Contingency Operation Waste and Fraud Prevention Act of 2018

Bill: 115-hr-5919
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Shea-Porter, Carol [D-NH-1]
Introduced: 2018-05-22
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight

Department of Defense

Department of State

Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad

Executive Office of the President

Executive agency funding and structure

Federal officials

Foreign aid and international relief

Government ethics and transparency, public corruption

Government studies and investigations

Human rights

Military operations and strategy

Multilateral development programs

Performance measurement

Reconstruction and stabilization

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Latest action: action_date: 2018-05-22
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, 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.

Summaries:
action_date: 2018-05-22
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Contingency Operation Waste and Fraud Prevention Act of 2018</strong></p> <p>This bill establishes the position of Senior Anticorruption Officer in the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Department of Defense to combat corruption in programs, projects, or activities associated with a military operation. It also establishes a Working Group for Anticorruption to, among other things, develop and implement an interagency anticorruption strategy for such operations.</p>

tv_txt: I 115th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5919 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 22, 2018 Ms. Shea-Porter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs , and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services , 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 A BILL To establish the position of Senior Anticorruption Officer at the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, and the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Contingency Operation Waste and Fraud Prevention Act of 2018 . 2. Establishment of senior anticorruption officers and working group for an­ti­cor­rup­tion (a) Establishment of Senior Anticorruption Officer for the Department of State Section 1 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (h) Senior Anticorruption Officer (1) In general The Secretary of State shall designate an officer or employee of the Department of State to serve as the Senior Anticorruption Officer to assist the Secretary in strategic, operational, and tactical planning relating to ongoing and planned contingency operations, as such term is defined in section 101 of title 10, United States Code. The Senior Anticorruption Officer shall report directly to the Secretary. (2) Qualifications The Senior An­ti­cor­rup­tion Officer shall be selected from among individuals who— (A) have prior specialized training and expertise in anticorruption; and (B) are in the senior executive service of the Department of State. (3) Duties The Senior Anticorruption Officer shall be a member of the Working Group for Anticorruption established in section 2(d) of the Contingency Operation Waste and Fraud Prevention Act and shall carry out the following duties: (A) Assisting the Secretary to address corruption with respect to programs, projects, or activities during contingency operations, as such term is defined in section 101 of title 10, United States Code. (B) Developing and implementing an integrated anticorruption strategy for the duration of such contingency operations. (C) Conducting regular corruption risk assessments for such contingency operations. (D) Providing expert opinions to the relevant members of the National Security Council with respect to the impact of the programs, projects, and activities of the United States on corruption in other countries, including an analysis of the likely success of such programs, projects, and activities in light of such corruption. (E) Coordinating with appropriate officials of other countries and of multilateral institutions to seek to achieve unity of effort in programs, projects, and activities with respect to addressing corruption. (F) Conducting regular outreach with relevant civil society organizations working on issues relating to human rights, civil rights, and anticorruption. . (b) Establishment of Senior Anticorruption Officer for the United States Agency for International Development (1) In general The Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) shall designate an officer or employee of USAID to serve as the Senior Anticorruption Officer to assist the Administrator in strategic, operational, and tactical planning relating to ongoing and planned contingency operations. The Senior An­ti­cor­rup­tion Officer shall report directly to the Administrator. (2) Qualifications The Senior An­ti­cor­rup­tion Officer shall be selected from among individuals who— (A) have prior specialized training and expertise in anticorruption; and (B) are in the senior executive service of the Agency. (3) Duties The Senior Anticorruption Officer shall be a member of the Working Group for Anticorruption established in subsection (d) and shall carry out the following duties: (A) Assisting the Secretary to address corruption with respect to programs, projects, or activities during contingency operations, as such term is defined in section 101 of title 10, United States Code. (B) Developing and implementing an integrated anticorruption strategy for the duration of such contingency operations. (C) Conducting regular corruption risk assessments for such contingency operations. (D) Providing expert opinions to the relevant members of the National Security Council Deputies Committee with respect to the impact of the programs, projects, and activities of the United States on corruption in other countries, including an analysis of the likely success of such programs, projects, and activities in light of such corruption. (E) Coordinating with appropriate officials of other countries and of multilateral institutions to seek to achieve unity of effort in programs, projects, and activities with respect to addressing corruption. (F) Conducting regular outreach with relevant civil society organizations working on issues relating to human rights, civil rights, and anticorruption. (c) Establishment of Senior Anticorruption Officer for the Department of Defense (1) In general Chapter 4 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 145. Senior Anticorruption Officer. (a) Senior Anticorruption Officer There is a Senior Anticorruption Officer in the Department of Defense, appointed by the Secretary of Defense, who shall assist the Secretary in strategic, operational, and tactical planning relating to ongoing and planned contingency operations. The Senior Anticorruption Officer shall report directly to the Secretary. (b) Qualifications The Senior Anticorruption Officer shall be selected from among individuals who— (1) have prior specialized training and expertise in anticorruption; and (2) are general officers or flag officers. (c) Duties The Senior Anticorruption Officer shall be a member of the Working Group for An­ti­cor­rup­tion established in section 2(d) of the Contingency Operation Waste and Fraud Prevention Act and shall carry out the following duties: (1) Assisting the Secretary to address corruption with respect to programs, projects, or activities during contingency operations. (2) Developing and implementing an integrated anticorruption strategy for the duration of such contingency operations. (3) Conducting regular corruption risk assessments for such contingency operations. (4) Providing expert opinions to the relevant members of the National Security Council with respect to the impact of the programs, projects, and activities of the United States on corruption in other countries, including an analysis of the likely success of such programs, projects, and activities in light of such corruption. (5) Coordinating with appropriate officials of other countries and of multilateral institutions to seek to achieve unity of effort in programs, projects, and activities with respect to addressing corruption. (6) Conducting regular outreach with relevant civil society organizations working on issues relating to human rights, civil rights, and anticorruption. . (2) Clerical amendment The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 4 of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 144 the following new item: 145. Senior Anticorruption Officer. . (d) Establishment of Working Group for Anticorruption (1) In general There is established an interagency committee to be known as the Working Group for Anticorruption (in this section referred to as the Working Group ). (2) Duties The duties of the Working Group shall be the following: (A) Providing support for personnel engaged in contingency operations, as such term is defined in section 101 of title 10, United States Code, with respect to best practices for preventing corruption in the programs, projects, or activities of such personnel. (B) Developing and implementing an interagency anticorruption strategy for such contingency operations. (C) Maintaining and sharing records and assessments of the forms of corruption in countries where such operations occur that pose immediate, costly, or mission-critical threats. (D) Collecting and consolidating research and best practices in the field of anticorruption, including the use of diplomatic, legal, contracting, and development and other foreign assistance tools to prevent corruption. (E) Coordinating anticorruption policies, programs, and practices across all relevant Federal departments and agencies. (F) Analyzing initiatives in fragile states and in countries where such contingency operations occur that have successfully addressed corruption, and providing recommendations on ways to implement similar initiatives with respect to the programs and activities of the United States. (G) Identifying and monitoring appropriate metrics to assess and mitigate the risks posed by corruption to the programs, projects, and activities of the United States. (3) Membership The Working Group shall be composed of 3 members as follows: (A) The Senior Anticorruption Officer for the Department of State, or a designee. (B) The Senior Anticorruption Officer for the United States Agency for International Development, or a designee. (C) The Senior Anticorruption Officer for the Department of Defense, or a designee. (4) Term Each member shall be appointed for the life of the Working Group. (5) Meetings (A) In general The Working Group shall meet at least once every 90 days. (B) Election of Chair Not later than 30 days after the first meeting of the Working Group, the members shall elect a Chair from among the members, who shall be responsible for— (i) coordinating the activities of the Working Group; and (ii) advising and providing support to the chiefs of mission for contingency operations. (6) Reports (A) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Working Group shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report including each of the following: (i) The activities undertaken by each Senior Anticorruption Officer in the Working Group. (ii) The activities of the Working Group. (iii) The status of corruption in any country where contingency operations are occurring and the manner and extent to which such corruption is impacted by such contingency operations. (iv) The extent to which anti-corruption strategies have been implemented in any such country. (v) The challenges facing the implementation of such strategies and the recommendations of the Working Group to address such challenges. (B) Consultation required For purposes of the report required by subparagraph (A) , the Working Group shall consult with the chiefs of mission for contingency operations or other appropriate United States officials to the maximum extent practicable. (C) GAO report Not later than 1 year after the date of first meeting of Working Group pursuant to paragraph (5), the Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report describing the operations of and any challenges facing the Working Group in carrying out its duties under this section. (7) Appropriate congressional committee The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.