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[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1100 Engrossed in House (EH)]

<DOC>
H. Res. 1100

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                      December 7, 2020.
Whereas the United States and Mongolia established diplomatic relations in 
        January 1987, and since that time the relationship has grown stronger 
        based on shared strategic interests, security cooperation, democratic 
        values, good governance, and respect for human rights;
Whereas, since its peaceful democratic revolution in 1989, Mongolia has charted, 
        through a series of initiatives, a successful path to multiparty 
        democracy and a free market economy;
Whereas, in 1990, the Government of Mongolia declared an end to a one-party, 
        authoritarian, political system and adopted democratic and free market 
        reforms;
Whereas, in 1992, Mongolia adopted a constitution establishing a parliamentary 
        democracy, becoming the first country in Asia to transition from 
        communism to democracy;
Whereas, in 1999, the Government of Mongolia invited the Peace Corps to 
        establish its program in the country and has since hosted 1,437 
        volunteers in English and health education;
Whereas Mongolia has shown its commitment to a ``third neighbor'' relationship 
        with the United States by sending troops to support United States 
        operations in Iraq from 2003 through 2008 and Afghanistan since 2009, 
        and Mongolia has a strong record of troop contributions to international 
        peacekeeping missions;
Whereas successive Mongolian governments have taken notable steps to strengthen 
        civil society, battle corruption, and spur economic development;
Whereas the Parliament of Mongolia, the State Great Khural, has engaged with 
        Congress, including through the House Democracy Partnership, thereby 
        promoting responsive and effective governance through peer-to-peer 
        cooperation;
Whereas Mongolia began as a partner to the Organization for Security and Co-
        operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2004, graduated to become a participating 
        state in 2012, and participates actively in the work of the OSCE for 
        stability, peace, and democracy;
Whereas Mongolia has regularly invited the OSCE and other organizations to send 
        monitoring teams to its Presidential and parliamentary elections;
Whereas Mongolia has also been an active member of the Community of Democracies 
        (CoD), a global coalition of countries that support adherence to common 
        democratic values and standards, and Mongolia has not only remained 
        active since the founding of the CoD in 2000 but also successfully 
        chaired the CoD from 2011 through 2013;
Whereas, in addition to supporting the OSCE and CoD, Mongolia supports 
        democratic initiatives while participating in a wide range of other 
        global institutions;
Whereas most recently, on June 24, 2020, Mongolia successfully organized 
        parliamentary elections, strengthening its commitment to democracy and 
        the rule of law;
Whereas the success of Mongolia as a democracy and its strategic location, 
        sovereignty, territorial integrity, and ability to pursue an independent 
        foreign policy are highly relevant to the national security of the 
        United States;
Whereas climate change in Mongolia has contributed to severe droughts, higher 
        temperatures, and extreme winter weather conditions, resulting in mass 
        deaths of livestock and economic hardship for people living in rural 
        communities, especially the nomadic population;
Whereas the United States has provided support to Mongolia through the 
        Millennium Challenge Corporation through an initial compact signed in 
        2007 designed to increase economic growth and reduce poverty and a 
        second compact signed in 2018 involving investments in water 
        infrastructure, including supply and wastewater recycling, as well as 
        water sector sustainability;
Whereas, on September 20, 2018, the United States and Mongolia signed a joint 
        statement and the Roadmap for Expanded Economic Partnership, outlining 
        the intent to deepen the bilateral commercial relationship through full 
        implementation of the obligations under the Agreement on Transparency in 
        Matters Related to International Trade and Investment between the United 
        States of America and Mongolia, signed at New York, September 24, 2013 
        (in this preamble referred to as the ``United States-Mongolia 
        Transparency Agreement''), and to collaborate in supporting Mongolian 
        small- and medium-sized enterprises through various programs and 
        projects;
Whereas according to the Bureau of the Census, trade between the United States 
        and Mongolia is modest but growing, with a total value of trade in 2019 
        between the two countries of approximately $217,500,000, including 
        $192,700,000 in United States exports to Mongolia and $24,800,000 in 
        United States imports from Mongolia;
Whereas Mongolia is a beneficiary country under the Generalized System of 
        Preferences program, but its use of the program remains low, as in 2018 
        only $3,300,000 of exports from Mongolia to the United States entered 
        were under the program; and
Whereas, on July 31, 2019, the United States and Mongolia declared the bilateral 
        relationship a ``Strategic Partnership'' and noted the shared desire--

    (1) to intensify cooperation as strong democracies based on the rule of 
law through safeguarding and promoting democratic values and human rights, 
including the freedoms of religion or belief, expression, including 
internet and media freedom, assembly, and association, anticorruption and 
fiscal transparency, and youth and emerging leader development;

    (2) to cooperate in promoting national security and stability across 
the Indo-Pacific region so that all countries, secure in their sovereignty, 
are able to pursue economic growth consistent with international law and 
principles of fair competition;

    (3) to deepen national security and law-enforcement ties through 
collaboration on bilateral and multilateral security, judicial, and law 
enforcement efforts in the region;

    (4) to strengthen cooperation in multilateral engagements such as 
peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and disaster preparedness and relief 
operations;

    (5) to expand trade and investment relations on a fair and reciprocal 
basis, support private sector-led growth, fully implement the United 
States-Mongolia Transparency Agreement, promote women's entrepreneurship, 
and continue to explore support for infrastructure under the new United 
States International Development Finance Corporation with the new tools 
provided under the BUILD Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.);

    (6) to strengthen border security, prevent illegal transshipment and 
trafficking, expand cooperation on civil aviation safety and oversight, and 
efficiently facilitate legitimate travel between Mongolia and the United 
States;

    (7) to increase cooperation in addressing transnational threats such as 
terrorism, human trafficking, drug trafficking, the proliferation of 
weapons of mass destruction, cyberattacks, transnational organized crime, 
pandemics, and other emerging nontraditional security threats;

    (8) to continue to develop an environment in which civil society, 
social media, and a free and independent media can flourish; and

    (9) to maintain high-level official dialogues, encourage bilateral 
exchanges at all levels of government, and further develop people-to-people 
exchanges to deepen engagement on issues of mutual interest and concern: 
Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) underscores the importance of the relationship between the 
        United States and Mongolia and remains committed to advancing this 
        Strategic Partnership in the future;
            (2) encourages the United States Government to help Mongolia use its 
        benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences program and other 
        relevant programs to increase trade between the United States and 
        Mongolia;
            (3) urges the United States International Development Finance 
        Corporation to expand activities in Mongolia to support economic 
        development, diversification of the economy of Mongolia, and women-owned 
        small- and medium-sized enterprises;
            (4) urges Mongolia to address climate change and continue to work 
        with the UN Environment Programme, the Global Climate Fund, and other 
        global institutions to strengthen climate change resilience;
            (5) urges private and public support to help diversify the economy 
        of Mongolia through increased cooperation and investments, as well as 
        infrastructure and other vital projects;
            (6) supports the resumption of the Peace Corps program in Mongolia 
        once the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided;
            (7) urges the Department of State, the United States Agency for 
        International Development, and other relevant agencies to continue to 
        support Mongolia's democratic and economic development and efforts on 
        anticorruption;
            (8) calls for the continued engagement of Mongolia in the 
        Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Community of 
        Democracies, congressional-parliamentary partnerships, including 
        continued high-level parliamentary exchange, and other institutions that 
        promote democratic values, which reinforces the commitment of the people 
        and the Government of Mongolia to those values and standards;
            (9) reaffirms the importance of civil society to the continued 
        democratic development of Mongolia;
            (10) encourages the Government of Mongolia to build a regulatory 
        system that supports and encourages the growth and operation of 
        independent nongovernmental organizations and continues to pursue 
        policies of transparency that uphold democratic values;
            (11) urges Mongolia to continue their commitment to free, fair and 
        credible elections; and
            (12) encourages the Government of Mongolia to continue legal reform, 
        build institutional capacity, and improve the independence of other 
        democratic institutions.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.
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