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S. 1309 — what changed

Combating Global Corruption Act of 2019

From Reported in Senate to Engrossed in Senate. 5 sections amended and 1 removed between Reported in Senate and Engrossed in Senate.

Section 1 Sense of Congress

changed This Act may be cited as It is the “Combating Global Corruption Act sense of 2019”.Congress that—

(1)
added it is in the foreign policy interest of the United States to help foreign countries promote good governance and combat public corruption;
(2)
added multiple Federal departments and agencies operate programs that promote good governance in foreign countries and enhance such countries’ ability to combat public corruption; and
(3)
added the Department of State should—
(A)
added promote coordination among the Federal departments and agencies implementing programs to promote good governance and combat public corruption in foreign countries in order to improve effectiveness and efficiency; and
(B)
added identify areas in which United States efforts to help other countries promote good governance and combat public corruption could be enhanced.

Sec. 2 Annual assessment

(a)
added In general— For each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2026, the Secretary of State shall assess the capacity and commitment of foreign governments to which the United States provides foreign assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) to combat public corruption. Each such assessment shall—
(1)
added utilize independent, third party indicators that measure transparency, accountability, and corruption in the public sector in such countries, including the extent to which public power is exercised for private gain, to identify those countries that are most vulnerable to public corruption;
(2)
added consider, to the extent reliable information is available, whether the government of a country identified under paragraph (1)—
(A)
added has adopted measures to prevent public corruption, such as measures to inform and educate the public, including potential victims, about the causes and consequences of public corruption;
(B)
added has enacted laws and established government structures, policies, and practices that prohibit public corruption;
(C)
added enforces such laws through a fair judicial process;
(D)
added vigorously investigates, prosecutes, convicts, and sentences public officials who participate in or facilitate public corruption, including nationals of such country who are deployed in foreign military assignments, trade delegations abroad, or other similar missions who engage in or facilitate public corruption;
(E)
added prescribes appropriate punishment for serious, significant corruption that is commensurate with the punishment prescribed for serious crimes;
(F)
added prescribes appropriate punishment for significant corruption that provides a sufficiently stringent deterrent and adequately reflects the nature of the offense;
(G)
added convicts and sentences persons responsible for such acts that take place wholly or partly within the country of such government, including, as appropriate, requiring the incarceration of individuals convicted of such acts;
(H)
added holds private sector representatives accountable for their role in public corruption; and
(I)
added addresses threats for civil society to monitor anti-corruption efforts; and
(3)
added further consider—
(A)
added verifiable measures taken by the government of a country identified under paragraph (1) to prohibit government officials from participating in, facilitating, or condoning public corruption, including the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of such officials;
(B)
added the extent to which such government provides access, or, as appropriate, makes adequate resources available, to civil society organizations and other institutions to combat public corruption, including reporting, investigating, and monitoring;
(C)
added the extent to which an independent judiciary or judicial body in such country is responsible for, and effectively capable of, deciding public corruption cases impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with law, without any improper restrictions, influences, inducements, pressures, threats, or interferences, whether direct or indirect, from any source or for any reason;
(D)
added the extent to which such government cooperates meaningfully with the United States to strengthen government and judicial institutions and the rule of law to prevent, prohibit, and punish public corruption;
(E)
added the extent to which such government—
(i)
added is assisting in international investigations of transnational public corruption networks and in other cooperative efforts to combat serious, significant corruption, including cooperating with the governments of other countries to extradite corrupt actors;
(ii)
added recognizes the rights of victims of public corruption, ensures their access to justice, and takes steps to prevent such victims from being further victimized or persecuted by corrupt actors, government officials, or others; and
(iii)
added refrains from prosecuting legitimate victims of public corruption or whistleblowers due to such persons having assisted in exposing public corruption, and refrains from other discriminatory treatment of such persons; and
(F)
added contain such other information relating to public corruption as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

removed In this Act:

(b)
changed Appropriate congressional committees—Identification— The term appropriate congressional committees means—After conducting each assessment under subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall identify, of the countries described in subsection (a)(1)—
(1)
added which countries are meeting minimum standards to combat public corruption;
(2)
added which countries are not meeting such minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to do so; and
(3)
added which countries are not meeting such minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.
(c)
added Report— Except as provided in subsection (d), not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter through fiscal year 2026, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees, and make such report publicly available. Such report shall—
(1)
added identify the countries described in subsection (a)(1) and paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b);
(2)
added describe the methodology and data utilized in the assessments under subsection (a); and
(3)
added identify the reasons for the identifications referred to in paragraph (1).
(d)
added Briefing in lieu of report— The Secretary of State may waive the requirement to submit and make publicly available a written report under subsection (c) if the Secretary—
(1)
added determines that publication of such report would—
(A)
added undermine existing United States anti-corruption efforts in 1 or more countries; or
(B)
added threaten the national interests of the United States; and
(2)
added provides a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees that—
(A)
added identifies the countries described in subsection (a)(1) and paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b);
(B)
added describes the methodology and data utilized in the assessment under subsection (a); and
(C)
added identifies the reasons for such identifications.
(e)
added Appropriate congressional committee defined— In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means—
(1)
renumbered was (3)(3) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B)
removed the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(2)
renumbered was (3)(5) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(3)
added the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
(D)
removed the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
(E)
removed the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives; and
(4)
renumbered was (3)(8) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(2)
removed Corrupt actor— The term corrupt actor means—
(A)
removed any foreign person or entity that is a government official or government entity responsible for, or complicit in, an act of corruption; and
(B)
removed any company, in which a person or entity described in subparagraph (A) has a significant stake, which is responsible for, or complicit in, an act of corruption.
(3)
removed Corruption— The term corruption means the exercise of public power for private gain, including by bribery, nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement.
(4)
removed Foreign assistance— The term foreign assistance means assistance made available under—
(A)
removed the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.);
(B)
removed the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.); or
(C)
removed title 10, United States Code.
(5)
removed Grand corruption— The term grand corruption means corruption committed at a high level of government that—
(A)
removed distorts policies or the central functioning of the country; and
(B)
removed enables leaders to benefit at the expense of the public good.
(6)
removed Petty corruption— The term petty corruption means the abuse of entrusted power by low- or mid-level public officials in their interactions with ordinary citizens.

Sec. 3 Transparency and accountability

added For each country identified under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 2(b), the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, as appropriate, shall—

(a)
removed In general— The Secretary of State shall annually publish, on a publicly accessible website, a tiered ranking of all foreign countries.
(1)
changed Tier 1 countries— A country shall be ranked as ensure that a tier 1 country corruption risk assessment and mitigation strategy is included in the ranking published under subsection (a) if the government of such integrated country is complying with the minimum standards set forth in section 4.strategy for such country; and
(2)
changed Tier 2 countries— A country shall be ranked as a tier 2 country in the ranking published under subsection (a) if the government of such country is making efforts utilize appropriate mechanisms to comply with the minimum standards set forth combat corruption in section 4, but is not achieving the requisite level of compliance to be ranked as a tier 1 country.such countries, including by ensuring—
(A)
added the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses in contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements entered into by the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development for or in such countries, which allow for the termination of such contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements, as the case may be, without penalty if credible indicators of public corruption are discovered;
(B)
added the inclusion of appropriate clawback or flowdown clauses within the procurement instruments of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development that provide for the recovery of funds misappropriated through corruption;
(C)
added the appropriate disclosure to the United States Government, in confidential form, if necessary, of the beneficial ownership of contractors, subcontractors, grantees, cooperative agreement participants, and other organizations implementing programs on behalf of the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development; and
(D)
added the establishment of mechanisms for investigating allegations of misappropriated resources and equipment.
(d)
removed Tier 3 countries— A country shall be ranked as a tier 3 country in the ranking published under subsection (a) if the government of such country is making de minimis or no efforts to comply with the minimum standards set forth in section 4.

Sec. 4 Designation of embassy anti-corruption points of contact

(a)
changed In general— The government Secretary of a State shall annually designate an anti-corruption point of contact at the United States diplomatic post to each country is complying with identified under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 2(b), or which the minimum standards for Secretary otherwise determines is in need of such a point of contact. The point of contact shall be the elimination chief of corruption if mission or the government—chief of mission's designee.
(1)
removed has enacted laws and established government structures, policies, and practices that prohibit corruption, including grand corruption and petty corruption;
(2)
removed enforces the laws described in paragraph (1) by punishing any person who is found, through a fair judicial process, to have violated such laws;
(3)
removed prescribes punishment for grand corruption that is commensurate with the punishment prescribed for serious crimes;
(4)
removed prescribes punishment for petty corruption that—
(A)
removed provides a sufficiently stringent deterrent; and
(B)
removed adequately reflects the nature of the offense; and
(5)
removed is making serious and sustained efforts to eliminate corruption.
(b)
changed Factors for assessing government efforts To combat corruption—Responsibilities— In determining whether a government is making serious Each anti-corruption point of contact designated under subsection (a) shall be responsible for coordinating and sustained efforts to eliminate corruption, overseeing the Secretary implementation of State shall consider—a whole-of-government approach among the relevant Federal departments and agencies operating programs that—
(1)
changed whether the government of the country vigorously investigates and prosecutes acts of corruption and convicts and sentences persons responsible for such acts that take place wholly or partly within such country, including, as appropriate, requiring incarceration of individuals convicted of such acts;promote good governance in foreign countries; and
(2)
changed whether the government of the country vigorously investigates, prosecutes, convicts, and sentences public officials who participate in or facilitate corruption, including nationals of enhance the country who are deployed in foreign military assignments, trade delegations abroad, or other similar missions, who engage in or facilitate severe forms ability of corruption;such countries—
(A)
added to combat public corruption; and
(B)
added to develop and implement corruption risk assessment tools and mitigation strategies.
(c)
added Training— The Secretary of State shall implement appropriate training for anti-corruption points of contact designated under subsection (a).
(3)
removed whether the government of the country has adopted measures to prevent corruption, such as measures to inform and educate the public, including potential victims, about the causes and consequences of corruption;
(4)
removed what steps the government of the country has taken to prohibit government officials from participating in, facilitating, or condoning corruption, including the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of such officials;
(5)
removed the extent to which the country provides access, or, as appropriate, makes adequate resources available, to civil society organizations and other institutions to combat corruption, including reporting, investigating, and monitoring;
(6)
removed whether an independent judiciary or judicial body in the country responsible for, and effectively capable of, deciding corruption cases impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, without any restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressures, threats, or interferences (direct or indirect) from any quarter or for any reason;
(7)
removed whether the government of the country is assisting in international investigations of transnational corruption networks and in other cooperative efforts to combat grand corruption, including cooperating with the governments of other countries to extradite corrupt actors;
(8)
removed whether the government of the country recognizes the rights of victims of corruption, ensures their access to justice, and takes steps to prevent victims from being further victimized or persecuted by corrupt actors, government officials, or others;
(9)
removed whether the government of the country refrains from prosecuting victims of corruption or whistleblowers due to such persons having assisted in exposing corruption, and refrains from other discriminatory treatment of such persons; and
(10)
removed such other information relating to corruption as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

Sec. 5 Definitions

added In this Act:

(1)
added Corrupt actor— The term corrupt actor means—
(a)
removed In general— Not later than 60 days after publishing the report required under section 3(a), and prior to obligation by any United States agency of foreign assistance to the government of a country ranked as a tier 3 country under section 3(d), the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (referred to in this Act as the “USAID Administrator”) and the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, shall—
(1)
removed conduct a corruption risk assessment and create a corruption mitigation strategy for all United States foreign assistance programs to that country;
(2)
removed require the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses for all foreign assistance contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements, which allow for the termination of the contract, grant, or cooperative agreement without penalty if credible indicators of corruption are discovered;
(3)
removed require the inclusion of appropriate clawback clauses for all foreign assistance contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements to recover United States taxpayer funds that have been misappropriated from the prime contractor, grantee, or cooperative agreement participant through corruption;
(4)
removed require the disclosure of the beneficial ownership of all contractors, subcontractors, grantees, cooperative agreement participants, and other organizations receiving funding from the United States Government for foreign assistance programs; and
(5)
removed establish a mechanism for investigating allegations of misappropriated foreign assistance funds or equipment.
(b)
removed Exceptions and waiver—
(1)
removed Exceptions— Subsection (a) shall not apply to humanitarian assistance, disaster assistance, or assistance to combat corruption.
(A)
changed Waiver— The Secretary of State, on a program-by-program basis, may waive the requirement to delay any foreign assistance under subsection (a) if the Secretary of State certifies to the appropriate congressional committees person or entity that such waiver is important to the national security interests a government official or government entity responsible for, or complicit in, an act of the United States.public corruption; and
(B)
added any company, in which a person or entity described in subparagraph (A) has a significant stake, which is responsible for, or complicit in, an act of public corruption.
(2)
added Foreign assistance— The term foreign assistance means assistance made available under—
(A)
added the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.); or
(B)
added the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.).
(3)
added Grand corruption— The term grand corruption means public corruption committed at a high level of government that—
(A)
added distorts policies or the central functioning of the country; and
(B)
added enables leaders to benefit at the expense of the public good.
(4)
added Petty corruption— The term petty corruption means the unlawful exercise of entrusted public power for private gain by low- or mid-level public officials in their interactions with ordinary citizens, including by bribery, nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement.
(5)
added Public corruption— The term public corruption means the unlawful exercise of entrusted public power for private gain, including by bribery, nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement.

Sec. 6 Resources and reporting requirements

removed
(a)
removed Annual report—
(1)
removed In general— The Secretary of State shall submit an annual report to the appropriate congressional committees that outlines the resources needed to meet the objectives and reports under sections 3 through 5, including—
(A)
removed intelligence data collection needs;
(B)
removed personnel needs;
(C)
removed information technology requirements; and
(D)
removed a description of the bureaucratic structure of the offices within the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (“USAID”) that are engaged in anti-corruption activities.
(2)
removed Form— The report submitted under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
(b)
removed Online platform— The Secretary of State and the USAID Administrator shall consolidate existing reports with anti-corruption components into one online, public platform, which shall—
(1)
removed include—
(A)
removed the Human Rights Report;
(B)
removed the Fiscal Transparency Report;
(C)
removed the Investment Climate Statement reports;
(D)
removed the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report; and
(E)
removed any other relevant public reports; and
(2)
removed link to third-party indicators used by the United States Government to inform policy and programming, such as—
(A)
removed the World Bank’s Control of Corruption Indicator;
(B)
removed the World Bank’s Actionable Governance Index Data Portal;
(C)
removed the International Finance Corporation’s Doing Business surveys;
(D)
removed the International Budget Partnership’s Open Budget Index;
(E)
removed the Global Integrity Index; and
(F)
removed multilateral peer review anti-corruption compliance mechanisms, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, done at New York October 31, 2003, to further highlight expert international views on country challenges and country efforts.
(c)
removed Training— To increase the ability of Department of State and USAID personnel to support anti-corruption as a foreign policy and development priority, and strengthen their ability to design, implement, and evaluate more effective anti-corruption programming around the world, including enhancing skills to better evaluate and mitigate corruption risks in assistance programs, the Secretary of State and the USAID Administrator shall incorporate anti-corruption components into existing Foreign Service and Civil Service training courses.