II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1344

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

OCTOBER 30, 1997

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

Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. HELMS, and Mr. BYRD) introduced the following bill;

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

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Silk Road Strategy

5 Act of 1997’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) The ancient Silk Road, once the economic

2 lifeline of Central Asia and the South Caucasus, tra3 versed much of the territory now within the coun4 tries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakstan,

5 Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and

6 Uzbekistan.

7 (2) Economic interdependence spurred mutual

8 cooperation among the peoples along the Silk Road

9 and restoration of the historic relationships and eco10 nomic ties between those peoples is an important ele11 ment of ensuring their sovereignty as well as the

12 success of democratic and market reforms.

13 (3) The development of strong political and eco14 nomic ties between countries of the South Caucasus

15 and Central Asia and the West will foster stability

16 in the region.

17 (4) The development of open market economies

18 and open democratic systems in the countries of the

19 South Caucasus and Central Asia will provide posi20 tive incentives for international private investment,

21 increased trade, and other forms of commercial

22 interactions with the rest of the world.

23 (5) The Caspian Sea Basin, overlapping the

24 territory of the countries of the South Caucasus and
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1 Central Asia, contains proven oil and gas reserves

2 that may exceed $4,000,000,000,000 in value.

3 (6) The region of the South Caucasus and

4 Central Asia will produce oil and gas in sufficient

5 quantities to reduce the dependence of the United

6 States on energy from the volatile Persian Gulf re7 gion.

8 (7) United States foreign policy and inter9 national assistance should be narrowly targeted to

10 support the economic and political independence of

11 the countries of the South Caucasus and Central

12 Asia.

13 SEC. 3. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.

14 It shall be the policy of the United States in the coun15 tries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia—

16 (1) to promote and strengthen independence,

17 sovereignty, and democratic government;

18 (2) to assist actively in the resolution of re19 gional conflicts;

20 (3) to promote friendly relations and economic

21 cooperation;

22 (4) to help promote market-oriented principles

23 and practices;

24 (5) to assist in the development of the infra25 structure necessary for communications, transpor-
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1 tation, and energy and trade on an East-West axis

2 in order to build strong international relations and

3 commerce between those countries and the stable,

4 democratic, and market-oriented countries of the

5 Euro-Atlantic Community; and

6 (6) to support United States business interests

7 and investments in the region.

8 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES EFFORTS TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS

9 IN GEORGIA, AZERBAIJAN, AND TAJIKISTAN.

10 It is the sense of Congress that the President should

11 use all diplomatic means practicable, including the engage12 ment of senior United States Government officials, to

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

14 the conflicts in Georgia and Azerbaijan and the civil war

15 in Tajikistan.

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

17 1961.

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

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

20 the following new chapter:
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1 ‘‘Chapter 12—Support for the Economic and

2 Political Independence of the Countries

3 of the South Caucasus and Central Asia

4 ‘‘SEC. 499. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE REC5 ONCILIATION AND RECOVERY FROM RE6 GIONAL CONFLICTS.

7 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purposes of as8 sistance under this section are—

9 ‘‘(1) to create the basis for reconciliation be10 tween belligerents;

11 ‘‘(2) to promote economic development in areas

12 of the countries of the South Caucasus and Central

13 Asia impacted by civil conflict and war; and

14 ‘‘(3) to encourage broad regional cooperation

15 among countries of the South Caucasus and Central

16 Asia that have been destabilized by internal con17 flicts.

18 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—

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

20 of subsection (a), the President is authorized to pro21 vide humanitarian assistance and economic recon22 struction assistance under this Act, and assistance

23 under the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of

24 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), to the countries of
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1 the South Caucasus and Central Asia to support the

2 activities described in subsection (c).

3 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF HUMANITARIAN ASSIST4 ANCE.—In this subsection, the term ‘humanitarian

5 assistance’ means assistance to meet urgent humani6 tarian needs, in particular meeting needs for food,

7 medicine, medical supplies and equipment, and

8 clothing.

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

10 be supported by assistance under subsection (b) are lim11 ited to—

12 ‘‘(1) providing for the essential needs of victims

13 of the conflicts;

14 ‘‘(2) facilitating the return of refugees and in15 ternally displaced persons to their homes; and

16 ‘‘(3) assisting in the reconstruction of residen17 tial and economic infrastructure destroyed by war.

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

19 United States should, where appropriate, support the es20 tablishment of neutral, multinational peacekeeping forces

21 to implement peace agreements reached between

22 belligerents in the countries of the South Caucasus and

23 Central Asia.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 499A. ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.

2 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purpose of as3 sistance under this section is to foster the conditions nec4 essary for regional economic cooperation in the South

5 Caucasus and Central Asia.

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

7 out the purpose of subsection (a), the President is author8 ized to provide technical assistance to the countries of the

9 South Caucasus and Central Asia to support the activities

10 described in subsection (c).

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

12 be supported by assistance under subsection (b) are lim13 ited to the development of the structures and means nec14 essary for the growth of private sector economies based

15 upon market principles.

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

17 United States should—

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

19 and Central Asia to develop laws and regulations

20 that would facilitate the ability of those countries to

21 join the World Trade Organization;

22 ‘‘(2) provide permanent nondiscriminatory trade

23 treatment (MFN status) to the countries of the

24 South Caucasus and Central Asia; and
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1 ‘‘(3) consider the establishment of zero-to-zero

2 tariffs between the United States and the countries

3 of the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

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

5 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purposes of as6 sistance under this section are—

7 ‘‘(1) to develop the physical infrastructure nec8 essary for regional cooperation among the countries

9 of the South Caucasus and Central Asia; and

10 ‘‘(2) to encourage closer economic relations be11 tween those countries and the United States and

12 other developed nations.

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

14 out the purposes of subsection (a), the following types of

15 assistance to the countries of the South Caucasus and

16 Central Asia are authorized to support the activities de17 scribed in subsection (c):

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

19 complete the review process for eligibility for financ20 ing under the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945.

21 ‘‘(2) The provision of insurance, reinsurance, fi22 nancing, or other assistance by the Overseas Private

23 Investment Corporation.

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

25 (relating to the Trade and Development Agency).
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1 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Activities that may

2 be supported by assistance under subsection (b) are lim3 ited to promoting actively the participation of United

4 States companies and investors in the planning, financing,

5 and construction of infrastructure for communications,

6 transportation, and energy and trade including highways,

7 railroads, port facilities, shipping, banking, insurance,

8 telecommunications networks, and gas and oil pipelines.

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

10 United States representatives at the International Bank

11 for Reconstruction and Development, the International Fi12 nance Corporation, and the European Bank for Recon13 struction and Development should encourage lending to

14 the countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia to

15 assist the development of the physical infrastructure nec16 essary for regional economic cooperation.

17 ‘‘SEC. 499C. SECURITY ASSISTANCE.

18 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purpose of as19 sistance under this section is to assist countries of the

20 South Caucasus and Central Asia to secure their borders

21 and implement effective controls necessary to prevent the

22 trafficking of illegal narcotics and the proliferation of

23 technology and materials related to weapons of mass de24 struction (as defined in section 2332a(c)(2) of title 18,
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1 United States Code), and to contain and inhibit

2 transnational organized criminal activities.

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

4 out the purpose of subsection (a), the President is author5 ized to provide the following types of assistance to the

6 countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia to sup7 port the activities described in subsection (c):

8 ‘‘(1) Assistance under chapter 5 of part II of

9 this Act (relating to international military education

10 and training).

11 ‘‘(2) Assistance under chapter 8 of this part of

12 this Act (relating to international narcotics control

13 assistance).

14 ‘‘(3) The transfer of excess defense articles

15 under section 516 of this Act (22 U.S.C. 2321j).

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

17 be supported by assistance under subsection (b) are lim18 ited to assisting those countries of the South Caucasus

19 and Central Asia in developing capabilities to maintain na20 tional border guards, coast guard, and customs controls.

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

22 United States should encourage and assist the develop23 ment of regional military cooperation among the countries

24 of the South Caucasus and Central Asia through pro25 grams such as the Central Asian Battalion and the Part-
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1 nership for Peace of the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza2 tion.

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

4 AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY.

5 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purpose of as6 sistance under this section is to promote institutions of

7 democratic government and to create the conditions for

8 the growth of pluralistic societies, including religious toler9 ance.

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

11 out the purpose of subsection (a), the President is author12 ized to provide the following types of assistance to the

13 countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

14 ‘‘(1) Technical assistance for democracy build15 ing.

16 ‘‘(2) Technical assistance for the development

17 of nongovernmental organizations.

18 ‘‘(3) Technical assistance for development of

19 independent media.

20 ‘‘(4) Technical assistance for the development

21 of the rule of law.

22 ‘‘(5) International exchanges and advanced pro23 fessional training programs in skill areas central to

24 the development of civil society.
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1 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Activities that may

2 be supported by assistance under subsection (b) are lim3 ited to activities that directly and specifically are designed

4 to advance progress toward the development of democracy.

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

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

7 maintain high quality broadcasting for the maximum du8 ration possible in the native languages of the countries of

9 the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

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

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

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

13 a country of the South Caucasus or Central Asia if the

14 President determines and certifies to the appropriate con15 gressional committees that the country—

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

17 violations of internationally recognized human

18 rights;

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

20 this chapter, knowingly transferred to another coun21 try—

22 ‘‘(A) missiles or missile technology incon23 sistent with the guidelines and parameters of

24 the Missile Technology Control Regime (as de25 fined in section 11B(c) of the Export Adminis-
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1 tration Act of 1979 950 U.S.C. App. 2410b(c);

2 or

3 ‘‘(B) any material, equipment, or tech4 nology that would contribute significantly to the

5 ability of such country to manufacture any

6 weapon of mass destruction (including nuclear,

7 chemical, and biological weapons) if the Presi8 dent determines that the material, equipment,

9 or technology was to be used by such country

10 in the manufacture of such weapons;

11 ‘‘(3) has supported acts of international terror12 ism;

13 ‘‘(4) is prohibited from receiving such assist14 ance by chapter 10 of the Arms Export Control Act

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

16 Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimi17 nation Act of 1991 (22 U.S.C. 5604(a)(1), 5605); or

18 ‘‘(5) has initiated an act of aggression against

19 another state in the region after the date of enact20 ment of the Silk Road Strategy Act of 1997.

21 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION TO INELIGIBILITY.—Notwithstand22 ing subsection (a), assistance may be provided under this

23 chapter if the President determines and certifies in ad24 vance to the appropriate congressional committees that
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1 the provision of such assistance is important to the na2 tional interest of the United States.

3 ‘‘SEC. 499F. ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES.

4 ‘‘(a) ASSISTANCE THROUGH GOVERNMENTS AND

5 NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.—Assistance under

6 this chapter may be provided to governments or through

7 nongovernmental organizations.

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

9 as otherwise provided, any funds that have been allocated

10 under chapter 4 of part II for assistance for the independ11 ent states of the former Soviet Union may be used in ac12 cordance with the provisions of this chapter.

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

14 this chapter shall be provided on such terms and condi15 tions as the President may determine.

16 ‘‘(d) SUPERSEDING EXISTING LAW.—The authority

17 to provide assistance under this chapter supersedes any

18 other provision of law, except for—

19 ‘‘(1) this chapter;

20 ‘‘(2) section 634A of this Act and comparable

21 notification requirements contained in sections of the

22 annual foreign operations, export financing, and re23 lated programs Act; and

24 ‘‘(3) section 1341 of title 31, United States

25 Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Anti-Deficiency
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1 Act’’), the Congressional Budget and Impoundment

2 Control Act of 1974, the Balanced Budget and

3 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, and the

4 Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.

5 ‘‘SEC. 499G. DEFINITIONS.

6 ‘‘In this chapter:

7 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT8 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com9 mittees’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations

10 of the Senate and the Committee on International

11 Relations of the House of Representatives.

12 ‘‘(2) COUNTRIES OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

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

14 South Caucasus and Central Asia’ means Armenia,

15 Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgystan,

16 Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.’’.

17 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT.

18 Beginning one year after the date of enactment of

19 this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall sub20 mit a report to the appropriate congressional commit21 tees—

22 (1) identifying the progress of United States

23 foreign policy to accomplish the policy identified in

24 section 3;
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1 (2) evaluating the degree to which the assist2 ance authorized by chapter 12 of part I of the For3 eign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 5

4 of this Act, was able to accomplish the purposes

5 identified in those sections; and

6 (3) recommending any additional initiatives

7 that should be undertaken by the United States to

8 implement the policy and purposes contained in this

9 Act.

10 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

11 In this Act:

12 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com14 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations

15 of the Senate and the Committee on International

16 Relations of the House of Representatives.

17 (2) COUNTRIES OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS AND

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

19 Caucasus and Central Asia’’ means Armenia, Azer20 baijan, Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan,

21 Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

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