---
kind: "section"
citation: "22 U.S.C. § 8262"
title: "22"
title_heading: "Foreign Relations and Intercourse"
number: "8262"
heading: "United States democracy assistance programs"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/22/8262"
units:
  - "Chapter 89 — Advancing Democratic Values"
  - "Subchapter VI — Funding for Promotion of Democracy"
---

# §8262. United States democracy assistance programs

- (a) **Sense of Congress regarding use of instruments of democracy promotion—** It is the sense of Congress that—
  - (1) United States [support](/usc/22/7432.md?p=12) for democracy is strengthened by using a variety of different instrumentalities, such as the National Endowment for Democracy, the United States Agency for International Development, and the [Department](/usc/22/8203.md?p=5); and
  - (2) the purpose of the [Department](/usc/22/8203.md?p=5)’s Human Rights and Democracy Fund should be to [support](/usc/22/7432.md?p=12) innovative programming, media, and materials designed to uphold democratic principles, practices, and values, [support](/usc/22/7432.md?p=12) and strengthen democratic institutions, promote human rights and the rule of law, and build civil societies in countries around the world.
- (b) **Sense of Congress regarding mechanisms for delivering assistance—**
  - (1) **Findings—** Congress finds the following:
    - (A) Democracy assistance has many different forms, including assistance to promote the rule of law, build the capacity of civil society, political parties, and legislatures, improve the independence of the media and the judiciary, enhance independent auditing functions, and advance security sector reform.
    - (B) There is a need for greater clarity on the coordination and delivery mechanisms for United States democracy assistance.
  - (2) **Sense of Congress—** It is the sense of Congress that the [Secretary](/usc/22/8203.md?p=7) and the [Administrator](/usc/22/277d–43.md?p=1) of the United States Agency for International Development should develop guidelines, in consultation with the [appropriate congressional committees](/usc/22/8203.md?p=2), building on the existing framework for grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and other acquisition mechanisms to guide United States missions in [foreign countries](/usc/22/2321c.md?p=2) in coordinating United States democracy assistance and selecting the appropriate combination of such mechanisms for such assistance.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 110–53, title XXI, § 2162, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 536.)