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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3087 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3087

 To support revitalization and reform of the Organization of American 
                    States, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2010

Mr. Menendez (for himself and Mr. Kerry) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To support revitalization and reform of the Organization of American 
                    States, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Organization of American States 
Revitalization and Reform Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Charter of the Organization of American States 
        recognizes that--
                    (A) representative democracy is indispensable for 
                the stability, peace, and development of the Western 
                Hemisphere; and
                    (B) a purpose of the Organization of American 
                States is to promote and consolidate representative 
                democracy, with due respect for the principle of 
                nonintervention;
            (2) The United States supports the purposes and principles 
        enshrined in--
                    (A) the Charter of the Organization of American 
                States;
                    (B) the Inter-American Democratic Charter; and
                    (C) the American Declaration on the Rights and 
                Duties of Man.
            (3) The United States supports the Organization of American 
        States in its efforts with member states to meet their 
        commitments under the documents set forth in paragraph (2).
            (4) Congress supports the Organization of American States 
        as it operates in a manner consistent with its Charter and 
        Articles 1, 3, and 7 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, 
        which state--
                    (A) ``[t]he peoples of the Americas have a right to 
                democracy and their governments have an obligation to 
                promote and defend it'', and that ``[d]emocracy is 
                essential for the social, political, and economic 
                development of the peoples of the Americas'';
                    (B) ``[e]ssential elements of representative 
                democracy include, inter alia, respect for human rights 
                and fundamental freedoms, access to and the exercise of 
                power in accordance with the rule of law, the holding 
                of periodic, free, and fair elections based on secret 
                balloting and universal suffrage as an expression of 
                the sovereignty of the people, the pluralistic system 
                of political parties and organizations, and the 
                separation of powers and independence of the branches 
                of government''; and
                    (C) ``[d]emocracy is indispensable for the 
                effective exercise of fundamental freedoms and human 
                rights in their universality, indivisibility and 
                interdependence, embodied in the respective 
                constitutions of states and in inter-American and 
                international human rights instruments''.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to promote democracy and the rule of law throughout the 
        Western Hemisphere;
            (2) to promote and protect human rights and fundamental 
        freedoms in the Western Hemisphere; and
            (3) to support the practices, purposes, and principles 
        expressed in the Charter of the Organization of American 
        States, the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of 
        Man, the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and other 
        fundamental instruments of democracy.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Organization of American States (hereafter referred 
        to as the ``OAS'') should be the primary multi-lateral 
        diplomatic entity for regional dispute resolution and promotion 
        of democratic governance and institutions;
            (2) the Summit of the Americas institution and process 
        embodies a valuable complement to regional dialogue and 
        cooperation;
            (3) the Summit of the Americas process should be formally 
        and more effectively integrated into the work of the OAS, and 
        the OAS should play a central role in overseeing and managing 
        the Summit process;
            (4) the OAS General Assembly and the Summit of the Americas 
        events should be combined geographically and chronologically in 
        the years in which they coincide;
            (5) all contributing member states to the OAS would benefit 
        from and should adopt a transparent, results-based, and 
        deliberative budget process that is guided by International 
        Public Sector Accounting Standards;
            (6) to ensure an appropriate balance of priorities, the OAS 
        should review its core functions at least annually and seek 
        opportunities to reduce the number of other mandates;
            (7) any changes to OAS mandates should only be accepted by 
        the member states after the financial costs have been 
        calculated and formally presented, and any new mandates should 
        include a calculation of the financial costs and an 
        identification of the source of funding, including if such 
        funding is internal or external to the OAS;
            (8) key OAS strengths lie in strengthening peace and 
        security, promoting and consolidating representative democracy, 
        regional dispute resolution, election assistance and 
        monitoring, development promotion, and stewardship of the 
        Inter-American Human Rights System;
            (9) the core competencies referred to in paragraph (8) 
        should remain central to the strategic planning process of the 
        OAS and the consideration of future mandates;
            (10) OAS member states would benefit from the OAS Permanent 
        Council's implementation of a framework to establish--
                    (A) standard reporting requirements for each 
                project and grant agreement, such as measurable goals 
                and clear roles and responsibilities; and
                    (B) a process to ensure that agreements adhere to 
                such requirements;
            (11) all contributing OAS member states would benefit from 
        the implementation of--
                    (A) transparent and merit-based human resource 
                standards and processes; and
                    (B) transparent hiring standards and processes, 
                including with respect to factors such as gender, 
                national origin, and citizenship;
            (12) the OAS is a valuable platform from which to launch 
        initiatives aimed to benefit the countries of the Western 
        Hemisphere;
            (13) multi-lateral diplomacy is a critical component of 
        United States foreign policy; and
            (14) in order to foster a corps of diplomats skilled in 
        this environment, service in multilateral assignments should be 
        encouraged for and sought after by the best talent possible at 
        the Department of State.

SEC. 5. ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES REVITALIZATION AND REFORM 
              STRATEGY.

    (a) Strategy.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of the Organization of the American States 
        Revitalization and Reform Strategy, the Secretary of State 
        shall submit a multiyear strategy to the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
        the House of Representatives that--
                    (A) outlines a recommended approach to the OAS to 
                encourage the adoption of--
                            (i) International Public Sector Accounting 
                        Standards;
                            (ii) a results-based budgeting process in 
                        order to strategically prioritize current and 
                        future mandates; and
                            (iii) transparent hiring practices; and
                    (B) reflects the inputs and coordination from other 
                Executive Branch agencies, as appropriate.
            (2) Notification and coordination.--The Secretary of State 
        shall--
                    (A) proactively inform Executive Branch agencies 
                about the role and importance of the OAS and encourage 
                increased use of the OAS as a forum through which to 
                publicize hemispheric initiatives and encourage 
                increased use of the OAS as a forum through which to 
                publicize hemispheric initiatives;
                    (B) promote donor coordination among OAS member 
                states; and
                    (C) help set priorities for the OAS.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which the 
strategy is submitted under subsection (a), the Secretary of State 
shall submit a report to the committees referred to in subsection 
(a)(1) that analyzes the progress made by the Organization of American 
States--
            (1) to adopt and implement International Public Sector 
        Accounting Standards, a results-based budgeting process in 
        order to strategically prioritize future mandates;
            (2) to adopt and implement transparent and merit-based 
        human resource standards and practices and transparent hiring 
        standards and processes, including with respect to factors such 
        as gender, national origin, and citizenship; and
            (3) to adopt the practice of soliciting member quotas to be 
        paid on a quarterly basis, without discounts, to improve the 
        consistency of its operating budget.
                                 <all>
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