II 

Calendar No. 87 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 793 

[Report No. 113–43] 

To support revitalization and reform of the Organization of American States, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 24, 2013 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. CORKER, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, and 

Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

JUNE 13, 2013 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, without amendment 

A BILL 

To support revitalization and reform of the Organization 

of American States, 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 ‘‘Organization of Amer5 ican States Revitalization and Reform Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The Charter of the Organization of Amer4 ican States recognizes that— 

5 (A) representative democracy is indispen6 sable for the stability, peace, and development 

7 of the Western Hemisphere; and 

8 (B) a purpose of the Organization of 

9 American States is to promote and consolidate 

10 representative democracy, with due respect for 

11 the principle of nonintervention. 

12 (2) The United States supports the purposes 

13 and principles enshrined in— 

14 (A) the Charter of the Organization of 

15 American States; 

16 (B) the Inter-American Democratic Char17 ter; and 

18 (C) the American Declaration on the 

19 Rights and Duties of Man. 

20 (3) The United States supports the Organiza21 tion of American States in its efforts with all mem22 ber states to meet our commitments under the in23 struments set forth in paragraph (2). 

24 (4) Congress supports the Organization of 

25 American States as it operates in a manner con26 sistent with the Inter-American Democratic Charter. 


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1 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

2 It is the policy of the United States— 

3 (1) to promote democracy and the rule of law 

4 throughout the Western Hemisphere; 

5 (2) to promote and protect human rights and 

6 fundamental freedoms in the Western Hemisphere; 

7 and 

8 (3) to support the practices, purposes, and prin9 ciples expressed in the Charter of the Organization 

10 of American States, the American Declaration on 

11 the Rights and Duties of Man, the Inter-American 

12 Democratic Charter, and other fundamental instru13 ments of democracy. 

14 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that— 

16 (1) the Organization of American States (OAS) 

17 should be the primary multi-lateral diplomatic entity 

18 for regional dispute resolution and promotion of 

19 democratic governance and institutions; 

20 (2) the OAS is a valuable platform from which 

21 to launch initiatives aimed to benefit the countries 

22 of the Western Hemisphere; 

23 (3) the Summit of the Americas institution and 

24 process embodies a valuable complement to regional 

25 dialogue and cooperation; 


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1 (4) the Summit of the Americas process should 

2 be formally and more effectively integrated into the 

3 work of the OAS, the Inter-American Development 

4 Bank, and other Members of the Joint Summit 

5 Working Group, and the OAS should play a central 

6 role in overseeing and managing the Summit proc7 ess; 

8 (5) the OAS General Assembly and the Summit 

9 of the Americas events should be combined geo10 graphically and chronologically in the years in which 

11 they coincide; 

12 (6) to ensure an appropriate balance of prior13 ities, the OAS should review its core functions no 

14 less than annually and seek opportunities to reduce 

15 the number of mandates not directly related to its 

16 core functions; 

17 (7) key OAS strengths lie in strengthening 

18 peace and security, promoting and consolidating rep19 resentative democracy, regional dispute resolution, 

20 election assistance and monitoring, fostering eco21 nomic growth and development cooperation, facili22 tating trade, addressing migration, combating illicit 

23 drug trafficking and transnational crime, and sup24 port for the Inter-American Human Rights System; 


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1 (8) the core competencies referred to in para2 graph (7) should remain central to the strategic 

3 planning process of the OAS and the consideration 

4 of future mandates; 

5 (9) any changes to OAS mandates should be ac6 cepted by the member states only after an analysis 

7 is conducted and formally presented consisting of a 

8 calculation of the financial costs associated with the 

9 mandate, an assessment of the comparative advan10 tage of the OAS in the implementation of the man11 date, and a description of the ways in which the 

12 mandate advances the organization’s core mission; 

13 (10) any new mandates should include, in addi14 tion to the analysis described in paragraph (9), an 

15 identification of the source of funding to be used to 

16 implement the mandate; 

17 (11) the OAS would benefit from enhanced co18 ordination between the OAS and the Inter-American 

19 Development Bank on issues that relate to economic 

20 development; 

21 (12) the OAS would benefit from standard re22 porting requirements for each project and grant 

23 agreement; and 

24 (13) the OAS would benefit from effective im25 plementation of— 


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1 (A) transparent and merit-based human 

2 resource standards and processes; and 

3 (B) transparent hiring, firing, and pro4 motion standards and processes, including with 

5 respect to factors such as gender and national 

6 origin. 

7 SEC. 5. ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES REVITALIZA8 TION AND REFORM STRATEGY. 

9 (a) STRATEGY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary of State shall submit to the Committee on 

13 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee 

14 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

15 a multiyear strategy that— 

16 (A) identifies a path toward the adoption 

17 of necessary reforms that prioritize and rein18 force the OAS’s core competencies described in 

19 section 4(7); 

20 (B) outlines an approach to secure from 

21 the OAS effective adoption of— 

22 (i) a results-based budgeting process 

23 in order to strategically prioritize, and 

24 where appropriate, reduce current and fu25 ture mandates; and 


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1 (ii) transparent hiring, firing, and 

2 promotion practices; and 

3 (C) reflects the inputs and coordination 

4 from other Executive Branch agencies, as ap5 propriate. 

6 (2) POLICY PRIORITIES AND COORDINATION.— 

7 The Secretary of State shall— 

8 (A) carry out diplomatic engagement to 

9 build support for reforms and budgetary burden 

10 sharing among OAS member states and observ11 ers; 

12 (B) promote donor coordination among 

13 OAS member states; and 

14 (C) help set priorities for the OAS. 

15 (b) BRIEFINGS.—The Secretary of State shall offer 

16 to the committees referred to in subsection (a)(1) a quar17 terly briefing that— 

18 (1) reviews assessed and voluntary contribu19 tions; 

20 (2) analyzes the progress made by the OAS to 

21 adopt and effectively implement a results-based 

22 budgeting process in order to strategically prioritize, 

23 and where appropriate, reduce current and future 

24 mandates; 


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1 (3) analyzes the progress made by the OAS to 

2 adopt and effectively implement transparent and 

3 merit-based human resource standards and practices 

4 and transparent hiring, firing, and promotion stand5 ards and processes, including with respect to factors 

6 such as gender and national origin; 

7 (4) analyzes the progress made by the OAS to 

8 adopt and effectively implement a practice of solic9 iting member quotas to be paid on a schedule that 

10 will improve the consistency of its operating budget; 

11 and 

12 (5) analyzes the progress made by the OAS to 

13 review, streamline, and prioritize mandates to focus 

14 on core missions and make efficient and effective use 

15 of available funding. 


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Calendar No. 87 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 793 

[Report No. 113–43] 

A BILL 

To support revitalization and reform of the Organiposes. zation of American States, and for other purJUNE 13, 2013 

Reported without amendment 


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