In the Senate of the United States,

September 20, 2002.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 2121) entitled ‘‘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.’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENTS:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

3 of 2002’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

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

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

4 leadership of the Russian Federation has publicly

5 committed itself to building—

6 (A) a society with democratic political in7 stitutions and practices, the observance of uni8 versally recognized standards of human rights,

9 and religious and press freedom; and

10 (B) a market economy based on inter11 nationally accepted principles of transparency,

12 accountability, and the rule of law.

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

14 international community has provided multilateral

15 and bilateral technical assistance, and the United

16 States’ contribution to these efforts has played an im17 portant role in developing new institutions built on

18 democratic and liberal economic foundations and the

19 rule of law.

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

21 democratic reform programs and public diplomacy

22 programs, including training, and small grants have

23 provided access to and training in the use of the

24 Internet, brought nearly 40,000 Russian citizens to

25 the United States, and have led to the establishment

26 of more than 65,000 nongovernmental organizations,
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1 thousands of independent local media outlets, despite

2 governmental opposition, and numerous political par3 ties.

4 (B) These efforts contributed to the substantially

5 free and fair Russian parliamentary elections in

6 1995 and 1999.

7 (4) The United States has assisted Russian ef8 forts to replace its centrally planned, state-controlled

9 economy with a market economy and helped create

10 institutions and infrastructure for a market economy.

11 Approximately two-thirds of the Russian Federation’s

12 gross domestic product is now generated by the pri13 vate sector, and the United States recognized Russia

14 as a market economy on June 7, 2002.

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

16 entrepreneurship in the Russian Federation by focus17 ing United States economic assistance on small- and

18 medium-sized businesses and by providing training,

19 consulting services, and small loans to more than

20 250,000 Russian entrepreneurs.

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

22 businesses in the Russian Federation, producing 12 to

23 15 percent, depending on the estimate, of the gross do24 mestic product of the Russian Federation.
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1 (C) United States-funded programs have contrib2 uted to fighting corruption and financial crime, such

3 as money laundering, by helping to—

4 (i) establish a commercial legal infrastruc5 ture;

6 (ii) develop an independent judiciary;

7 (iii) support the drafting of a new criminal

8 code, civil code, and bankruptcy law;

9 (iv) develop a legal and regulatory frame10 work for the Russian Federation’s equivalent of

11 the United States Securities and Exchange Com12 mission;

13 (v) support Russian law schools;

14 (vi) create legal aid clinics; and

15 (vii) bolster law-related activities of non16 governmental organizations.

17 (6) Because the capability of Russian democratic

18 forces and the civil society to organize and defend

19 democratic gains without international support is un20 certain, and because the gradual integration of the

21 Russian Federation into the global order of free-mar22 ket, democratic nations would enhance Russian co23 operation with the United States on a wide range of

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

25 democracy in Russia is in the national security inter-
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1 est of the United States, and the United States Gov2 ernment should develop a far-reaching and flexible

3 strategy aimed at strengthening Russian society’s

4 support for democracy and a market economy, par5 ticularly by enhancing Russian democratic institu6 tions and education, promoting the rule of law, and

7 supporting Russia’s independent media.

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

9 2001, the Russian Federation has stood with the

10 United States and the rest of the civilized world in

11 the struggle against terrorism and has cooperated in

12 the war in Afghanistan by sharing intelligence and

13 through other means.

14 (8) United States-Russia relations have im15 proved, leading to a successful summit between Presi16 dent Bush and President Putin in May 2002, result17 ing in a ‘‘Foundation for Cooperation’’.

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

19 (1) to strengthen and advance institutions of

20 democratic government and of free and independent

21 media, and to sustain the development of an inde22 pendent civil society in the Russian Federation based

23 on religious and ethnic tolerance, internationally rec24 ognized human rights, and an internationally recog25 nized rule of law; and
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1 (2) to focus United States foreign assistance pro2 grams on using local expertise and to give local orga3 nizations a greater role in designing and imple4 menting such programs, while maintaining appro5 priate oversight and monitoring.

6 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD THE RUSSIAN

7 FEDERATION.

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

9 that the United States Government should—

10 (1) recognize that a democratic and economically

11 stable Russian Federation is inherently less

12 confrontational and destabilizing in its foreign policy

13 and therefore that the promotion of democracy in

14 Russia is in the national security interests of the

15 United States; and

16 (2) continue and increase assistance to the demo17 cratic forces in the Russian Federation, including the

18 independent media, regional administrations, demo19 cratic political parties, and nongovernmental organi20 zations.

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

22 the United States—

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

24 Western community of nations, including supporting

25 the establishment of a stable democracy and a market
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1 economy within the framework of the rule of law and

2 respect for individual rights, including Russia’s mem3 bership in the appropriate international institutions;

4 (2) to engage the Government of the Russian

5 Federation and Russian society in order to strengthen

6 democratic reform and institutions, and to promote

7 transparency and good governance in all aspects of

8 society, including fair and honest business practices,

9 accessible and open legal systems, freedom of religion,

10 and respect for human rights;

11 (3) to advance a dialogue among United States

12 Government officials, private sector individuals, and

13 representatives of the Government of the Russian Fed14 eration regarding Russia’s integration into the West15 ern community of nations;

16 (4) to encourage United States Government offi17 cials and private sector individuals to meet regularly

18 with democratic activists, human rights activists, rep19 resentatives of the independent media, representatives

20 of nongovernmental organizations, civic organizers,

21 church officials, and reform-minded politicians from

22 Moscow and all other regions of the Russian Federa23 tion;

24 (5) to incorporate democratic reforms, the pro25 motion of independent media, and economic reforms
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1 in a broader United States dialogue with the Govern2 ment of the Russian Federation;

3 (6) to encourage the Government of the Russian

4 Federation to address, in a cooperative and trans5 parent manner consistent with internationally recog6 nized and accepted principles, cross-border issues, in7 cluding the nonproliferation of weapons of mass de8 struction, environmental degradation, crime, traf9 ficking, and corruption;

10 (7) to consult with the Government of the Rus11 sian Federation and the Russian Parliament on the

12 adoption of economic and social reforms necessary to

13 sustain Russian economic growth and to ensure Rus14 sia’s transition to a fully functioning market economy

15 and membership in the World Trade Organization;

16 (8) to persuade the Government of the Russian

17 Federation to honor its commitments made to the Or18 ganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

19 (OSCE) at the November 1999 Istanbul Conference,

20 and to conduct a genuine good neighbor policy toward

21 the other independent states of the former Soviet

22 Union in the spirit of internationally accepted prin23 ciples of regional cooperation; and

24 (9) to encourage the G–8 partners and inter25 national financial institutions, including the World
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1 Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Eu2 ropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to

3 develop financial safeguards and transparency prac4 tices in lending to the Russian Federation.

5 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT

6 OF 1961.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—

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

9 498(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22

10 U.S.C. 2295(2)) is amended—

11 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking

12 ‘‘DEMOCRACY’’ and inserting ‘‘DEMOCRACY AND

13 RULE OF LAW’’;

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

15 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as

16 subparagraph (I);

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

18 following:

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

20 and nongovernmental organizations promoting

21 democracy, the rule of law, transparency, and

22 accountability in the political process, including

23 grants in small amounts to such organizations;

24 ‘‘(F) international exchanges and other

25 forms of public diplomacy to promote greater un-
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1 derstanding on how democracy, the public policy

2 process, market institutions, and an independent

3 judiciary function in Western societies;

4 ‘‘(G) political parties and coalitions com5 mitted to promoting democracy, human rights,

6 and economic reforms;

7 ‘‘(H) support for civic organizations com8 mitted to promoting human rights;’’; and

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

10 ‘‘(J) strengthened administration of justice

11 through programs and activities carried out in

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

13 ‘‘(i) support for nongovernmental orga14 nizations, civic organizations, and political

15 parties that favor a strong and independent

16 judiciary;

17 ‘‘(ii) support for local organizations

18 that work with judges and law enforcement

19 officials in efforts to achieve a reduction in

20 the number of pretrial detainees; and

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

22 associations or groups that provide training

23 in human rights and advocacy, public edu24 cation with respect to human rights-related

25 laws and proposed legislation, and legal as-
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1 sistance to persons subject to improper gov2 ernment interference.’’.

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

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

5 amended—

6 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3)

7 through (13) as paragraphs (4) through (14), re8 spectively; and

9 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol10 lowing:

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

12 independent media, including—

13 ‘‘(A) supporting all forms of independent

14 media reporting, including print, radio, and tel15 evision;

16 ‘‘(B) providing special support for, and un17 restricted public access to, nongovernmental

18 Internet-based sources of information, dissemina19 tion and reporting, including providing tech20 nical and other support for web radio services,

21 providing computers and other necessary re22 sources for Internet connectivity and training

23 new Internet users in nongovernmental civic or24 ganizations on methods and uses of Internet25 based media; and
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1 ‘‘(C) training in journalism, including in2 vestigative journalism techniques that educate

3 the public on the costs of corruption and act as

4 a deterrent against corrupt officials.’’.

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

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

7 inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)(J)’’.

8 SEC. 5. ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT THE RUSSIAN FEDERA9 TION.

10 (a) ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.—In providing assistance

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

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

13 the President is authorized to—

14 (1) work with the Government of the Russian

15 Federation, the Duma, and representatives of the Rus16 sian Federation judiciary to help implement a revised

17 and improved code of criminal procedure and other

18 laws;

19 (2) establish civic education programs relating to

20 democracy, public policy, the rule of law, and the im21 portance of independent media, including the estab22 lishment of ‘‘American Centers’’ and public policy

23 schools at Russian universities and encourage cooper24 ative programs with universities in the United States
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1 to offer courses through Internet-based off-site learn2 ing centers at Russian universities; and

3 (3) support the Regional Initiatives (RI) pro4 gram, which provides targeted assistance in those re5 gions of the Russian Federation that have dem6 onstrated a commitment to reform, democracy, and

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

8 such programs as a model for all regions of the Rus9 sian Federation.

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

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

12 America should use new and innovative techniques, in co13 operation with local independent media sources and using

14 local languages as appropriate and as possible, to dissemi15 nate throughout the Russian Federation information relat16 ing to democracy, free-market economics, the rule of law,

17 and human rights.

18 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR DEMOCRACY,

19 INDEPENDENT MEDIA, AND THE RULE OF

20 LAW.

21 Of the amounts made available to carry out the provi22 sion of chapter 11 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act

23 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2295 et seq.) and the FREEDOM Sup24 port Act for fiscal year 2003, $50,000,000 is authorized to

25 be available for the activities authorized by paragraphs (2)
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1 and (3) of section 498 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961,

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

3 SEC. 7. PRESERVING THE ARCHIVES OF HUMAN RIGHTS AC4 TIVIST AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER

5 ANDREI SAKHAROV.

6 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The President is authorized, on

7 such terms and conditions as the President determines to

8 be appropriate, to make a grant to Brandeis University for

9 an endowment for the Andrei Sakharov Archives and

10 Human Rights Center for the purpose of collecting and pre11 serving documents related to the life of Andrei Sakharov

12 and the administration of such Center.

13 (b) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appropriated

14 to the President to carry out subsection (a) not more than

15 $1,500,000.

16 SEC. 8. EXTENSION OF LAW.

17 The provisions of section 108(c) of H.R. 3427, as en18 acted by section 1000(a)(7) of Public Law 106–113, shall

19 apply to United States contributions for fiscal year 2003

20 to the organization described in section 108(c) of H.R. 3427.

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 pro-
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mote and strengthen democratic government and civil society and independent media in that country.’’.

Attest:

Secretary.

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2121

AMENDMENTS