,i #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #eiaj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #bb1 #bjah,mrs4 ,demings 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,ted ,lieu of ,california1 and ,ms4 ,stefanik7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committees on ,armed ,services1 ,intelligence 7,permanent ,select71 ,oversight and ,government ,reform1 and ,financial ,services1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to strengthen the ,united ,states response to ,russian interference1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,defend ,against ,russian ,disinformation and ,aggression ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,according an ,intelligence ,community ,assessment dated ,january #f1 #bjag1 ,russia engages in attacks of disinformation to advance its longstanding desire to undermine the ,united ,states-led democratic order1 the promotion of which ,putin and other senior ,russian leaders view as a threat to ,russia and to ,putin's administration4 7#b7 ,according to the indictment issued by the ,attorney ,general on ,february #af1 #bjah1 ,russia interfered in the ,united ,states presidential election in #bjaf and continues to conduct disinformation efforts designed to undermine the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,in addition to the allegations regarding ,russian disinformation efforts in that indictment1 according to ,robert ,blackwill and ,phil ,gordon of the ,council on ,foreign ,relations1 in #bjaf1 ,russia used its domestic media outlets1 such as ,,rt and ,sputnik1 extensively to publish and promote false and provocative stories designed to denigrate ,hillary ,clinton and stoke anger among potential ,trump supporters as well as ,clinton's opponents on the left4 ,disinformation included in such videos was often picked up by ,trump-supporting media outlets1 such as ,breitbart ,news1 ,infowars1 and ,fox ,news1 vastly expanding the reach of the videos4 7#d7 ,notwithstanding the enactment of the ,countering ,adversaries of ,america through ,sanctions ,act of #bjag 7,public ,law #aae-dd71 ,russia continues to support efforts to sow and exacerbate divisions among ,americans1 including by funding efforts to fuel racial1 religious1 and cultural resentments throughout ,american society and pitting ,americans against each other and against many of their politicians4 7#e7 ,russia has also significantly stepped up its efforts to confront the ,united ,states and its allies politically and militarily1 and to counter ,american influence worldwide1 including by the following3 7,a7 ,invading and illegally occupying ,crimea4 7,b7 ,intervening in and occupying parts of eastern ,ukraine4 7,c7 ,deploying substantial military forces and undertaking a ruthless bombing campaign in ,syria to prop up the regime of ,bashar al-,assad and defeat the ,american-supported opposition4 7,d7 ,significantly expanding its armed forces and deploying missiles in violation of treaty commitments4 7,e7 ,undertaking large military exercises designed to intimidate ,east ,european states4 7,f7 ,interfering in the political systems of ,european countries in much the same way as in the ,united ,states4 7,g7 ,using the threat of cutting off gas supplies as leverage over the most energy-dependent ,european countries4 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 while the ,united ,states should seek opportunities for cooperation with ,russia1 particularly in the context of arms control and the conflict in ,syria and maintain open dialogue with ,russia1 the ,united ,states should also confront ,russia more robustly1 in order to deter further ,russian efforts to undermine ,united ,states society1 the ,united ,states political system1 or the societies or political systems of ,united ,states allies2 and 7#b7 such robust confrontation should include-- 7,a7 responding strongly to ongoing ,russian interference in ,ukraine2 7,b7 exposing the corruption of ,vladimir ,putin2 7,c7 strengthening military ties with other countries in the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization2 and 7,d7 ensuring a coordinated and effective ,federal response to ,russian aggression4 #d4 ,office of sanctions policy 7a7 ,establishment ,section #a of the ,state ,department ,basic ,authorities ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfea;a7 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7h7 ,coordinator of sanctions policy 7#a7 ,in general ,there shall be established within the ,department of ,state a ,coordinator for ,sanctions ,policy1 who shall be appointed by the ,president1 by and with the advice and consent of the ,senate and shall report directly to the ,secretary of ,state4 7#b7 ,duties ,the ,coordinator for ,sanctions ,policy shall be responsible for the following3 7,a7 ,overseeing the diplomatic aspects of the enforcement of ,united ,states and ,united ,nations sanctions1 including sanctions with respect to ,russia1 ,iran1 ,north ,korea1 and other countries4 7,b7 ,coordinating with allies regarding the enforcement of such sanctions4 7,c7 ,coordinating determinations with respect to such sanctions by the heads of other ,federal departments and agencies1 including the ,secretary of the ,treasury and the ,united ,states intelligence community4 7#c7 ,rank and status of ambassador ,the ,coordinator for ,sanctions ,policy shall have the rank and status of ,ambassador at ,large4 4 7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that the ,coordinator for ,sanctions ,policy established pursuant to subsection 7a7 should be provided sufficient office space and support staff to ensure its successful establishment4 #e4 ,cyber countermeasures 7a7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that the ,president should promptly and fully implement ,executive ,order ,no4 #achjj 7#hb ,fed4 ,reg4 #bbcia2 relating to strengthening the cybersecurity of ,federal networks and critical infrastructure7 so that ,federal departments and agencies can better detect1 monitor1 and mitigate cyber attacks as quickly as possible4 7b7 ,report ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,president shall submit to ,congress a report describing each step taken to meet the objectives described in subsection 7a7 relating to cyber attack response4 #f4 ,report on ,kremlin-linked corruption 7a7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the intelligence community should dedicate resources to further expose key networks which the corrupt political class in ,russia uses to hide the money it steals2 and 7#b7 the ,president should pursue efforts to stifle ,russian use of hidden financial channels1 including anonymous shell companies and real estate investments1 in a manner similar to the efforts undertaken to tighten banking regulations after the terrorist attacks on ,september #aa1 #bjja4 7b7 ,report ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 in coordination with the ,secretary of ,state1 shall submit a report to ,congress on assets owned by ,vladimir ,putin1 ,russian oligarchs1 and senior officials of the ,russian ,government1 including-- 7#a7 with respect to bank accounts1 real estate holdings1 and other financial assets1 including those outside of ,russia1 that are owned by or accessible to ,putin-- 7,a7 the location of such accounts1 holdings1 or assets2 and 7,b7 the contents of such accounts or the amount held through such holdings or assets2 7#b7 the location1 size1 and contents of any assets of any oligarch listed pursuant to section #bda of the ,countering ,america's ,adversaries ,through ,sanctions ,act 7,public ,law #aae-dd2 #aca ,stat4 #ibb72 and 7#c7 any front or shell companies1 or other intermediaries1 used by senior officials of the ,russian ,government to hide assets from public disclosure4 7c7 ,form ,the report required under subsection 7b7 shall be submitted in classified form4 7d7 ,reasonable attempt ,to issue unclassified report ,not later than #fj days after the date of the submission of the report required under subsection 7b71 the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall-- 7#a7 publish an unclassified version of such report on a publicly available website of the ,department of the ,treasury2 or 7#b7 submit a notification to ,congress describing the reasons for which the ,secretary has determined that such release is not possible4 #g4 ,enhanced military activities 7a7 ,,nato exercises ,the ,secretary of ,defense1 in consultation with other countries in the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization1 shall seek opportunities to conduct more ,,nato naval exercises in the ,baltic and ,black ,seas1 as well as in the northern ,atlantic ,ocean1 to defend the seas around ,europe and deter ,russian aggression in those regions4 7b7 ,joint research projects ,the ,secretary of ,defense1 in coordination with the ,secretary of ,state1 may conduct joint research projects with ,,nato allies pursuant to the authorities under chapter #ach of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 including projects through ,,nato ,centers of ,excellence1 to-- 7#a7 improve ,,nato reconnaissance capabilities to track ,russian military exercises2 7#b7 enhance ,,nato anti-submarine warfare capabilities against ,russia2 7#c7 increase the numbers of modern sensors placed on ,,nato aircraft1 submarines1 and surface ships2 or 7#d7 enhance ,,nato capabilities to detect and deter ,russian information operations4