Western Hemisphere Security Strategy Act of 2023

Subjects: International Affairs


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1519 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1519

     To require a United States security strategy for the Western 
                  Hemisphere, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 10, 2023

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To require a United States security strategy for the Western 
                  Hemisphere, 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 ``Western Hemisphere Security Strategy 
Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the security, stability, prosperity, and state of 
        democratic governance in the countries of the Western 
        Hemisphere are vital to the national interests of the United 
        States and to the national interests of such countries;
            (2) the harmful and malign influence in Latin America and 
        the Caribbean of the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China, the Government of the Russian Federation, and the 
        Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran poses risks to--
                    (A) the people and countries of the Western 
                Hemisphere; and
                    (B) the national interests of the United States;
            (3) the United States should expand its engagement in the 
        Western Hemisphere by--
                    (A) strengthening its alliances and partnerships 
                with countries in the Western Hemisphere;
                    (B) fostering security cooperation among countries 
                in the Western Hemisphere to facilitate trade, 
                investment, training, and humanitarian assistance in 
                the near and long term; and
                    (C) working with security and law enforcement 
                agencies in the Western Hemisphere--
                            (i) to address the shared challenges of--
                                    (I) narcotics trafficking, 
                                including the trafficking of fentanyl, 
                                the illicit use of which is now the 
                                leading cause of death among adults in 
                                the United States between the ages of 
                                18 and 45 years;
                                    (II) human trafficking;
                                    (III) other forms of illicit 
                                trafficking;
                                    (IV) transnational criminal 
                                organizations; and
                                    (V) cybersecurity; and
                            (ii) to support the rule of law, democracy, 
                        and human rights in the region;
            (4) the United States should maintain credible security 
        capabilities dedicated to Latin America and the Caribbean--
                    (A) to build partner country capacity;
                    (B) to support the delivery of humanitarian 
                assistance and disaster relief;
                    (C) to deter acts of aggression; and
                    (D) to respond, if necessary, to regional threats 
                and threats to the national security of the United 
                States; and
            (5) the Department of State and the Department of Defense 
        should continue to commit additional assets and increase 
        investments in the Western Hemisphere so as to maintain robust 
        United States security partnerships with countries in the 
        region.

SEC. 3. SECURITY STRATEGY FOR THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 
Defense shall jointly submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 
a multi-year strategy, to be known as the ``Western Hemisphere Security 
Strategy''--
            (1) to enhance diplomatic engagement and security 
        assistance and cooperation;
            (2) to promote regional security and stability; and
            (3) to advance United States strategic interests in the 
        Western Hemisphere.
    (b) Elements.--The strategy required by subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
            (1) A proposal for increasing and improving United States 
        bilateral and multilateral security assistance and cooperation 
        in Latin America and the Caribbean.
            (2) Activities to build the defense and security capacity 
        of partner countries in Latin America and the Caribbean so as 
        to enable such countries to defend themselves against 
        conventional and unconventional threats, including 
        cyberattacks.
            (3) Activities to counter--
                    (A) malign influence by state actors;
                    (B) transnational criminal organizations with 
                connections to--
                            (i) illicit trafficking of gold, narcotics, 
                        and weapons;
                            (ii) human trafficking and smuggling; and
                            (iii) terrorism; and
                    (C) corruption and kleptocracy in governments of 
                countries in the Western Hemisphere.
            (4) Efforts to disrupt, degrade, and counter transnational 
        illicit trafficking, with an emphasis on illicit narcotics and 
        precursor chemicals that produce illicit narcotics.
            (5) Activities to increase transparency in, and support 
        for, strong and accountable defense, security, and law 
        enforcement institutions through institutional capacity-
        building efforts, including efforts to ensure respect for human 
        rights and direction and oversight by civilian authorities.
            (6) Programs and initiatives to enhance public diplomacy 
        and engagement with the people of the Western Hemisphere for 
        the purpose of demonstrating that the security of their 
        countries is enhanced to a greater extent if their countries 
        are aligned with the United States and democratic values rather 
        than with authoritarian countries such as the People's Republic 
        of China, the Russian Federation, and the Islamic Republic of 
        Iran.
            (7) Efforts to expand bilateral and multinational military 
        training exercises with partner countries in the Western 
        Hemisphere.
            (8) Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief initiatives 
        to support partner countries by promoting the development and 
        growth of responsive institutions through activities such as--
                    (A) the provision of appropriate equipment, 
                training, and logistical support;
                    (B) transportation of humanitarian supplies or 
                personnel of foreign security forces;
                    (C) making available, preparing, and transferring 
                on-hand nonlethal supplies, and providing training on 
                the use of such supplies, for humanitarian or health 
                purposes to respond to unforeseen emergencies;
                    (D) the provision of Department of State 
                humanitarian demining assistance; and
                    (E) conducting medical support operations and 
                medical humanitarian missions, such as hospital ship 
                deployments and base-operating services, to the extent 
                required by the operation.
            (9) Continued support for the women, peace, and security 
        initiatives of the Department of State to support the capacity 
        of partner countries in the Western Hemisphere--
                    (A) to ensure--
                            (i) the safety and security of women and 
                        girls; and
                            (ii) that the rights of women and girls are 
                        protected; and
                    (B) to promote the meaningful participation of 
                women in--
                            (i) the defense and security sectors; and
                            (ii) mediation and negotiation processes 
                        seeking to prevent, mitigate, or resolve 
                        violent conflict, in accordance with the Women, 
                        Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Public Law 
                        115-68; 131 Stat. 1202).
            (10) Professional military education initiatives, such as 
        the Department of State's International Military and Education 
        Training program.
            (11) A detailed assessment of the resources required to 
        carry out such strategy and a plan to be executed not later 
        than fiscal year 2024.
    (c) Implementation.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date on 
        which the Western Hemisphere Security Strategy is submitted 
        under subsection (a), the Secretary of State and the Secretary 
        of Defense shall commence implementation of the strategy.
            (2) Briefing.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
        which the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Security 
        Strategy commences, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of 
        State and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly provide a 
        briefing to the appropriate committees of Congress on the 
        implementation of the strategy.
            (3) Termination.--The authority under this section shall 
        terminate on the date that is three years after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (d) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Armed Services of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Armed Services of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON EFFORTS TO CAPTURE AND DETAIN UNITED STATES CITIZENS 
              AS HOSTAGES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on efforts by 
the Maduro regime of Venezuela to detain United States citizens and 
lawful permanent residents.
    (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include, 
regarding the arrest, capture, detainment, and imprisonment of United 
States citizens and lawful permanent residents--
            (1) the names, positions, and institutional affiliation of 
        Venezuelan individuals, or those acting on their behalf, who 
        have engaged in such activities;
            (2) a description of any role played by transnational 
        criminal organizations, and an identification of such 
        organizations; and
            (3) where relevant, an assessment of whether and how United 
        States citizens and lawful permanent residents have been lured 
        to Venezuela.
    (c) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted 
in unclassified form, but shall include a classified annex, which shall 
include a list of the total number of United States citizens and lawful 
permanent residents detained or imprisoned in Venezuela as of the date 
on which the report is submitted.

SEC. 5. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

    The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of the 
Treasury, the Attorney General, the United States Trade Representative, 
and the Chief Executive Officer of the Development Finance Corporation, 
shall provide technical assistance to partner countries in the Western 
Hemisphere to establish frameworks or mechanisms, similar to the 
frameworks set forth in section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 
1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565), for the purpose of enabling such partner 
countries to screen, review, and address the long-term financial 
sustainability and national security implications of investments in 
strategic sectors or services, including energy, telecommunications, 
and infrastructure, by entities controlled or directed by the 
governments of adversarial countries, including--
            (1) the People's Republic of China;
            (2) the Russian Federation;
            (3) the Islamic Republic of Iran;
            (4) the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; and
            (5) any other country the Secretary of State determines to 
        be adversarial to the national security interests of the United 
        States.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
</pre></body></html>