[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1519 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1519
To require a United States security strategy for the Western
Hemisphere, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 10, 2023
Mr. Rubio (for himself and Mr. Cassidy) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require a United States security strategy for the Western
Hemisphere, and for other purposes.
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 ``Western Hemisphere Security Strategy
Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the security, stability, prosperity, and state of
democratic governance in the countries of the Western
Hemisphere are vital to the national interests of the United
States and to the national interests of such countries;
(2) the harmful and malign influence in Latin America and
the Caribbean of the Government of the People's Republic of
China, the Government of the Russian Federation, and the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran poses risks to--
(A) the people and countries of the Western
Hemisphere; and
(B) the national interests of the United States;
(3) the United States should expand its engagement in the
Western Hemisphere by--
(A) strengthening its alliances and partnerships
with countries in the Western Hemisphere;
(B) fostering security cooperation among countries
in the Western Hemisphere to facilitate trade,
investment, training, and humanitarian assistance in
the near and long term; and
(C) working with security and law enforcement
agencies in the Western Hemisphere--
(i) to address the shared challenges of--
(I) narcotics trafficking,
including the trafficking of fentanyl,
the illicit use of which is now the
leading cause of death among adults in
the United States between the ages of
18 and 45 years;
(II) human trafficking;
(III) other forms of illicit
trafficking;
(IV) transnational criminal
organizations; and
(V) cybersecurity; and
(ii) to support the rule of law, democracy,
and human rights in the region;
(4) the United States should maintain credible security
capabilities dedicated to Latin America and the Caribbean--
(A) to build partner country capacity;
(B) to support the delivery of humanitarian
assistance and disaster relief;
(C) to deter acts of aggression; and
(D) to respond, if necessary, to regional threats
and threats to the national security of the United
States; and
(5) the Department of State and the Department of Defense
should continue to commit additional assets and increase
investments in the Western Hemisphere so as to maintain robust
United States security partnerships with countries in the
region.
SEC. 3. SECURITY STRATEGY FOR THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of
Defense shall jointly submit to the appropriate committees of Congress
a multi-year strategy, to be known as the ``Western Hemisphere Security
Strategy''--
(1) to enhance diplomatic engagement and security
assistance and cooperation;
(2) to promote regional security and stability; and
(3) to advance United States strategic interests in the
Western Hemisphere.
(b) Elements.--The strategy required by subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1) A proposal for increasing and improving United States
bilateral and multilateral security assistance and cooperation
in Latin America and the Caribbean.
(2) Activities to build the defense and security capacity
of partner countries in Latin America and the Caribbean so as
to enable such countries to defend themselves against
conventional and unconventional threats, including
cyberattacks.
(3) Activities to counter--
(A) malign influence by state actors;
(B) transnational criminal organizations with
connections to--
(i) illicit trafficking of gold, narcotics,
and weapons;
(ii) human trafficking and smuggling; and
(iii) terrorism; and
(C) corruption and kleptocracy in governments of
countries in the Western Hemisphere.
(4) Efforts to disrupt, degrade, and counter transnational
illicit trafficking, with an emphasis on illicit narcotics and
precursor chemicals that produce illicit narcotics.
(5) Activities to increase transparency in, and support
for, strong and accountable defense, security, and law
enforcement institutions through institutional capacity-
building efforts, including efforts to ensure respect for human
rights and direction and oversight by civilian authorities.
(6) Programs and initiatives to enhance public diplomacy
and engagement with the people of the Western Hemisphere for
the purpose of demonstrating that the security of their
countries is enhanced to a greater extent if their countries
are aligned with the United States and democratic values rather
than with authoritarian countries such as the People's Republic
of China, the Russian Federation, and the Islamic Republic of
Iran.
(7) Efforts to expand bilateral and multinational military
training exercises with partner countries in the Western
Hemisphere.
(8) Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief initiatives
to support partner countries by promoting the development and
growth of responsive institutions through activities such as--
(A) the provision of appropriate equipment,
training, and logistical support;
(B) transportation of humanitarian supplies or
personnel of foreign security forces;
(C) making available, preparing, and transferring
on-hand nonlethal supplies, and providing training on
the use of such supplies, for humanitarian or health
purposes to respond to unforeseen emergencies;
(D) the provision of Department of State
humanitarian demining assistance; and
(E) conducting medical support operations and
medical humanitarian missions, such as hospital ship
deployments and base-operating services, to the extent
required by the operation.
(9) Continued support for the women, peace, and security
initiatives of the Department of State to support the capacity
of partner countries in the Western Hemisphere--
(A) to ensure--
(i) the safety and security of women and
girls; and
(ii) that the rights of women and girls are
protected; and
(B) to promote the meaningful participation of
women in--
(i) the defense and security sectors; and
(ii) mediation and negotiation processes
seeking to prevent, mitigate, or resolve
violent conflict, in accordance with the Women,
Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Public Law
115-68; 131 Stat. 1202).
(10) Professional military education initiatives, such as
the Department of State's International Military and Education
Training program.
(11) A detailed assessment of the resources required to
carry out such strategy and a plan to be executed not later
than fiscal year 2024.
(c) Implementation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date on
which the Western Hemisphere Security Strategy is submitted
under subsection (a), the Secretary of State and the Secretary
of Defense shall commence implementation of the strategy.
(2) Briefing.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Security
Strategy commences, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of
State and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly provide a
briefing to the appropriate committees of Congress on the
implementation of the strategy.
(3) Termination.--The authority under this section shall
terminate on the date that is three years after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(d) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Armed Services of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Armed Services of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON EFFORTS TO CAPTURE AND DETAIN UNITED STATES CITIZENS
AS HOSTAGES.
(a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on efforts by
the Maduro regime of Venezuela to detain United States citizens and
lawful permanent residents.
(b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include,
regarding the arrest, capture, detainment, and imprisonment of United
States citizens and lawful permanent residents--
(1) the names, positions, and institutional affiliation of
Venezuelan individuals, or those acting on their behalf, who
have engaged in such activities;
(2) a description of any role played by transnational
criminal organizations, and an identification of such
organizations; and
(3) where relevant, an assessment of whether and how United
States citizens and lawful permanent residents have been lured
to Venezuela.
(c) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted
in unclassified form, but shall include a classified annex, which shall
include a list of the total number of United States citizens and lawful
permanent residents detained or imprisoned in Venezuela as of the date
on which the report is submitted.
SEC. 5. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of the
Treasury, the Attorney General, the United States Trade Representative,
and the Chief Executive Officer of the Development Finance Corporation,
shall provide technical assistance to partner countries in the Western
Hemisphere to establish frameworks or mechanisms, similar to the
frameworks set forth in section 721 of the Defense Production Act of
1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565), for the purpose of enabling such partner
countries to screen, review, and address the long-term financial
sustainability and national security implications of investments in
strategic sectors or services, including energy, telecommunications,
and infrastructure, by entities controlled or directed by the
governments of adversarial countries, including--
(1) the People's Republic of China;
(2) the Russian Federation;
(3) the Islamic Republic of Iran;
(4) the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; and
(5) any other country the Secretary of State determines to
be adversarial to the national security interests of the United
States.
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