,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #acji ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #b1 #bjai,mr4 ,cardin 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,young1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 and ,mr4 ,merkley7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to identify and combat corruption in countries1 to establish a tiered system of countries with respect to levels of corruption by their governments and their efforts to combat such corruption1 and to assess ,united ,states assistance to designated countries in order to advance anti-corruption efforts in those countries and better serve ,united ,states taxpayers4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,combating ,global ,corruption ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate2 7,b7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,senate2 7,c7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate2 7,d7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,e7 the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,f7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,corrupt actor ,the term corrupt actor means-- 7,a7 any foreign person or entity that is a government official or government entity responsible for1 or complicit in1 an act of corruption2 and 7,b7 any company1 in which a person or entity described in subparagraph 7,a7 has a significant stake1 which is responsible for1 or complicit in1 an act of corruption4 7#c7 ,corruption ,the term corruption means the exercise of public power for private gain1 including by bribery1 nepotism1 fraud1 or embezzlement4 7#d7 ,foreign assistance ,the term foreign assistance means assistance made available under-- 7,a7 the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #baea et seq472 7,b7 the ,arms ,export ,control ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bgea et seq472 or 7,c7 title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#e7 ,grand corruption ,the term grand corruption means corruption committed at a high level of government that-- 7,a7 distorts policies or the central functioning of the country2 and 7,b7 enables leaders to benefit at the expense of the public good4 7#f7 ,petty corruption ,the term petty corruption means the abuse of entrusted power by low- or mid-level public officials in their interactions with ordinary citizens4 #c4 ,publication of tiered ranking list 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state shall annually publish1 on a publicly accessible website1 a tiered ranking of all foreign countries4 7b7 ,tier #a countries ,a country shall be ranked as a tier #a country in the ranking published under subsection 7a7 if the government of such country is complying with the minimum standards set forth in section #d4 7c7 ,tier #b countries ,a country shall be ranked as a tier #b country in the ranking published under subsection 7a7 if the government of such country is making efforts to comply with the minimum standards set forth in section #d1 but is not achieving the requisite level of compliance to be ranked as a tier #a country4 7d7 ,tier #c countries ,a country shall be ranked as a tier #c country in the ranking published under subsection 7a7 if the government of such country is making de minimis or no efforts to comply with the minimum standards set forth in section #d4 #d4 ,minimum standards for the elimination of corruption and assessment of efforts to combat corruption 7a7 ,in general ,the government of a country is complying with the minimum standards for the elimination of corruption if the government-- 7#a7 has enacted laws and established government structures1 policies1 and practices that prohibit corruption1 including grand corruption and petty corruption2 7#b7 enforces the laws described in paragraph 7#a7 by punishing any person who is found1 through a fair judicial process1 to have violated such laws2 7#c7 prescribes punishment for grand corruption that is commensurate with the punishment prescribed for serious crimes2 7#d7 prescribes punishment for petty corruption that-- 7,a7 provides a sufficiently stringent deterrent2 and 7,b7 adequately reflects the nature of the offense2 and 7#e7 is making serious and sustained efforts to eliminate corruption4 7b7 ,factors for assessing government efforts ,to combat corruption ,in determining whether a government is making serious and sustained efforts to eliminate corruption1 the ,secretary of ,state shall consider-- 7#a7 whether the government of the country vigorously investigates and prosecutes acts of corruption and convicts and sentences persons responsible for such acts that take place wholly or partly within such country1 including1 as appropriate1 requiring incarceration of individuals convicted of such acts2 7#b7 whether the government of the country vigorously investigates1 prosecutes1 convicts1 and sentences public officials who participate in or facilitate corruption1 including nationals of the country who are deployed in foreign military assignments1 trade delegations abroad1 or other similar missions1 who engage in or facilitate severe forms of corruption2 7#c7 whether the government of the country has adopted measures to prevent corruption1 such as measures to inform and educate the public1 including potential victims1 about the causes and consequences of corruption2 7#d7 what steps the government of the country has taken to prohibit government officials from participating in1 facilitating1 or condoning corruption1 including the investigation1 prosecution1 and conviction of such officials2 7#e7 the extent to which the country provides access1 or1 as appropriate1 makes adequate resources available1 to civil society organizations and other institutions to combat corruption1 including reporting1 investigating1 and monitoring2 7#f7 whether an independent judiciary or judicial body in the country responsible for1 and effectively capable of1 deciding corruption cases impartially1 on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law1 without any restrictions1 improper influences1 inducements1 pressures1 threats1 or interferences 7direct or indirect7 from any quarter or for any reason2 7#g7 whether the government of the country is assisting in international investigations of transnational corruption networks and in other cooperative efforts to combat grand corruption1 including cooperating with the governments of other countries to extradite corrupt actors2 7#h7 whether the government of the country recognizes the rights of victims of corruption1 ensures their access to justice1 and takes steps to prevent victims from being further victimized or persecuted by corrupt actors1 government officials1 or others2 7#i7 whether the government of the country refrains from prosecuting victims of corruption or whistleblowers due to such persons having assisted in exposing corruption1 and refrains from other discriminatory treatment of such persons2 and 7#aj7 such other information relating to corruption as the ,secretary of ,state considers appropriate4 #e4 ,transparency and accountability 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #fj days after publishing the report required under section #c7;a71 and prior to obligation by any ,united ,states agency of foreign assistance to the government of a country ranked as a tier #c country under section #c7;d71 the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,administrator of the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development 7referred to in this ,act as the ,,usaid ,administrator7 and the ,secretary of ,defense1 as appropriate1 shall-- 7#a7 conduct a corruption risk assessment and create a corruption mitigation strategy for all ,united ,states foreign assistance programs to that country2 7#b7 require the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses for all foreign assistance contracts1 grants1 and cooperative agreements1 which allow for the termination of the contract1 grant1 or cooperative agreement without penalty if credible indicators of corruption are discovered2 7#c7 require the inclusion of appropriate clawback clauses for all foreign assistance contracts1 grants1 and cooperative agreements to recover ,united ,states taxpayer funds that have been misappropriated from the prime contractor1 grantee1 or cooperative agreement participant through corruption2 7#d7 require the disclosure of the beneficial ownership of all contractors1 subcontractors1 grantees1 cooperative agreement participants1 and other organizations receiving funding from the ,united ,states ,government for foreign assistance programs2 and 7#e7 establish a mechanism for investigating allegations of misappropriated foreign assistance funds or equipment4 7b7 ,exceptions and waiver 7#a7 ,exceptions ,subsection 7a7 shall not apply to humanitarian assistance1 disaster assistance1 or assistance to combat corruption4 7#b7 ,waiver ,the ,secretary of ,state1 on a program-by-program basis1 may waive the requirement to delay foreign assistance under subsection 7a7 if the ,secretary of ,state certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that such waiver is important to the national security interests of the ,united ,states4 #f4 ,resources and reporting requirements 7a7 ,annual report 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state shall submit an annual report to the appropriate congressional committees that outlines the resources needed to meet the objectives and reports under sections #c through #e1 including-- 7,a7 intelligence data collection needs2 7,b7 personnel needs2 7,c7 information technology requirements2 and 7,d7 a description of the bureaucratic structure of the offices within the ,department of ,state and the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development 7,,usaid7 that are engaged in anti-corruption activities4 7#b7 ,form ,the report submitted under paragraph 7#a7 shall be submitted in unclassified form1 but may include a classified annex4 7b7 ,online platform ,the ,secretary of ,state and the ,,usaid ,administrator shall consolidate existing reports with anti-corruption components into one online1 public platform1 which shall-- 7#a7 include-- 7,a7 the ,human ,rights ,report2 7,b7 the ,fiscal ,transparency ,report2 7,c7 the ,investment ,climate ,statement reports2 7,d7 the ,international ,narcotics ,control ,strategy ,report2 and 7,e7 any other relevant public reports2 and 7#b7 link to third-party indicators used by the ,united ,states ,government to inform policy and programming1 such as-- 7,a7 the ,world ,bank's ,control of ,corruption ,indicator2 7,b7 the ,world ,bank's ,actionable ,governance ,index ,data ,portal2 7,c7 the ,international ,finance ,corporation's ,doing ,business surveys2 7,d7 the ,international ,budget ,partnership's ,open ,budget ,index2 7,e7 the ,global ,integrity ,index2 and 7,f7 multilateral peer review anti-corruption compliance mechanisms1 such as the ,organisation for ,economic ,co-operation and ,development's ,working ,group on ,bribery in ,international ,business ,transactions and the ,united ,nations ,convention ,against ,corruption1 done at ,new ,york ,october #ca1 #bjjc1 to further highlight expert international views on country challenges and country efforts4 7c7 ,training ,to increase the ability of ,department of ,state and ,,usaid personnel to support anti-corruption as a foreign policy and development priority1 and strengthen their ability to design1 implement1 and evaluate more effective anti-corruption programming around the world1 including enhancing skills to better evaluate and mitigate corruption risks in assistance programs1 the ,secretary of ,state and the ,,usaid ,administrator shall incorporate anti-corruption components into existing ,foreign ,service and ,civil ,service training courses4