II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1325 

To establish a partnership with nations in the Western Hemisphere to promote economic competitiveness, democratic governance, and security, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2023 

Mr. RISCH (for himself and Mr. MENENDEZ) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish a partnership with nations in the Western Hemisphere to promote economic competitiveness, democratic 

governance, and security, 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 ‘‘Western Hemisphere 

5 Partnership Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. UNITED STATES POLICY IN THE WESTERN HEMI2 SPHERE. 

3 It is the policy of the United States to promote eco4 nomic competitiveness, democratic governance, and secu5 rity in the Western Hemisphere by— 

6 (1) encouraging stronger economic relations, re7 spect for property rights, the rule of law, and en8 forceable investment rules and labor and environ9 mental standards; 

10 (2) advancing the principles and practices ex11 pressed in the Charter of the Organization of Amer12 ican States, the American Declaration on the Rights 

13 and Duties of Man, and the Inter-American Demo14 cratic Charter; and 

15 (3) enhancing the capacity and technical capa16 bilities of democratic partner nation government in17 stitutions, including civilian law enforcement, the ju18 diciary, attorneys general, and security forces. 

19 SEC. 3. PROMOTING SECURITY AND THE RULE OF LAW IN 

20 THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. 

21 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that the United States should strengthen security 

23 cooperation with democratic partner nations in the West24 ern Hemisphere to promote a secure hemisphere and to 

25 address the negative impacts of transnational criminal or26 ganizations and malign external state actors. 


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1 (b) COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS.—The Secretary of 

2 State, in coordination with the heads of other relevant 

3 Federal agencies, should support the improvement of secu4 rity conditions and the rule of law in the Western Hemi5 sphere through collaborative efforts with democratic part6 ners that— 

7 (1) enhance the institutional capacity and tech8 nical capabilities of defense and security institutions 

9 in democratic partner nations to conduct national or 

10 regional security missions, including through regular 

11 bilateral and multilateral engagements, foreign mili12 tary sales and financing, international military edu13 cation, and training programs, and other means; 

14 (2) provide technical assistance and material 

15 support (including, as appropriate, radars, vessels, 

16 and communications equipment) to relevant security 

17 forces to disrupt, degrade, and dismantle organiza18 tions involved in illicit narcotics trafficking, 

19 transnational criminal activities, illicit mining, and 

20 illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and 

21 other illicit activities; 

22 (3) enhance the institutional capacity and tech23 nical capabilities of relevant civilian law enforce24 ment, attorneys general, and judicial institutions 

25 to— 


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1 (A) strengthen the rule of law and trans2 parent governance; and 

3 (B) improve regional cooperation to dis4 rupt, degrade, and dismantle transnational or5 ganized criminal networks and terrorist organi6 zations, including through training, 

7 anticorruption initiatives, anti-money laun8 dering programs, and strengthening cyber capa9 bilities and resources; 

10 (4) enhance port management and maritime se11 curity partnerships and airport management and 

12 aviation security partnerships to disrupt, degrade, 

13 and dismantle transnational criminal networks and 

14 facilitate the legitimate flow of people, goods, and 

15 services; 

16 (5) strengthen cooperation to improve border 

17 security across the Western Hemisphere, dismantle 

18 human smuggling and trafficking networks, and in19 crease cooperation to demonstrably strengthen mi20 gration management systems; 

21 (6) counter the malign influence of state and 

22 non-state actors and misinformation and 

23 disinformation campaigns; 

24 (7) disrupt illicit domestic and transnational fi25 nancial networks; 


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1 (8) foster mechanisms for cooperation on emer2 gency preparedness and rapid recovery from natural 

3 disasters, including by— 

4 (A) supporting regional preparedness, re5 covery, and emergency management centers to 

6 facilitate rapid response to survey and help 

7 maintain planning on regional disaster antici8 pated needs and possible resources; and 

9 (B) training disaster recovery officials on 

10 latest techniques and lessons learned from 

11 United States experiences; and 

12 (9) foster regional mechanisms for early warn13 ing and response to pandemics in the Western 

14 Hemisphere, including through— 

15 (A) improved cooperation with and re16 search by the United States Centers for Disease 

17 Control and Prevention through regional pan18 demic response centers; 

19 (B) personnel exchanges for technology 

20 transfer and skills development; and 

21 (C) surveying and mapping of health net22 works to build local health capacity. 

23 (c) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF TECHNOLOGIES.— 

24 Operational technologies transferred pursuant to sub25 section (b) to partner governments for intelligence, deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:22 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1325.IS S1325

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1 fense, or law enforcement purposes shall be used solely 

2 for the purposes for which the technology was intended. 

3 The United States shall take all necessary steps to ensure 

4 that the use of such operational technologies is consistent 

5 with United States law, including protections of freedom 

6 of expression, freedom of movement, and freedom of asso7 ciation. 

8 SEC. 4. PROMOTING DIGITALIZATION AND CYBERSECURITY 

9 IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. 

10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that the United States should support digitalization 

12 and expand cybersecurity cooperation in the Western 

13 Hemisphere to promote regional economic prosperity and 

14 security. 

15 (b) PROMOTION OF DIGITALIZATION AND CYBERSE16 CURITY.—The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 

17 heads of other relevant Federal agencies, should promote 

18 digitalization and cybersecurity in the Western Hemi19 sphere through collaborative efforts with democratic part20 ners that— 

21 (1) promote digital connectivity and facilitate e22 commerce by expanding access to information and 

23 communications technology (ICT) supply chains that 

24 adhere to high-quality security and reliability stand25 ards, including— 


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1 (A) to open market access on a national 

2 treatment, nondiscriminatory basis; and 

3 (B) to strengthen the cybersecurity and 

4 cyber resilience of partner countries; 

5 (2) advance the provision of digital government 

6 services (e-government) that, to the greatest extent 

7 possible, promote transparency, lower business costs, 

8 and expand citizens’ access to public services and 

9 public information; and 

10 (3) develop robust cybersecurity partnerships 

11 to— 

12 (A) promote the inclusion of components 

13 and architectures in information and commu14 nications technology (ICT) supply chains from 

15 participants in initiatives that adhere to high16 quality security and reliability standards; 

17 (B) share best practices to mitigate cyber 

18 threats to critical infrastructure from ICT ar19 chitectures by technology providers with close 

20 ties to, or that are susceptible to pressure from, 

21 governments or security services without reli22 able legal checks on governmental powers; 

23 (C) effectively respond to cybersecurity 

24 threats, including state-sponsored threats; and 


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1 (D) to strengthen resilience against 

2 cyberattacks and cybercrime. 

3 SEC. 5. PROMOTING ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL PART4 NERSHIPS IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that the United States should enhance economic and 

7 commercial ties with democratic partners to promote pros8 perity in the Western Hemisphere by modernizing and 

9 strengthening trade capacity-building and trade facilita10 tion initiatives, encouraging market-based economic re11 forms, strengthening labor and environmental standards, 

12 and encouraging transparency and adherence to the rule 

13 of law in investment dealings. 

14 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi15 nation with the United States Trade Representative, the 

16 Chief Executive Officer of the Development Finance Cor17 poration, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, 

18 should support the improvement of economic conditions in 

19 the Western Hemisphere through collaborative efforts with 

20 democratic partners that— 

21 (1) facilitate a more open, transparent, and 

22 competitive environment for United States busi23 nesses and promote robust and comprehensive trade 

24 capacity-building and trade facilitation by— 


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1 (A) reducing trade and nontariff barriers 

2 between the countries in the region, establishing 

3 a mechanism for pursuing Mutual Recognition 

4 Agreements and Formalized Regulatory Co5 operation Agreements in priority sectors of the 

6 economy; 

7 (B) establishing a forum for discussing 

8 and evaluating technical and other assistance 

9 needs to help establish streamlined ‘‘single win10 dow’’ processes to facilitate movement of goods 

11 and common customs arrangements and proce12 dures to lower costs of goods in transit and 

13 speed to destination; 

14 (C) building relationships and exchanges 

15 between relevant regulatory bodies in the 

16 United States and democratic partners in the 

17 Western Hemisphere to promote best practices 

18 and transparency in rulemaking, implementa19 tion, and enforcement, and provide training and 

20 assistance to help improve supply chain man21 agement in the Western Hemisphere; 

22 (D) establishing regional fora for identi23 fying, raising, and addressing supply chain 

24 management issues, including infrastructure 


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1 needs and strengthening of investment rules 

2 and regulatory frameworks; 

3 (E) establishing a dedicated program of 

4 trade missions and reverse trade missions to in5 crease commercial contacts and ties between the 

6 United States and Western Hemisphere partner 

7 countries; and 

8 (F) strengthening labor and environmental 

9 standards in the region; 

10 (2) establish frameworks or mechanisms to re11 view and address the long-term financial sustain12 ability and national security implications of foreign 

13 investments in strategic sectors or services; 

14 (3) establish competitive and transparent infra15 structure project selection and procurement proc16 esses that promote transparency, open competition, 

17 financial sustainability, and robust adherence to 

18 global standards and norms; and 

19 (4) advance robust and comprehensive energy 

20 production and integration, including through a 

21 more open, transparent, and competitive environ22 ment for United States companies competing in the 

23 Western Hemisphere, including by— 

24 (A) facilitating further development of in25 tegrated regional energy markets; 


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1 (B) improving management of grids, in2 cluding technical capability to ensure the 

3 functionality, safe and responsible management, 

4 and quality of service of electricity providers, 

5 carriers, and management and distribution sys6 tems; 

7 (C) facilitating private sector-led develop8 ment of reliable and affordable power genera9 tion capacity; 

10 (D) establishing a process for surveying 

11 grid capacity and management focused on iden12 tifying electricity service efficiencies and estab13 lishing cooperative mechanisms for providing 

14 technical assistance for— 

15 (i) grid management, power pricing, 

16 and tariff issues; 

17 (ii) establishing and maintaining ap18 propriate regulatory best practices; and 

19 (iii) proposals to establish regional 

20 power grids for the purpose of promoting 

21 the sale of excess supply to consumers 

22 across borders; 

23 (E) assessing the viability and effectiveness 

24 of decentralizing power production and trans25 mission and building micro-grid power networks 


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1 to improve, when feasible, access to electricity, 

2 particularly in rural and underserved commu3 nities where centralized power grid connections 

4 may not be feasible in the short to medium 

5 term; and 

6 (F) exploring opportunities to partner with 

7 the private sector and multilateral institutions, 

8 such as the World Bank and the Inter-Amer9 ican Development Bank, to promote universal 

10 access to reliable and affordable electricity in 

11 the Western Hemisphere. 

12 SEC. 6. PROMOTING TRANSPARENCY AND DEMOCRATIC 

13 GOVERNANCE IN THE WESTERN HEMI14 SPHERE. 

15 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con16 gress that the United States should support efforts to 

17 strengthen the capacity of democratic institutions and 

18 processes in the Western Hemisphere to promote a more 

19 transparent, democratic, and prosperous region. 

20 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi21 nation with the Administrator of the United States Agen22 cy for International Development and heads of other rel23 evant Federal agencies, should support transparent, ac24 countable, and democratic governance in the Western 


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1 Hemisphere through collaborative efforts with democratic 

2 partners that— 

3 (1) strengthen the capacity of national electoral 

4 institutions to ensure free, fair, and transparent 

5 electoral processes, including through pre-election 

6 assessment missions, technical assistance, and inde7 pendent local and international election monitoring 

8 and observation missions; 

9 (2) enhance the capabilities of democratically 

10 elected national legislatures, parliamentary bodies, 

11 and autonomous regulatory institutions to conduct 

12 oversight; 

13 (3) strengthen the capacity of subnational gov14 ernment institutions to govern in a transparent, ac15 countable, and democratic manner, including 

16 through training and technical assistance; 

17 (4) combat corruption at local and national lev18 els, including through trainings, cooperation agree19 ments, and bilateral or multilateral anticorruption 

20 mechanisms that strengthen attorneys general and 

21 prosecutors’ offices; and 

22 (5) strengthen the capacity of civil society to 

23 conduct oversight of government institutions, build 

24 the capacity of independent professional journalism, 

25 facilitate substantive dialogue with government and 


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1 the private sector to generate issue-based policies, 

2 and mobilize local resources to carry out such activi3 ties. 

4 SEC. 7. WESTERN HEMISPHERE DEFINED. 

5 In this Act, the term ‘‘Western Hemisphere’’ does not 

6 include Cuba, Nicaragua, or Venezuela, except for pur7 poses of section 6. 

Æ 


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