I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2789 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 20, 2023 Mr. Stanton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy on efforts to strengthen subnational cooperation between the United States and Mexico, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the American Cooperation with Our Neighbors Act . 2. Subnational Cooperation Strategy (a) In general Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a strategy on efforts to strengthen subnational cooperation between the United States and Mexico for the purposes of— (1) enhancing law enforcement cooperation at a subnational level for the purpose of curbing fentanyl trafficking and other synthetic opioids, including activities such as— (A) bolstering technical assistance for law enforcement agencies; (B) carrying out exchange programs for the purposes of professional development; and (C) enhancing data sharing, as appropriate; (2) bolstering subnational dialogue between local governments, civil society, faith-based organizations, and business community leaders and integrating issues faced by local communities, including with respect to trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids; and (3) strengthening capacity building and provide resources for border towns and organizations within those towns that attempt to meet the needs of local communities. (b) Update Not later than 2 years after the date of the submission of the strategy under subsection (a), the President shall submit to the congressional committees specified in subsection (a) an update containing an assessment of the implementation and effectiveness of the strategy, lessons learned from the past year with respect to the strategy, and planned changes to the strategy. (c) Form The strategy under subsection (a), and the update under subsection (b), shall be submitted in unclassified form. 3. Low-earth orbit satellite technologies feasibility study and report (a) Feasibility study The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, the Director of the United States Trade and Development Agency, and the heads of other Federal agencies as appropriate, shall conduct a feasibility study for the countries of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean on the possibility of low-Earth orbit satellites, high altitude platforms systems, or other trusted space-based telecommunications technologies to— (1) provide broadband connection to remote areas that lack access to network service; (2) provide mobile and internet services without the use of untrusted telecommunications equipment or services; and (3) provide uncensored internet access to the people of such countries the governments of which use firewalls to prevent their populations from freely accessing information. (b) Report Not later than 180 days after the completion of the feasibility study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on the results of the feasibility study under subsection (a) that includes an analysis of the— (1) scalability of the implementation of the technologies described in subsection (a); (2) economic viability of using space-based technologies to reach remote areas, including the cost of space-enabled broadband service per newly connected person; (3) feasibility of using such technologies to limit or phase out the use of untrusted telecommunications equipment or services; and (4) capability of satellite internet technologies to provide uncensored internet to people in countries where open internet access is forbidden or curtailed. 4. Department of State review of access to finance in the countries of the Caribbean (a) Review The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Treasury, shall conduct a review to determine any steps, balancing costs and benefits, that the Secretaries could take to expand financial access to the countries of the Caribbean, including through a review of— (1) sanctions enforcement laws and compliance standards; (2) reporting requirements pertaining to narcotics trafficking and illicit finance thereof; (3) possible expansion of embassies and consulates in the region; and (4) programming or lack thereof pertaining to access to capital in the region. (b) Report The Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the findings of the Secretary pertaining to the review under subsection (a). (c) Appropriate congressional committees defined In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means— (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.