I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 567 
To establish an interagency program to assist countries in North and West 
Africa to improve immediate and long-term capabilities to counter ter-
rorist threats, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 28, 2021 
Mr. MCCAUL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To establish an interagency program to assist countries in 
North and West Africa to improve immediate and long- 
term capabilities to counter terrorist threats, 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 ‘‘Trans-Sahara Counter-
terrorism Partnership Program Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
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(1) terrorist and violent extremist organiza-
tions, such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, 
Boko Haram, the Islamic State of West Africa, and 
other affiliated groups, have killed tens of thousands 
of innocent civilians, displaced populations, desta-
bilized local and national governments, and caused 
mass human suffering in the affected communities; 
(2) poor governance, political and economic 
marginalization, and lack of accountability for 
human rights abuses by security forces are drivers 
of extremism; 
(3) it is in the national security interest of the 
United States to combat the spread of terrorism and 
violent extremism and build the capacity of partner 
countries to combat these threats in Africa; 
(4) terrorist and violent extremist organizations 
exploit vulnerable and marginalized communities 
suffering from poverty, lack of economic opportunity 
(particularly among youth populations), corruption, 
and weak governance; and 
(5) a comprehensive, coordinated interagency 
approach is needed to develop an effective strategy 
to address the security challenges in the Sahel- 
Maghreb, appropriately allocate resources, de-con-
flict programs, and maximize the effectiveness of 
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United States defense, diplomatic, and development 
capabilities. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to assist coun-
tries in North and West Africa, and other allies and part-
ners active in those regions, in combating terrorism and 
violent extremism through a coordinated interagency ap-
proach with a consistent strategy that appropriately bal-
ances security activities with diplomatic and development 
efforts to address the political, socioeconomic, governance, 
and development challenges in North and West Africa that 
contribute to terrorism and violent extremism. 
SEC. 4. TRANS-SAHARA COUNTERTERRORISM PARTNER-
SHIP PROGRAM. 
(a) TRANS-SAHARA COUNTERTERRORISM PARTNER-
SHIP PROGRAM.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and 
the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development, shall establish a partner-
ship program, to be known as the ‘‘Trans-Sahara 
Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) Program’’ 
to coordinate all programs, projects, and activities of 
the United States Government in countries in North 
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and West Africa that are conducted for any of the 
following purposes: 
(A) To improve governance and the capac-
ities of countries in North and West Africa to 
deliver basic services, particularly with at-risk 
communities, as a means of countering ter-
rorism and violent extremism by enhancing 
state legitimacy and authority and countering 
corruption. 
(B) To address the factors that make peo-
ple and communities vulnerable to recruitment 
by terrorist and violent extremist organizations, 
including economic vulnerability and mistrust of 
government and government security forces, 
through activities such as— 
(i) supporting strategies that increase 
youth employment opportunities; 
(ii) promoting girls’ education and 
women’s political participation; 
(iii) strengthening local governance 
and civil society capacity; 
(iv) 
improving 
government 
trans-
parency and accountability; 
(v) fighting corruption; 
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(vi) improving access to economic op-
portunities; and 
(vii) other development activities nec-
essary to support community resilience. 
(C) To strengthen the rule of law in such 
countries, including by enhancing the capability 
of the judicial institutions to independently, 
transparently, and credibly deter, investigate, 
and prosecute acts of terrorism and violent ex-
tremism. 
(D) To improve the ability of military and 
law enforcement entities in partner countries to 
detect, disrupt, respond to, and prosecute vio-
lent extremist and terrorist activity while re-
specting human rights, and to cooperate with 
the United States and other partner countries 
on counterterrorism and counter-extremism ef-
forts. 
(E) To enhance the border security capac-
ity of partner countries, including the ability to 
monitor, detain, and interdict terrorists. 
(F) To identify, monitor, disrupt, and 
counter the human capital and financing pipe-
lines of terrorism. 
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(G) To support the free expression and op-
erations of independent, local-language media, 
particularly in rural areas, while countering the 
media operations and recruitment propaganda 
of terrorist and violent extremist organizations. 
(2) ASSISTANCE FRAMEWORK.—Activities car-
ried out under the TSCTP Program shall— 
(A) be carried out in countries where the 
Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Defense and the Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Devel-
opment, determines that there is an adequate 
level of partner country commitment, and has 
considered partner country needs, absorptive 
capacity, sustainment capacity, and efforts of 
other donors in the sector; 
(B) have clearly defined outcomes; 
(C) be closely coordinated among United 
States diplomatic and development missions, 
United States Africa Command, and relevant 
participating departments and agencies; 
(D) have specific plans with robust indica-
tors to regularly monitor and evaluate outcomes 
and impact; 
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(E) complement and enhance efforts to 
promote democratic governance, the rule of law, 
human rights, and economic growth; 
(F) in the case of train and equip pro-
grams, complement longer-term security sector 
institution-building; and 
(G) have mechanisms in place to track re-
sources and routinely monitor and evaluate the 
efficacy of relevant programs. 
(3) CONSULTATION.—In coordinating activities 
through the TSCTP Program, the Secretary of 
State shall also establish a coordination mechanism 
that ensures periodic consultation with, as appro-
priate, the Director of National Intelligence, the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the 
Chief Executive Officer of the United States Agency 
for Global Media (formerly known as the Broad-
casting Board of Governors), and the heads of other 
relevant Federal departments and agencies, as deter-
mined by the President. 
(4) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days 
before obligating amounts for an activity of the 
TSCTP Program pursuant to paragraph (1), 
the Secretary of State shall submit a notifica-
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tion to the appropriate congressional commit-
tees, in accordance with the requirements of 
section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394–1), that includes the fol-
lowing: 
(i) The foreign country and entity, as 
applicable, whose capabilities are to be en-
hanced in accordance with the purposes 
specified in paragraph (1). 
(ii) The amount, type, and purpose of 
support to be provided. 
(iii) An assessment of the capacity of 
the foreign country to effectively imple-
ment, benefit from, or utilize the assist-
ance to be provided for the intended pur-
pose. 
(iv) The anticipated implementation 
timeline for the activity. 
(v) As applicable, a description of the 
plans to sustain any military or security 
equipment provided beyond the completion 
date of such activity, and the estimated 
cost and source of funds to support such 
sustainment. 
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(B) EXCEPTION.—The notification require-
ment under subparagraph (A) does not apply to 
activities of the Department of Defense con-
ducted pursuant to authorities under title 10, 
United States Code. 
(b) INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION.—Efforts car-
ried out under this section shall take into account partner 
country counterterrorism, counter-extremism, and devel-
opment strategies and, to the extent practicable, shall be 
aligned with such strategies. Such efforts shall be coordi-
nated with counterterrorism and counter-extremism activi-
ties and programs in the areas of defense, diplomacy, and 
development carried out by other like-minded donors and 
international organizations in the relevant country. 
(c) STRATEGIES.—Not later than 270 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Ad-
ministrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development and other relevant Federal Government 
agencies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees the following strategies: 
(1) A COMPREHENSIVE
FIVE-YEAR
STRATEGY 
FOR THE SAHEL-MAGHREB.—A comprehensive five- 
year strategy for the Sahel-Maghreb, including de-
tails related to whole-of-government efforts in the 
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areas of defense, diplomacy, and development to ad-
vance the national security, economic, and humani-
tarian interests of the United States, including— 
(A) efforts to ensure coordination with 
multilateral and bilateral partners, such as the 
Joint Force of the Group of Five of the Sahel, 
and with other relevant assistance frameworks; 
(B) a public diplomacy strategy and ac-
tions to ensure that populations in the Sahel- 
Maghreb are aware of the development activi-
ties of the United States Government, especially 
in countries with a significant Department of 
Defense presence or engagement through train 
and equip programs; 
(C) activities aimed at supporting demo-
cratic institutions and countering violent extre-
mism with measurable goals and transparent 
benchmarks; 
(D) plans to help each partner country ad-
dress humanitarian and development needs and 
to help prevent, respond to, and mitigate inter-
communal violence; 
(E) a comprehensive plan to support secu-
rity sector reform in each partner country that 
includes a detailed section on programs and ac-
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tivities being undertaken by relevant stake-
holders and other international actors operating 
in the sector; and 
(F) a specific strategy for Mali that in-
cludes plans for sustained, high-level diplomatic 
engagement with stakeholders, including coun-
tries in Europe and the Middle East with inter-
ests in the Sahel-Maghreb, regional govern-
ments, relevant multilateral organizations, sig-
natory groups of the 2015 Agreement for Peace 
and Reconciliation in Mali, and civil society ac-
tors. 
(2) A COMPREHENSIVE
FIVE-YEAR
STRATEGY 
FOR
TSCTP
PROGRAM
COUNTERTERRORISM
EF-
FORTS.—A comprehensive five-year strategy for the 
TSCTP Program that includes— 
(A) a clear statement of the objectives of 
United States counterterrorism efforts in North 
and West Africa with respect to the use of all 
forms of United States assistance to combat 
terrorism and counter violent extremism, in-
cluding efforts to build military and civilian law 
enforcement capacity, strengthen the rule of 
law, promote responsive and accountable gov-
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ernance, and address the root causes of ter-
rorism and violent extremism; 
(B) a plan for coordinating programs 
through the TSCTP Program pursuant to sub-
section (a)(1), including an identification of 
which agency or bureau of the Department of 
State, as applicable, will be responsible for lead-
ing, coordinating, and conducting monitoring 
and evaluation for each such program, and the 
process for enabling the leading agency or bu-
reau to establish standards, compel partners to 
adhere to those standards, and report results; 
(C) a plan to monitor, evaluate, and share 
data and learning about the TSCTP Program 
that includes quantifiable baselines, targets, 
and results in accordance with monitoring and 
evaluation provisions of sections 3 and 4 of the 
Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability 
Act of 2016 (Public Law 114–191); and 
(D) a plan for ensuring coordination and 
compliance with related requirements in United 
States law, including the Global Fragility Act of 
2019 (title V of division J of the Further Con-
solidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 
116–94)). 
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(3) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the De-
partment of State shall consult with appropriate 
congressional committees on progress made towards 
developing the strategies required in paragraphs (1) 
and (2). 
(d) SUPPORTING MATERIAL
IN ANNUAL BUDGET 
REQUEST.—The Secretary of State shall include in the 
budget materials submitted to Congress in support of the 
President’s annual budget request (submitted to Congress 
pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code) 
for each fiscal year beginning after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and annually thereafter for five years, 
a description of the requirements, activities, and planned 
allocation of amounts requested by the TSCTP Program. 
This requirement does not apply to activities of the De-
partment of Defense conducted pursuant to authorities 
under title 10, United States Code. 
(e) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS 
AND ACTIVITIES.—Not later than one year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 
five years, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development, shall submit 
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