I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1580 
To enhance stabilization of conflict-affected areas and prevent violence and 
fragility globally, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 7, 2019 
Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mrs. WAG-
NER, Mr. KEATING, and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in ad-
dition to the Committee on Appropriations, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To enhance stabilization of conflict-affected areas and pre-
vent violence and fragility globally, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Global Fragility Act 
of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(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 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. 
(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 research by the University of 
Maryland and University of Pittsburgh, exposure to 
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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, 
attention to the problem of corruption, and integra-
tion with and leadership from national and sub-na-
tional partners, including local civil society organiza-
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tions, traditional justice systems, and local govern-
ance 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 stabilize 
conflict-affected areas and prevent violence and fra-
gility globally, including when implementing the 
Global Fragility Initiative established pursuant to 
section 6; 
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(2) seek to improve global, regional, and local 
coordination of relevant international and multilat-
eral development and donor organizations regarding 
efforts to stabilize conflict-affected areas and pre-
vent violence and fragility globally, and, where prac-
ticable and appropriate, align such efforts with mul-
tilateral goals and indicators; 
(3) expand and enhance the effectiveness of 
United States foreign assistance programs and ac-
tivities to stabilize conflict-affected areas and pre-
vent violence and fragility globally; 
(4) support the research and development of ef-
fective approaches to stabilize conflict-affected areas 
and prevent violence and fragility globally, and data 
collection efforts relevant to such approaches; and 
(5) improve the tools and authorities for assess-
ment, monitoring, and evaluation needed to enable 
learning and adaptation by such relevant Federal de-
partments and agencies working to stabilize conflict- 
affected areas and prevent violence and fragility 
globally. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) STABILIZATION AND PREVENTION FUND.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.— 
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(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab-
lished in the Treasury of the United States a 
fund to be known as the ‘‘Stabilization and Pre-
vention Fund’’ (in this subsection referred to as 
the ‘‘Fund’’), to be administered by the Depart-
ment of State and the United States Agency for 
International Development (USAID), and con-
sisting of amounts authorized to be— 
(i) transferred pursuant to subpara-
graph (B); and 
(ii) appropriated pursuant to para-
graph (2). 
(B) TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION.—There is 
authorized to be transferred to the Fund the 
unobligated balance of any amounts in the Re-
lief and Recovery Fund (including amounts pro-
vided in section 7071 of division F of the Con-
solidated Appropriations Act, 2019; Public Law 
116–6) as of the date of the enactment of this 
Act. Pursuant to the completion of such trans-
fer, the Relief and Recovery Fund is hereby 
abolished, and any reference to the Relief and 
Recovery Fund in any law, regulation, rule, or 
other document of the United States Govern-
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