#aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ebgc ,,an ,,act ,to reduce global fragility and violence by improving the capacity of the ,united ,states to reduce and address the causes of violence1 violent conflict1 and fragility1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,global ,fragility and ,violence ,reduction ,act of #bjah4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,according to the ,united ,nations1 an unprecedented #fh4e million people around the world1 the highest level ever recorded1 are currently forcibly displaced from their homes4 7#b7 ,according to the ,world ,bank1 violence and violent conflict are now the leading causes of displacement and food insecurity worldwide1 driving #hj percent of humanitarian needs1 with the same conflicts accounting for the majority of forcibly displaced persons every year since #aiia4 7#c7 ,according to the ,world ,health ,organization1 preventable forms of violence kill at least #a4d million people each year4 ,according to the ,institute for ,economics and ,peace1 violence containment costs the global economy #ad4gf trillion a year1 or #ab4d percent of the world's ,,gdp4 ,if violence were to decrease uniformly across the world by just #aj percent1 the global economy would gain #a4dh trillion each year4 7#d7 ,violence and violent conflict underpin many of the ,united ,states ,government's key national security challenges4 ,notably1 violent conflicts allow for environments in which terrorist organizations recruit and thrive1 while the combination of violence1 corruption1 poverty1 poor governance1 and underdevelopment often enables transnational gangs and criminal networks to wreak havoc and commit atrocities worldwide4 7#e7 ,according to new research by the ,university of ,maryland and ,university of ,pittsburgh1 exposure to violence increases support for violence and violent extremism4 ,research increasingly finds exposure to violence as a predictor of future participation in violence1 including violent extremism4 7#f7 ,united ,states foreign policy and assistance efforts in highly violent and fragile states remain governed by an outdated patchwork of authorities that prioritize responding to immediate needs rather than solving the problems that cause them4 7#g7 ,lessons learned over the past #bj years1 documented by the #bjac ,special ,inspector ,general for ,iraq ,reconstruction ,lessons ,learned ,study1 the #bjaf ,fragility ,study ,group report1 and the #bjah ,special ,inspector ,general for ,afghanistan ,lessons ,learned ,study on ,stabilization1 show that effective1 sustained ,united ,states efforts to reduce violence and stabilize fragile and violence-affected states require clearly defined goals and strategies1 adequate long-term funding1 rigorous and iterative conflict analysis1 coordination across the ,united ,states ,government1 including strong civil-military coordination1 and integration with national and sub-national partners1 including local civil society organizations1 local justice systems1 and local governance structures4 7#h7 ,the ,stabilization ,assistance ,review released in #bjah by the ,departments of ,state and ,defense and the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development states1 ,the ,united ,states has strong national security and economic interests in reducing levels of violence and promoting stability in areas affected by armed conflict4 ,the ,review further states1 ,stabilization is an inherently political endeavor that requires aligning ,u4,s4 ,government efforts - diplomatic engagement1 foreign assistance1 and defense - toward supporting locally legitimate authorities and systems to peaceably manage conflict and prevent violence44 #c4 ,statement of policy ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states to-- 7#a7 ensure that all relevant ,federal departments and agencies coordinate to achieve coherent1 long-term goals for programs designed to prevent violence1 stabilize conflict-affected areas1 and address the long-term causes of violence and fragility1 including when implementing the ,global ,fragility and ,violence ,reduction ,initiative described in section #e7;a72 7#b7 seek to improve global1 regional1 and local coordination of relevant international and multilateral development and donor organizations regarding efforts to prevent violence1 stabilize conflict-affected areas1 and address the long-term causes of violence and fragility in fragile and violence-affected countries1 and1 where practicable and appropriate1 align such efforts with multilateral goals and indicators2 7#c7 expand and enhance the effectiveness of ,united ,states foreign assistance programs and activities to prevent violence1 stabilize conflict-affected areas1 and address the long-term causes of violence and fragility1 including programs intended to improve the indicators described in section #e7;d77#a72 7#d7 support the research and development of effective approaches to prevent violence1 stabilize conflict-affected areas1 and address the long-term causes of violence and fragility2 and 7#e7 improve the monitoring1 evaluation1 learning1 and adaptation tools and authorities for relevant ,federal departments and agencies working to prevent violence1 stabilize conflict-affected areas1 and address the long-term causes of violence and fragility4 #d4 ,sense of ,congress regarding assistance for the ,global ,fragility and ,violence ,reduction ,initiative ,it is the sense of ,congress that the ,president1 the ,secretary of ,state1 the ,administrator of ,,usaid1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 and the heads of other relevant ,federal departments and agencies1 should work with ,congress to provide sufficient types and levels of funding to-- 7#a7 allow for more adaptive program planning and implementation under the initiative and priority country or regional plans required under section #e1 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 countries2 7#b7 better integrate conflict and violence reduction activities into other program areas where appropriate2 and 7#c7 contribute to the creation of transparent and accountable multilateral funds1 initiatives1 and strategies to enhance and better coordinate both private and public efforts to prevent violence1 stabilize conflict-affected areas1 and address the long-term causes of violence and fragility4 #e4 ,global ,initiative to ,reduce ,fragility and ,violence 7a7 ,initiative ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,administrator of the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development 7,,usaid71 the ,secretary of ,defense1 and the heads of other relevant ,federal departments and agencies1 shall establish an interagency initiative1 to be referred to as the ,global ,initiative to ,reduce ,fragility and ,violence1 to prevent violence1 stabilize conflict-affected areas1 and address the long-term causes of violence and fragility4 7b7 ,implementation plan ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,administrator of ,,usaid1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 and the heads of other relevant ,federal departments and agencies1 shall develop and submit to the appropriate congressional committees an interagency implementation plan for the ,global ,initiative to ,reduce ,fragility and ,violence established pursuant to subsection 7a7 that includes the following3 7#a7 ,descriptions of the overall goals1 objectives1 criteria1 and metrics guiding the implementation1 including with respect to prioritizing countries and measuring progress4 7#b7 ,a list of the priority countries and regions selected pursuant to subsection 7d77#b74 7#c7 ,identification of the roles and responsibilities of each participating ,federal department or agency1 while ensuring that with respect to activities relating to stabilization-- 7,a7 the ,department of ,state shall be the overall lead for establishing ,united ,states foreign policy and advancing diplomatic and political efforts2 7,b7 ,,usaid shall be the lead implementing agency for development1 humanitarian1 and related non-security programs2 7,c7 the ,department of ,defense shall support the activities of the ,department of ,state and ,,usaid as appropriate1 including by providing requisite security and reinforcing civilian efforts1 with the concurrence of the ,secretary of ,state and ,administrator of ,,usaid2 and 7,d7 other ,federal departments and agencies shall support the activities of the ,department of ,state and ,,usaid as appropriate1 with the concurrence of the ,secretary of ,state and ,administrator of ,,usaid4 7#d7 ,identification of the authorities1 staffing1 and other resource requirements needed to effectively implement the initiative4 7#e7 ,descriptions of the organizational steps the ,department of ,state1 ,,usaid1 the ,department of ,defense1 and each other relevant ,federal department or agency will take to improve planning1 coordination1 implementation1 monitoring1 evaluation1 adaptive management1 and iterative learning with respect to the programs under such initiative4 7#f7 ,descriptions of the steps each relevant ,federal department or agency will take to improve coordination and collaboration under such initiative with international development organizations1 international donors1 multilateral organizations1 and the private sector4 7#g7 ,descriptions of potential areas of improved public and private sector research and development1 including with academic1 philanthropic1 and civil society organizations1 on more effective approaches to preventing violence1 stabilizing conflict-affected areas1 and addressing the long-term causes of violence and fragility4 7#h7 ,plans for regularly evaluating and updating1 on an iterative basis-- 7,a7 the ,global ,initiative to ,reduce ,fragility and ,violence2 7,b7 the interagency implementation plan described in this subsection2 and 7,c7 the priority country and regional plans described in subsection 7c74 7c7 ,priority country and regional plans ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,administrator of ,,usaid1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 and the heads of other relevant ,federal departments and agencies1 shall develop and submit to the appropriate congressional committees #aj-year plans to align and integrate the diplomatic1 development1 security1 and other relevant activities of the ,united ,states ,government with the initiative required under subsection 7a7 for each of the priority countries and regions designated pursuant to subsection 7d74 ,such priority country and regional plans shall include3 7#a7 ,specific interagency plans for coordination and implementation under the country or regional plan4 7#b7 ,descriptions of how and when the relevant goals1 objectives1 and plans for each priority country or region will be incorporated into relevant ,united ,states country plans and strategies1 including ,department of ,state ,integrated ,country ,strategies1 ,,usaid ,country ,development ,cooperation ,strategies1 and ,department of ,defense ,campaign ,plans1 ,operational ,plans1 and ,regional ,strategies1 as well as any equivalent or successor plans or strategies4 7#c7 ,interagency plans to ensure that appropriate local actors1 including government and civil society entities and organizations led by women1 youth1 or under-represented communities1 have roles in developing1 implementing1 monitoring1 evaluating1 and updating relevant aspects of each such country or regional plan4 7#d7 ,clear1 transparent1 and measurable diplomatic1 development1 and security benchmarks1 timetables1 and performance metrics for each such country and region that align with best practices where applicable4 7#e7 ,interagency plans for monitoring and evaluation1 adaptive management1 and iterative learning that provide for regular and iterative policy and program adaptations based on outcomes1 lessons learned1 and other evidence gathered from each such country or region and across such countries and regions4 7#f7 ,descriptions of the available policy tools to prevent violence1 stabilize conflict-affected areas1 and address the long-term causes of violence and fragility in each such country or region4 7#g7 ,descriptions of the resources and authorities that would be required for each relevant ,federal department or agency to best implement each such country or regional plan1 as well as evidence-based iterative updates to such plans4 7#h7 ,descriptions of potential areas of improved partnership with respect to such country or region1 regarding efforts to prevent violence1 stabilize conflict-affected areas1 and address the long-term causes of violence and fragility1 between the ,united ,states ,government and-- 7,a7 international development organizations2 7,b7 relevant international donors2 7,c7 multilateral organizations2 and 7,d7 the private sector4 7d7 ,designation of priority countries and regions 7#a7 ,identification of candidate countries and regions ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,administrator of ,,usaid and the ,secretary of ,defense and in consultation with the appropriate congressional committees1 shall develop a list of candidate countries and regions to be considered for inclusion under the initiative on the basis of-- 7,a7 clearly defined indicators of high levels of violence and fragility in such country or region1 such as-- 7i7 violence committed by armed groups1 gender-based violence1 and violence against children and youth2 7ii7 prevalence of1 and citizen support for1 adversarial armed groups2 7iii7 internal and external population displacement2 7iv7 patterns of human rights violations1 including early warning indicators of the commission of genocide or other atrocities2 7v7 poor governance1 pervasive corruption1 and political instability2 and 7vi7 vulnerability to current or future transnational threats2 and 7,b7 the capacity and opportunity to work across ,federal departments and agencies and with local partners and other donors to prevent violence1 stabilize conflict-affected areas1 and address the long-term causes of violence and fragility with respect to such country or region1 including by measurably-- 7i7 improving inclusive1 transparent1 and accountable power structures1 including effective1 legitimate1 and resilient national and sub-national institutions2 7ii7 improving effective and respected conflict prevention1 mitigation1 management1 and resolution mechanisms2 7iii7 reducing levels of support among the residents of such country or region for violence1 violent extremism1 and adversarial armed groups2 7iv7 ensuring strong foundations for plurality1 non-discrimination1 human rights1 rule of law1 and equal access to justice2 7v7 addressing political1 social1 economic1 and environmental vulnerabilities1 grievances1 and conflicts2 7vi7 ensuring inclusive economic development and enabling business environments2 and 7vii7 improving resilience to transnational stresses and shocks1 including from organized crime1 violent extremist organizations1 and economic and food markets crises4 7#b7 ,selection of priority countries and regions ,from among the candidate countries and regions identified pursuant to paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,administrator of ,,usaid and the ,secretary of ,defense1 shall select certain countries as priority countries and certain regions as priority regions in a manner that ensures that-- 7,a7 countries and regions are selected in a sufficient number and of sufficient diversity to provide indicators of the various drivers and early warnings of violence1 conflict1 and fragility1 as well as best practices for ,united ,states efforts to prevent violence1 stabilize conflict-affected areas1 and address the long-term causes of violence and fragility2 7,b7 not fewer than three countries or regions are designated as ,stabilization ,countries or ,stabilization ,regions1 in which the current levels of violence1 violent conflict1 or fragility are among the highest in the world2 7,c7 not fewer than three countries or regions are designated as ,prevention ,countries or ,prevention ,regions1 in which current levels of violence1 violent conflict1 or fragility are lower than such levels in ,stabilization ,countries or ,stabilization ,regions but warning signs for future violence1 conflict1 or fragility are significant2 7,d7 regions1 rather than individual countries1 are selected where the threat or spillover of violence1 conflict1 or fragility threatens the stability of multiple countries within a single geographic region2 and 7,e7 the countries and regions selected are in the areas of responsibility of at least three geographic bureaus of the ,department of ,state4 7e7 ,stakeholder consultation ,the initiative required under subsection 7a7 shall be developed in coordination with representatives of local civil society and national and local governance entities1 as well as relevant international development organizations1 multilateral organizations1 donors1 and relevant private1 academic1 and philanthropic entities1 as appropriate4 7f7 ,congressional consultation ,the ,secretary of ,state1 the ,administrator of ,,usaid1 and the ,secretary of ,defense shall provide regular briefings on the implementation of this ,act to any appropriate congressional committee upon the request of such committee4 7g7 ,measuring violence1 violent conflict1 and fragility ,for the purposes of implementing1 monitoring1 and evaluating the effectiveness of the priority country and regional plans required under subsection 7c71 progress towards preventing violence1 stabilizing conflict-affected areas1 and addressing the long-term causes of violence and fragility shall be measured by indicators established for each such country by relevant inter-agency country teams for each such country1 informed by consultations with the stakeholders specified in subsection 7e74 #f4 ,implementation and updates of priority country and regional plans ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,administrator of ,,usaid1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 and the heads of other relevant ,federal departments and agencies1 and in consultation with the relevant ,united ,states ,ambassadors1 ,,usaid ,mission ,directors1 geographic ,combatant ,commanders1 and other relevant individuals with responsibility over activities in each priority country or region designated pursuant to section #e1 shall ensure that-- 7#a7 the ,global ,initiative to ,reduce ,fragility and ,violence and the priority country and regional plans required under such section are implemented1 updated1 and coordinated on a regular and iterative basis2 7#b7 such initiative and country and regional plans are used to guide ,united ,states ,government policy at a senior level and incorporated into relevant strategies and plans across the ,united ,states ,government and in each such country2 7#c7 resources for all relevant activities and requirements of such initiative and country and regional plans are prioritized1 requested1 and used consistent with such initiative and country and regional plans2 and 7#d7 the results of program monitoring and evaluation under such initiative and country and regional plans are regularly reviewed and used to determine continuation1 modification1 or termination of future year programming4 #g4 ,biennial reports and congressional consultation 7a7 ,biennial reports ,not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this ,act and every two years thereafter until the date that is #aj years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state1 the ,administrator of ,,usaid1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 and the heads of other relevant ,federal departments and agencies shall jointly 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 priority country or regional plan required under section #e1 including-- 7#a7 descriptions of steps taken to incorporate such initiative and such country or regional plans into relevant strategies and plans that affect such countries or regions2 7#b7 accountings of all funding received and obligated to implement each such country or regional plan during the past two years1 as well as funding requested1 planned1 and projected for the following two years2 7#c7 descriptions of progress made towards the goals and objectives established for each such priority country or region1 including progress made towards achieving the specific targets1 metrics1 and indicators described in section #e7;b72 and 7#d7 descriptions of updates made during the past two years to the goals1 objectives1 plans of action1 and other elements described in section #e for each such country or regional plan1 as well as any changes made to programs based on the results of monitoring and evaluation4 7b7 ,congressional consultation ,in addition to the reports required under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of ,state1 the ,administrator of ,,usaid1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 and the heads of other relevant ,federal departments and agencies shall jointly consult with the appropriate congressional committees at least once a year regarding progress made on the initiative and priority country and regional plans required under section #e4 #h4 ,,gao review 7a7 ,in general ,not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this ,act and every two years thereafter until the date that is #aj years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall consult with the ,chairman and ,ranking ,member of the ,foreign ,relations ,committee of the ,senate and the ,foreign ,affairs ,committee of the ,house of ,representatives regarding opportunities for independent review of the activities under the ,global ,initiative to ,reduce ,fragility and ,violence and the priority country and regional plans required by section #e1 including-- 7#a7 opportunities to-- 7,a7 assess the extent to which ,united ,states ,government activities in each priority country designated pursuant to section #e are being implemented in accordance with the initiative and the relevant country or regional plan required under such section2 7,b7 assess the processes and procedures for coordinating among and within each relevant ,federal department or agency when implementing such initiative and each such country or regional plan2 7,c7 assess the monitoring and evaluation efforts under such initiative and each such country or regional plan1 including assessments of the progress made and lessons learned with respect to each such plan1 as well as any changes made to activities based on the results of such monitoring and evaluation2 and 7,d7 recommend changes necessary to better implement ,united ,states ,government activities in accordance with such initiative and country and regional plans1 as well as recommendations for any changes to such initiative or plans2 and 7#b7 such other matters the ,comptroller ,general determines to be appropriate4 7b7 ,availability of information ,all relevant ,federal departments and agencies shall make all relevant data1 documents1 and other information available to the ,comptroller ,general for purposes of conducting independent reviews pursuant to this section4 #i4 ,definitions ,in this ,act-- 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committees on ,foreign ,relations1 ,armed ,services1 and ,appropriations of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committees on ,foreign ,affairs1 ,armed ,services1 and ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,relevant ,federal department or agency ,the term relevant ,federal department or agency means the ,department of the ,treasury and any other ,federal department or agency the ,president determines is relevant to carry out the purposes of this ,act4 ,passed the ,house of ,representatives ,november #bg1 #bjah4;,clerk4