[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8293 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8293
To require a report on security cooperation with respect to Western
Balkan countries.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 5, 2022
Mr. Torres of New York (for himself and Mrs. McClain) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, Oversight and
Reform, the Judiciary, and Ways and Means, 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 require a report on security cooperation with respect to Western
Balkan countries.
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 ``Balkans Security Cooperation Act''.
SEC. 2. REPORT ON SECURITY COOPERATION WITH RESPECT TO WESTERN BALKAN
COUNTRIES.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, with the concurrence
of the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on security cooperation with respect
to Western Balkan countries.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required by subsection (a)
shall include the following:
(1) An assessment of security cooperation between each
Western Balkan country and the Russian Federation, including
the following:
(A) A list of Russian weapons systems and other
military hardware and technology valued at $1,000,000
or more that have been provided to or purchased by each
Western Balkan country since 2012.
(B) A description of the participation of each
Western Balkan country's security forces in training or
exercises with the Russian Federation since 2012.
(C) A description of any security cooperation
agreements each Western Balkan country has entered into
with the Russian Federation.
(D) An assessment of intelligence cooperation
between each Western Balkan country and the Russian
Federation.
(E) An assessment of how security cooperation
between each Western Balkan country and the Russian
Federation affects the security interests of the United
States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
the Western Balkan country, and each NATO member state
that borders the Western Balkan country.
(2) An assessment of security cooperation between each
Western Balkan country and the People's Republic of China,
including the following:
(A) A list of Chinese weapons systems and other
military hardware and technology valued at $1,000,000
or more that have been provided to or purchased by each
Western Balkan country since 2012.
(B) A description of the participation of each
Western Balkan country's security forces in training or
exercises with the People's Republic of China since
2012.
(C) A description of any security cooperation
agreements each Western Balkan country has entered into
with the People's Republic of China.
(D) An assessment of intelligence cooperation
between each Western Balkan country and the People's
Republic of China.
(E) An assessment of how security cooperation
between each Western Balkan country and the People's
Republic of China affects the security interests of the
United States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), the Western Balkan country, and each NATO
member state that borders the Western Balkan country.
(3) An assessment of security cooperation between each
Western Balkan country and the United States, including the
following:
(A) A list of United States weapons systems and
other military hardware and technology valued at
$1,000,000 or more that have been provided to or
purchased by each Western Balkan country since 2012.
(B) A description of the participation of each
Western Balkan country's security forces in training or
exercises with the United States since 2012.
(C) A description of any security cooperation
agreements each Western Balkan country has entered into
with the United States.
(D) An assessment of intelligence cooperation
between each Western Balkan country and the United
States.
(4) An assessment of security cooperation between each
Western Balkan country and NATO.
(5) A description of each Western Balkan country's
participation and activities in NATO's Partnership for Peace
program, if applicable.
(6) An assessment of the Russian Humanitarian Center in
Nis, Serbia, and any influence or coordination it may have with
Russian Federation Intelligence Agencies.
(c) Assessment and Determination Relating to Conduct of Significant
Transactions Under CAATSA.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, acting through the
President, shall include in the report required by subsection
(a) an assessment and determination of whether any Western
Balkan country has conducted a significant transaction
described in section 231 of the Countering America's
Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9525).
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection may
be construed to obviate any requirement of section 231 of the
Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
(d) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted
in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
(e) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) congressional defense committees (as such term
is defined in section 101 of title 10, United States
Code); and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives; and
(2) the term ``Western Balkan countries'' means--
(A) Albania;
(B) Bosnia and Herzegovina;
(C) Croatia;
(D) Kosovo;
(E) Montenegro;
(F) North Macedonia;
(G) Serbia; and
(H) Slovenia.
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