II

Calendar No. 543

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2121

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

DECEMBER 12, 2001

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

AUGUST 1, 2002

Reported by Mr. BIDEN, with an amendment and an amendment to the title

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

AN ACT

To make available funds under the Foreign Assistance Act

of 1961 to expand democracy, good governance, and

anti-corruption programs in the Russian Federation in

order to promote and strengthen democratic government

and civil society in that country and to support independent media.

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 ‘‘Russian Democracy

5 Act of 2001’’.
2

•HR 2121 RS

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings:

4 (1) Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union,

5 the leadership of the Russian Federation has pub6 licly committed itself to building—

7 (A) a society with democratic political in8 stitutions and practices, the observance of uni9 versally recognized standards of human rights,

10 and religious and press freedom; and

11 (B) a market economy based on inter12 nationally accepted principles of transparency,

13 accountability, and the rule of law.

14 (2) In order to facilitate this transition, the

15 international community has provided multilateral

16 and bilateral technical assistance, and the United

17 States’ contribution to these efforts has played an

18 important role in developing new institutions built

19 on democratic and liberal economic foundations and

20 the rule of law.

21 (3)(A) Since 1992, United States Government

22 democratic reform programs and public diplomacy

23 programs, including training, small grants, and tech24 nical assistance to independent television, radio, and

25 print media across the Russian Federation, have

26 strengthened nongovernment-owned media, provided
3

•HR 2121 RS

1 access to and training in the use of the Internet,

2 brought nearly 40,000 Russian citizens to the

3 United States, and have led to the establishment of

4 over 65,000 nongovernmental organizations, thou5 sands of vibrant independent media outlets, and nu6 merous political parties.

7 (B) These efforts contributed to the substan8 tially free and fair Russian parliamentary elections

9 in 1995 and 1999 and Presidential elections in 1996

10 and 2000.

11 (4) The United States has assisted Russian ef12 forts to replace its centrally planned, state-controlled

13 economy with a market economy and helped create

14 institutions and infrastructure for a market economy

15 by encouraging the transparent privatization of

16 state-owned enterprises. Approximately two-thirds of

17 the Russian Federation’s gross domestic product is

18 now generated by the private sector.

19 (5)(A) The United States fostered grassroots

20 entrepreneurship in the Russian Federation by fo21 cusing United States economic assistance on small22 and medium-sized businesses and by providing train23 ing, consulting services, and small loans to more

24 than 250,000 Russian entrepreneurs.
4

•HR 2121 RS

1 (B) There are now more than 900,000 small

2 businesses in the Russian Federation, producing 12

3 to 15 percent of the gross domestic product of the

4 Russian Federation.

5 (C) United States-funded programs help to

6 fight corruption and financial crime, such as money

7 laundering, by helping to—

8 (i) establish a commercial legal infrastruc9 ture;

10 (ii) develop an independent judiciary;

11 (iii) support the drafting of a new criminal

12 code, civil code, and bankruptcy law;

13 (iv) develop a legal and regulatory frame14 work for the Russian Federation’s equivalent of

15 the United States Securities and Exchange

16 Commission;

17 (v) support Russian law schools;

18 (vi) create legal aid clinics; and

19 (vii) bolster law-related activities of non20 governmental organizations.

21 (6) Because the capability of Russian demo22 cratic forces and the civil society to organize and de23 fend democratic gains without international support

24 is uncertain, and because the gradual integration of

25 the Russian Federation into the global order of free-
5

•HR 2121 RS

1 market, democratic nations will further enhance

2 Russian cooperation with the United States on a

3 wide-range of political, economic, and security

4 issues, the success of democracy in Russia is in the

5 national security interest of the United States, and

6 the United States Government should develop a far7 reaching and flexible strategy aimed at strength8 ening Russian society’s support for democracy and a

9 market economy, particularly by enhancing Russian

10 democratic institutions and education, promoting the

11 rule of law, and supporting Russia’s independent

12 media.

13 (7) Since the tragic events of September 11,

14 2001, the Russian Federation has stood with the

15 United States and the civilized world in the struggle

16 against terrorism and has cooperated in the war in

17 Afghanistan by sharing intelligence and through

18 other means.

19 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

20 (1) to strengthen and advance institutions of

21 democratic government and of a free and inde22 pendent media and to sustain the development of an

23 independent civil society in the Russian Federation

24 based on religious and ethnic tolerance, internation-
6

•HR 2121 RS

1 ally recognized human rights, and an internationally

2 recognized rule of law; and

3 (2) to focus United States foreign assistance

4 programs on using local expertise and giving local

5 organizations a greater role in designing and imple6 menting such programs, while maintaining appro7 priate oversight and monitoring.

8 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD THE RUSSIAN

9 FEDERATION.

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

12 (1) recognize that a democratic and economi13 cally stable Russian Federation is inherently less

14 confrontational and destabilizing in its foreign policy

15 and therefore that the promotion of democracy in

16 Russia is in the national security interests of the

17 United States; and

18 (2) continue and increase assistance to the

19 democratic forces in the Russian Federation, includ20 ing the independent media, regional administrations,

21 democratic political parties, and nongovernmental

22 organizations.

23 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It shall be the policy

24 of the United States—
7

•HR 2121 RS

1 (1) to facilitate Russia’s integration into the

2 Western community of nations, including supporting

3 the establishment of a stable democracy and a mar4 ket economy, and also including Russia’s member5 ship in the appropriate international institutions;

6 (2) to engage the Government of Russian Fed7 eration and Russian society in order to strengthen

8 democratic reform and institutions, and to promote

9 good governance principles based on the internation10 ally recognized norms of transparency in business

11 practices, the rule of law, religious freedom, and

12 human rights;

13 (3) to advance a dialog between United States

14 Government officials and private sector individuals

15 and representatives of the Government of the Rus16 sian Federation regarding Russian integration into

17 the Western community of nations;

18 (4) to encourage United States Government of19 ficials and private sector individuals to meet regu20 larly with democratic activists, human rights activ21 ists, representatives of the independent media, rep22 resentatives of nongovernmental organizations, civic

23 organizers, and reform-minded politicians from Mos24 cow and the various regions of the Russian Federa25 tion;
8

•HR 2121 RS

1 (5) to incorporate democratic reforms, the pro2 motion of an independent media, and economic re3 forms in the broad United States agenda with the

4 Government of the Russian Federation;

5 (6) to encourage the Government of the Rus6 sian Federation to address cross-border issues, in7 cluding the environment, crime, trafficking, and cor8 ruption in a cooperative and transparent manner

9 consistent with internationally recognized and ac10 cepted principles of the rule of law;

11 (7) to consult with the Government of the Rus12 sian Federation and the Russian Parliament on the

13 adoption of economic and social reforms necessary to

14 sustain Russian economic growth and to ensure Rus15 sia’s transition to a fully functioning market econ16 omy;

17 (8) to persuade the Government of the Russian

18 Federation to honor its commitments made to the

19 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Eu20 rope (OSCE) at the November 1999 Istanbul Con21 ference and to conduct a genuine good neighbor pol22 icy toward the other independent states of the

23 former Soviet Union in the spirit of internationally

24 accepted principles of regional cooperation; and
9

•HR 2121 RS

1 (9) to encourage the G–7 partners and inter2 national financial institutions, including the World

3 Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the

4 European Bank for Reconstruction and Develop5 ment, to develop financial safeguards and trans6 parency practices in lending to the Russian Federa7 tion.

8 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT

9 OF 1961.

10 (a) AMENDMENTS.—

11 (1) DEMOCRACY AND RULE OF LAW.—Section

12 498(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22

13 U.S.C. 2295(2)) is amended—

14 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘DEMOC15 RACY’’ and inserting ‘‘DEMOCRACY AND RULE

16 OF LAW’’;

17 (B) by striking subparagraphs (E) and

18 (G);

19 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as

20 subparagraph (I);

21 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (D)

22 the following:

23 ‘‘(E) development and support of grass24 roots and nongovernmental organizations pro25 moting democracy, the rule of law, trans-
10

•HR 2121 RS

1 parency, and accountability in the political

2 process, including grants in small amounts to

3 such organizations;

4 ‘‘(F) international exchanges to promote

5 greater understanding by Russian Federation

6 citizens on how democracy, public policy proc7 ess, market institutions, and an independent ju8 diciary function in Western societies;

9 ‘‘(G) political parties committed to pro10 moting democracy, human rights, and economic

11 reforms;

12 ‘‘(H) support for civic organizations com13 mitted to promoting human rights; and’’; and

14 (E) by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(J) strengthened administration of justice

16 through programs and activities carried out in

17 accordance with section 498B(e), including—

18 ‘‘(i) support for nongovernmental or19 ganizations, civic organizations, and polit20 ical parties that favor a strong and inde21 pendent judiciary based on merit;

22 ‘‘(ii) support for local organizations

23 that work with judges and law enforcement

24 officials in efforts to achieve a reduction in

25 the number of pretrial detainees; and
11

•HR 2121 RS

1 ‘‘(iii) support for the creation of Rus2 sian legal associations or groups that pro3 vide training in human rights and advo4 cacy, public education with respect to

5 human rights-related laws and proposed

6 legislation, and legal assistance to persons

7 subject to improper government inter8 ference.’’.

9 (2) INDEPENDENT MEDIA.—Section 498 of the

10 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295) is

11 amended—

12 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3)

13 through (13) as paragraphs (4) though (14),

14 respectively; and

15 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the

16 following:

17 ‘‘(3) INDEPENDENT MEDIA.—Developing a free

18 and independent media, including—

19 ‘‘(A) supporting all forms of non-state20 owned media reporting, including print, radio,

21 and television;

22 ‘‘(B) providing special support for, and un23 restricted public access to, nongovernmental

24 Internet-based sources of information, dissemi25 nation and reporting, including providing tech-
12

•HR 2121 RS

1 nical and other support for web radio services,

2 providing computers and other necessary re3 sources for Internet connectivity and training

4 new Internet users in nongovernmental and

5 other civic organizations on methods and uses

6 of Internet-based media; and

7 ‘‘(C) training in journalism, including in8 vestigative journalism techniques which educate

9 the public on the costs of corruption and act as

10 a deterrent against corrupt officials.’’.

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 498B(e) of

12 such Act is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)(G)’’ and

13 inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)(J)’’.

14 SEC. 5. ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT THE RUSSIAN FEDERA15 TION.

16 (a) ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.—In providing assistance

17 to the Russian Federation under chapter 11 of part I of

18 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295 et

19 seq.), the President is authorized to carry out the fol20 lowing specific activities:

21 (1) Work with the Government of the Russian

22 Federation, the Duma, and representatives of the

23 Russian Federation judiciary to help implement a

24 revised and improved code of criminal procedure and

25 other laws.
13

•HR 2121 RS

1 (2) Establish civic education programs relating

2 to democracy, public policy, the rule of law, and the

3 importance of an independent media, including the

4 establishment of ‘‘American Centers’’ and public pol5 icy schools at Russian universities and programs by

6 universities in the United States to offer courses

7 through Internet-based off-site learning centers at

8 Russian universities.

9 (3) Support the Regional Initiatives (RI) pro10 gram, which provides targeted assistance in those re11 gions of the Russian Federation that have dem12 onstrated commitment to reform, democracy, and

13 the rule of law, and which promote the concept of

14 such programs as a model for all regions of the Rus15 sian Federation.

16 (b) RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY AND

17 VOICE OF AMERICA.—Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

18 and the Voice of America should use new and innovative

19 techniques, in cooperation with local independent media

20 sources, to disseminate information throughout the Rus21 sian Federation relating to democracy, free-market eco22 nomics, the rule of law, and human rights.
14

•HR 2121 RS

1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR DEMOCRACY,

2 INDEPENDENT MEDIA, AND THE RULE OF

3 LAW.

4 Of the amounts made available to carry out the provi5 sion of chapter 11 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act

6 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295 et seq.) and the Freedom for

7 Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open

8 Markets Support Act of 1992 for fiscal year 2002, not

9 less than $50,000,000 is authorized to be available for the

10 activities authorized by paragraphs (2) and (3) of section

11 498 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended

12 by section 4(a) of this Act.

13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

14 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Russian Democracy Act

15 of 2002’’.

16 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

17 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings:

18 (1) Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the

19 leadership of the Russian Federation has publicly

20 committed itself to building—

21 (A) a society with democratic political in22 stitutions and practices, the observance of uni23 versally recognized standards of human rights,

24 and religious and press freedom; and
15

•HR 2121 RS

1 (B) a market economy based on inter2 nationally accepted principles of transparency,

3 accountability, and the rule of law.

4 (2) In order to facilitate this transition, the

5 international community has provided multilateral

6 and bilateral technical assistance, and the United

7 States’ contribution to these efforts has played an im8 portant role in developing new institutions built on

9 democratic and liberal economic foundations and the

10 rule of law.

11 (3)(A) Since 1992, United States Government

12 democratic reform programs and public diplomacy

13 programs, including training, and small grants have

14 provided access to and training in the use of the

15 Internet, brought nearly 40,000 Russian citizens to

16 the United States, and have led to the establishment

17 of more than 65,000 nongovernmental organizations,

18 thousands of independent local media outlets, despite

19 governmental opposition, and numerous political par20 ties.

21 (B) These efforts contributed to the substantially

22 free and fair Russian parliamentary elections in

23 1995 and 1999.

24 (4) The United States has assisted Russian ef25 forts to replace its centrally planned, state-controlled
16

•HR 2121 RS

1 economy with a market economy and helped create

2 institutions and infrastructure for a market economy.

3 Approximately two-thirds of the Russian Federation’s

4 gross domestic product is now generated by the pri5 vate sector, and the United States recognized Russia

6 as a market economy on June 7, 2002.

7 (5)(A) The United States has fostered grassroots

8 entrepreneurship in the Russian Federation by focus9 ing United States economic assistance on small- and

10 medium-sized businesses and by providing training,

11 consulting services, and small loans to more than

12 250,000 Russian entrepreneurs.

13 (B) There are now more than 900,000 small

14 businesses in the Russian Federation, producing 12 to

15 15 percent, depending on the estimate, of the gross do16 mestic product of the Russian Federation.

17 (C) United States-funded programs have contrib18 uted to fighting corruption and financial crime, such

19 as money laundering, by helping to—

20 (i) establish a commercial legal infrastruc21 ture;

22 (ii) develop an independent judiciary;

23 (iii) support the drafting of a new criminal

24 code, civil code, and bankruptcy law;
17

•HR 2121 RS

1 (iv) develop a legal and regulatory frame2 work for the Russian Federation’s equivalent of

3 the United States Securities and Exchange Com4 mission;

5 (v) support Russian law schools;

6 (vi) create legal aid clinics; and

7 (vii) bolster law-related activities of non8 governmental organizations.

9 (6) Because the capability of Russian democratic

10 forces and the civil society to organize and defend

11 democratic gains without international support is un12 certain, and because the gradual integration of the

13 Russian Federation into the global order of free-mar14 ket, democratic nations would enhance Russian co15 operation with the United States on a wide range of

16 political, economic, and security issues, the success of

17 democracy in Russia is in the national security inter18 est of the United States, and the United States Gov19 ernment should develop a far-reaching and flexible

20 strategy aimed at strengthening Russian society’s

21 support for democracy and a market economy, par22 ticularly by enhancing Russian democratic institu23 tions and education, promoting the rule of law, and

24 supporting Russia’s independent media.
18

•HR 2121 RS

1 (7) Since the tragic events of September 11,

2 2001, the Russian Federation has stood with the

3 United States and the rest of the civilized world in

4 the struggle against terrorism and has cooperated in

5 the war in Afghanistan by sharing intelligence and

6 through other means.

7 (8) United States-Russia relations have im8 proved, leading to a successful summit between Presi9 dent Bush and President Putin in May 2002, result10 ing in a ‘‘Foundation for Cooperation’’.

11 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

12 (1) to strengthen and advance institutions of

13 democratic government and of free and independent

14 media, and to sustain the development of an inde15 pendent civil society in the Russian Federation based

16 on religious and ethnic tolerance, internationally rec17 ognized human rights, and an internationally recog18 nized rule of law; and

19 (2) to focus United States foreign assistance pro20 grams on using local expertise and to give local orga21 nizations a greater role in designing and imple22 menting such programs, while maintaining appro23 priate oversight and monitoring.
19

•HR 2121 RS

1 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD THE RUSSIAN

2 FEDERATION.

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress

4 that the United States Government should—

5 (1) recognize that a democratic and economically

6 stable Russian Federation is inherently less

7 confrontational and destabilizing in its foreign policy

8 and therefore that the promotion of democracy in

9 Russia is in the national security interests of the

10 United States; and

11 (2) continue and increase assistance to the demo12 cratic forces in the Russian Federation, including the

13 independent media, regional administrations, demo14 cratic political parties, and nongovernmental organi15 zations.

16 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It shall be the policy of

17 the United States—

18 (1) to facilitate Russia’s integration into the

19 Western community of nations, including supporting

20 the establishment of a stable democracy and a market

21 economy within the framework of the rule of law and

22 respect for individual rights, including Russia’s mem23 bership in the appropriate international institutions;

24 (2) to engage the Government of the Russian

25 Federation and Russian society in order to strengthen

26 democratic reform and institutions, and to promote
20

•HR 2121 RS

1 transparency and good governance in all aspects of

2 society, including fair and honest business practices,

3 accessible and open legal systems, freedom of religion,

4 and respect for human rights;

5 (3) to advance a dialogue among United States

6 Government officials, private sector individuals, and

7 representatives of the Government of the Russian Fed8 eration regarding Russia’s integration into the West9 ern community of nations;

10 (4) to encourage United States Government offi11 cials and private sector individuals to meet regularly

12 with democratic activists, human rights activists, rep13 resentatives of the independent media, representatives

14 of nongovernmental organizations, civic organizers,

15 church officials, and reform-minded politicians from

16 Moscow and all other regions of the Russian Federa17 tion;

18 (5) to incorporate democratic reforms, the pro19 motion of independent media, and economic reforms

20 in a broader United States dialogue with the Govern21 ment of the Russian Federation;

22 (6) to encourage the Government of the Russian

23 Federation to address, in a cooperative and trans24 parent manner consistent with internationally recog25 nized and accepted principles, cross-border issues, in-
21

•HR 2121 RS

1 cluding the nonproliferation of weapons of mass de2 struction, environmental degradation, crime, traf3 ficking, and corruption;

4 (7) to consult with the Government of the Rus5 sian Federation and the Russian Parliament on the

6 adoption of economic and social reforms necessary to

7 sustain Russian economic growth and to ensure Rus8 sia’s transition to a fully functioning market economy

9 and membership in the World Trade Organization;

10 (8) to persuade the Government of the Russian

11 Federation to honor its commitments made to the Or12 ganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

13 (OSCE) at the November 1999 Istanbul Conference,

14 and to conduct a genuine good neighbor policy toward

15 the other independent states of the former Soviet

16 Union in the spirit of internationally accepted prin17 ciples of regional cooperation; and

18 (9) to encourage the G–8 partners and inter19 national financial institutions, including the World

20 Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Eu21 ropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to

22 develop financial safeguards and transparency prac23 tices in lending to the Russian Federation.
22

•HR 2121 RS

1 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT

2 OF 1961.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—

4 (1) DEMOCRACY AND RULE OF LAW.—Section

5 498(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22

6 U.S.C. 2295(2)) is amended—

7 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking

8 ‘‘DEMOCRACY’’ and inserting ‘‘DEMOCRACY AND

9 RULE OF LAW’’;

10 (B) by striking subparagraphs (E) and (G);

11 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as

12 subparagraph (I);

13 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(E) development and support of grass-roots

16 and nongovernmental organizations promoting

17 democracy, the rule of law, transparency, and

18 accountability in the political process, including

19 grants in small amounts to such organizations;

20 ‘‘(F) international exchanges and other

21 forms of public diplomacy to promote greater un22 derstanding on how democracy, the public policy

23 process, market institutions, and an independent

24 judiciary function in Western societies;
23

•HR 2121 RS

1 ‘‘(G) political parties and coalitions com2 mitted to promoting democracy, human rights,

3 and economic reforms;

4 ‘‘(H) support for civic organizations com5 mitted to promoting human rights;’’; and

6 (E) by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(J) strengthened administration of justice

8 through programs and activities carried out in

9 accordance with section 498B(e), including—

10 ‘‘(i) support for nongovernmental orga11 nizations, civic organizations, and political

12 parties that favor a strong and independent

13 judiciary;

14 ‘‘(ii) support for local organizations

15 that work with judges and law enforcement

16 officials in efforts to achieve a reduction in

17 the number of pretrial detainees; and

18 ‘‘(iii) support for the creation of legal

19 associations or groups that provide training

20 in human rights and advocacy, public edu21 cation with respect to human rights-related

22 laws and proposed legislation, and legal as23 sistance to persons subject to improper gov24 ernment interference.’’.
24

•HR 2121 RS

1 (2) INDEPENDENT MEDIA.—Section 498 of the

2 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295) is

3 amended—

4 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3)

5 through (13) as paragraphs (4) through (14), re6 spectively; and

7 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘(3) INDEPENDENT MEDIA.—Developing free and

10 independent media, including—

11 ‘‘(A) supporting all forms of independent

12 media reporting, including print, radio, and tel13 evision;

14 ‘‘(B) providing special support for, and un15 restricted public access to, nongovernmental

16 Internet-based sources of information, dissemina17 tion and reporting, including providing tech18 nical and other support for web radio services,

19 providing computers and other necessary re20 sources for Internet connectivity and training

21 new Internet users in nongovernmental civic or22 ganizations on methods and uses of Internet23 based media; and

24 ‘‘(C) training in journalism, including in25 vestigative journalism techniques that educate
25

•HR 2121 RS

1 the public on the costs of corruption and act as

2 a deterrent against corrupt officials.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 498B(e) of

4 such Act is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)(G)’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)(J)’’.

6 SEC. 5. ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT THE RUSSIAN FEDERA7 TION.

8 (a) ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.—In providing assistance

9 to the Russian Federation under chapter 11 of part I of

10 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295 et seq.),

11 the President is authorized to—

12 (1) work with the Government of the Russian

13 Federation, the Duma, and representatives of the Rus14 sian Federation judiciary to help implement a revised

15 and improved code of criminal procedure and other

16 laws;

17 (2) establish civic education programs relating to

18 democracy, public policy, the rule of law, and the im19 portance of independent media, including the estab20 lishment of ‘‘American Centers’’ and public policy

21 schools at Russian universities and encourage cooper22 ative programs with universities in the United States

23 to offer courses through Internet-based off-site learn24 ing centers at Russian universities; and
26

•HR 2121 RS

1 (3) support the Regional Initiatives (RI) pro2 gram, which provides targeted assistance in those re3 gions of the Russian Federation that have dem4 onstrated a commitment to reform, democracy, and

5 the rule of law, and which promotes the concept of

6 such programs as a model for all regions of the Rus7 sian Federation.

8 (b) RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY AND VOICE

9 OF AMERICA.—RFE/RL, Incorporated, and the Voice of

10 America should use new and innovative techniques, in co11 operation with local independent media sources and using

12 local languages as appropriate and as possible, to dissemi13 nate throughout the Russian Federation information relat14 ing to democracy, free-market economics, the rule of law,

15 and human rights.

16 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR DEMOCRACY,

17 INDEPENDENT MEDIA, AND THE RULE OF

18 LAW.

19 Of the amounts made available to carry out the provi20 sion of chapter 11 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act

21 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295 et seq.) and the FREEDOM Sup22 port Act for fiscal year 2003, $50,000,000 is authorized to

23 be available for the activities authorized by paragraphs (2)

24 and (3) of section 498 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961,

25 as amended by section 4(a) of this Act.
27

•HR 2121 RS

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘An Act to make

available funds under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961

to expand democracy, good governance, and anti-corruption programs in the Russian Federation in order to promote and strengthen democratic government and civil society and independent media in that country.’’.
Calendar No. 543

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2121

AN ACT

To make available funds under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to expand democracy, good governance, and anti-corruption programs in the

Russian Federation in order to promote andstrengthen democratic government and civil society in that country and to support independentmedia.

AUGUST 1, 2002

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the

title