Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017

To counter the influence of the Russian Federation in Europe and Eurasia, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The Government of the Russian Federation has sought to exert influence throughout Europe and Eurasia, including in the former states of the Soviet Union, by providing resources to political parties, think tanks, and civil society groups that sow distrust in democratic institutions and actors, promote xenophobic and illiberal views, and otherwise undermine European unity. The Government of the Russian Federation has also engaged in well-documented corruption practices as a means toward undermining and buying influence in European and Eurasian countries. (2) The Government of the Russian Federation has largely eliminated a once-vibrant Russian-language independent media sector and severely curtails free and independent media within the borders of the Russian Federation. Russian-language media organizations that are funded and controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation and disseminate information within and outside of the Russian Federation routinely traffic in anti-Western disinformation, while few independent, fact-based media sources provide objective reporting for Russian-speaking audiences inside or outside of the Russian Federation. (3) The Government of the Russian Federation continues to violate its commitments under the Memorandum on Security Assurances in connection with Ukraine’s Accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at Budapest December 5, 1994, and the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe Final Act, concluded at Helsinki August 1, 1975 (commonly referred to as the Helsinki Final Act (4) The Government of the Russian Federation continues to ignore the terms of the August 2008 ceasefire agreement relating to Georgia, which requires the withdrawal of Russian Federation troops, free access by humanitarian groups to the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and monitoring of the conflict areas by the European Union Monitoring Mission. (5) The Government of the Russian Federation is failing to comply with the terms of the Minsk Agreement to address the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, signed in Minsk, Belarus, on February 11, 2015, by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany, as well as the Minsk Protocol, which was agreed to on September 5, 2014. (6) The Government of the Russian Federation is— (A) in violation of the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, signed at Washington December 8, 1987, and entered into force June 1, 1988 (commonly known as the INF Treaty (B) failing to meet its obligations under the Treaty on Open Skies, done at Helsinki March 24, 1992, and entered into force January 1, 2002 (commonly known as the Open Skies Treaty 3. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Government of the Russian Federation bears responsibility for the continuing violence in Eastern Ukraine, including the death on April 24, 2017, of Joseph Stone, a citizen of the United States working as a monitor for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; (2) the President should call on the Government of the Russian Federation— (A) to withdraw all of its forces from the territories of Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova; (B) to return control of the borders of those territories to their respective governments; and (C) to cease all efforts to undermine the popularly elected governments of those countries; (3) the Government of the Russian Federation has applied, and continues to apply, to the countries and peoples of Georgia and Ukraine, traditional uses of force, intelligence operations, and influence campaigns, which represent clear and present threats to the countries of Europe and Eurasia; (4) in response, the countries of Europe and Eurasia should redouble efforts to build resilience within their institutions, political systems, and civil societies; (5) the United States supports the institutions that the Government of the Russian Federation seeks to undermine, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union; (6) a strong North Atlantic Treaty Organization is critical to maintaining peace and security in Europe and Eurasia; (7) the United States should continue to work with the European Union as a partner against aggression by the Government of the Russian Federation, coordinating aid programs, development assistance, and other counter-Russian efforts; (8) the United States should encourage the establishment of a commission for media freedom within the Council of Europe, modeled on the Venice Commission regarding rule of law issues, that would be chartered to provide governments with expert recommendations on maintaining legal and regulatory regimes supportive of free and independent media and an informed citizenry able to distinguish between fact-based reporting, opinion, and disinformation; (9) in addition to working to strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union, the United States should work with the individual countries of Europe and Eurasia— (A) to identify vulnerabilities to aggression, disinformation, corruption, and so-called hybrid warfare by the Government of the Russian Federation; (B) to establish strategic and technical plans for addressing those vulnerabilities; (C) to ensure that the financial systems of those countries are not being used to shield illicit financial activity by officials of the Government of the Russian Federation or individuals in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle who have been enriched through corruption; (D) to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption by Russian actors; and (E) to work toward full compliance with the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (commonly referred to as the Anti-Bribery Convention (10) the President of the United States should use the authority of the President to impose sanctions under— (A) the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (title IV of Public Law 112–208 22 U.S.C. 5811 (B) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114–328 22 U.S.C. 2656 4. Statement of policy The United States, consistent with the principle of ex injuria jus non oritur, supports the policy known as the Stimson Doctrine 5. Coordinating aid and assistance across Europe and Eurasia (a) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated for the Countering Russian Influence Fund $250,000,000 for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. (b) Management of the Fund Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and, as appropriate, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Secretary of Defense, shall establish a working group to administer the Countering Russian Influence Fund in order to facilitate the achievement of the goals described in subsection (c) while minimizing the expense to United States taxpayers. (c) Use of funds (1) Mandatory use of funds Amounts in the Countering Russian Influence Fund shall be used for the following: (A) To assist in protecting critical infrastructure and electoral mechanisms from cyberattacks in the following countries: (i) Countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union that the Secretary of State determines— (I) are vulnerable to influence by the Russian Federation; and (II) lack the economic capability to effectively respond to aggression by the Russian Federation without the support of the United States. (ii) Countries that are participating in the enlargement process of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Kosovo, Serbia, and Ukraine. (B) To combat corruption, improve the rule of law, and otherwise strengthen independent judiciaries and prosecutors general offices in the countries described in subparagraph (A). (2) Discretionary use of funds Amounts in the Countering Russian Influence Fund may be used to seek to achieve the following, to the extent practicable and as appropriate: (A) Responding to the humanitarian crises and instability caused or aggravated by the invasions and occupations of Georgia and Ukraine by the Russian Federation. (B) Improving participatory legislative processes and legal education, political transparency and competition, and compliance with international obligations in the countries described in paragraph (1)(A). (C) Building the capacity of civil society, media, and other nongovernmental organizations countering the influence and propaganda of the Russian Federation in the countries described in paragraph (1)(A). (d) Implementation (1) In general The Secretary of State, acting through Coordinator of United States Assistance to Europe and Eurasia (authorized pursuant to section 601 of the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 ( 22 U.S.C. 5461 22 U.S.C. 5812 (2) Report on implementation (A) In general Not later than April 1 of each year, the Secretary of State, acting through the Coordinator of United States Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the programs and activities carried out to achieve the goals described in subsection (c) during the preceding fiscal year. (B) Elements Each report required by subparagraph (A) shall include, with respect to each program or activity described in that subparagraph— (i) the amount of funding for the program or activity; (ii) the goal described in subsection (c) to which the program or activity relates; and (iii) an assessment of whether or not the goal was met. (e) Coordination with global partners (1) In general In order to maximize cost efficiency, eliminate duplication, and speed the achievement of the goals described in subsection (c), the working group established under subsection (b) shall ensure coordination with— (A) the European Union and its institutions; (B) the governments of countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union; and (C) international organizations and quasi-governmental funding entities that carry out programs and activities that seek to accomplish the goals described in subsection (c). (2) Report by Secretary of State Not later than April 1 of each year, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes— (A) the amount of funding provided to each country referred to in subsection (c) by— (i) the European Union or its institutions; (ii) the government of each country that is a member of the European Union or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; and (iii) international organizations and quasi-governmental funding entities that carry out programs and activities that seek to accomplish the goals described in subsection (c); and (B) an assessment of whether the funding described in subparagraph (A) is commensurate with funding provided by the United States for those goals. (f) Rule of construction Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to or limit United States foreign assistance not provided using amounts available in the Countering Russian Influence Fund. 6. Report on media organizations controlled and funded by the government of the Russian Federation (a) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes a description of media organizations that are controlled and funded by the Government of the Russian Federation, and any affiliated entities, whether operating within or outside the Russian Federation, including broadcast and satellite-based television, radio, Internet, and print media organizations. (b) Form of report The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex. 7. Termination The provisions of this Act shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 8. Appropriate congressional committees defined In this Act, the term appropriate congressional committees (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.

Summary: Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017 This bill declares that the United States supports the &quot;Stimson Doctrine&quot; and thus does not recognize territorial changes effected by force, including the illegal invasions and occupations of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Crimea, Eastern Ukraine, and Transnistria. The bill: (1) authorizes FY2018-FY2019 assistance for the Countering Russian Influence Fund; and (2) prescribes fund use, including assisting those North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or European Union (EU) countries that are vulnerable to Russian influence or aggression to enhance their energy security, lessen dependence on Russian energy sources, and protect their infrastructure and electoral mechanisms from cyber attack. The Department of State shall establish a pilot program for Foreign Service officer positions focused on governance and anticorruption activities in vulnerable NATO and EU countries. The President shall submit annual reports to Congress regarding: (1) media organizations that are controlled and funded by the Russian government and affiliated entities, and (2) Russian influence on elections in Europe or Eurasia. The State Department shall work with the government of Ukraine to increase Ukrainian energy security and production and reduce its reliance on Russian energy imports. Authorizes FY2018-FY2019 assistance to promote Ukrainian energy security.