,,ii #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ad ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #bb1 #bjba,mr4 ,cardin 7for himself and ,mr4 ,young7 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 evaluate foreign persons engaged in grand corruption for inclusion as specially designated nationals under the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,combating ,global ,corruption ,act of #bjba4 #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 ,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#e7 ,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 ,imposition of sanctions under ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 shall evaluate foreign persons engaged in grand corruption in all countries identified as tier #c countries under section #c for the imposition of sanctions under the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act 7subtitle ,f of title ,,xii of ,public ,law #aad-cbh2 #bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfef note74 7b7 ,report required ,not later than #fj days after publishing the list required by section #c7;a71 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the committees specified in subsection 7e7 a report that includes-- 7#a7 a list of foreign persons evaluated under subsection 7a72 7#b7 a list of foreign persons with respect to which the ,president imposed sanctions pursuant to that evaluation2 7#c7 the dates on which such sanctions were imposed2 and 7#d7 the reasons for imposing such sanctions4 7c7 ,form of report 7#a7 ,in general ,each report required by subsection 7b7 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex4 7#b7 ,exception ,the name of a foreign person to be included in the list required by subsection 7b77#a7 may be submitted in the classified annex authorized by paragraph 7#a7 only if the ,president-- 7,a7 determines that it is vital for the national security interests of the ,united ,states to do so2 7,b7 uses the annex in a manner consistent with congressional intent and the purposes of this ,act2 and 7,c7 not later than #ae days before submitting the name in the classified annex1 provides to the committees specified in subsection 7e7 notice of1 and a justification for1 including the name in the classified annex despite any publicly available credible information indicating that the person engaged in an activity that would subject the person to the imposition of sanctions under the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act4 7d7 ,public availability of report 7#a7 ,in general ,the unclassified portion of the report required by subsection 7b7 shall be made available to the public1 including through publication in the ,federal ,register4 7#b7 ,nonapplicability of confidentiality requirement with respect to visa records ,the ,president shall publish the list required by subsection 7b77#a7 without regard to the requirements of section #bbb7;f7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abjb7;f77 with respect to confidentiality of records pertaining to the issuance or refusal of visas or permits to enter the ,united ,states4 7e7 ,committees specified ,the committees specified in this subsection are-- 7#a7 the ,committee on ,appropriations1 the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations1 and the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate2 and 7#b7 the ,committee on ,appropriations1 the ,committee on ,financial ,services1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives4 #f4 ,designation of embassy anti-corruption points of contact 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state shall annually designate an anti-corruption point of contact at the ,united ,states diplomatic post to each country identified as tier #b or tier #c under section #c1 or which the ,secretary otherwise determines is in need of such a point of contact4 ,the point of contact shall be the chief of mission or the chief of mission's designee4 7b7 ,responsibilities ,each anti-corruption point of contact designated under subsection 7a7 shall be responsible for coordinating and overseeing the implementation of a whole-of-government approach among the relevant ,federal departments and agencies operating programs that-- 7#a7 promote good governance in foreign countries2 and 7#b7 enhance the ability of such countries-- 7,a7 to combat public corruption2 and 7,b7 to develop and implement corruption risk assessment tools and mitigation strategies4 7c7 ,training ,the ,secretary of ,state shall implement appropriate training for anti-corruption points of contact designated under subsection 7a74