,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dbji ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,august #bg1 #bjai,mr4 ,engel introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to enhance the national interest and security of the ,united ,states and its ,european allies and partners by countering malign ,russian influence1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,countering ,russian ,influence ,through ,interagency ,coordination ,and ,leadership ,act or the ,,critical ,act4 #b4 ,findings 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,foreign adversaries of the ,united ,states are currently using malign influence to disrupt1 alter1 and undermine ,united ,states foreign and domestic policy and democratic processes at low cost and low risk to themselves4 7#b7 ,in exporting malign influence1 foreign adversaries use ambiguity to their advantage1 employing proxies1 hackers1 private sector companies1 independent research agencies1 and other actors with varying degrees of separation from their governments in an effort to obscure foreign government involvement and maintain deniability4 7#c7 ,since the ,cold ,war1 the ,soviet ,union and now the ,russian ,federation 7in this ,act referred to as ,russia7 has attempted to use these types of tools of statecraft to influence the foreign and domestic policies and actions of the ,united ,states government1 as well as the beliefs and political decisions of ,america and its citizens4 7#d7 ,the ,united ,states intelligence community has credibly concluded that ,russia interfered in the #bjaf election for ,president of the ,united ,states1 and ,european allies and partners have credibly concluded that ,russia attempted to influence several key ,european votes in #bjaf and #bjag1 including the ,brexit referendum in the ,united ,kingdom and elections in the ,netherlands1 ,france1 and ,germany4 7#e7 ,russia has attempted to deter or derail aspiring ,,nato members from achieving accession1 as evidenced by their aggression against ,ukraine and ,georgia and the attempted violent coup in ,montenegro in #bjaf with the assistance of local ,serbian nationalists4 7#f7 ,russia has leveraged its gas monopoly over ,europe to influence politics and political decisions of our ,,nato allies and ,european ,union partners1 as it has done repeatedly in ,ukraine and across ,eastern ,europe4 7#g7 ,russia has attempted to finance fringe political movements in countries throughout ,europe1 using a network of oligarchs and organized criminal enterprises in an effort to obscure ,kremlin involvement4 7#h7 ,russia operates ,russia ,today 7,,rt71 ,sputnik1 and other state-sponsored media outlets in dozens of languages across ,europe and the ,united ,states to spread disinformation and undermine government and electoral systems4 ,it also assaults ,american institutions and those of our ,european allies using cyber proxies1 troll farms1 and other tools in the information space4 7#i7 ,the ,united ,states national security apparatus has credibly concluded that ,russia continues to utilize malign influence to undermine our democracies and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future4 7#aj7 ,parts of the ,united ,states ,government interagency response1 such as the ,global ,engagement ,center 7,,gec71 were empowered to address specific elements of ,russian malign influence1 particularly disinformation4 7#aa7 ,the mission of the ,,gec is to direct1 lead1 synchronize1 integrate1 and coordinate efforts of the ,federal ,government to recognize1 understand1 expose1 and counter foreign state and foreign non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining or influencing the policies1 security1 or stability of the ,united ,states and its allies and partner nations4 7#ab7 ,the ,,gec plays an important role in countering the disinformation tactics used by foreign adversaries and coordinating these responses across the ,united ,states ,government4 7#ac7 ,russia's use of a broad range of tools of malign influence1 including disinformation1 necessitates a robust1 dynamic1 and coordinated ,united ,states ,government interagency response4 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that ,united ,states ,government efforts to counter ,russian malign influence should be led by the ,department of ,state in close coordination with the ,department of ,defense1 the intelligence community1 and other relevant ,federal departments and agencies and relevant private sector and civil society entities4 #d4 ,statement of ,policy ,it shall be the policy of the ,united ,states to-- 7#a7 continually seek to strengthen the ,united ,states defenses1 and the defenses of its ,european allies and partners1 against malign ,russian influence by closing off vulnerabilities that ,russia can exploit1 including by strengthening civil society1 media literacy1 and cyber defenses2 7#b7 clearly state the costs that should be imposed on ,russia for its attempts to utilize tools of malign influence against the ,united ,states and its ,european allies and partners2 7#c7 proactively mitigate ,russian attempts to influence or interfere with the ,united ,states and its ,european allies and partners through deterrence1 denial1 and resilience measures such that the damage inflicted upon the ,united ,states and its allies and partners when attacks do occur is reduced2 and 7#d7 promote stronger ties with democratic countries around the world1 understanding that the best defense against malign ,russian influence is a strong democracy and respect for individual liberty and the rule of law4 #e4 ,russia ,influence ,group 7a7 ,establishment ,there is established a ,russia ,influence ,group 7in this ,act referred to as the ,,rig74 7b7 ,functions ,the ,,rig shall-- 7#a7 hold not fewer than two senior-level meetings annually1 at which all members are present1 to coordinate and provide guidance on the interagency efforts to counter malign ,russian influence in ,europe and the ,united ,states2 7#b7 hold not fewer than four working-level meetings annually1 at which the ,,rig shall-- 7,a7 conduct interim assessments and formulate proposed improvements to the ,,rig's efforts to counter malign ,russian influence in ,europe and the ,united ,states1 which shall be presented at the senior-level meetings2 7,b7 review monitoring and evaluation assessments by the individual agencies1 departments1 and third-party evaluators for programs and efforts designed to counter malign ,russian influence1 with particular emphasis on programs designed to counter such influence in ,europe and the ,united ,states2 and 7,c7 develop methods and plans for applying the results of such assessments to modify activities on an iterative basis across relevant ,federal departments and agencies2 7#c7 hold additional subgroup meetings on a regular basis with relevant ,federal departments or agencies to address different tools of malign ,russian influence individually1 including election interference1 disinformation1 illicit finance1 political influence and corruption1 energy influence1 and economic influence2 7#d7 collaborate with ,united ,states embassies in each relevant country1 and work with domestic and international actors1 as appropriate1 such as partner governments1 intergovernmental organizations1 nongovernmental organizations1 academic institutions1 private sector entities1 and research institutions1 to counter malign ,russian influence in a more effective and collective manner2 and 7#e7 provide recommendations and best practices that could be applied to countering malign ,russian influence in other regions4 7c7 ,chair and membership ,the ,,rig-- 7#a7 shall be chaired by the ,assistant ,secretary of ,state for ,european and ,eurasian ,affairs2 7#b7 shall include representatives of-- 7,a7 the ,department of ,state1 including the ,bureau of ,european and ,eurasian ,affairs1 the ,global ,engagement ,center 7,,gec71 and the ,bureau of ,energy ,resources2 7,b7 the ,department of ,defense1 including ,united ,states ,european ,command2 7,c7 the ,department of ,homeland ,security2 7,d7 the ,department of ,energy2 7,e7 the ,department of ,justice2 7,f7 the ,department of the ,treasury2 7,g7 the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development2 7,h7 the staff of the ,national ,security ,council2 and 7,i7 the ,office of the ,director of ,national ,intelligence2 and 7#c7 may include representatives from such other entities as the ,chair determines appropriate4 7d7 ,responsibilities of the ,chair ,the ,chair of the ,,rig shall-- 7#a7 coordinate and promote interagency and multilateral efforts to protect the ,united ,states1 its citizens1 and its ,european allies and partners from malign ,russian influence2 7#b7 establish mechanisms and seek to resolve interagency differences in responding to malign ,russian influence2 7#c7 convene not fewer than two annual senior-level meetings as described in subsection 7b77#a72 7#d7 engage chiefs of mission at relevant ,united ,states embassies and senior officials of partner governments1 intergovernmental organizations1 and nongovernmental organizations to ensure high-level support for efforts to counter malign ,russian influence2 7#e7 lead the development and biennial updates of the interagency strategy required by section #f2 and 7#f7 submit to the appropriate congressional committees the annual report required by section #g4 #f4 ,strategy to counter malign ,russian influence ,not later than nine months after the date of the enactment of this ,act and every two years thereafter1 the ,chair of the ,,rig1 in consultation with all members of the ,,rig1 shall submit to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate an interagency strategy for countering malign ,russian influence1 including the following3 7#a7 ,objectives for the ,,rig over one year1 five year1 and ten year time periods4 7#b7 ,roles and responsibilities for each ,federal department1 agency1 or entity with membership on the ,,rig4 7#c7 ,methods of malign influence used by ,russia1 including the following3 7,a7 ,the use of a variety of tools to interfere in democratic processes in the ,united ,states and ,europe1 including using illicit financing1 dark money1 and corruption of political candidates and parties4 7,b7 ,the use of disinformation and misinformation to create instability4 7,c7 ,the use of energy as a tool of coercion and political leverage4 7,d7 ,the use of cyber tools to hack1 leak1 disable1 threaten1 or otherwise coerce in order to achieve its political or security objectives4 7,e7 ,the manipulation of cultural1 religious1 and other identities to leverage ,european countries toward its sphere of influence4 7,f7 ,the use of proxy forces or misidentified ,russian forces for the sake of deniability in kinetic aggression against its neighbors4 7#d7 ,a prioritized list of gaps or areas in which the coordination and activities of such ,federal departments1 agencies1 and entities should be enhanced4 7#e7 ,an updated and prioritized list of ,european ,watch ,countries with respect to which malign ,russian influence is likely to pose a significant threat to the interests or security of the ,united ,states or ,europe and on which to focus ,,rig efforts4 7#f7 ,a description of the costs and risks of the current ,united ,states approach to countering malign ,russian influence4 7#g7 ,the resources necessary to achieve the goals established in the strategy4 #g4 ,report on activities to counter malign ,russian influence ,the ,chair of the ,,rig1 acting through the ,,rig and in consultation with the heads of the ,federal agencies and departments with membership on the ,,rig1 shall annually submit to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate a report that includes the following3 7#a7 ,descriptions of what activities the ,,rig and each entity participating in the ,,rig undertook to counter malign ,russian influence in ,europe and the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,an identification of the activities1 programs1 or actions that are planned for the upcoming year4 7#c7 ,assessments of whether the activities conducted over the previous year achieved the intended outcomes4 7#d7 ,descriptions of the methodology and results of monitoring and evaluation1 including lessons learned and best practices4 7#e7 ,descriptions of how such results and lessons learned will be used on an iterative basis to modify activities4 7#f7 ,an updated assessment of progress made towards the objectives for the ,,rig established in the strategy required under section #f for five-year and ten-year time periods1 including the following3 7,a7 ,the methodology used for such assessments4 7,b7 ,the lessons learned and best practices from such assessments4 7,c7 ,any changes to be made to future activities1 programs1 or actions in response to such lessons learned4 #h4 ,commission on ,countering ,global ,malign ,influence 7a7 ,establishment ,there is established an independent commission to be known as the ,commission on ,countering ,global ,malign ,influence 7in this section referred to as the ,commission74 ,the ,commission shall examine global malign influence from authoritarian state competitors and non-state actors1 including ,russia1 ,china1 ,iran1 and ,north ,korea1 seeking to undermine the ,united ,states1 its national interests1 and its allies1 and make recommendations with respect to ,united ,states and allied efforts to counter such influence and such state and non-state competitors and actors4 7b7 ,composition 7#a7 ,membership ,the ,commission shall be composed of #ab members appointed as follows3 7,a7 ,three members appointed by the chair of the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4 7,b7 ,three members appointed by the ranking member of the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4 7,c7 ,three members appointed by the chair of the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate4 7,d7 ,three members appointed by the ranking member of the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,co-,chairs 7,a7 ,the chair and ranking member of the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives shall designate one member of the ,commission to serve as a co-chair of the ,commission4 7,b7 ,the chair and ranking member of the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate shall designate one member of the ,commission to serve as a co-chair of the ,commission4 7#c7 ,period of appointment2 vacancies ,members shall be appointed for the life of the ,commission4 ,any vacancy in the ,commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment4 7c7 ,prohibition 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,commission may not include-- 7,a7 ,members of ,congress or any other person serving in an elected office of the ,federal government2 or 7,b7 any person serving in an elected office of a ,state or local government4 7#b7 ,member of ,congress ,in this subsection1 the term ,member of ,congress includes a ,delegate or ,resident ,commissioner to the ,congress4 7d7 ,duties 7#a7 ,threat assessment ,the ,commission shall conduct a comprehensive assessment of the efforts of authoritarian state competitors and non-state actors to undermine the ,united ,states1 its national interests1 and its allies through tools of malign influence1 including election interference1 disinformation1 illicit finance1 political influence and corruption1 energy influence1 economic influence1 and the use of proxy and state-backed forces in coercive ways1 below the threshold of conventional warfare4 7#b7 ,review ,the ,commission shall review the current tools of the ,united ,states ,government that are used or could be used to counter malign influence from authoritarian state competitors and non-state actors1 including ,russia1 ,china1 ,iran1 and ,north ,korea4 7#c7 ,analysis and recommendations ,the ,commission shall-- 7,a7 conduct an analysis of the current preparedness of the ,united ,states to counter malign influence described in this subsection1 taking into account both the assessment of threat and the ability of the ,united ,states ,government to respond to such influence2 and 7,b7 provide to the individuals and entities specified in subsection 7f77#a7 recommendations on how to improve such preparedness and ability4 7#d7 ,compliance ,the provisions of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act and the provisions of any rule1 order1 or regulation promulgated under such ,act shall apply with respect to the ,commission4 7e7 ,cooperation from ,government 7#a7 ,cooperation ,in carrying out its duties1 the ,commission shall receive the full and timely cooperation of the ,secretaries of ,state1 ,defense1 ,treasury1 ,energy1 and ,homeland ,security1 the ,administrator of the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development1 the ,attorney ,general1 the ,national ,security ,advisor1 the ,director of ,national ,intelligence1 and other relevant officials of the ,united ,states ,government in providing the ,commission with respect to analyses1 briefings1 or other information necessary for the fulfillment of its responsibilities4 7#b7 ,liaison ,the officials specified in paragraph 7#a7 shall designate at least one officer or employee of their respective agencies to serve as a liaison officer between such agencies and the ,commission4 7#c7 ,facilitation ,the ,secretary of ,state shall take appropriate actions to facilitate the ,commission in the discharge of the duties of the ,commission under this section4 7f7 ,report 7#a7 ,final report ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,commission shall submit to the ,president1 the ,secretaries of ,state1 ,defense1 ,treasury1 ,energy1 and ,homeland ,security1 the ,administrator of the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development1 the ,attorney ,general1 the ,national ,security ,advisor1 the ,director of ,national ,intelligence1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives1 and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate a report on the ,commission's findings1 conclusions1 and recommendations4 ,the report shall address the following3 7,a7 ,tools of malign influence1 including election interference1 disinformation1 illicit finance1 political influence and corruption1 energy influence1 economic influence1 and proxy and state-backed forces being used against the ,united ,states1 its national interests1 and its allies4 7,b7 ,how malign influence actors may be using these tools in combination with other tools4 7,c7 ,how malign influence actors may be learning from each other's adaptations4 7,d7 ,the types of malign influence against which the ,united ,states ,government should prioritize defenses and proactive measures4 7,e7 ,prioritized recommendations for actions the ,united ,states should take to counter malign influence4 7,f7 ,the current roles and responsibilities designated to each relevant ,federal department and agency to counter malign influence1 and any recommended changes to such roles and responsibilities4 7,g7 ,the estimated resources necessary for each relevant ,federal department and agency to fulfill such roles and responsibilities4 7,h7 ,the current mechanisms for coordinating among relevant ,federal departments and agencies to counter malign influence1 and any recommendations for improving such coordination4 7,i7 ,the current short- and long-term methodology and metrics used to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of efforts to counter malign influence1 the lessons learned from such monitoring and evaluation1 and any recommendations for improving such monitoring and evaluation4 7,j7 ,the risks associated with the recommended approach to countering malign influence1 including the relationships and tradeoffs among priorities1 roles1 and resources4 7,k7 ,any other matters the ,commission determines relevant4 7#b7 ,interim briefing ,not later than #abj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,commission shall provide to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate a briefing on the status of its assessment and review under this section1 including a discussion of any interim recommendations4 7#c7 ,form ,the report required under paragraph 7#a7 shall be submitted in unclassified form1 but may include a classified annex4 7g7 ,funding ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,commission #f1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbj to carry out this section4 ,amounts made available to carry out this section shall be managed by the ,department of ,state and utilized for-- 7#a7 compensation for the appointed members of the ,commission2 7#b7 expenses for the basic operations of the ,commission2 and 7#c7 additional expenses that may arise over the life of the ,commission4 7h7 ,termination ,the ,commission shall terminate on the date that is six months after the date of the submission of the report required under subsection 7f77#a74