsection 


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1 (c) while minimizing the expense to United States tax2 payers. 

3 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

4 (1) MANDATORY USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in 

5 the Countering Russian Influence Fund shall be 

6 used for the following: 

7 (A) To assist in protecting critical infra8 structure and electoral mechanisms from 

9 cyberattacks in the following countries: 

10 (i) Countries that are members of the 

11 North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the 

12 European Union that the Secretary of 

13 State determines— 

14 (I) are vulnerable to influence by 

15 the Russian Federation; and 

16 (II) lack the economic capability 

17 to effectively respond to aggression by 

18 the Russian Federation without the 

19 support of the United States. 

20 (ii) Countries that are participating in 

21 the enlargement process of the North At22 lantic Treaty Organization or the Euro23 pean Union, including Albania, Bosnia and 

24 Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, 

25 Moldova, Kosovo, Serbia, and Ukraine. 


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1 (B) To combat corruption, improve the 

2 rule of law, and otherwise strengthen inde3 pendent judiciaries and prosecutors general of4 fices in the countries described in subparagraph 

5 (A). 

6 (2) DISCRETIONARY USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts 

7 in the Countering Russian Influence Fund may be 

8 used to seek to achieve the following, to the extent 

9 practicable and as appropriate: 

10 (A) Responding to the humanitarian crises 

11 and instability caused or aggravated by the in12 vasions and occupations of Georgia and 

13 Ukraine by the Russian Federation. 

14 (B) Improving participatory legislative 

15 processes and legal education, political trans16 parency and competition, and compliance with 

17 international obligations in the countries de18 scribed in paragraph (1)(A). 

19 (C) Building the capacity of civil society, 

20 media, and other nongovernmental organiza21 tions countering the influence and propaganda 

22 of the Russian Federation in the countries de23 scribed in paragraph (1)(A). 

24 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, act2 ing through Coordinator of United States Assistance 

3 to Europe and Eurasia (authorized pursuant to sec4 tion 601 of the Support for East European Democ5 racy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5461) and 

6 section 102 of the Freedom for Russia and Emerg7 ing Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets Sup8 port Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5812)), shall coordinate 

9 efforts to implement the goals described in sub10 section (c) and establish metrics relating to efforts 

11 to achieve those goals. 

12 (2) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 1 

14 of each year, the Secretary of State, acting 

15 through the Coordinator of United States As16 sistance to Europe and Eurasia, shall submit to 

17 the appropriate congressional committees a re18 port on the programs and activities carried out 

19 to achieve the goals described in subsection (c) 

20 during the preceding fiscal year. 

21 (B) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by 

22 subparagraph (A) shall include, with respect to 

23 each program or activity described in that sub24 paragraph— 


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1 (i) the amount of funding for the pro2 gram or activity; 

3 (ii) the goal described in subsection 

4 (c) to which the program or activity re5 lates; and 

6 (iii) an assessment of whether or not 

7 the goal was met. 

8 (e) COORDINATION WITH GLOBAL PARTNERS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to maximize cost 

10 efficiency, eliminate duplication, and speed the 

11 achievement of the goals described in subsection (c), 

12 the working group established under subsection (b) 

13 shall ensure coordination with— 

14 (A) the European Union and its institu15 tions; 

16 (B) the governments of countries that are 

17 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organi18 zation or the European Union; and 

19 (C) international organizations and quasi20 governmental funding entities that carry out 

21 programs and activities that seek to accomplish 

22 the goals described in subsection (c). 

23 (2) REPORT BY SECRETARY OF STATE.—Not 

24 later than April 1 of each year, the Secretary of 


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1 State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

2 committees a report that includes— 

3 (A) the amount of funding provided to 

4 each country referred to in subsection (c) by— 

5 (i) the European Union or its institu6 tions; 

7 (ii) the government of each country 

8 that is a member of the European Union 

9 or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; 

10 and 

11 (iii) international organizations and 

12 quasi-governmental funding entities that 

13 carry out programs and activities that seek 

14 to accomplish the goals described in sub15 section (c); and 

16 (B) an assessment of whether the funding 

17 described in subparagraph (A) is commensurate 

18 with funding provided by the United States for 

19 those goals. 

20 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec21 tion shall be construed to apply to or limit United States 

22 foreign assistance not provided using amounts available in 

23 the Countering Russian Influence Fund. 


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1 SEC. 6. REPORT ON MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS CONTROLLED 

2 AND FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE 

3 RUSSIAN FEDERATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

6 the President shall submit to the appropriate congres7 sional committees a report that includes a description of 

8 media organizations that are controlled and funded by the 

9 Government of the Russian Federation, and any affiliated 

10 entities, whether operating within or outside the Russian 

11 Federation, including broadcast and satellite-based tele12 vision, radio, Internet, and print media organizations. 

13 (b) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required by sub14 section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may 

15 include a classified annex. 

16 SEC. 7. TERMINATION. 

17 The provisions of this Act shall terminate on the date 

18 that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act. 

20 SEC. 8. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE21 FINED. 

22 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com23 mittees’’ means— 

24 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 

25 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af26 fairs, the Committee on Armed Services, the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:35 Jun 01, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1221.IS S1221

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1 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af2 fairs, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Se3 lect Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and 

4 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

5 Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on 

6 Armed Services, the Committee on Homeland Secu7 rity, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Per8 manent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

9 House of Representatives. 

Æ 


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