Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “U.S.-ASEAN Center Act”.
U.S.-ASEAN Center Act
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of State to support the establishment of an ASEAN Center in the United States, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Establishment of an ASEAN Center
Defined term— In this section, the term “ASEAN” means the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Establishment— The Secretary of State is authorized to enter into a public-private partnership for the purposes of establishing a US-ASEAN Center in the United States to support United States economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia.
Functions— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Secretary of State and the US-ASEAN Center established pursuant to subsection (b) may—
provide grants for research to support and elevate the importance of the US-ASEAN partnership;
facilitate activities to strengthen US-ASEAN trade and investment;
expand economic and technological relationships between ASEAN countries and the United States into new areas of cooperation;
provide training to United States citizens and citizens of ASEAN countries that improve people-to-people ties;
develop educational programs to increase awareness for the United States and ASEAN countries on the importance of relations between the United States and ASEAN countries; and
carry out other activities the Secretary considers necessary to strengthen ties between the United States and ASEAN countries and achieve the objectives of the US-ASEAN Center.
Authority— This section may be carried out using any amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State, including amounts authorized to carry out chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.).
Parameters— In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the activities of the US-ASEAN Center do not duplicate current lines of effort being conducted by the United States Government or its grantees.