Title: Supporting efforts to strengthen democracy in Hungary and its alliance with the United States.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution expresses concern that Hungary is undermining democratic institutions and providing a platform through which Russia can exert malign influence within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The resolution urges specified U.S. agencies to bolster efforts to combat corruption and Russian influence in Hungary.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 400 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 400

Supporting efforts to strengthen democracy in Hungary and its alliance 
                        with the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2019

Mr. Engel (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Hastings, and 
 Ms. Kaptur) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
 the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 
   the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Supporting efforts to strengthen democracy in Hungary and its alliance 
                        with the United States.

Whereas 2019 is the 70th anniversary of the founding of the North Atlantic 
        Treaty Organization (NATO) and the 30th anniversary of historic 
        transitions in Hungary, including the dismantling of the one-party 
        Communist regime and the barbed wire fences that separated Hungary from 
        its neighbors;
Whereas 2019 is also the 75th anniversary of the deportation by Hungarian 
        authorities of 437,402 Hungarian Jews on 147 trains in just 56 days 
        between May 15 and July 9, 1944, which was preceded by the passage of 
        anti-Jewish laws beginning in 1920 and the deportation of more than 
        20,000 Jews in 1941;
Whereas the United States and Hungary have a shared history dating to the times 
        of 19th century Hungarian statesman Lajos Kossuth, whose bust graces the 
        halls of the United States Congress, and Hungarians have immigrated to 
        the United States since its founding, enriching the national fabric of 
        the United States;
Whereas, in the 1990 Charter of Paris for a New Europe, the United States and 
        Hungary committed ``to build, consolidate and strengthen democracy as 
        the only system of government of our nations'';
Whereas Hungary joined the visa waiver program in 2008, enabling Hungarians to 
        visit the United States without a visa, further strengthening ties 
        between the two countries;
Whereas Hungarians voted in a national referendum in 1997 to join NATO, and the 
        United States supported Hungary's accession to NATO, building the common 
        alliance between the two countries;
Whereas the North Atlantic Treaty states that all members of NATO ``are 
        determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of 
        their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual 
        liberty and the rule of law'';
Whereas NATO member states have collectively identified corruption and poor 
        governance, including within member states, as ``security challenges 
        which undermine democracy, the rule of law and economic development'', 
        demonstrating a shared understanding of the link between democratic 
        values and international security;
Whereas democracies with transparent governments, the rule of law, free media, 
        and engaged citizens are more naturally resistant to malign influence by 
        the Russian Federation;
Whereas the Government of Hungary has rehabilitated fascist-era ideologies, 
        facilitated or amplified anti-Semitic messages, and trivialized the 
        Holocaust;
Whereas according to the Department of State's Country Report on Human Rights 
        Practices, Hungary has passed a series of laws modifying the judicial 
        system, restricting the Constitutional Court, altering the rules for 
        electing Constitutional Court justices, and vesting the President of the 
        National Office for the Judiciary, a position appointed by the 
        Parliament, with significant decisionmaking power;
Whereas the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Election 
        Observation Missions to Hungary's 2014 and 2018 elections concluded that 
        the governing party enjoyed an undue advantage because of restrictive 
        campaign regulations, biased media coverage and campaign activities that 
        blurred the separation between political party and the state;
Whereas, in 2014, at least six Hungarian officials were determined to be 
        ineligible for visas to visit the United States because of suspected 
        corruption, while fraud and corruption has enabled at least 85 criminals 
        to obtain Hungarian passports and enter or attempt to enter the United 
        States, and Hungary has given refuge to some individuals convicted of 
        corruption in other countries;
Whereas, in 2017, Hungary adopted a law on nongovernmental organizations that, 
        according to the Department of State, ``unfairly burdens a targeted 
        group of Hungarian civil society organizations, many of which focus on 
        fighting corruption and protecting human rights and civil liberties'';
Whereas, in 2018, more than 400 media publications, websites, television 
        channels, and radio stations in Hungary, already concentrated in the 
        hands of a few owners, were donated, without compensation, by their 
        owners to a central holding company which, according to a subsequently 
        passed law, is exempt from competition oversight;
Whereas, in 2018, the Department of State expressed disappointment that the 
        Government of Hungary did not conclude an agreement that would allow 
        Central European University (CEU) to continue its United States-
        accredited programs and stated that the United States values the role 
        that CEU and other American educational institutions play in building 
        connections between the Hungarian and American people and strengthening 
        the transatlantic bond;
Whereas, in 2018, Hungary adopted a law to establish new administrative courts 
        with jurisdiction over elections and corruption overseen by a 
        politically appointed minister; and
Whereas the Government of Hungary has announced a decision to grant diplomatic 
        immunity to representatives of the International Investment Bank, a bank 
        with ties to Russian intelligence services, and allow the bank to open a 
        headquarters in Hungary: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) expresses deep concern that the Government of Hungary 
        has taken steps to weaken democratic institutions, undermine 
        free elections, and limit civil society and a free press in 
        Hungary, to the detriment of the Hungarian people and United 
        States-Hungary relations;
            (2) expresses deep concern that the decision by the 
        Government of Hungary to allow the International Investment 
        Bank to open a headquarters in Hungary would provide the 
        Government of the Russian Federation an additional platform to 
        conduct malign influence operations within the North Atlantic 
        Treaty Organization;
            (3) urges the Secretary of State to bolster efforts in 
        Hungary to combat corruption, counter malign influence by the 
        Russian Federation, strengthen independent media, encourage a 
        vibrant civil society and utilize fully the annual Country 
        Report on Human Rights Practices as a vehicle to identify 
        challenges in this area;
            (4) urges the Secretary of State to support educational and 
        cultural exchange programs with civil society leaders and youth 
        in Hungary in order to inspire and equip the next generation of 
        democratic leaders;
            (5) urges the Secretary of Homeland Security to review 
        Hungary's travel document security in order to ensure the 
        integrity of the United States visa waiver program; and
            (6) expresses its support for the shared principles of 
        democracy and collective security to which the United States 
        and Hungary have committed in the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization and the Organization on Security and Cooperation 
        in Europe, and notes that the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization is an alliance meant above all to safeguard basic 
        freedoms, democracy, and the rule of law.
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