I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1580 

To enhance stabilization of conflict-affected areas and prevent violence and 

fragility globally, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2019 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. KEATING, and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To enhance stabilization of conflict-affected areas and prevent violence and fragility globally, 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 ‘‘Global Fragility Act 

5 of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) According to the United Nations, an un2 precedented 68.5 million people around the world, 

3 the highest level ever recorded, are currently forcibly 

4 displaced from their homes. 

5 (2) According to the World Bank, violence and 

6 violent conflict are now the leading causes of dis7 placement and food insecurity worldwide, driving 80 

8 percent of humanitarian needs, with the same con9 flicts accounting for the majority of forcibly dis10 placed persons every year since 1991. 

11 (3) According to the Institute for Economics 

12 and Peace, violence containment costs the global 

13 economy $14.76 trillion a year, or 12.4 percent of 

14 the world’s GDP. 

15 (4) Violence and violent conflict underpin many 

16 of the United States Government’s key national se17 curity challenges. Notably, violent conflicts allow for 

18 environments in which terrorist organizations recruit 

19 and thrive, while the combination of violence, cor20 ruption, poverty, poor governance, and underdevelop21 ment often enables transnational gangs and criminal 

22 networks to wreak havoc and commit atrocities 

23 worldwide. 

24 (5) According to research by the University of 

25 Maryland and University of Pittsburgh, exposure to 


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1 violence increases support for violence and violent 

2 extremism. Research increasingly finds exposure to 

3 violence as a predictor of future participation in vio4 lence, including violent extremism. 

5 (6) United States foreign policy and assistance 

6 efforts in highly violent and fragile states remain 

7 governed by an outdated patchwork of authorities 

8 that prioritize responding to immediate needs rather 

9 than solving the problems that cause them. 

10 (7) Lessons learned over the past 20 years, doc11 umented by the 2013 Special Inspector General for 

12 Iraq Reconstruction Lessons Learned Study, the 

13 2016 Fragility Study Group report, and the 2018 

14 Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Lessons 

15 Learned Study on Stabilization, show that effective, 

16 sustained United States efforts to reduce violence 

17 and stabilize fragile and violence-affected states re18 quire clearly defined goals and strategies, adequate 

19 long-term funding, rigorous and iterative conflict 

20 analysis, coordination across the United States Gov21 ernment, including strong civil-military coordination, 

22 attention to the problem of corruption, and integra23 tion with and leadership from national and sub-na24 tional partners, including local civil society organizaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1580.IH H1580

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1 tions, traditional justice systems, and local govern2 ance structures. 

3 (8) The ‘‘Stabilization Assistance Review’’ re4 leased in 2018 by the Departments of State and De5 fense and the United States Agency for Inter6 national Development states, ‘‘The United States 

7 has strong national security and economic interests 

8 in reducing levels of violence and promoting stability 

9 in areas affected by armed conflict.’’. The Review 

10 further states, ‘‘Stabilization is an inherently polit11 ical endeavor that requires aligning U.S. Govern12 ment efforts – diplomatic engagement, foreign as13 sistance, and defense – toward supporting locally le14 gitimate authorities and systems to peaceably man15 age conflict and prevent violence.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

17 It is the policy of the United States to— 

18 (1) ensure that all relevant Federal depart19 ments and agencies coordinate to achieve coherent, 

20 long-term goals for programs designed to stabilize 

21 conflict-affected areas and prevent violence and fra22 gility globally, including when implementing the 

23 Global Fragility Initiative established pursuant to 

24 section 6; 


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1 (2) seek to improve global, regional, and local 

2 coordination of relevant international and multilat3 eral development and donor organizations regarding 

4 efforts to stabilize conflict-affected areas and pre5 vent violence and fragility globally, and, where prac6 ticable and appropriate, align such efforts with mul7 tilateral goals and indicators; 

8 (3) expand and enhance the effectiveness of 

9 United States foreign assistance programs and ac10 tivities to stabilize conflict-affected areas and pre11 vent violence and fragility globally; 

12 (4) support the research and development of ef13 fective approaches to stabilize conflict-affected areas 

14 and prevent violence and fragility globally, and data 

15 collection efforts relevant to such approaches; and 

16 (5) improve the tools and authorities for assess17 ment, monitoring, and evaluation needed to enable 

18 learning and adaptation by such relevant Federal de19 partments and agencies working to stabilize conflict20 affected areas and prevent violence and fragility 

21 globally. 

22 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 (a) STABILIZATION AND PREVENTION FUND.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab2 lished in the Treasury of the United States a 

3 fund to be known as the ‘‘Stabilization and Pre4 vention Fund’’ (in this subsection referred to as 

5 the ‘‘Fund’’), to be administered by the Depart6 ment of State and the United States Agency for 

7 International Development (USAID), and con8 sisting of amounts authorized to be— 

9 (i) transferred pursuant to subpara10 graph (B); and 

11 (ii) appropriated pursuant to para12 graph (2). 

13 (B) TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION.—There is 

14 authorized to be transferred to the Fund the 

15 unobligated balance of any amounts in the Re16 lief and Recovery Fund (including amounts pro17 vided in section 7071 of division F of the Con18 solidated Appropriations Act, 2019; Public Law 

19 116–6) as of the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act. Pursuant to the completion of such trans21 fer, the Relief and Recovery Fund is hereby 

22 abolished, and any reference to the Relief and 

23 Recovery Fund in any law, regulation, rule, or 

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1 ment shall be deemed to be a reference to the 

2 Fund. 

3 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

5 $200,000,000 for each of the five fiscal years begin6 ning with the first fiscal year that begins after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act. Amounts author8 ized to be appropriated pursuant to this paragraph 

9 are authorized to remain available until expended. 

10 (3) PURPOSES OF THE FUND.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts authorized to 

12 be appropriated to the Fund shall be used for 

13 any of the following: 

14 (i) To support stabilization of conflict15 affected areas and prevent violence and 

16 fragility globally, including through the 

17 Global Fragility Initiative established pur18 suant to section 6. 

19 (ii) To provide assistance to areas lib20 erated or at risk from, or under the control 

21 of, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, 

22 other terrorist organizations, or violent ex23 tremist organizations, including for sta24 bilization assistance for vulnerable ethnic 


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1 and religious minority communities af2 fected by conflict. 

3 (B) ADDITION.—Amounts authorized to be 

4 appropriated to the Fund are in addition to any 

5 amounts otherwise made available for the pur6 poses described in subparagraph (A). 

7 (4) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Funds 

8 may not be obligated under this section unless the 

9 congressional committees specified in section 634A 

10 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

11 2394–1) are notified of the amount and nature of 

12 such proposed obligation at least 15 days in advance 

13 of such proposed obligation, in accordance with the 

14 procedures applicable to notifications regarding 

15 reprogrammings pursuant to such section. 

16 (b) COMPLEX CRISES FUND.— 

17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

18 the Treasury of the United States a fund to be 

19 known as the ‘‘Complex Crises Fund’’ (in this sub20 section referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’), to be adminis21 tered by USAID. 

22 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 

24 $30,000,000 for each of the five fiscal years begin25 ning with the first fiscal year that begins after the 


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1 date of the enactment of this Act. Amounts author2 ized to be appropriated pursuant to this paragraph 

3 are authorized to remain available until expended. 

4 (3) PURPOSES OF THE FUND.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

6 other provision of law, except section 620M of 

7 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

8 2378d), amounts in the Fund may be used to 

9 carry out the provisions of the Foreign Assist10 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) to 

11 support programs and activities to prevent or 

12 respond to emerging or unforeseen foreign chal13 lenges and complex crises overseas, including 

14 through the Global Fragility Initiative estab15 lished pursuant to section 6. 

16 (B) ADDITION.—Amounts authorized to be 

17 appropriated to the Fund are in addition to any 

18 amounts otherwise made available for the pur19 poses described in subparagraph (A). 

20 (4) LIMITATIONS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund 

22 may not be expended for lethal assistance or to 

23 respond to natural disasters. 


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1 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not 

2 more than five percent of amounts in the Fund 

3 may be used for administrative expenses. 

4 (5) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later 

5 than five days before amounts from the Fund are 

6 obligated, the Administrator of the United States 

7 Agency for International Development shall submit 

8 notification of such obligation to— 

9 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

10 the Senate; 

11 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

12 the Senate; 

13 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

14 the House of Representatives; and 

15 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

16 the House of Representatives. 

17 (6) WAIVER.—Notification in accordance with 

18 paragraph (5) may be waived if— 

19 (A) notification by the deadline specified in 

20 such paragraph would pose a substantial risk to 

21 human health or welfare; and 

22 (B) the congressional committees specified 

23 in such paragraph— 


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1 (i) are notified not later than three 

2 days after an obligation of amounts from 

3 the Fund; and 

4 (ii) are provided with an explanation 

5 of the emergency circumstances that neces6 sitated such waiver. 

7 (c) OTHER FUNDING AND COST MATCHING.—The 

8 Global Fragility Initiative established pursuant to section 

9 6— 

10 (1) may be supported by funds other than 

11 funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to this 

12 section; and 

13 (2) shall seek to leverage funds from sources 

14 other than the United States Government in order 

15 to promote coordination and cost-matching to the 

16 maximum extent practicable. 

17 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ASSISTANCE FOR 

18 THE GLOBAL FRAGILITY INITIATIVE. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that the President, the 

20 Secretary of State, the Administrator of USAID, the Sec21 retary of Defense, and the heads of other relevant Federal 

22 departments and agencies should work with the appro23 priate congressional committees to provide sufficient types 

24 and levels of funding to— 


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1 (1) allow for more adaptive and responsive pol2 icy and program planning, implementation, and scal3 ing under the Global Fragility Initiative established 

4 pursuant to section 6, including through more flexi5 ble funding mechanisms and exemptions from spe6 cific and minimum funding levels when such exemp7 tions would make such programs better able to re8 spond to local needs, the results of monitoring and 

9 evaluation, or changed circumstances in relevant 

10 countries; 

11 (2) better integrate the initiative and other con12 flict and violence reduction objectives and activities 

13 into other policy and program areas, where appro14 priate; and 

15 (3) support transparent and accountable multi16 lateral funds, initiatives, and strategies to enhance 

17 and better coordinate both private and public efforts 

18 to stabilize conflict-affected areas and prevent vio19 lence and fragility globally. 

20 SEC. 6. GLOBAL FRAGILITY INITIATIVE. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State, 

23 in coordination with the Administrator of the United 

24 States Agency for International Development 

25 (USAID), the Secretary of Defense, the Atrocities 


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1 Prevention Board (or any successor entity), and the 

2 heads of other relevant Federal departments and 

3 agencies, shall, in accordance with subsection (b), es4 tablish an interagency initiative, to be referred to as 

5 the ‘‘Global Fragility Initiative’’, to stabilize conflict6 affected areas and prevent violence and fragility 

7 globally. 

8 (2) STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION.—The Glob9 al Fragility Initiative required under this subsection 

10 shall be developed in consultation with representa11 tives of local civil society and national and local gov12 ernance entities, as well as relevant international de13 velopment organizations with experience imple14 menting programs in fragile and violence-affected 

15 communities, multilateral organizations and donors, 

16 and relevant private, academic, and philanthropic 

17 entities, as appropriate. 

18 (b) ESTABLISHMENT PLAN.—Not later than 180 

19 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of 

21 USAID, the Secretary of Defense, the Atrocities Preven22 tion Board (or any successor entity), and the heads of 

23 other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall 

24 submit to the appropriate congressional committees an 

25 interagency plan regarding the establishment of the Global 


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1 Fragility Initiative pursuant to subsection (a) that in2 cludes the following: 

3 (1) Identification of the roles and responsibil4 ities of each participating Federal department or 

5 agency, while ensuring that— 

6 (A) the Department of State is the overall 

7 lead department for establishing United States 

8 foreign policy and advancing diplomatic and po9 litical efforts; 

10 (B) USAID is the lead implementing agen11 cy for development, humanitarian, and related 

12 non-security program policy; 

13 (C) where appropriate, the Department of 

14 Defense may support the activities of the De15 partment of State and USAID by providing 

16 requisite security and support to civilian efforts 

17 with the joint-formulation, coordination, and 

18 concurrence of the Secretary of State and Ad19 ministrator of USAID; and 

20 (D) other Federal departments and agen21 cies support the activities of the Department of 

22 State and USAID as appropriate, with the con23 currence of the Secretary of State and Adminis24 trator of USAID. 


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1 (2) Identification of which officials of the De2 partment of State, USAID, and the Department of 

3 Defense, with a rank not lower than Assistant Sec4 retary or Assistant Administrator, as the case may 

5 be, will be responsible for overseeing and leading the 

6 initiative. 

7 (3) Identification of the authorities, staffing, 

8 and other resource requirements needed to effec9 tively implement the initiative. 

10 (4) Descriptions of the organizational steps the 

11 Secretary of State, the Administrator, the Secretary 

12 of Defense, and the head of each other relevant Fed13 eral department or agency will take to improve plan14 ning, coordination, implementation, assessment, 

15 monitoring, evaluation, adaptive management, and 

16 iterative learning with respect to the programs car17 ried out under the initiative. 

18 (5) Descriptions of the steps the Secretary of 

19 State, the Administrator, the Secretary of Defense, 

20 and the head of each other relevant Federal depart21 ment or agency will take to ensure appropriate host22 country ownership and to improve coordination and 

23 collaboration under the initiative with international 

24 development organizations, international donors, 

25 multilateral organizations, and the private sector. 


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1 (6) Descriptions of potential areas of improved 

2 public and private sector research and development, 

3 including with academic, philanthropic, and civil so4 ciety organizations, on data collection efforts and 

5 more effective approaches to stabilize conflict-af6 fected areas and prevent violence and fragility glob7 ally. 

8 (7) Descriptions of the processes for regularly 

9 evaluating and updating the initiative on an iterative 

10 basis, including regarding priority country and re11 gional plans described in subsection (d). 

12 (8) A list of priority countries and regions se13 lected pursuant to subsection (c), including descrip14 tions of the rationale for such selections. 

15 (c) SELECTION OF PRIORITY COUNTRIES AND RE16 GIONS.—The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 

17 Administrator of USAID and the Secretary of Defense, 

18 and in consultation with the appropriate congressional 

19 committees, shall select certain countries as ‘‘priority 

20 countries’’ and certain regions as ‘‘priority regions’’ for 

21 the Global Fragility Initiative— 

22 (1) on the basis of— 

23 (A) clearly defined indicators of the levels 

24 of violence or fragility in such country or re25 gion, such as the country or region’s— 


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1 (i) ranking on recognized global fra2 gility lists, such as the Organization for 

3 Economic Co-operation and Development 

4 States of Fragility report, the Fund for 

5 Peace Fragile States Index, the World 

6 Bank Harmonized List of Fragile Situa7 tions, the Institute for Economics and 

8 Peace Global Peace Index, and Holocaust 

9 Museum Early Warning Project Risk As10 sessment; 

11 (ii) ranking on select United States 

12 Government conflict and atrocity early 

13 warning watch lists; and 

14 (iii) levels of violence, such as violence 

15 committed by armed groups, violent ex16 tremist organizations, gender-based vio17 lence, and violence against children and 

18 youth; and 

19 (B) an assessment of— 

20 (i) the capacity and commitment of 

21 national and sub-national government enti22 ties and civil society partners in such coun23 try or region to work with Federal depart24 ments and agencies on the initiative; and 


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1 (ii) the likelihood that selection as a 

2 priority country or priority region would 

3 allow the initiative to measurably stabilize 

4 conflict-affected areas or prevent violence 

5 and fragility in such country or region; and 

6 (2) in a manner that ensures that— 

7 (A) not fewer than three countries or re8 gions are designated as ‘‘Stabilization Coun9 tries’’ or ‘‘Stabilization Regions’’, as the case 

10 may be, in which current levels of violence are 

11 among the highest in the world; 

12 (B) not fewer than three countries or re13 gions are designated as ‘‘Prevention Countries’’ 

14 or ‘‘Prevention Regions’’, as the case may be, 

15 in which current levels of violence are lower 

16 than such levels in Stabilization Countries or 

17 Stabilization Regions but risk factors for vio18 lence or fragility are significant; 

19 (C) countries and regions selected are in 

20 the areas of responsibility of at least three geo21 graphic bureaus of the Department of State; 

22 and 

23 (D) regions, rather than individual coun24 tries, are selected where the threat or spillover 

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1 tiple countries within a single geographic re2 gion. 

3 (d) COUNTRY AND REGIONAL PLANS.—Not later 

4 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

5 the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Adminis6 trator of USAID, the Secretary of Defense, the Atrocities 

7 Prevention Board (or any successor entity), and the heads 

8 of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall 

9 submit to the appropriate congressional committees ten10 year plans to align and integrate under the Global Fra11 gility Initiative required under subsection (a) all relevant 

12 diplomatic, development, security assistance and coopera13 tion, and other relevant activities of the United States 

14 Government with respect to each of the countries and re15 gions selected pursuant to subsection (c). Each such coun16 try and regional plan shall include the following: 

17 (1) Specific multi-year interagency plans for co18 ordination and implementation under each such 

19 plan. 

20 (2) An up-to-date baseline analysis for each 

21 such country or region, including an analysis of 

22 power dynamics, impacts of violence, and conditions 

23 that contribute to violence and fragility. 

24 (3) Prioritized descriptions of the goals and ob25 jectives for stabilizing conflict-affected areas and 


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1 preventing violence and fragility in each such coun2 try or region. 

3 (4) Descriptions of how and when the relevant 

4 goals, objectives, plans, and benchmarks for each 

5 such country or region will be incorporated into rel6 evant United States country plans and strategies, in7 cluding Department of State Integrated Country 

8 Strategies, USAID Country Development Coopera9 tion Strategies, and Department of Defense Cam10 paign Plans, Operational Plans, and Regional Strat11 egies, as well as any equivalent or successor plans or 

12 strategies. 

13 (5) Interagency plans to ensure that appro14 priate local actors, including government and civil 

15 society entities and organizations led by women, 

16 youth, or under-represented communities, have an 

17 appropriate ownership stake in developing, imple18 menting, assessing, monitoring, evaluating, and up19 dating relevant activities under each such plan. 

20 (6) Interagency plans to integrate existing and 

21 planned security assistance and cooperation pro22 grams in each such country or region with the initia23 tive and to maximize positive outcomes and mitigate 

24 risks associated with such programs, including risks 

25 related to corruption, governance, and human rights. 


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1 (7) Assessment, monitoring, and evaluation 

2 frameworks for diplomatic, development, and secu3 rity activities, which shall be informed by consulta4 tions with the stakeholders specified in subsection 

5 (a)(2), with clear, date-certain metrics for each such 

6 country or region, as well as interagency plans for 

7 using such frameworks to adapt such activities on a 

8 regular and iterative basis. 

9 (8) Descriptions of available policy tools and 

10 how such tools will be used to stabilize conflict-af11 fected areas or prevent violence and fragility in each 

12 such country or region. 

13 (9) A description of how planning and imple14 mentation for each such country or region will be co15 ordinated to ensure such planning and implementa16 tion are conducted in partnership between the 

17 United States Government and— 

18 (A) governments of such countries; 

19 (B) international development organiza20 tions; 

21 (C) relevant international donors; 

22 (D) multilateral organizations; and 

23 (E) the private sector. 

24 (10) A regional component outlining plans to 

25 address relevant transnational issues in cases in 


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1 which an individual country is selected and such 

2 country is affected by or at risk of regional fragility 

3 or violence. 

4 (11) A component outlining plans to address 

5 national-level factors at the individual country level 

6 in cases in which a region is selected and such re7 gion is affected by or at risk of fragility or violence 

8 as a result of such national-level factors. 

9 (e) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of State, in 

10 coordination with the Administrator of USAID, the Sec11 retary of Defense, and the heads of other relevant Federal 

12 departments and agencies, and in consultation with the 

13 Atrocities Prevention Board (or any successor entity), rel14 evant United States ambassadors, USAID mission direc15 tors, geographic combatant commanders, and other rel16 evant individuals with responsibility over activities in each 

17 priority country or region selected pursuant to subsection 

18 (c), shall ensure that— 

19 (1) the Global Fragility Initiative required 

20 under subsection (a), including each of the country 

21 and regional plans under subsection (d), is imple22 mented, updated, and coordinated on a regular and 

23 iterative basis; and 

24 (2) such initiative is used to guide United 

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1 porated into relevant strategies and plans across the 

2 United States Government such that the activities of 

3 all Federal departments and agencies are consistent 

4 with such initiative. 

5 SEC. 7. BIENNIAL REPORTS AND CONGRESSIONAL CON6 SULTATION. 

7 (a) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Not later than two years 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act and every two 

9 years thereafter until the date that is ten years after such 

10 date of enactment, the Secretary of State, in coordination 

11 with the Administrator of USAID, the Secretary of De12 fense, the Atrocities Prevention Board (or any successor 

13 entity), and the heads of other relevant Federal depart14 ments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate con15 gressional committees an unclassified report, which may 

16 include a classified annex, on progress made and lessons 

17 learned with respect to the Global Fragility Initiative es18 tablished pursuant to section 6, including each country 

19 and regional plan required as part of such initiative, in20 cluding the following: 

21 (1) Descriptions of steps taken to incorporate 

22 the initiative and such country and regional plans 

23 into relevant strategies and plans that affect such 

24 countries and regions. 


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1 (2) Accountings of all funding received and ob2 ligated to implement each such country and regional 

3 plan during the previous two years, as well as fund4 ing requested, planned, and projected for the fol5 lowing two years. 

6 (3) Descriptions of progress made towards the 

7 goals and objectives established for each such coun8 try and region, including progress made towards 

9 achieving specific targets, metrics, and indicators. 

10 (4) Descriptions of updates made during the 

11 previous two years to the goals, objectives, plans of 

12 action, and other elements described in each such 

13 country and regional plan, as well as any changes 

14 made to programs based on the results of assess15 ment, monitoring, and evaluation. 

16 (b) CONGRESSIONAL CONSULTATION.—The Sec17 retary of State, the Administrator of USAID, and the Sec18 retary of Defense shall provide to any appropriate congres19 sional committee upon the request of any such committee 

20 regular briefings on the implementation of this Act. 

21 SEC. 8. GAO REVIEW. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act and every two years 

24 thereafter until the date that is ten years after such date 

25 of enactment, the Comptroller General of the United 


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1 States shall consult with the Chairman and Ranking Mem2 ber of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

3 and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

4 Representatives regarding opportunities for independent 

5 review of the activities under the Global Fragility Initia6 tive established pursuant to section 6, including opportuni7 ties to— 

8 (1) assess the extent to which United States 

9 Government activities in each country and region se10 lected as part of the initiative are being implemented 

11 in accordance with the initiative and the relevant 

12 country or regional plan under the initiative; 

13 (2) assess the processes and procedures for co14 ordinating among and within each relevant Federal 

15 department or agency when implementing the initia16 tive and each such country and regional plan; 

17 (3) assess the monitoring and evaluation efforts 

18 under the initiative and each such country and re19 gional plan, including assessments of the progress 

20 made and lessons learned with respect to each such 

21 plan, as well as any changes made to activities based 

22 on the results of such monitoring and evaluation; 

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1 cordance with the initiative, as well as recommenda2 tions for any changes to the initiative; and 

3 (5) assess such other matters as the Comp4 troller General determines appropriate. 

5 (b) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The heads of 

6 all relevant Federal departments and agencies shall ensure 

7 that all relevant data, documents, and other information 

8 is made available to the Comptroller General of the United 

9 States for purposes of conducting independent reviews 

10 pursuant to this section. 

11 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT14 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com15 mittees’’ means— 

16 (A) the Committees on Foreign Relations, 

17 Armed Services, and Appropriations of the Sen18 ate; and 

19 (B) the Committees on Foreign Affairs, 

20 Armed Services, and Appropriations of the 

21 House of Representatives. 

22 (2) RELEVANT FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OR

23 AGENCY.—The term ‘‘relevant Federal department 

24 or agency’’ means the Department of the Treasury 

25 and any other Federal department or agency the 


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•HR 1580 IH

1 President determines is relevant to carry out the 

2 purposes of this Act. 

Æ 


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