I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5181 

To counter foreign disinformation and propaganda, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 10, 2016 

Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois (for himself, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. TAKAI, Mr. YOUNG of 

Indiana, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. GUTHRIE, 

and Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To counter foreign disinformation and propaganda, 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 Foreign 

5 Propaganda and Disinformation Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) foreign governments, including the Govern9 ments of the Russian Federation and the People’s 


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1 Republic of China, use disinformation and other 

2 propaganda tools to undermine the national security 

3 objectives of the United States and key allies and 

4 partners; 

5 (2) the Russian Federation, in particular, has 

6 conducted sophisticated and large-scale 

7 disinformation campaigns that have sought to have 

8 a destabilizing effect on United States allies and in9 terests; 

10 (3) in the last decade disinformation has in11 creasingly become a key feature of the Government 

12 of the Russian Federation’s pursuit of political, eco13 nomic, and military objectives in Ukraine, Moldova, 

14 Georgia, the Balkans, and throughout Central and 

15 Eastern Europe; 

16 (4) the challenge of countering disinformation 

17 extends beyond effective strategic communications 

18 and public diplomacy, requiring a whole-of-govern19 ment approach leveraging all elements of national 

20 power; 

21 (5) the United States Government should de22 velop a comprehensive strategy to counter foreign 

23 disinformation and propaganda and assert leader24 ship in developing a fact-based strategic narrative; 

25 and 


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1 (6) an important element of this strategy 

2 should be to protect and promote a free, healthy, 

3 and independent press in countries vulnerable to for4 eign disinformation. 

5 SEC. 3. CENTER FOR INFORMATION ANALYSIS AND RE6 SPONSE. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

9 State shall, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, 

10 the Director of National Intelligence, the Broadcasting 

11 Board of Governors, and other relevant departments and 

12 agencies, establish a Center for Information Analysis and 

13 Response (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Center’’). The 

14 purposes of the Center are— 

15 (1) to lead and coordinate the collection and 

16 analysis of information on foreign government infor17 mation warfare efforts, including information pro18 vided by recipients of information access fund grants 

19 awarded under subsection (e) and other sources; 

20 (2) to establish a framework for the integration 

21 of critical data and analysis on foreign propaganda 

22 and disinformation efforts into the development of 

23 national strategy; and 

24 (3) to develop, plan, and synchronize, in coordi25 nation with the Secretary of Defense, the Director of 


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1 National Intelligence, the Broadcasting Board of 

2 Governors, and other relevant departments and 

3 agencies, whole-of-government initiatives to expose 

4 and counter foreign information operations directed 

5 against United States national security interests and 

6 proactively advance fact-based narratives that sup7 port United States allies and interests. 

8 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Center shall carry out the fol9 lowing functions: 

10 (1) Integrating interagency efforts to track and 

11 evaluate counterfactual narratives abroad that 

12 threaten the national security interests of the United 

13 States and United States allies. 

14 (2) Collecting, integrating, and analyzing rel15 evant information, including intelligence reporting, 

16 data, analysis, and analytics from United States 

17 Government agencies, allied nations, think-tanks, 

18 academic institutions, civil society groups, and other 

19 nongovernmental organizations. 

20 (3) Developing and disseminating fact-based 

21 narratives and analysis to counter propaganda and 

22 disinformation directed at United States allies and 

23 partners. 

24 (4) Identifying current and emerging trends in 

25 foreign propaganda and disinformation, including 


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1 the use of print, broadcast, online and social media, 

2 support for third-party outlets such as think tanks, 

3 political parties, and nongovernmental organizations, 

4 and the use of covert or clandestine special operators 

5 and agents to influence targeted populations and 

6 governments in order to coordinate and shape the 

7 development of tactics, techniques, and procedures 

8 to expose and refute foreign misinformation and 

9 disinformation and proactively promote fact-based 

10 narratives and policies to audiences outside the 

11 United States. 

12 (5) Facilitating the use of a wide range of tech13 nologies and techniques by sharing expertise among 

14 agencies, seeking expertise from external sources, 

15 and implementing best practices. 

16 (6) Identifying gaps in United States capabili17 ties in areas relevant to the Center’s mission and 

18 recommending necessary enhancements or changes. 

19 (7) Identifying the countries and populations 

20 most susceptible to foreign government propaganda 

21 and disinformation. 

22 (8) Administering the information access fund 

23 established pursuant to subsection (e). 

24 (9) Coordinating with allied and partner na25 tions, particularly those frequently targeted by forVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 May 12, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5181.IH H5181

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1 eign disinformation operations, and international or2 ganizations and entities such as the NATO Center 

3 of Excellence on Strategic Communications, the Eu4 ropean Endowment for Democracy, and the Euro5 pean External Action Service Task Force on Stra6 tegic Communications, in order to amplify the Cen7 ter’s efforts and avoid duplication. 

8 (c) COMPOSITION.— 

9 (1) COORDINATOR.—The Secretary of State 

10 shall appoint a full-time Coordinator to lead the 

11 Center. 

12 (2) STEERING COMMITTEE.— 

13 (A) COMPOSITION.—The Secretary of 

14 State shall establish a Steering Committee com15 posed of senior representatives of agencies rel16 evant to the Center’s mission to provide advice 

17 to the Secretary on the operations and strategic 

18 orientation of the Center and to ensure ade19 quate support for the Center. The Steering 

20 Committee shall include the officials set forth in 

21 subparagraph (C), one senior representative 

22 designated by the Secretary of Defense, the 

23 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Di24 rector of National Intelligence, the Adminis25 trator of the United States Agency for InterVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 May 12, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5181.IH H5181

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1 national Development, and the Chairman of the 

2 Broadcasting Board of Governors. 

3 (B) MEETINGS.—The Steering Committee 

4 shall meet not less than every 3 months. 

5 (C) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMEN.—The 

6 Steering Committee shall be chaired by the 

7 Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. 

8 A senior, Secretary of State-designated official 

9 responsible for digital media programming for 

10 foreign audiences and a senior, Secretary of De11 fense-designated official responsible for infor12 mation operations shall serve as co-Vice Chair13 men. 

14 (D) EXECUTIVE SECRETARY.—The Coordi15 nator of the Center shall serve as Executive 

16 Secretary of the Steering Committee. 

17 (E) PARTICIPATION AND INDEPEND18 ENCE.—The Chairman of the Broadcasting 

19 Board of Governors shall not compromise the 

20 journalistic freedom or integrity of relevant 

21 media organizations. Other Federal agencies 

22 may be invited to participate in the Steering 

23 Committee at the discretion of the Chairman of 

24 the Steering Committee and with the consent of 

25 the Secretary of State. 


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1 (d) STAFF.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairman may, with the 

3 consent of the Secretary and without regard to the 

4 civil service laws and regulations, appoint and termi5 nate a Director and such other additional personnel 

6 as may be necessary to enable the Center to carry 

7 out its functions. The employment of the Director 

8 shall be subject to confirmation by the Steering 

9 Committee. 

10 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairman may fix 

11 the compensation of the Director and other per12 sonnel without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter 

13 III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, re14 lating to classification of positions and General 

15 Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay for 

16 the executive director and other personnel may not 

17 exceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive 

18 Schedule under section 5316 of that title. 

19 (3) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.— 

20 Any Federal Government employee may be detailed 

21 to the Center without reimbursement, and such de22 tail shall be without interruption or loss of civil serv23 ice status or privilege. 

24 (4) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTER25 MITTENT SERVICES.—The Chairman may procure 


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1 temporary and intermittent services under section 

2 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for 

3 individuals which do not exceed the daily equivalent 

4 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level 

5 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 

6 that title. 

7 (e) INFORMATION ACCESS FUND.— 

8 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

9 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec10 retary of State for fiscal years 2017 and 2018 

11 $20,000,000 to support the Center and provide 

12 grants or contracts of financial support to civil soci13 ety groups, journalists, nongovernmental organiza14 tions, federally funded research and development 

15 centers, private companies, or academic institutions 

16 for the following purposes: 

17 (A) To support local independent media 

18 who are best placed to refute foreign 

19 disinformation and manipulation in their own 

20 communities. 

21 (B) To collect and store examples in print, 

22 online, and social media, disinformation, misin23 formation, and propaganda directed at the 

24 United States and its allies and partners. 


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1 (C) To analyze tactics, techniques, and 

2 procedures of foreign government information 

3 warfare with respect to disinformation, misin4 formation, and propaganda. 

5 (D) To support efforts by the Center to 

6 counter efforts by foreign governments to use 

7 disinformation, misinformation, and propa8 ganda to influence the policies and social and 

9 political stability of the United States and 

10 United States allies and partners. 

11 (2) FUNDING AVAILABILITY AND LIMITA12 TIONS.—All organizations that apply to receive 

13 funds under this subsection must undergo a vetting 

14 process in accordance with the relevant existing reg15 ulations to ensure their bona fides, capability, and 

16 experience, and their compatibility with United 

17 States interests and objectives. 

18 SEC. 4. INCLUSION IN DEPARTMENT OF STATE EDUCATION 

19 AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS OF 

20 FOREIGN STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY LEAD21 ERS FROM COUNTRIES AND POPULATIONS 

22 SUSCEPTIBLE TO FOREIGN MANIPULATION. 

23 When selecting participants for United States edu24 cational and cultural exchange programs, the Secretary of 

25 State shall give special consideration to students and comVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:28 May 12, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5181.IH H5181

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1 munity leaders from populations and countries the Sec2 retary deems vulnerable to foreign propaganda and 

3 disinformation campaigns. 

4 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

5 Not more than one year after the establishment of 

6 the Center, the Secretary of State shall submit to Con7 gress a report evaluating the success of the Center in ful8 filling the purposes for which it was authorized and out9 lining steps to improve any areas of deficiency. 

10 SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF CENTER AND STEERING COM11 MITTEE. 

12 The Center for Information Analysis and Response 

13 and the Steering Committee shall terminate ten years 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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