Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act of 2018
This bill directs the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to: (1) establish the Global Initiative to Reduce Fragility and Violence, related to reducing and addressing the causes of violence, violent conflict, and fragility, with a focus on 10 pilot countries to be determined by USAID; and (2) develop and submit to Congress an initial interagency implementing strategy which shall include individual pilot country plans.
The bill provides for initiative and pilot plan updates.
The Government Accountability Office shall review U.S. government activities in each pilot country.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5273 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5273
To reduce global fragility and violence by improving the capacity of
the United States to reduce and address the causes of violence, violent
conflict, and fragility in pilot countries, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 14, 2018
Mr. Engel (for himself, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Smith of
Washington, Mr. Keating, and Mr. Cook) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reduce global fragility and violence by improving the capacity of
the United States to reduce and address the causes of violence, violent
conflict, and fragility in pilot countries, 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 ``Global Fragility and Violence
Reduction Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the United Nations, an unprecedented 66
million people around the world are currently forcibly
displaced from their homes. This is the highest level of global
displacement ever recorded.
(2) According to the World Bank, violence and violent
conflict, rather than natural disasters, are now the leading
causes of displacement worldwide, driving 80 percent of
humanitarian needs. The Bank also notes that the same conflicts
have accounted for the majority of forcibly displaced persons
every year since 1991.
(3) According to the World Health Organization, preventable
forms of violence kill at least 1.4 million people each year
and cause debilitating physical and mental harm to many others.
(4) According to the Institute for Economics and Peace,
violence containment costs the global economy $14.3 trillion a
year, or 13.4 percent of the world's GDP. If violence were to
decrease uniformly across the world by just 10 percent, the
global economy would gain $1.43 trillion each year.
(5) Violence and violent conflict underpin many of the
United States Government's key national security challenges.
Notably, violent conflicts allow for environments in which
terrorist organizations recruit and thrive, while the
combination of violence, corruption, poverty, poor governance,
and underdevelopment often enables transnational gangs and
criminal networks to wreak havoc and commit atrocities
worldwide.
(6) According to new research by the University of Maryland
and University of Pittsburgh, exposure to violence increases
support for violence and violent extremism. Research
increasingly finds exposure to violence as a predictor of
future participation in violence, including violent extremism.
(7) Since 2002, a body of research has emerged on failed or
fragile states. The World Bank defines a fragile state as a
low-income country characterized by weak state capacity, weak
state legitimacy, or both, leaving citizens vulnerable to a
range of shocks.
(8) United States foreign policy and assistance efforts in
highly violent and fragile states remain governed by an
outdated patchwork of authorities that prioritize responding to
immediate needs rather than solving the problems that cause
them. United States Ambassadors, United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) Mission Directors, and
commanders of combatant commands do not have the policy
framework or tools they need to align United States policy or
assistance with an overarching, long-term strategy to reduce
and prevent global fragility and violence.
(9) Lessons learned over the past 20 years, documented by
the 2013 Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
Lessons Learned Study and the 2016 Fragility Study Group
report, show that effective, sustained United States efforts to
reduce violence and stabilize fragile and violence-affected
states require clearly defined goals and strategies, adequate
long-term funding, rigorous and iterative conflict analysis,
coordination across the United States Government, including
strong civil-military coordination, and integration with
national and sub-national partners, including local civil
society organizations, local justice systems, and local
governance structures.
(10) United States National Security Strategies over the
past 15 years have regularly affirmed that the United States
has a national security interest in improving its capacity to
prevent, manage, and mitigate violence and violent conflicts in
order to mitigate the consequences of armed conflict, including
humanitarian disasters, terrorism, organized crime, increased
risk of mass atrocities, and reversed development.
(11) According to the Small Arms Survey, the extent to
which the international community will be able to bring down
global levels of violence will depend largely on the actions
taken by states to implement more tangible multilateral
commitments to improve governance, promote inclusive
development, and protect human rights, among other things.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to--
(1) ensure that all relevant United States Government
departments and agencies coordinate to achieve coherent, long-
term goals for programs designed to reduce and address the
causes of violence, violent conflict, and fragility in fragile
and violence-affected countries, including when implementing
the Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Initiative
described in section 4;
(2) seek to improve the global, regional, and local
coordination of relevant international and multilateral
development and donor organizations regarding efforts to reduce
and address the causes of violence, violent conflict, and
fragility in fragile and violence-affected countries, and,
where possible, align such efforts with multilateral goals and
indicators;
(3) expand and enhance the effectiveness of foreign
assistance programs and activities that reduce and address the
causes of violence, violent conflict, and fragility in fragile
and violence-affected countries, including programs intended to
improve the indicators described in section 4(g);
(4) support the research and development of effective
approaches to reduce and address the causes of violence,
violent conflict, and fragility in fragile and violence-
affected countries; and
(5) improve the monitoring, evaluation, learning, and
adaptation tools and authorities for relevant United States
Government departments and agencies working to reduce and
address the causes of violence, violent conflict, and fragility
in fragile and violence-affected countries.
SEC. 4. GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO REDUCE FRAGILITY AND VIOLENCE.
(a) Initiative.--The Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID), in coordination with the Secretary
of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other relevant
Federal agencies and departments, shall establish an interagency
initiative to be referred to as the ``Global Initiative to Reduce
Fragility and Violence'' relating to reducing and addressing the causes
of violence, violent conflict, and fragility, with a focus on ten pilot
countries.
(b) Implementation Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of USAID, in
coordination with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and
the heads of other relevant Federal agencies and departments, shall
develop and submit to the appropriate congressional committees an
initial interagency strategy for implementing the Global Initiative to
Reduce Fragility and Violence required under subsection (a), including
the following:
(1) Descriptions of the organizational steps each relevant
Federal agency or department will take to improve strategic
planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and
coordination among and within such agencies and departments
under such initiative.
(2) Descriptions of the initial goals, objectives, and role
of each relevant Federal agency or department under such
initiative.
(3) Descriptions of the steps each relevant Federal agency
or department will take to improve coordination and
collaboration with international development organizations,
international donors, multilateral organizations, and the
private sector under such initiative.
(4) Descriptions of potential areas of improved public and
private sector research and development, including from
academic, philanthropic, and civil society organizations, on
more effective approaches to reducing and preventing the causes
of violence, violent conflict, and fragility in fragile and
violence-affected countries.
(5) Plans for regularly evaluating and updating on an
iterative basis the information described in this subsection.
(c) Individual Pilot Country Plans.--The strategy required under
subsection (b) shall contain an annex identifying the ten pilot
countries designated pursuant to subsection (d), and for each such
pilot country contain a mission-led, 10-year pilot country plan
establishing initial goals, objectives, and plans of action for United
States Government activities, including development, security, and
other assistance activities that are relevant to reducing and
addressing the causes of violence, violent conflict, and fragility,
including the following:
(1) Interagency plans for coordination and implementation
that define the appropriate role of each relevant Federal
agency or department and processes for coordinating among and
within such agencies and departments when carrying out each
such pilot country plan.
(2) Interagency plans to ensure appropriate local actors,
including governance and civil society entities, and
organizations led by women, youth, and under-represented
communities have roles in developing, implementing, monitoring,
evaluating, and updating relevant aspects of each such pilot
country plan.
(3) Clear, transparent, and measurable initial political,
diplomatic, security, and developmental benchmarks, timetables,
and performance metrics for each such pilot country, with a
focus on outcome metrics, including such metrics that capture
grievances and patterns that cause violence and, where
applicable, align with best practice indicators determined by
Sustainable Development Goal #16 and the OECD Development
Assistance Committee's Fragility Framework.
(4) Interagency plans for monitoring and evaluation,
adaptive management, and iterative learning that provide for
regular and iterative policy and program adaptations based on
monitoring and evaluation findings and other evidence generated
in each such pilot country and across such pilot countries.
(5) Descriptions of the available policy tools to reduce
and address the causes of violence, violent conflict, and
fragility in each such pilot country.
(6) Descriptions of the resources and authorities that
would be required for each relevant Federal agency or
department to best implement each such pilot country plan, as
well as evidence-based iterative updates to such plans.
(7) Descriptions of potential areas of improved partnership
between the United States Government and international
development organizations, relevant international donors,
multilateral organizations, and the private sector regarding
efforts to reduce and address the causes of violence, violent
conflict, and fragility in each such pilot country.
(8) Plans for regularly evaluating and updating on an
iterative basis the plans described in this subsection.
(d) Pilot Country Designation.--The Administrator of USAID, in
coordination with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,
shall carry out the following actions:
(1) Develop the list of candidate countries under
consideration for the initiative required under this section on
the basis of the following:
(A) Current levels of violence, violent conflict,
and fragility, as determined by empirical data, such as
the following, to the extent such data are available:
(i) Total levels of deaths due to violence
and violence-related deaths per 100,000
population in the candidate country under
consideration.
(ii) Total levels of violent injuries and
violence exposure levels in such country.
(iii) Violent injuries and violence
exposure levels per 100,000 population in such
country.
(iv) Levels of persons forcibly displaced,
whether internally or internationally, due to
violence or violent conflict in such country.
(v) Total levels of gender-based violence
and violence against children and youth in such
country.
(vi) Prevalence of physical or sexual
violence in the last 12 months in such country.
(vii) Levels of mortality due to armed
group violence in such country.
(viii) Levels of citizen support for armed
groups in such country.
(ix) Such country's ranking on select
global fragility lists and select good
governance indexes.
(x) Such country's ranking on select United
States Government conflict and atrocity early
warning watch lists.
(xi) Such country's vulnerability to
current or future transnational threats.
(B) An assessment of the potential for United
States Government activities to reduce and address the
causes of violence, violent conflict, and fragility in
each candidate country under consideration, including
the capacity and commitment of relevant entities within
each such country to participate in the Global
Initiative to Reduce Fragility and Violence under this
section.
(2) Organize such candidate countries under consideration
into the categories of ``Core Country'' and ``Prevention
Country'' such that--
(A) a candidate country shall be a Core Country for
purposes of pilot country selection where current
levels of violence, violent conflict, and fragility are
highest in the world, as determined by the data
specified in paragraph (1); and
(B) a candidate country shall be a Prevention
Country for purposes of pilot country selection where
current levels of violence, violent conflict, and
fragility are lower than such levels in a Core Country,
as determined by the data specified in paragraph (1),
but warning signs for future violence, violent
conflict, and fragility are significant and strategic
prevention efforts are likely to make a meaningful
difference in mitigating or preventing future violence,
violent conflict, and fragility.
(3) Designate, on the basis of the criteria specified in
paragraph (1), 10 pilot countries, organized with not fewer
than three countries in each of the Core and Prevention
categories described in paragraph (2) and not more than four
countries in each geographic region, as determined by the
Department of State.
(4) Consider when making designations pursuant to paragraph
(3) designating multiple countries in the same region if the
drivers of violence, violent conflict, and fragility are
transnational in such region.
(e) Stakeholder Consultation.--In addition to the individuals
specified in subsection (a), the initiative required under this section
shall be developed in coordination with--
(1) the United States Ambassador, USAID Mission Director,
geographic Combatant Commands, and relevant inter-agency
country teams in each applicable country; and
(2) representatives of local civil society and national and
local governance entities, as well as relevant international
development organizations, multilateral organizations, donors,
and relevant private, academic, and philanthropic entities, as
appropriate.
(f) Congressional Consultation.--The Administrator of USAID, in
coordination with the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense (or
their respective designees), shall provide briefings to the appropriate
congressional committees not later than--
(1) 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act
regarding the countries selected as pilot countries for the
initiative required under this section;
(2) 90 days after such date of enactment regarding progress
on the individual pilot country plans under subsection (c); and
(3) 30 days after submission of such initiative regarding
plans for implementing such initiative and such individual
pilot country plans.
(g) Measuring Violence, Violent Conflict, and Fragility.--For the
purposes of implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the effectiveness
of the individual pilot country plans required under subsection (c),
progress towards reducing and addressing the causes of violence,
violent conflict, and fragility shall be measured by indicators
established for each such pilot country by relevant inter-agency
country teams in each such pilot country, informed by consultations
with the stakeholders specified in subsection (e)(2). Such indicators
shall be based on the data described in subsection (d)(1)(A), as
appropriate, and updated regularly to account for any improvements in
the available indicators and to include indicators for additional
priority areas, such as:
(1) Improving inclusive, transparent, and accountable power
structures, including effective, legitimate, and resilient
national and sub-national institutions.
(2) Improving effective and respected conflict prevention,
mitigation, management, and resolution mechanisms.
(3) Reducing levels of citizen support for violence,
violent extremism, and adversarial armed groups.
(4) Ensuring strong foundations for plurality, non-
discrimination, human rights, rule of law, and equal access to
justice.
(5) Addressing political, social, economic, and
environmental vulnerabilities, grievances, and conflicts.
(6) Ensuring inclusive economic development and enabling
business environments.
(7) Improving resilience to transnational stresses and
shocks, including from organized crime and violent extremist
organizations.
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION AND UPDATES OF PILOT COUNTRY PLANS.
The Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID), the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense,
the heads of other relevant Federal agencies and departments, relevant
United States Ambassadors, USAID Mission Directors, and other relevant
individuals with responsibility over activities in each pilot country
designated pursuant to section 4 shall ensure that--
(1) the Global Initiative to Reduce Fragility and Violence
and each individual pilot country plan required under such
section are implemented and updated on a regular and iterative
basis;
(2) such initiative and individual pilot country plans are
used to guide United States Government policy at a senior level
and are incorporated into relevant strategies and plans across
the United States Government and in each such pilot country;
(3) detailed and iterative goals, objectives, and plans of
action are developed, implemented, updated, and coordinated
among and within each relevant Federal agency or department for
the duration of each such individual pilot country plan;
(4) resources for all relevant activities in each such
pilot country are requested and utilized consistent with such
initiative and individual pilot country plans; and
(5) the results of program monitoring and evaluation under
such initiative and individual pilot country plans are
regularly reviewed and utilized to determine continuation,
modification, or termination of future year programming and
that regular and iterative policy and program adaptations are
made to each such plan.
SEC. 6. BIENNIAL REPORTS AND CONGRESSIONAL CONSULTATION.
(a) Biennial Reports.--Not later than two years after the date of
the enactment of this Act and every two years thereafter until full
implementation of the 10-year individual pilot country plans required
under section 4, the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID), in coordination with the Secretary
of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other relevant
Federal agencies and departments, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on progress made and lessons learned
with respect to the Global Initiative to Reduce Fragility and Violence
and each individual pilot country plan required under section 4,
including--
(1) descriptions of steps taken to incorporate such
initiative and such individual pilot country plans into
relevant strategies and plans that affect such pilot countries;
(2) accountings of all funding received and obligated to
implement each such individual pilot country plan during the
past two years, as well as funding requested, planned, and
projected for the following two years;
(3) descriptions of progress made towards the goals and
objectives established for each such individual pilot country,
including progress made towards achieving the specific targets,
metrics, and indicators described in section 4; and
(4) descriptions of updates made during the past two years
to the goals, objectives, plans of action, and other elements
described in section 4(c) for each such individual pilot
country plan, as well as any changes made to programs based on
the results of monitoring and evaluation in accordance with
sections 4 and 5.
(b) Congressional Consultation.--The Administrator of USAID, the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other
relevant Federal agencies and departments shall jointly consult with
the appropriate congressional committees not less often than annually
regarding progress made on the initiative and individual pilot country
plans required under section 4. The consultation requirement under this
subsection shall terminate upon full implementation of the 10-year
individual pilot country plans required under such section.
SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ASSISTANCE FOR THE GLOBAL FRAGILITY
AND VIOLENCE REDUCTION INITIATIVE.
It is the sense of Congress that the President, together with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the
heads of other relevant Federal agencies and departments, should--
(1) support the creation of a ``Global Fragility and
Violence Reduction Fund'' to help support USAID and Department
of State activities under the Global Fragility and Violence
Reduction Initiative and individual pilot country plans
required under section 4;
(2) work with Congress to provide funding that allows for
more adaptive program planning and implementation under such
initiative and individual pilot country plans, including
through exemptions from specific and minimum funding levels
when such exemptions would make programs better able to respond
to monitoring and evaluation or changed circumstances in
relevant countries;
(3) work with Congress to provide funding that better
integrates conflict and violence reduction activities into
other program areas where appropriate; and
(4) support the creation of a multilateral fund and other
international initiatives to improve global public and private
support for coordinating and funding efforts to reduce and
address the causes of violence, violent conflict, and
fragility.
SEC. 8. GAO REVIEW.
(a) In General.--Not later than five years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct an independent review of all United States Government
activities in each pilot country designated pursuant to section 4.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The review required under subsection
(a) shall include the following:
(1) An assessment of the extent to which United States
Government activities in each pilot country designated pursuant
to section 4 are being implemented in accordance with the
relevant individual pilot country plan required under such
section.
(2) Descriptions of all activities that are being
implemented in accordance with each such individual pilot
country plan, including, with respect to each such activity,
the role of each relevant Federal agency or department, the
entities responsible for implementation, and the funding level.
(3) Assessments of the processes and procedures for
coordinating among and within each relevant Federal agency or
department when implementing each such individual pilot country
plan.
(4) Assessments of the monitoring and evaluation efforts
under each such individual pilot country plan, including
assessments of the progress made and lessons learned with
respect to each such plan, as well as any changes made to
activities based on the results of such monitoring and
evaluation.
(5) Recommendations for changes necessary to better
implement United States Government activities in accordance
with such individual pilot country plans, as well as
recommendations for any changes to such plans.
SEC. 9. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committees on Foreign Relations, Armed Services,
and Appropriations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, and
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.
Committee Agreed to Seek Consideration Under Suspension of the Rules, by Unanimous Consent.
Mr. Royce (CA) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H9587-9591)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5273.
At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H9653-9654)
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 376 - 16 (Roll no. 421).(text: CR H9587-9589)
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 376 - 16 (Roll no. 421). (text: CR H9587-9589)
Roll Call #421 (House)Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.