Calendar No. 106

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 579

[Report No. 106–45]

A BILL

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to

Caucasus and Central Asia.litical independence of the countries of the Southtarget assistance to support the economic and poMAY 11, 1999

Reported without amendment
II

Calendar No. 106

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 579

[Report No. 106–45]

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to target assistance to support

the economic and political independence of the countries of the South

Caucasus and Central Asia.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 10, 1999

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. BYRD, Mr. HAGEL,

Mr. DODD, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. KYL, Mr. HATCH, Mr. GRAMS, Mr. CHAFEE,

Mr. HELMS, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. BURNS, Mrs. HUTCHISON,

Mr. COCHRAN, and Mr. CONRAD) introduced the following bill; which was

read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

MAY 11, 1999

Reported by Mr. HELMS, without amendment

A BILL

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to target

assistance to support the economic and political independence of the countries of the South Caucasus and

Central Asia.

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 ‘‘Silk Road Strategy

3 Act of 1999’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress makes the following findings:

6 (1) The ancient Silk Road, once the economic

7 lifeline of Central Asia and the South Caucasus, tra8 versed much of the territory now within the coun9 tries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakstan,

10 Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and

11 Uzbekistan.

12 (2) Economic interdependence spurred mutual

13 cooperation among the peoples along the Silk Road

14 and restoration of the historic relationships and eco15 nomic ties between those peoples is an important ele16 ment of ensuring their sovereignty as well as the

17 success of democratic and market reforms.

18 (3) The development of strong political, eco19 nomic, and security ties among countries of the

20 South Caucasus and Central Asia and the West will

21 foster stability in this region, which is vulnerable to

22 political and economic pressures from the south,

23 north, and east.

24 (4) The development of open market economies

25 and open democratic systems in the countries of the

26 South Caucasus and Central Asia will provide posi-
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1 tive incentives for international private investment,

2 increased trade, and other forms of commercial

3 interactions with the rest of the world.

4 (5) Many of the countries of the South

5 Caucasus have secular Muslim governments that are

6 seeking closer alliance with the United States and

7 that have diplomatic and commercial relations with

8 Israel.

9 (6) The region of the South Caucasus and Cen10 tral Asia could produce oil and gas in sufficient

11 quantities to reduce the dependence of the United

12 States on energy from the volatile Persian Gulf re13 gion.

14 (7) United States foreign policy and inter15 national assistance should be narrowly targeted to

16 support the economic and political independence as

17 well as democracy building, free market policies,

18 human rights, and regional economic integration of

19 the countries of the South Caucasus and Central

20 Asia.

21 SEC. 3. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.

22 It shall be the policy of the United States in the coun23 tries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia—
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1 (1) to promote and strengthen independence,

2 sovereignty, democratic government, and respect for

3 human rights;

4 (2) to promote tolerance, pluralism, and under5 standing and counter racism and anti-Semitism;

6 (3) to assist actively in the resolution of re7 gional conflicts and to facilitate the removal of im8 pediments to cross-border commerce;

9 (4) to promote friendly relations and economic

10 cooperation;

11 (5) to help promote market-oriented principles

12 and practices;

13 (6) to assist in the development of the infra14 structure necessary for communications, transpor15 tation, education, health, and energy and trade on

16 an East-West axis in order to build strong inter17 national relations and commerce between those

18 countries and the stable, democratic, and market19 oriented countries of the Euro-Atlantic Community;

20 and

21 (7) to support United States business interests

22 and investments in the region.
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1 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES EFFORTS TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS

2 IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL

3 ASIA.

4 It is the sense of Congress that the President should

5 use all diplomatic means practicable, including the engage6 ment of senior United States Government officials, to

7 press for an equitable, fair, and permanent resolution to

8 the conflicts in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

9 SEC. 5. AMENDMENT OF THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF

10 1961.

11 Part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22

12 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

13 the following new chapter:

14 ‘‘CHAPTER 12—SUPPORT FOR THE ECO15 NOMIC AND POLITICAL INDEPEND16 ENCE OF THE COUNTRIES OF THE

17 SOUTH CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

18 ‘‘SEC. 499. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE REC19 ONCILIATION AND RECOVERY FROM RE20 GIONAL CONFLICTS.

21 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purposes of as22 sistance under this section include—

23 ‘‘(1) the creation of the basis for reconciliation

24 between belligerents;
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1 ‘‘(2) the promotion of economic development in

2 areas of the countries of the South Caucasus and

3 Central Asia impacted by civil conflict and war; and

4 ‘‘(3) the encouragement of broad regional co5 operation among countries of the South Caucasus

6 and Central Asia that have been destabilized by in7 ternal conflicts.

8 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purposes

10 of subsection (a), the President is authorized to pro11 vide humanitarian assistance and economic recon12 struction assistance for the countries of the South

13 Caucasus and Central Asia to support the activities

14 described in subsection (c).

15 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF HUMANITARIAN ASSIST16 ANCE.—In this subsection, the term ‘humanitarian

17 assistance’ means assistance to meet humanitarian

18 needs, including needs for food, medicine, medical

19 supplies and equipment, education, and clothing.

20 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Activities that may

21 be supported by assistance under subsection (b) include—

22 ‘‘(1) providing for the humanitarian needs of

23 victims of the conflicts;

24 ‘‘(2) facilitating the return of refugees and in25 ternally displaced persons to their homes; and
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1 ‘‘(3) assisting in the reconstruction of residen2 tial and economic infrastructure destroyed by war.

3 ‘‘(d) POLICY.—It is the sense of Congress that the

4 United States should, where appropriate, support the es5 tablishment of neutral, multinational peacekeeping forces

6 to implement peace agreements reached between belliger7 ents in the countries of the South Caucasus and Central

8 Asia.

9 ‘‘SEC. 499A. ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.

10 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purpose of as11 sistance under this section is to foster economic growth

12 and development, including the conditions necessary for

13 regional economic cooperation, in the South Caucasus and

14 Central Asia.

15 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—To carry

16 out the purpose of subsection (a), the President is author17 ized to provide assistance for the countries of the South

18 Caucasus and Central Asia to support the activities de19 scribed in subsection (c).

20 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—In addition to the ac21 tivities described in section 498, activities supported by

22 assistance under subsection (b) should support the devel23 opment of the structures and means necessary for the

24 growth of private sector economies based upon market

25 principles.
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1 ‘‘(d) POLICY.—It is the sense of Congress that the

2 United States should—

3 ‘‘(1) assist the countries of the South Caucasus

4 and Central Asia to develop policies, laws, and regu5 lations that would facilitate the ability of those coun6 tries to develop free market economies and to join

7 the World Trade Organization to enjoy all the bene8 fits of membership; and

9 ‘‘(2) consider the establishment of zero-to-zero

10 tariffs between the United States and the countries

11 of the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

12 ‘‘SEC. 499B. DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE.

13 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF PROGRAMS.—The purposes of pro14 grams under this section include—

15 ‘‘(1) to develop the physical infrastructure nec16 essary for regional cooperation among the countries

17 of the South Caucasus and Central Asia; and

18 ‘‘(2) to encourage closer economic relations and

19 to facilitate the removal of impediments to cross-bor20 der commerce among those countries and the United

21 States and other developed nations.

22 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION FOR PROGRAMS.—To carry out

23 the purposes of subsection (a), the following types of pro24 grams for the countries of the South Caucasus and Cen-
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1 tral Asia may be used to support the activities described

2 in subsection (c):

3 ‘‘(1) Activities by the Export-Import Bank to

4 complete the review process for eligibility for financ5 ing under the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945.

6 ‘‘(2) The provision of insurance, reinsurance, fi7 nancing, or other assistance by the Overseas Private

8 Investment Corporation.

9 ‘‘(3) Assistance under section 661 of this Act

10 (relating to the Trade and Development Agency).

11 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Activities that may

12 be supported by programs under subsection (b) include

13 promoting actively the participation of United States com14 panies and investors in the planning, financing, and con15 struction of infrastructure for communications, transpor16 tation, including air transportation, and energy and trade

17 including highways, railroads, port facilities, shipping,

18 banking, insurance, telecommunications networks, and gas

19 and oil pipelines.

20 ‘‘(d) POLICY.—It is the sense of Congress that the

21 United States representatives at the International Bank

22 for Reconstruction and Development, the International Fi23 nance Corporation, and the European Bank for Recon24 struction and Development should encourage lending to

25 the countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia to
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1 assist the development of the physical infrastructure nec2 essary for regional economic cooperation.

3 ‘‘SEC. 499C. BORDER CONTROL ASSISTANCE.

4 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purpose of as5 sistance under this section includes the assistance of the

6 countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia to se7 cure their borders and implement effective controls nec8 essary to prevent the trafficking of illegal narcotics and

9 the proliferation of technology and materials related to

10 weapons of mass destruction (as defined in section

11 2332a(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code), and to con12 tain and inhibit transnational organized criminal activi13 ties.

14 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—To carry

15 out the purpose of subsection (a), the President is author16 ized to provide assistance to the countries of the South

17 Caucasus and Central Asia to support the activities de18 scribed in subsection (c).

19 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Activities that may

20 be supported by assistance under subsection (b) include

21 assisting those countries of the South Caucasus and Cen22 tral Asia in developing capabilities to maintain national

23 border guards, coast guard, and customs controls.

24 ‘‘(d) POLICY.—It is the sense of Congress that the

25 United States should encourage and assist the develop-
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1 ment of regional military cooperation among the countries

2 of the South Caucasus and Central Asia through pro3 grams such as the Central Asian Battalion and the Part4 nership for Peace of the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza5 tion.

6 ‘‘SEC. 499D. STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY, TOLERANCE,

7 AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY.

8 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purpose of as9 sistance under this section is to promote institutions of

10 democratic government and to create the conditions for

11 the growth of pluralistic societies, including religious toler12 ance and respect for internationally recognized human

13 rights.

14 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—To carry

15 out the purpose of subsection (a), the President is author16 ized to provide the following types of assistance to the

17 countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia:

18 ‘‘(1) Assistance for democracy building, includ19 ing programs to strengthen parliamentary institu20 tions and practices.

21 ‘‘(2) Assistance for the development of non22 governmental organizations.

23 ‘‘(3) Assistance for development of independent

24 media.
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1 ‘‘(4) Assistance for the development of the rule

2 of law, a strong independent judiciary, and trans3 parency in political practice and commercial trans4 actions.

5 ‘‘(5) International exchanges and advanced pro6 fessional training programs in skill areas central to

7 the development of civil society.

8 ‘‘(6) Assistance to promote increased adherence

9 to civil and political rights under section 116(e) of

10 this Act.

11 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Activities that may

12 be supported by assistance under subsection (b) include

13 activities that are designed to advance progress toward the

14 development of democracy.

15 ‘‘(d) POLICY.—It is the sense of Congress that the

16 Voice of America and RFE/RL, Incorporated, should

17 maintain high quality broadcasting for the maximum du18 ration possible in the native languages of the countries of

19 the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

20 ‘‘SEC. 499E. INELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

22 (b), assistance may not be provided under this chapter for

23 the government of a country of the South Caucasus or

24 Central Asia if the President determines and certifies to
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1 the appropriate congressional committees that the govern2 ment of such country—

3 ‘‘(1) is engaged in a consistent pattern of gross

4 violations of internationally recognized human

5 rights;

6 ‘‘(2) has, on or after the date of enactment of

7 this chapter, knowingly transferred to another

8 country—

9 ‘‘(A) missiles or missile technology incon10 sistent with the guidelines and parameters of

11 the Missile Technology Control Regime (as de12 fined in section 11B(c) of the Export Adminis13 tration Act of 1979 950 U.S.C. App. 2410b(c);

14 or

15 ‘‘(B) any material, equipment, or tech16 nology that would contribute significantly to the

17 ability of such country to manufacture any

18 weapon of mass destruction (including nuclear,

19 chemical, and biological weapons) if the Presi20 dent determines that the material, equipment,

21 or technology was to be used by such country

22 in the manufacture of such weapons;

23 ‘‘(3) has repeatedly provided support for acts of

24 international terrorism; or
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1 ‘‘(4) is prohibited from receiving such assist2 ance by chapter 10 of the Arms Export Control Act

3 or section 306(a)(1) and 307 of the Chemical and

4 Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimi5 nation Act of 1991 (22 U.S.C. 5604(a)(1), 5605).

6 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS TO INELIGIBILITY.—

7 ‘‘(1) EXCEPTIONS.—Assistance prohibited by

8 subsection (a) or any similar provision of law, other

9 than assistance prohibited by the provisions referred

10 to in paragraphs (2) and (4) of subsection (a), may

11 be furnished under any of the following cir12 cumstances:

13 ‘‘(A) The President determines that fur14 nishing such assistance is important to the na15 tional interest of the United States.

16 ‘‘(B) The President determines that fur17 nishing such assistance will foster respect for

18 internationally recognized human rights and the

19 rule of law or the development of institutions of

20 democratic governance.

21 ‘‘(C) The assistance is furnished for the al22 leviation of suffering resulting from a natural

23 or man-made disaster.
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1 ‘‘(D) The assistance is provided under the

2 secondary school exchange program adminis3 tered by the United States Information Agency.

4 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The President

5 shall immediately report to Congress any determina6 tion under paragraph (1) (A) or (B) or any decision

7 to provide assistance under paragraph (1)(C).

8 ‘‘SEC. 499F. ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES.

9 ‘‘(a) ASSISTANCE THROUGH GOVERNMENTS AND

10 NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.—Assistance under

11 this chapter may be provided to governments or through

12 nongovernmental organizations.

13 ‘‘(b) USE OF ECONOMIC SUPPORT FUNDS.—Except

14 as otherwise provided, any funds that have been allocated

15 under chapter 4 of part II for assistance for the inde16 pendent states of the former Soviet Union may be used

17 in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

18 ‘‘(c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Assistance under

19 this chapter shall be provided on such terms and condi20 tions as the President may determine.

21 ‘‘(d) AVAILABLE AUTHORITIES.—The authority in

22 this chapter to provide assistance for the countries of the

23 South Caucasus and Central Asia is in addition to the au24 thority to provide such assistance under the FREEDOM

25 Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.) or any other Act,
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1 and the authorities applicable to the provision of assist2 ance under chapter 11 may be used to provide assistance

3 under this chapter.

4 ‘‘SEC. 499G. DEFINITIONS.

5 ‘‘In this chapter:

6 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations

9 of the Senate and the Committee on International

10 Relations of the House of Representatives.

11 ‘‘(2) COUNTRIES OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

12 AND CENTRAL ASIA.—The term ‘countries of the

13 South Caucasus and Central Asia’ means Armenia,

14 Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan,

15 Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.’’.

16 SEC. 6. RESTRICTION ON ASSISTANCE FOR GOVERNMENT

17 OF AZERBAIJAN.

18 Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act (22 U.S.C.

19 5812 note) is amended—

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) RESTRICTION.—’’; and

21 (2) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(b) WAIVER.—The restriction on assistance in sub23 section (a) shall not apply if the President determines, and

24 so certifies to Congress, that the application of the restric-
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1 tion would not be in the national interests of the United

2 States.’’.

3 SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT.

4 Section 104 of the FREEDOM Support Act (22

5 U.S.C. 5814) is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

7 (3);

8 (2) by striking the period at the end of para9 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

10 (3) by adding the following new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(5) with respect to the countries of the South

12 Caucasus and Central Asia—

13 ‘‘(A) identifying the progress of United

14 States foreign policy to accomplish the policy

15 identified in section 3 of the Silk Road Strategy

16 Act of 1999;

17 ‘‘(B) evaluating the degree to which the as18 sistance authorized by chapter 12 of part I of

19 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 has been

20 able to accomplish the purposes identified in

21 those sections; and

22 ‘‘(C) recommending any additional initia23 tives that should be undertaken by the United

24 States to implement the policy and purposes
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1 contained in the Silk Road Strategy Act of

2 1999.’’.

3 SEC. 8. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

4 Section 102(a) of the FREEDOM Support Act (Pub5 lic Law 102–511) is amended in paragraphs (2) and (4)

6 by striking each place it appears ‘‘this Act)’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘this Act and the Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999)’’.

8 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

9 In this Act:

10 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT11 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com12 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations

13 of the Senate and the Committee on International

14 Relations of the House of Representatives.

15 (2) COUNTRIES OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS AND

16 CENTRAL ASIA.—The term ‘‘countries of the South

17 Caucasus and Central Asia’’ means Armenia, Azer18 baijan, Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,

19 Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.