[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 416 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 416
To condition security assistance and economic assistance to the
Government of Egypt in order to advance United States national security
interests in Egypt, including encouraging the advancement of political,
economic, and religious freedom in Egypt.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 25, 2013
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To condition security assistance and economic assistance to the
Government of Egypt in order to advance United States national security
interests in Egypt, including encouraging the advancement of political,
economic, and religious freedom in Egypt.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Egypt Accountability and Democracy
Promotion Act''.
SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY.
The policy of the United States shall be to use its foreign
assistance for Egypt, including the ``Foreign Military Financing''
program, to advance United States national security interests in Egypt,
including encouraging the advancement of political, economic, and
religious freedom in Egypt.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON SECURITY ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF EGYPT.
(a) Limitation.--Of the amounts available for assistance for Egypt
under section 23 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2763;
relating to the ``Foreign Military Financing'' program)--
(1) 10 percent of that amount shall be withheld from the
Government of Egypt unless, not later than 30 days after the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State has made the
certification described in subsection (c);
(2) 50 percent of that amount shall be withheld from the
Government of Egypt if a further period of 30 days has elapsed
immediately following the 30-day period described in paragraph
(1) without a certification described in subsection (c) being
in effect; and
(3) 100 percent of that amount shall be withheld from the
Government of Egypt if a further period of 120 days has elapsed
immediately following the 30-day period described in paragraph
(2) without a certification described in subsection (c) being
in effect.
(b) Report.--If the Secretary of State is unable to make the
certification described in subsection (c) and applies the withholding
of funds described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a), as
the case may be, the Secretary shall transmit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that contains the reasons therefor.
(c) Certification.--A certification described in this subsection is
a certification transmitted by the Secretary of State to the
appropriate congressional committees that contains a determination of
the Secretary that--
(1)(A) the Government of Egypt is not directly or
indirectly controlled by or under the influence of a foreign
terrorist organization, its affiliates, or its supporters; and
(B) no member, affiliate, or supporter of a foreign
terrorist organization serves in a policy-making position in a
ministry, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of
Egypt;
(2) the Government of Egypt--
(A) has adopted and fully implemented legal reforms
that protect the political, economic, and religious
freedoms and human rights of all citizens and residents
of Egypt; and
(B) is not acting to restrict the political,
economic, or religious freedoms and human rights of the
citizens and residents of Egypt;
(3) the Government of Egypt is fully implementing the
Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty; and
(4) the Government of Egypt is taking concrete, verifiable
steps to detect and destroy the smuggling network and tunnels
between Egypt and the Gaza Strip and to crack down on violent
extremist groups and activities in the Sinai Peninsula.
(d) Recertifications.--Not later than 90 days after the date on
which the Secretary of State transmits to the appropriate congressional
committees an initial certification under subsection (c), and every 6
months thereafter--
(1) the Secretary shall transmit to the appropriate
congressional committees a recertification that the
requirements contained in subsection (c) are continuing to be
met; or
(2) if the Secretary is unable to make such a
recertification, the Secretary shall apply the withholding of
funds described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection
(a), as the case may be, and the Secretary shall transmit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains
the reasons therefor.
(e) Waiver.--The Secretary of State may waive the limitation in
subsection (a)(3) for one or more 90-day periods with respect to up to
50 percent of the amount required to be withheld under such subsection
if, for each such 90-day period, the Secretary determines and certifies
to the appropriate congressional committees that it is in the national
security interests of the United States to do so and transmits to the
appropriate congressional committees a report with detailed reasoning
for the determination and certification.
(f) Transfer of Certain Interest for Egypt.--Any interest earned
from amounts in an interest bearing account for Egypt to which funds
made available under section 23 of the Arms Export Control Act (22
U.S.C. 2763; relating to the ``Foreign Military Financing'' program)
shall be--
(1) transferred to and consolidated with amounts available
for assistance for the Middle East Partnership Initiative under
chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relating to the ``Economic Support
Fund''); and
(2) allocated for democracy and governance programs for
Egypt, including direct support for secular, democratic
nongovernmental organizations.
(g) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes the
following:
(1) A description of the strategic objectives of the United
States regarding the provision of United States security
assistance to the Government of Egypt.
(2) A description of biennial outlays of United States
security assistance to the Government of Egypt for the purposes
of strategic planning, training, provision of equipment, and
construction of facilities, including funding streams.
(3) A description of vetting and end-user monitoring
systems in place by both Egypt and the United States for
defense articles and training provided by the United States,
including human rights vetting.
(4) A description of actions that the Government of Egypt
is taking to--
(A) fully implement the Egypt-Israel peace treaty;
(B) detect and destroy the smuggling network and
tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip and to crack
down on violent extremist groups and activities in the
Sinai Peninsula;
(C) repudiate, combat, and stop incitement to
violence against the United States and United States
citizens and prohibit the transmission within its
domains of satellite television or radio channels that
broadcast such incitement; and
(D) adopt and implement legal reforms that protect
the religious and democratic freedoms of all citizens
and residents of Egypt.
(5) Recommendations, including with respect to required
resources and actions, to maximize the effectiveness of United
States security assistance provided to Egypt.
(h) GAO Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
submission of the report required under subsection (f), the Comptroller
General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that--
(1) reviews and comments on the report required under
subsection (f); and
(2) provides recommendations regarding additional actions
with respect to the provision of United States security
assistance to Egypt, if necessary.
(i) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE TO EGYPT.
(a) Limitation.--Of the amounts available for assistance for Egypt
under chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relating to the ``Economic Support Fund''), none
of that amount may be provided for direct or indirect assistance to the
Government of Egypt unless a certification described in section 3(c) is
in effect.
(b) Reallocation.--During a period in which a certification
described in section 3(c) is not in effect, amounts that may not be
provided for direct or indirect assistance to the Government of Egypt
pursuant to the limitation under subsection (a) shall be reallocated
for democracy and governance programs for Egypt, including direct
support for secular, democratic nongovernmental organizations, as well
as programming and support for rule of law and human rights, good
governance, political competition and consensus-building, and civil
society.
SEC. 5. GOVERNMENT OF EGYPT DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``Government of Egypt'' means any person,
agent, instrumentality, or official of, is affiliated with, or is
serving as a representative of the Government of Egypt.
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