Title: RISK Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Reporting on Influence and Subversion by the Kremlin Act or the RISK Act
This bill directs the Department of State to submit to Congress an assessment of subversive activities by the Russian Federation. The assessment shall be conducted by a federally funded research and development center or another appropriate independent entity with expertise in diplomatic and military developments in Europe and the Russian Federation.
Such entity may use and incorporate information from previous studies and shall include assessments of:
The President is authorized to establish in the Department of the Treasury the Countering Russian Influence Fund to be used by the State Department for bilateral assistance to counter activities carried out in countries in Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia by the Russian Federation to support disinformation and propaganda, interfere in foreign elections, and undermine financial transparency and governance. Amounts in the fund may be made available to carry out its purposes through civil society and other organizations that seek to mitigate the expansion of Russian influence and aggression, including through public awareness campaigns and exchange activities.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2586 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2586

     To require an independent assessment and report of subversive 
     activities of the Russian Federation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2017

 Mr. Carbajal introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To require an independent assessment and report of subversive 
     activities of the Russian Federation, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Reporting on Influence and 
Subversion by the Kremlin Act'' or ``RISK Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In 1986, an interagency working group issued a report 
        assessing ``active measures'' by the former Soviet Union 
        against the United States.
            (2) The working group concluded that ``there is a massive 
        and highly organized effort by the Soviet Union and its proxies 
        to influence world opinion''.
            (3) The working group further observed that ``this effort 
        includes public diplomacy to enhance the Soviet image abroad 
        and . . . also includes a persistent, widespread program of 
        disinformation and deception designed to discredit the U.S. 
        image abroad and disrupt U.S. policy objectives.''.
            (4) Active measures by the Russian Federation have shown no 
        diminution since the last report issued by the working group in 
        1987, including--
                    (A) to influence world opinion;
                    (B) to undercut democratic processes and 
                institutions in the United States and partner nations;
                    (C) to challenge the international liberal order; 
                and
                    (D) to establish an unfettered sphere of influence.
            (5) The Director of National Intelligence concluded in 
        light of the Russian Federation's hacking of the 2016 
        presidential election that ``Russian efforts to influence the 
        2016 U.S. presidential election represent the most recent 
        expression of Moscow's longstanding desire to undermine the 
        U.S.-led liberal democratic order.''.
            (6) The Russian Federation is deploying an array of 
        military, cyber, intelligence, and economic tactics to weaken 
        United States democratic institutions, divide Europe from the 
        United States, divide Europe from within, undermine 
        organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
        and the European Union, and coerce partners to cooperate with 
        Russia.
            (7) Militarily, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered 
        the forcible and illegal occupation of Crimea in March 2014 and 
        the invasion of Georgia in 2008.
            (8) The Russian military, in which President Putin has 
        invested heavily, continues to engage in acts of aggression and 
        intimidation against United States allies across Europe.
            (9) The Russian Federation's subversive activities 
        undermine trust in democratic systems, giving rise to political 
        instability.

SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES BY THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress 
a report setting forth an assessment, obtained by the Secretary for 
purposes of the report, of subversive activities by the Russian 
Federation.
    (b) Independent Assessment.--
            (1) In general.--The assessment obtained for purposes of 
        subsection (a) shall be conducted by a federally funded 
        research and development center (FFRDC), or another appropriate 
        independent entity with expertise in diplomatic and military 
        developments in Europe and the Russian Federation, selected by 
        the Secretary for purposes of the assessment.
            (2) Use of previous studies.--The entity conducting the 
        assessment may use and incorporate information from previous 
        studies on matters appropriate to the assessment.
    (c) Elements.--The assessment obtained for purposes of subsection 
(a) shall include the following:
            (1) An assessment of disinformation and propaganda 
        activities of the Russian Federation, including an assessment 
        of--
                    (A) support for disinformation and propaganda 
                activities with respect to the United States and 
                foreign countries;
                    (B) the overall structure of the Russian 
                Government's disinformation and influence apparatus, 
                including its intelligence agencies and propaganda 
                outlets such as Russia Today; and
                    (C) propaganda techniques, including forgery, use 
                of media representatives and proxies, use of front 
                organizations, and efforts to influence international 
                organizations.
            (2) An assessment of support by the Russian Federation for 
        separatist activities and other aggressive actions aimed at 
        undermining the sovereignty of foreign countries, particularly 
        in Ukraine and the Baltic countries.
            (3) An assessment of cyber intrusions by the Russian 
        Federation to influence the infrastructure and democratic 
        processes in the United States and other countries.
            (4) An assessment of--
                    (A) the use of energy exports by the Russian 
                Federation for purposes of political or economic 
                coercion; and
                    (B) significant investment in energy 
                infrastructure, including pipelines, by the Government 
                of Russia or Russian-controlled entities.
            (5) An assessment of the deterioration of democratic 
        conditions in the Russian Federation, including--
                    (A) suppression of freedom of the press;
                    (B) detention, beating, and murder of political 
                activists and opposition leaders;
                    (C) suppression of minority rights;
                    (D) suppression of human rights; and
                    (E) efforts to undermine the Russian 
                nongovernmental organizations and Russian civil 
                society.
    (d) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

SEC. 4. COUNTERING RUSSIAN INFLUENCE FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--The President is authorized to establish in the 
Department of the Treasury a fund to be known as the Countering Russian 
Influence Fund (in this section referred to as the ``Fund'').
    (b) Amounts in Fund.--The Fund shall consist of the following:
            (1) Amounts appropriated to carry out section 7070(d) of 
        division C of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public 
        Law 115-31).
            (2) Amounts otherwise available to the Secretary of State 
        to carry out this section.
    (c) Purposes of Fund.--Amounts in the Fund for any fiscal year are 
authorized to be made available to the Secretary of State for bilateral 
assistance for countries in Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia, to 
counter the following activities in such countries carried out by the 
Russian Federation:
            (1) Support for disinformation and propaganda.
            (2) Interference in foreign elections.
            (3) Efforts to undermine financial transparency and 
        governance.
    (d) Civil Society and Other Organizations.--Amounts in the Fund for 
any fiscal year may be made available to carry out the purposes of the 
Fund under subsection (c) through civil society and other organizations 
that seek to mitigate the expansion of Russian influence and 
aggression, including through public awareness campaigns and exchange 
activities.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the President not less than $100,000,000 to carry out this 
        section.
            (2) Relation to certain other amounts.--Such funds are in 
        addition to any other amounts made available for bilateral 
        assistance for countries in Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia.
            (3) Rule of construction.--This section shall be considered 
        to be an authorization of appropriations for purposes of 
        section 7070(d) of division C of the Consolidated 
        Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115-31).
    (f) Report.--The Secretary of State shall submit to Congress a 
report for each fiscal year for which activities are undertaken 
pursuant to this section.
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