I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1152

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 17, 1999

Mr. BEREUTER (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. BERMAN, and Mr. PITTS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International 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 1999’’.

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, eco14 nomic, and security ties among countries of the

15 South Caucasus and Central Asia and the West will

16 foster stability in this region, which is vulnerable to

17 political and economic pressures from the south,

18 north, and east.

19 (4) The development of open market economies

20 and open democratic systems in the countries of the

21 South Caucasus and Central Asia will provide posi22 tive incentives for international private investment,

23 increased trade, and other forms of commercial

24 interactions with the rest of the world.
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1 (5) Many of the countries of the South

2 Caucasus have secular Muslim governments that are

3 seeking closer alliance with the United States and

4 that have active and cordial diplomatic relations with

5 Israel.

6 (6) The region of the South Caucasus and Cen7 tral Asia could produce oil and gas in sufficient

8 quantities to reduce the dependence of the United

9 States on energy from the volatile Persian Gulf re10 gion.

11 (7) United States foreign policy and inter12 national assistance should be narrowly targeted to

13 support the economic and political independence as

14 well as democracy building, free market policies,

15 human rights, and regional economic integration of

16 the countries of the South Caucasus and Central

17 Asia.

18 SEC. 3. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.

19 It shall be the policy of the United States in the coun20 tries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia—

21 (1) to promote and strengthen independence,

22 sovereignty, democratic government, and respect for

23 human rights;

24 (2) to promote tolerance, pluralism, and under25 standing and counter racism and anti-Semitism;
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1 (3) to assist actively in the resolution of re2 gional conflicts and to facilitate the removal of im3 pediments to cross-border commerce;

4 (4) to promote friendly relations and economic

5 cooperation;

6 (5) to help promote market-oriented principles

7 and practices;

8 (6) to assist in the development of the infra9 structure necessary for communications, transpor10 tation, education, health, and energy and trade on

11 an East-West axis in order to build strong inter12 national relations and commerce between those

13 countries and the stable, democratic, and market14 oriented countries of the Euro-Atlantic Community;

15 and

16 (7) to support United States business interests

17 and investments in the region.

18 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES EFFORTS TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS

19 IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL

20 ASIA.

21 It is the sense of Congress that the President should

22 use all diplomatic means practicable, including the engage23 ment of senior United States Government officials, to

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

25 the conflicts in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
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1 SEC. 5. AMENDMENT OF THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF

2 1961.

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

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

5 the following new chapter:

6 ‘‘CHAPTER 12—SUPPORT FOR THE ECO7 NOMIC AND POLITICAL INDEPEND8 ENCE OF THE COUNTRIES OF THE

9 SOUTH CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

10 ‘‘SEC. 499. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE REC11 ONCILIATION AND RECOVERY FROM RE12 GIONAL CONFLICTS.

13 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purposes of as14 sistance under this section include—

15 ‘‘(1) the creation of the basis for reconciliation

16 between belligerents in the countries of the South

17 Caucasus and Central Asia;

18 ‘‘(2) the promotion of economic development in

19 areas of the countries of the South Caucasus and

20 Central Asia impacted by civil conflict and war; and

21 ‘‘(3) the encouragement of broad regional co22 operation among countries of the South Caucasus

23 and Central Asia that have been destabilized by in24 ternal conflicts.

25 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purposes

2 of subsection (a), the President is authorized to pro3 vide humanitarian assistance and economic recon4 struction assistance for the countries of the South

5 Caucasus and Central Asia to support the activities

6 described in subsection (c).

7 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF HUMANITARIAN ASSIST8 ANCE.—In this subsection, the term ‘humanitarian

9 assistance’ means assistance to meet humanitarian

10 needs, including needs for food, medicine, medical

11 supplies and equipment, education, and clothing.

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

13 be supported by assistance under subsection (b) include—

14 ‘‘(1) providing for the humanitarian needs of

15 victims of the conflicts;

16 ‘‘(2) facilitating the return of refugees and in17 ternally displaced persons to their homes; and

18 ‘‘(3) assisting in the reconstruction of residen19 tial and economic infrastructure destroyed by war.

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

21 United States should, where appropriate, support the es22 tablishment of neutral, multinational peacekeeping forces

23 to implement peace agreements reached between belliger24 ents in the countries of the South Caucasus and Central

25 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 economic growth

4 and development, including the conditions necessary for

5 regional economic cooperation, among the countries of the

6 South Caucasus and Central Asia.

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

8 out the purpose of subsection (a), the President is author9 ized to provide assistance for the countries of the South

10 Caucasus and Central Asia to support the activities de11 scribed in subsection (c).

12 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—In addition to the ac13 tivities described in section 498, activities supported by

14 assistance under subsection (b) should support the devel15 opment of the structures and means necessary for the

16 growth of private sector economies based upon market

17 principles.

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

19 United States should—

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

21 and Central Asia to develop policies, laws, and regu22 lations that would facilitate the ability of those coun23 tries to develop free market economies and to join

24 the World Trade Organization to enjoy all the bene25 fits of membership; and
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1 ‘‘(2) 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 PROGRAMS.—The purposes of pro6 grams under this section include—

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 and

11 to facilitate the removal of impediments to cross-bor12 der commerce among those countries and the United

13 States and other developed nations.

14 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION FOR PROGRAMS.—To carry out

15 the purposes of subsection (a), the following types of pro16 grams for the countries of the South Caucasus and Cen17 tral Asia may be used to support the activities described

18 in subsection (c):

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

20 complete the review process for eligibility for financ21 ing under the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945.

22 ‘‘(2) The provision of insurance, reinsurance, fi23 nancing, or other assistance by the Overseas Private

24 Investment Corporation.
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1 ‘‘(3) Assistance under section 661 of this Act

2 (relating to the Trade and Development Agency).

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

4 be supported by programs under subsection (b) include

5 promoting actively the participation of United States com6 panies and investors in the planning, financing, and con7 struction of infrastructure for communications, transpor8 tation, including air transportation, and energy and trade,

9 including highways, railroads, port facilities, shipping,

10 banking, insurance, telecommunications networks, and gas

11 and oil pipelines.

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

13 United States representatives at the International Bank

14 for Reconstruction and Development, the International Fi15 nance Corporation, and the European Bank for Recon16 struction and Development should encourage lending to

17 the countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia to

18 assist the development of the physical infrastructure nec19 essary for regional economic cooperation.

20 ‘‘SEC. 499C. BORDER CONTROL ASSISTANCE.

21 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purpose of as22 sistance under this section includes the assistance of the

23 countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia to se24 cure their borders and implement effective controls nec25 essary to prevent the trafficking of illegal narcotics and
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1 the proliferation of technology and materials related to

2 weapons of mass destruction (as defined in section

3 2332a(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code), and to con4 tain and inhibit transnational organized criminal activi5 ties.

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

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

9 Caucasus and Central Asia to support the activities de10 scribed in subsection (c).

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

12 be supported by assistance under subsection (b) include

13 assisting those countries of the South Caucasus and Cen14 tral Asia in developing capabilities to maintain national

15 border guards, coast guard, and customs controls.

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

17 United States should encourage and assist the develop18 ment of regional military cooperation among the countries

19 of the South Caucasus and Central Asia through pro20 grams such as the Central Asian Battalion and the Part21 nership for Peace of the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza22 tion.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 499D. STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY, TOLERANCE,

2 AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY.

3 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.—The purpose of as4 sistance under this section is to promote institutions of

5 democratic government and to create the conditions for

6 the growth of pluralistic societies, including religious toler7 ance and respect for internationally recognized human

8 rights.

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

10 out the purpose of subsection (a), the President is author11 ized to provide the following types of assistance to the

12 countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia:

13 ‘‘(1) Assistance for democracy building, includ14 ing programs to strengthen parliamentary institu15 tions and practices.

16 ‘‘(2) Assistance for the development of non17 governmental organizations.

18 ‘‘(3) Assistance for development of independent

19 media.

20 ‘‘(4) Assistance for the development of the rule

21 of law, a strong independent judiciary, and trans22 parency in political practice and commercial trans23 actions.

24 ‘‘(5) International exchanges and advanced pro25 fessional training programs in skill areas central to

26 the development of civil society.
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1 ‘‘(6) Assistance to promote increased adherence

2 to civil and political rights under section 116(e) of

3 this Act.

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

5 be supported by assistance under subsection (b) include

6 activities that are designed to advance progress toward the

7 development of democracy.

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

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

10 maintain high quality broadcasting for the maximum du11 ration possible in the native languages of the countries of

12 the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

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

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

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

16 the government of a country of the South Caucasus or

17 Central Asia if the President determines and certifies to

18 the appropriate congressional committees that the govern19 ment of such country—

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

21 violations of internationally recognized human

22 rights;

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

24 this chapter, knowingly transferred to another

25 country—
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1 ‘‘(A) missiles or missile technology incon2 sistent with the guidelines and parameters of

3 the Missile Technology Control Regime (as de4 fined in section 11B(c) of the Export Adminis5 tration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2410b(c));

6 or

7 ‘‘(B) any material, equipment, or tech8 nology that would contribute significantly to the

9 ability of such country to manufacture any

10 weapon of mass destruction (including nuclear,

11 chemical, and biological weapons) if the Presi12 dent determines that the material, equipment,

13 or technology was to be used by such country

14 in the manufacture of such weapons;

15 ‘‘(3) has repeatedly provided support for acts of

16 international terrorism; or

17 ‘‘(4) is prohibited from receiving such assist18 ance by chapter 10 of the Arms Export Control Act

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

20 Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimi21 nation Act of 1991 (22 U.S.C. 5604(a)(1), 5605).

22 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS TO INELIGIBILITY.—

23 ‘‘(1) EXCEPTIONS.—Assistance prohibited by

24 subsection (a) or any similar provision of law, other

25 than assistance prohibited by the provisions referred
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1 to in paragraphs (2) and (4) of subsection (a), may

2 be furnished under any of the following cir3 cumstances:

4 ‘‘(A) The President determines that fur5 nishing such assistance is important to the na6 tional interest of the United States.

7 ‘‘(B) The President determines that fur8 nishing such assistance will foster respect for

9 internationally recognized human rights and the

10 rule of law or the development of institutions of

11 democratic governance.

12 ‘‘(C) The assistance is furnished for the al13 leviation of suffering resulting from a natural

14 or man-made disaster.

15 ‘‘(D) The assistance is provided under the

16 secondary school exchange program adminis17 tered by the United States Information Agency.

18 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The President

19 shall immediately report to Congress any determina20 tion under paragraph (1) (A) or (B) or any decision

21 to provide assistance under paragraph (1)(C).

22 ‘‘SEC. 499F. ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES.

23 ‘‘(a) ASSISTANCE THROUGH GOVERNMENTS AND

24 NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.—Assistance under
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1 this chapter may be provided to governments or through

2 nongovernmental organizations.

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

4 as otherwise provided, any funds that have been allocated

5 under chapter 4 of part II for assistance for the inde6 pendent states of the former Soviet Union may be used

7 in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

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

9 this chapter shall be provided on such terms and condi10 tions as the President may determine.

11 ‘‘(d) AVAILABLE AUTHORITIES.—The authority in

12 this chapter to provide assistance for the countries of the

13 South Caucasus and Central Asia is in addition to the au14 thority to provide such assistance under the FREEDOM

15 Support Act (22 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.) or any other Act,

16 and the authorities applicable to the provision of assist17 ance under chapter 11 may be used to provide assistance

18 under this chapter.

19 ‘‘SEC. 499G. DEFINITIONS.

20 ‘‘In this chapter:

21 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT22 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com23 mittees’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations

24 of the Senate and the Committee on International

25 Relations of the House of Representatives.
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1 ‘‘(2) COUNTRIES OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

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

3 South Caucasus and Central Asia’ means Armenia,

4 Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan,

5 Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.’’.

6 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT.

7 Section 104 of the FREEDOM Support Act (22

8 U.S.C. 5814) is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

10 (3);

11 (2) by striking the period at the end of para12 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

13 (3) by adding the following new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(5) with respect to the countries of the South

15 Caucasus and Central Asia—

16 ‘‘(A) identifying the progress of United

17 States foreign policy to accomplish the policy

18 identified in section 3 of the Silk Road Strategy

19 Act of 1999;

20 ‘‘(B) evaluating the degree to which the as21 sistance authorized by chapter 12 of part I of

22 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 has been

23 able to accomplish the purposes identified in

24 those sections; and
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1 ‘‘(C) recommending any additional initia2 tives that should be undertaken by the United

3 States to implement the policy and purposes

4 contained in the Silk Road Strategy Act of

5 1999.’’.

6 SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

7 Section 102(a) of the FREEDOM Support Act (Pub8 lic Law 102–511) is amended in paragraphs (2) and (4)

9 by striking each place it appears ‘‘this Act)’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘this Act and the Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999)’’.

11 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

12 In this Act:

13 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT14 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com15 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations

16 of the Senate and the Committee on International

17 Relations of the House of Representatives.

18 (2) COUNTRIES OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS AND

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

20 Caucasus and Central Asia’’ means Armenia, Azer21 baijan, Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,

22 Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

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