SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Fragility and 
Violence Reduction Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to the United Nations, an un-
precedented 68.5 million people around the world, 
the highest level ever recorded, are currently forcibly 
displaced from their homes. 
(2) According to the World Bank, violence and 
violent conflict are now the leading causes of dis-
placement and food insecurity worldwide, driving 80 
percent of humanitarian needs, with the same con-
flicts accounting for the majority of forcibly dis-
placed persons every year since 1991. 
(3) According to the World Health Organiza-
tion, preventable forms of violence kill at least 1.4 
million people each year. According to the Institute 
for Economics and Peace, violence containment costs 
the global economy $14.76 trillion a year, or 12.4 
percent of the world’s GDP. If violence were to de-
crease uniformly across the world by just 10 per-
cent, the global economy would gain $1.48 trillion 
each year. 
(4) Violence and violent conflict underpin many 
of the United States Government’s key national se-
curity challenges. Notably, violent conflicts allow for 
environments in which terrorist organizations recruit 
and thrive, while the combination of violence, cor-
ruption, poverty, poor governance, and underdevelop-
ment often enables transnational gangs and criminal 
networks to wreak havoc and commit atrocities 
worldwide. 
(5) According to new research by the University 
of Maryland and University of Pittsburgh, exposure 
to violence increases support for violence and violent 
extremism. Research increasingly finds exposure to 
violence as a predictor of future participation in vio-
lence, including violent extremism. 
(6) United States foreign policy and assistance 
efforts in highly violent and fragile states remain 
governed by an outdated patchwork of authorities 
that prioritize responding to immediate needs rather 
than solving the problems that cause them. 
(7) Lessons learned over the past 20 years, doc-
umented by the 2013 Special Inspector General for 
Iraq Reconstruction Lessons Learned Study, the 
2016 Fragility Study Group report, and the 2018 
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Lessons 
Learned Study on Stabilization, show that effective, 
sustained United States efforts to reduce violence
and stabilize fragile and violence-affected states re-
quire clearly defined goals and strategies, adequate 
long-term funding, rigorous and iterative conflict 
analysis, coordination across the United States Gov-
ernment, including strong civil-military coordination, 
and integration with national and sub-national part-
ners, including local civil society organizations, local 
justice systems, and local governance structures. 
(8) The ‘‘Stabilization Assistance Review’’ re-
leased in 2018 by the Departments of State and De-
fense and the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development states, ‘‘The United States 
has strong national security and economic interests 
in reducing levels of violence and promoting stability 
in areas affected by armed conflict.’’ The Review 
further states, ‘‘Stabilization is an inherently polit-
ical endeavor that requires aligning U.S. Govern-
ment efforts – diplomatic engagement, foreign as-
sistance, and defense – toward supporting locally le-
gitimate authorities and systems to peaceably man-
age conflict and prevent violence.’’. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to— 
(1) ensure that all relevant Federal depart-
ments and agencies coordinate to achieve coherent,
long-term goals for programs designed to prevent vi-
olence, stabilize conflict-affected areas, and address 
the long-term causes of violence and fragility, includ-
ing when implementing the Global Fragility and Vio-
lence Reduction Initiative described in section 5(a); 
(2) seek to improve global, regional, and local 
coordination of relevant international and multilat-
eral development and donor organizations regarding 
efforts to prevent violence, stabilize conflict-affected 
areas, and address the long-term causes of violence 
and fragility in fragile and violence-affected coun-
tries, and, where practicable and appropriate, align 
such efforts with multilateral goals and indicators; 
(3) expand and enhance the effectiveness of 
United States foreign assistance programs and ac-
tivities to prevent violence, stabilize conflict-affected 
areas, and address the long-term causes of violence 
and fragility, including programs intended to im-
prove the indicators described in section 5(d)(1); 
(4) support the research and development of ef-
fective approaches to prevent violence, stabilize con-
flict-affected areas, and address the long-term 
causes of violence and fragility; and 
(5) improve the monitoring, evaluation, learn-
ing, and adaptation tools and authorities for relevant
Federal departments and agencies working to pre-
vent violence, stabilize conflict-affected areas, and 
address the long-term causes of violence and fra-
gility. 
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ASSISTANCE FOR 
THE GLOBAL FRAGILITY AND VIOLENCE RE-
DUCTION INITIATIVE. 
It is the sense of Congress that the President, the 
Secretary of State, the Administrator of USAID, the Sec-
retary of Defense, and the heads of other relevant Federal 
departments and agencies, should work with Congress to 
provide sufficient types and levels of funding to— 
(1) allow for more adaptive program planning 
and implementation under the initiative and priority 
country or regional plans required under section 5, 
including through exemptions from specific and min-
imum funding levels when such exemptions would 
make programs better able to respond to monitoring 
and evaluation or changed circumstances in relevant 
countries; 
(2) better integrate conflict and violence reduc-
tion activities into other program areas where appro-
priate; and 
(3) contribute to the creation of transparent 
and accountable multilateral funds, initiatives, and
strategies to enhance and better coordinate both pri-
vate and public efforts to prevent violence, stabilize 
conflict-affected areas, and address the long-term 
causes of violence and fragility. 
SEC. 5. GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO REDUCE FRAGILITY AND VI-
OLENCE. 
(a) INITIATIVE.—The Secretary of State, in coordina-
tion with the Administrator of the United States Agency 
for International Development (USAID), the Secretary of 
Defense, and the heads of other relevant Federal depart-
ments and agencies, shall establish an interagency initia-
tive, to be referred to as the ‘‘Global Initiative to Reduce 
Fragility and Violence’’, to prevent violence, stabilize con-
flict-affected areas, and address the long-term causes of 
violence and fragility. 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of 
USAID, the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other 
relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall develop 
and submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
an interagency implementation plan for the Global Initia-
tive to Reduce Fragility and Violence established pursuant 
to subsection (a) that includes the following:
areas, and addressing the long-term causes of vio-
lence and fragility. 
(8) Plans for regularly evaluating and updating, 
on an iterative basis— 
(A) the Global Initiative to Reduce Fra-
gility and Violence; 
(B) the interagency implementation plan 
described in this subsection; and 
(C) the priority country and regional plans 
described in subsection (c). 
(c) PRIORITY COUNTRY AND REGIONAL PLANS.— 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
Administrator of USAID, the Secretary of Defense, and 
the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agen-
cies, shall develop and submit to the appropriate congres-
sional committees 10-year plans to align and integrate the 
diplomatic, development, security, and other relevant ac-
tivities of the United States Government with the initiative 
required under subsection (a) for each of the priority 
countries and regions designated pursuant to subsection 
(d). Such priority country and regional plans shall include: 
(1) Specific interagency plans for coordination 
and implementation under the country or regional 
plan.
(2) Descriptions of how and when the relevant 
goals, objectives, and plans for each priority country 
or region will be incorporated into relevant United 
States country plans and strategies, including De-
partment of State Integrated Country Strategies, 
USAID Country Development Cooperation Strate-
gies, and Department of Defense Campaign Plans, 
Operational Plans, and Regional Strategies, as well 
as any equivalent or successor plans or strategies. 
(3) Interagency plans to ensure that appro-
priate local actors, including government and civil 
society entities and organizations led by women, 
youth, or under-represented communities, have roles 
in developing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, 
and updating relevant aspects of each such country 
or regional plan. 
(4) Clear, transparent, and measurable diplo-
matic, development, and security benchmarks, time-
tables, and performance metrics for each such coun-
try and region that align with best practices where 
applicable. 
(5) Interagency plans for monitoring and eval-
uation, adaptive management, and iterative learning 
that provide for regular and iterative policy and pro-
gram adaptations based on outcomes, lessons
learned, and other evidence gathered from each such 
country or region and across such countries and re-
gions. 
(6) Descriptions of the available policy tools to 
prevent violence, stabilize conflict-affected areas, and 
address the long-term causes of violence and fra-
gility in each such country or region. 
(7) Descriptions of the resources and authori-
ties that would be required for each relevant Federal 
department or agency to best implement each such 
country or regional plan, as well as evidence-based 
iterative updates to such plans. 
(8) Descriptions of potential areas of improved 
partnership with respect to such country or region, 
regarding efforts to prevent violence, stabilize con-
flict-affected areas, and address the long-term 
causes of violence and fragility, between the United 
States Government and— 
(A) international development organiza-
tions; 
(B) relevant international donors; 
(C) multilateral organizations; and 
(D) the private sector. 
(d) DESIGNATION OF PRIORITY COUNTRIES AND RE-
GIONS.—
(1) IDENTIFICATION OF CANDIDATE COUNTRIES 
AND REGIONS.—The Secretary of State, in coordina-
tion with the Administrator of USAID and the Sec-
retary of Defense and in consultation with the ap-
propriate congressional committees, shall develop a 
list of candidate countries and regions to be consid-
ered for inclusion under the initiative on the basis 
of— 
(A) clearly defined indicators of high levels 
of violence and fragility in such country or re-
gion, such as— 
(i) violence committed by armed 
groups, gender-based violence, and violence 
against children and youth; 
(ii) prevalence of, and citizen support 
for, adversarial armed groups; 
(iii) internal and external population 
displacement; 
(iv) patterns of human rights viola-
tions, including early warning indicators of 
the commission of genocide or other atroc-
ities; 
(v) poor governance, pervasive corrup-
tion, and political instability; and
(vi) vulnerability to current or future 
transnational threats; and 
(B) the capacity and opportunity to work 
across Federal departments and agencies and 
with local partners and other donors to prevent 
violence, stabilize conflict-affected areas, and 
address the long-term causes of violence and 
fragility with respect to such country or region, 
including by measurably— 
(i) improving inclusive, transparent, 
and accountable power structures, includ-
ing effective, legitimate, and resilient na-
tional and sub-national institutions; 
(ii) improving effective and respected 
conflict prevention, mitigation, manage-
ment, and resolution mechanisms; 
(iii) reducing levels of support among 
the residents of such country or region for 
violence, violent extremism, and adversarial 
armed groups; 
(iv) ensuring strong foundations for 
plurality, 
non-discrimination, 
human 
rights, rule of law, and equal access to jus-
tice;
(v) addressing political, social, eco-
nomic, and environmental vulnerabilities, 
grievances, and conflicts; 
(vi) ensuring inclusive economic devel-
opment and enabling business environ-
ments; and 
(vii) 
improving 
resilience 
to 
transnational stresses and shocks, includ-
ing from organized crime, violent extremist 
organizations, and economic and food mar-
kets crises. 
(2) SELECTION OF PRIORITY COUNTRIES AND 
REGIONS.—From among the candidate countries and 
regions identified pursuant to paragraph (1), the 
Secretary of State, in coordination with the Admin-
istrator of USAID and the Secretary of Defense, 
shall select certain countries as ‘‘priority countries’’ 
and certain regions as ‘‘priority regions’’ in a man-
ner that ensures that— 
(A) countries and regions are selected in a 
sufficient number and of sufficient diversity to 
provide indicators of the various drivers and 
early warnings of violence, conflict, and fra-
gility, as well as best practices for United 
States efforts to prevent violence, stabilize con-
flict-affected areas, and address the long-term 
causes of violence and fragility; 
(B) not fewer than three countries or re-
gions are designated as ‘‘Stabilization Coun-
tries’’ or ‘‘Stabilization Regions’’, in which the 
current levels of violence, violent conflict, or fra-
gility are among the highest in the world; 
(C) not fewer than three countries or re-
gions are designated as ‘‘Prevention Countries’’ 
or ‘‘Prevention Regions’’, in which current lev-
els of violence, violent conflict, or fragility are 
lower than such levels in Stabilization Countries 
or Stabilization Regions but warning signs for 
future violence, conflict, or fragility are signifi-
cant; 
(D) regions, rather than individual coun-
tries, are selected where the threat or spillover 
of violence, conflict, or fragility threatens the 
stability of multiple countries within a single 
geographic region; and 
(E) the countries and regions selected are 
in the areas of responsibility of at least three 
geographic bureaus of the Department of State. 
(e) STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION.—The initiative 
required under subsection (a) shall be developed in coordi-
nation with representatives of local civil society and na-
tional and local governance entities, as well as relevant 
international development organizations, multilateral or-
ganizations, donors, and relevant private, academic, and 
philanthropic entities, as appropriate. 
(f) CONGRESSIONAL CONSULTATION.—The Secretary 
of State, the Administrator of USAID, and the Secretary 
of Defense shall provide regular briefings on the imple-
mentation of this Act to any appropriate congressional 
committee upon the request of such committee. 
(g) MEASURING VIOLENCE, VIOLENT CONFLICT, AND 
FRAGILITY.—For the purposes of implementing, moni-
toring, and evaluating the effectiveness of the priority 
country and regional plans required under subsection (c), 
progress towards preventing violence, stabilizing conflict- 
affected areas, and addressing the long-term causes of vio-
lence and fragility shall be measured by indicators estab-
lished for each such country by relevant inter-agency coun-
try teams for each such country, informed by consultations 
with the stakeholders specified in subsection (e). 
SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION AND UPDATES OF PRIORITY 
COUNTRY AND REGIONAL PLANS. 
The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Ad-
ministrator of USAID, the Secretary of Defense, and the 
heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies,
and in consultation with the relevant United States Am-
bassadors, USAID Mission Directors, geographic Combat-
ant Commanders, and other relevant individuals with re-
sponsibility over activities in each priority country or re-
gion designated pursuant to section 5, shall ensure that— 
(1) the Global Initiative to Reduce Fragility 
and Violence and the priority country and regional 
plans required under such section are implemented, 
updated, and coordinated on a regular and iterative 
basis; 
(2) such initiative and country and regional 
plans are used to guide United States Government 
policy at a senior level and incorporated into rel-
evant strategies and plans across the United States 
Government and in each such country; 
(3) resources for all relevant activities and re-
quirements of such initiative and country and re-
gional plans are prioritized, requested, and used con-
sistent with such initiative and country and regional 
plans; and 
(4) the results of program monitoring and eval-
uation under such initiative and country and re-
gional plans are regularly reviewed and used to de-
termine continuation, modification, or termination of 
future year programming.
SEC. 7. BIENNIAL REPORTS AND CONGRESSIONAL CON-
SULTATION. 
(a) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Not later than two years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act and every two 
years thereafter until the date that is 10 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 
the Administrator of USAID, the Secretary of Defense, 
and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and 
agencies shall jointly submit to the appropriate congres-
sional committees a report on progress made and lessons 
learned with respect to the Global Initiative to Reduce 
Fragility and Violence and each priority country or re-
gional plan required under section 5, including— 
(1) descriptions of steps taken to incorporate 
such initiative and such country or regional plans 
into relevant strategies and plans that affect such 
countries or regions; 
(2) accountings of all funding received and obli-
gated to implement each such country or regional 
plan during the past two years, as well as funding 
requested, planned, and projected for the following 
two years; 
(3) descriptions of progress made towards the 
goals and objectives established for each such pri-
ority country or region, including progress made to-
wards achieving the specific targets, metrics, and in-
dicators described in section 5(b); and 
(4) descriptions of updates made during the 
past two years to the goals, objectives, plans of ac-
tion, and other elements described in section 5 for 
each such country or regional plan, as well as any 
changes made to programs based on the results of 
monitoring and evaluation. 
(b) CONGRESSIONAL CONSULTATION.—In addition to 
the reports required under subsection (a), the Secretary 
of State, the Administrator of USAID, the Secretary of 
Defense, and the heads of other relevant Federal depart-
ments and agencies shall jointly consult with the appro-
priate congressional committees at least once a year re-
garding progress made on the initiative and priority coun-
try and regional plans required under section 5. 
SEC. 8. GAO REVIEW. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act and every two years 
thereafter until the date that is 10 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall consult with the Chairman and 
Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Committee of 
the Senate and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the 
House of Representatives regarding opportunities for
independent review of the activities under the Global Ini-
tiative to Reduce Fragility and Violence and the priority 
country and regional plans required by section 5, includ-
ing— 
(1) opportunities to— 
(A) assess the extent to which United 
States Government activities in each priority 
country designated pursuant to section 5 are 
being implemented in accordance with the ini-
tiative and the relevant country or regional plan 
required under such section; 
(B) assess the processes and procedures 
for coordinating among and within each rel-
evant Federal department or agency when im-
plementing such initiative and each such coun-
try or regional plan; 
(C) assess the monitoring and evaluation 
efforts under such initiative and each such 
country or regional plan, including assessments 
of the progress made and lessons learned with 
respect to each such plan, as well as any 
changes made to activities based on the results 
of such monitoring and evaluation; and 
(D) recommend changes necessary to bet-
ter implement United States Government activi-
ties in accordance with such initiative and coun-
try and regional plans, as well as recommenda-
tions for any changes to such initiative or 
plans; and 
(2) such other matters the Comptroller General 
determines to be appropriate. 
(b) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—All relevant 
Federal departments and agencies shall make all relevant 
data, documents, and other information available to the 
Comptroller General for purposes of conducting inde-
pendent reviews pursuant to this section. 
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committees on Foreign Relations, 
Armed Services, and Appropriations of the Sen-
ate; and 
(B) the Committees on Foreign Affairs, 
Armed Services, and Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives. 
(2) RELEVANT
FEDERAL
DEPARTMENT
OR 
AGENCY.—The term ‘‘relevant Federal department 
or agency’’ means the Department of the Treasury
and any other Federal department or agency the 
President determines is relevant to carry out the 
purposes of this Act. 
Passed the House of Representatives November 27, 
2018. 
Attest: 
Clerk.