I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5181 
To counter foreign disinformation and propaganda, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 10, 2016 
Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois (for himself, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. 
FITZPATRICK, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. TAKAI, Mr. YOUNG of 
Indiana, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. GUTHRIE, 
and Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To counter foreign disinformation and propaganda, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Foreign 
Propaganda and Disinformation Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) foreign governments, including the Govern-
ments of the Russian Federation and the People’s 
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Republic of China, use disinformation and other 
propaganda tools to undermine the national security 
objectives of the United States and key allies and 
partners; 
(2) the Russian Federation, in particular, has 
conducted 
sophisticated 
and 
large-scale 
disinformation campaigns that have sought to have 
a destabilizing effect on United States allies and in-
terests; 
(3) in the last decade disinformation has in-
creasingly become a key feature of the Government 
of the Russian Federation’s pursuit of political, eco-
nomic, and military objectives in Ukraine, Moldova, 
Georgia, the Balkans, and throughout Central and 
Eastern Europe; 
(4) the challenge of countering disinformation 
extends beyond effective strategic communications 
and public diplomacy, requiring a whole-of-govern-
ment approach leveraging all elements of national 
power; 
(5) the United States Government should de-
velop a comprehensive strategy to counter foreign 
disinformation and propaganda and assert leader-
ship in developing a fact-based strategic narrative; 
and 
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(6) an important element of this strategy 
should be to protect and promote a free, healthy, 
and independent press in countries vulnerable to for-
eign disinformation. 
SEC. 3. CENTER FOR INFORMATION ANALYSIS AND RE-
SPONSE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
State shall, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, 
the Director of National Intelligence, the Broadcasting 
Board of Governors, and other relevant departments and 
agencies, establish a Center for Information Analysis and 
Response (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Center’’). The 
purposes of the Center are— 
(1) to lead and coordinate the collection and 
analysis of information on foreign government infor-
mation warfare efforts, including information pro-
vided by recipients of information access fund grants 
awarded under subsection (e) and other sources; 
(2) to establish a framework for the integration 
of critical data and analysis on foreign propaganda 
and disinformation efforts into the development of 
national strategy; and 
(3) to develop, plan, and synchronize, in coordi-
nation with the Secretary of Defense, the Director of 
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National Intelligence, the Broadcasting Board of 
Governors, and other relevant departments and 
agencies, whole-of-government initiatives to expose 
and counter foreign information operations directed 
against United States national security interests and 
proactively advance fact-based narratives that sup-
port United States allies and interests. 
(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Center shall carry out the fol-
lowing functions: 
(1) Integrating interagency efforts to track and 
evaluate counterfactual narratives abroad that 
threaten the national security interests of the United 
States and United States allies. 
(2) Collecting, integrating, and analyzing rel-
evant information, including intelligence reporting, 
data, analysis, and analytics from United States 
Government agencies, allied nations, think-tanks, 
academic institutions, civil society groups, and other 
nongovernmental organizations. 
(3) Developing and disseminating fact-based 
narratives and analysis to counter propaganda and 
disinformation directed at United States allies and 
partners. 
(4) Identifying current and emerging trends in 
foreign propaganda and disinformation, including 
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the use of print, broadcast, online and social media, 
support for third-party outlets such as think tanks, 
political parties, and nongovernmental organizations, 
and the use of covert or clandestine special operators 
and agents to influence targeted populations and 
governments in order to coordinate and shape the 
development of tactics, techniques, and procedures 
to expose and refute foreign misinformation and 
disinformation and proactively promote fact-based 
narratives and policies to audiences outside the 
United States. 
(5) Facilitating the use of a wide range of tech-
nologies and techniques by sharing expertise among 
agencies, seeking expertise from external sources, 
and implementing best practices. 
(6) Identifying gaps in United States capabili-
ties in areas relevant to the Center’s mission and 
recommending necessary enhancements or changes. 
(7) Identifying the countries and populations 
most susceptible to foreign government propaganda 
and disinformation. 
(8) Administering the information access fund 
established pursuant to subsection (e). 
(9) Coordinating with allied and partner na-
tions, particularly those frequently targeted by for-
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eign disinformation operations, and international or-
ganizations and entities such as the NATO Center 
of Excellence on Strategic Communications, the Eu-
ropean Endowment for Democracy, and the Euro-
pean External Action Service Task Force on Stra-
tegic Communications, in order to amplify the Cen-
ter’s efforts and avoid duplication. 
(c) COMPOSITION.— 
(1) COORDINATOR.—The Secretary of State 
shall appoint a full-time Coordinator to lead the 
Center. 
(2) STEERING COMMITTEE.— 
(A) 
COMPOSITION.—The 
Secretary 
of 
State shall establish a Steering Committee com-
posed of senior representatives of agencies rel-
evant to the Center’s mission to provide advice 
to the Secretary on the operations and strategic 
orientation of the Center and to ensure ade-
quate support for the Center. The Steering 
Committee shall include the officials set forth in 
subparagraph (C), one senior representative 
designated by the Secretary of Defense, the 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Di-
rector of National Intelligence, the Adminis-
trator of the United States Agency for Inter-
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national Development, and the Chairman of the 
Broadcasting Board of Governors. 
(B) MEETINGS.—The Steering Committee 
shall meet not less than every 3 months. 
(C) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMEN.—The 
Steering Committee shall be chaired by the 
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. 
A senior, Secretary of State-designated official 
responsible for digital media programming for 
foreign audiences and a senior, Secretary of De-
fense-designated official responsible for infor-
mation operations shall serve as co-Vice Chair-
men. 
(D) EXECUTIVE SECRETARY.—The Coordi-
nator of the Center shall serve as Executive 
Secretary of the Steering Committee. 
(E) 
PARTICIPATION
AND
INDEPEND-
ENCE.—The Chairman of the Broadcasting 
Board of Governors shall not compromise the 
journalistic freedom or integrity of relevant 
media organizations. Other Federal agencies 
may be invited to participate in the Steering 
Committee at the discretion of the Chairman of 
the Steering Committee and with the consent of 
the Secretary of State. 
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