,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dbhe  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #ai       
7legislative day1 ,may #ag71 #bjbb,mr4  
,menendez 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cassidy1  
,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,wicker1 and ,mr4     
,cardin7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,foreign ,relations  ,a  
,,bill  ,to celebrate the #bjth         
anniversary of the ,inter-,american     
,democratic ,charter1 to encourage      
governments in the ,americas to         
reinforce their commitments to the      
principles enshrined in the             
,inter-,american ,democratic ,charter1  
to reaffirm the role of free and fair   
elections as a cornerstone of democracy1
 to address the challenges posed by     
disinformation and misinformation in the
 ,americas1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,upholding the ,inter-,american    
,democratic ,charter ,act of #bjbb4  #b4
 ,findings ,congress makes the following

 findings3 7#a7 ,the ,inter-,american   
,democratic ,charter 7referred to in    
this section as the ,charter71 done at  
,lima ,september #aa1 #bjja1 established
 a set of shared democratic principles  
and norms among member states of the    
,organization of ,american ,states      
7referred to in this section as the     
,,oas71 including commitments to the    
separation of powers and independence of
 the branches of government1 pluralistic
 systems of political parties and       
organizations1 and free1 transparent1   
and fair elections4  7#b7 ,articles #a  
and #b of the ,charter recognize1       
respectively1 that the peoples of the   
,americas have a right to democracy and 
their governments have an obligation to 
promote and defend it and that the      
effective exercise of representative    
democracy is the basis for the rule of  
law and constitutional order in ,,oas   
member states4  7#c7 ,article #c of the 
,charter asserts that access to and the 
exercise of power in accordance with the

 rule of law and the holding of         
periodic1 free1 and fair elections based
 on secret balloting and universal      
suffrage as an expression of the        
sovereignty of the people are essential 
elements of representative democracy4   
7#d7 ,article #d of the ,charter states 
that 8transparency in government        
activities1 probity1 responsible public 
administration on the part of           
governments0 and 8freedom of expression 
and of the press0 are also essential for
 the democratic functioning of member   
states of the ,,oas4  7#e7 ,despite     
widespread advances in the consolidation
 of democratic governance in the        
,americas1 there remain deep and        
concerning challenges facing democracies
 throughout ,latin ,america and the     
,caribbean1 including-- 7,a7 recurring  
incidents of significant electoral      
irregularities and manipulation2  7,b7  
the extension and elimination of        
presidential term limits2  7,c7 the     
politicization of judicial systems and  

the expansion of executive powers and   
executive influence over the judiciary2 
7,d7 corruption and a lack of           
transparency1 which hinders integral    
development in addition to weakening    
democratic institutions2 and  7,e7      
misinformation and disinformation       
disseminated by foreign governments via 
traditional and digital media platforms 
that undermine faith in democratic      
institutions and elections4  7#f7 ,since
 #bjaf1 there have been concerning      
levels of irregularities in several     
electoral processes throughout the      
,americas1 including-- 7,a7 the #bjaf   
and #bjba general elections in          
,nicaragua2  7,b7 the #bjag general     
elections in ,honduras2  7,c7 the sham  
#bjag constituent assembly1 #bjah       
presidential1 and #bjbj national        
legislative elections in ,venezuela2    
7,d7 the #bjai presidential elections in
 ,bolivia2 and  7,e7 the #bjbj general  
and regional elections in ,guyana4  7#g7
 ,the ,november #f1 #bjaf1 general      

elections in ,nicaragua were            
characterized by severe democratic      
deficiencies1 including widespread      
limitations on the participation of     
opposition candidates1 and the ,november
 #g1 #bjba1 general elections in        
,nicaragua were characterized by similar
 deficiencies1 including the            
criminalization of the legitimate work  
of social organizations and political   
parties and the political imprisonment  
of potential opposition candidates1     
which consequently led the ,general     
,assembly of the ,,oas to pass a        
resolution approved by #be countries    
declaring that the #bjba elections were 
not free1 fair or transparent and have  
no democratic legitimacy4  7#h7         
,following the general elections in     
,honduras on ,november #bf1 #bjag1 the  
,,oas ,electoral ,observation ,mission  
reported that the tight margin of the   
results1 and the irregularities1 errors 
and systemic problems that '''          
surrounded the election did not allow   

the ,mission to hold certainty about the
 results1 leading ,secretary ,general of
 the ,,oas ,luis ,almagro to            
subsequently issue a statement noting   
that the only possible way for the      
victor to be the people of ,honduras is 
a new call for general elections4  7#i7 
,the ,july #cj1 #bjag1 elections in     
,venezuela to establish a ,constituent  
,assembly were widely derided as        
fraudulent by the international         
community1 with ,smartmatic1 the company
 that supplied ,venezuela's voting      
machines1 stating that the regime       
manipulated the results by more than    
#a1jjj1jjj votes1 and the ,may #bj1     
#bjah1 presidential elections in        
,venezuela were similarly deemed to be  
fraudulent and illegitimate1 leading the
 ,,oas to invoke the ,charter and       
declare that the elections did not      
comply with international standards1    
permit the participation of all         
political actors1 or satisfy conditions 
necessary to be considered a free1 fair1

 transparent1 and democratic process4   
7#aj7 ,the ,final ,report of the ,,oas  
,electoral ,observation ,mission on the 
,october #bj1 #bjai1 general election in
 ,bolivia1 ,analysis of ,electoral      
,integrity ,general ,elections in the   
,plurinational ,state of ,bolivia1 found
 widespread and conclusive evidence of  
manipulation through secret computer    
servers with the capacity to modify the 
results and tally sheets1 which made it 
impossible for the ,mission to have     
confidence in the election results4     
7#aa7 ,in the aftermath of the #bjbj    
general elections in ,guyana1           
international observers from the ,,oas  
and the ,caribbean ,community           
7,,caricom7 unanimously agreed that     
there was no credible result from       
,guyana's general and regional elections
 held on ,march #b1 #bjbj1 which were   
marked by flagrant tabulation           
irregularities4  7#ab7 ,notwithstanding 
challenges in the region1 several       
countries have held free and fair       

elections for heads of state since      
#bjbj1 including the countries of       
,belize1 ,chile1 ,costa ,rica1 the      
,dominican ,republic1 ,ecuador1         
,honduras1 ,peru1 ,saint ,kitts and     
,nevis1 ,saint ,lucia1 ,trinidad and    
,tobago1 and ,saint ,vincent and the    
,grenadines1 which serve as examples for
 other countries in the region on       
conducting democratic electoral         
processes4  7#ac7 ,transparency         
,international's seminal #bjba report   
indicates that corruption1 bolstered by 
widespread impunity and attacks against 
the independence of the press and the   
judiciary1 remains a significant        
challenge to human rights and democratic
 governance in the ,americas1 with the  
region making insufficient progress in  
combating corruption between #bjaa and  
#bjba4  7#ad7 ,additional steps are     
needed to strengthen confidence in a    
free press in ,latin ,america1 given    
that a study from ,vanderbilt           
,university in #bjah shows that less    

than #a_/b of ,latin ,americans trust   
the press1 down from #b_/c in #bjjd4    
7#ae7 ,the growing challenges of        
disinformation1 misinformation1 and     
digital election interference across the
 ,americas1 and their potential to sow  
social discord and lower public trust in
 democratic institutions1 pose          
significant risks to democratic         
governance and the integrity of future  
elections4  #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it 
is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7   
the #bjth anniversary of the            
,inter-,american ,democratic ,charter is
 an important hallmark in               
inter-,american relations1 and          
democracies in the ,western ,hemisphere 
should continue to uphold the democratic
 electoral norms and standards1         
principles1 and commitments enshrined in
 the ,charter2  7#b7 member states of   
the ,organization of ,american ,states  
should continuously work to strengthen  
democratic institutions and practices1  
as well as economic and political       

institutions that enable integral       
development1 including by promoting     
transparency and combating corruption2  
7#c7 free1 fair1 and transparent        
elections are the foundation of         
representative democracy in the         
,americas2  7#d7 the separation of      
powers and the defense of human rights1 
freedom of expression1 and freedom of   
the press remain fundamental democratic 
principles in the ,americas that must be
 respected2  7#e7 member states of the  
,organization of ,american ,states      
should-- 7,a7 strengthen processes for  
holding free1 fair1 and transparent     
elections2  7,b7 defend the right of all
 of their citizens to peacefully        
assemble1 campaign1 participate1 and    
vote in democratic elections2 and  7,c7 
actively promote the dissemination of   
fact-based public information while     
cooperating with private media to       
identify and discourage the propagation 
of misinformation and disinformation    
surrounding civic life2 and  7#f7 the   

,secretary of ,state should work with   
the ,organization of ,american ,states  
and member states of the ,organization  
of ,american ,states-- 7,a7 to          
strengthen the integrity of electoral   
processes in the ,americas1 including by
 modernizing electoral observation      
methodologies to better address the     
challenges posed by digital election    
interference2  7,b7 to promote quality  
independent journalism and media while  
strengthening institutional capacity in 
the ,americas to monitor and address    
disinformation and misinformation and   
the threats they pose to democratic     
governance1 especially by the ,russian  
,federation1 the ,people's ,republic of 
,china1 and ,iran1 as well as ,cuba and 
the regime of ,nicolas ,maduro in       
,venezuela2  7,c7 to address the        
challenges posed to democratic          
governance and multilateral institutions
 in the ,americas by the activities of  
non-democratic1 nonmember states of the 
,organization of ,american ,states1     

including the ,russian ,federation1 the 
,people's ,republic of ,china1 ,iran1   
and ,cuba2  7,d7 to augment efforts to  
combat corruption and organized criminal
 activity1 including by using digital   
tools to increase transparency in public
 administration1 tax collection1 and    
customs management2  7,e7 to support the
 modernization of judicial systems      
critical to combating corruption in the 
,americas and efforts to strengthen the 
transparency1 integrity1 and            
independence of those systems2  7,f7 to 
advance initiatives to strengthen the   
harmonization of regulatory mechanisms  
to facilitate increased investment and  
digital governance throughout the       
,americas2 and  7,g7 to uphold the      
positive advances that member states of 
the ,organization of ,american ,states  
have made to strengthen the integrity of
 electoral processes1 promote free and  
independent journalism1 combat          
corruption1 and modernize judicial      
systems1 and to encourage those member  

states to share their experience with   
other member states of the ,organization
 of ,american ,states through formal and
 informal mechanisms1 including through 
the forum for democratically elected    
national legislatures of members states 
called for in section #d7;a77#b7 of the 
,organization of ,american ,states      
,legislative ,engagement ,act of #bjbj  
7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bijq note2 ,public ,law 
#aaf-cdc74  #d4 ,statement of policy ,it
 shall be the policy of the ,united     
,states-- 7#a7 to promote continued     
adherence to the democratic principles  
and norms of the ,inter-,american       
,democratic ,charter2 and  7#b7 to      
advance diplomatic initiatives in       
coordination with the ,organization of  
,american ,states and its member states 
to address threats to the integrity of  
the ,inter-,american ,democratic        
,charter and to democratic institutions 
in the ,americas4  #e4 ,strategy for    
strengthening the ,inter-,american      
,democratic ,charter  7a7 ,strategy     

7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of     
,state shall develop and implement a    
multi-year strategy to uphold and       
strengthen the ,inter-,american         
,democratic ,charter4  7#b7 ,elements   
,the strategy required by paragraph 7#a7
 shall include-- 7,a7 developing        
diplomatic initiatives to highlight past
 successes of the ,inter-,american      
,democratic ,charter and its ongoing    
relevance2  7,b7 documenting threats to 
democratic governance in the ,western   
,hemisphere1 including efforts to       
undermine civil society1 the rule of    
law1 free and fair elections1           
presidential term limits1 or the        
separation of powers1 and convening     
diplomatic forums to review and address 
those threats2  7,c7 developing and     
implementing the plans required by      
sections #f1 #g1 and #h2 and  7,d7 fully
 implementing provisions of the         
,organization of ,american ,states      
,legislative ,engagement ,act of #bjbj  
7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bijq note2 ,public ,law 

#aaf-cdc7 to advance efforts to enhance 
the participation of democratically     
elected national legislatures in the    
,organization of ,american ,states1     
including-- 7i7 promoting involvement by
 those legislatures in activities that  
advance the principles of the           
,inter-,american ,democratic ,charter   
and the core values of the ,organization
 of ,american ,states1 as described in  
section #d7;a77#a7 of that ,act2  7ii7  
creating and supporting an annual forum 
to discuss issues of hemispheric        
importance1 including corruption1 as    
described in section #d7;a77#b7 of that 
,act2 and  7iii7 strengthening the      
ability of those legislatures to make   
presentations1 contribute information1  
and provide expert advice to entities of
 the ,organization of ,american ,states1
 as described in section #d7;a77#c7 of  
that ,act4  7b7 ,annual report ,not     
later than #ahj days after the date of  
the enactment of this ,act1 and annually
 thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,state   

shall submit to the ,committee on       
,foreign ,relations of the ,senate and  
the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of  
the ,house of ,representatives a report 
describing in detail-- 7#a7 the strategy
 required by subsection 7a77#a7 and     
efforts to implement the strategy1      
including the plans required by sections
 #f1 #g1 and #h and efforts to implement
 the plans2  7#b7 progress made by the  
,united ,states ,government toward      
achieving the goals of the strategy of  
upholding and strengthening the         
,inter-,american ,democratic ,charter2  
7#c7 challenges to efforts by the       
,united ,states ,government and the     
,organization of ,american ,states to   
uphold and strengthen the               
,inter-,american ,democratic ,charter2  
and  7#d7 progress made in implementing 
the ,organization of ,american ,states  
,revitalization and ,reform ,act of     
#bjac 7,public ,law #aac-da2 #abg ,stat4
 #edh7 and the ,organization of         
,american ,states ,legislative          

,engagement ,act of #bjbj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4
 #bijq note2 ,public ,law #aaf-cdc74    
#f4 ,strengthening the integrity of     
electoral processes in the ,americas    
7a7 ,in general ,as part of the strategy
 required by section #e7;a77#a71 the    
,secretary of ,state shall develop and  
implement a plan for strengthening the  
integrity of electoral processes in the 
,americas4  7b7 ,elements ,the plan     
required by subsection 7a7 shall        
include-- 7#a7 an assessment of emerging
 challenges and risks to democratic     
elections in the ,americas1 including   
the unique threats posed by digital     
election interference2 and  7#b7        
initiatives1 in coordination with the   
,organization of ,american ,states and  
member states of the ,organization of   
,american ,states-- 7,a7 to ensure the  
integrity of elections1 preserve the    
credibility and objectivity of electoral
 observation missions of the            
,organization of ,american ,states1 and 
strengthen the technical capacity of    

those missions to investigate electoral 
irregularities in electoral processes2  
and  7,b7 to improve election           
observation methodologies of the        
,organization of ,american ,states and  
strengthen the training provided to     
electoral observation missions of the   
,organization of ,american ,states to   
effectively monitor1 report1 and address
 the emerging threat of digital election
 interference4  #g4 ,countering         
disinformation and misinformation in the
 ,americas  7a7 ,sense of ,congress ,it 
is the sense of ,congress that ,congress
 supports-- 7#a7 efforts by the         
,secretary ,general of the ,organization
 of ,american ,states to strengthen     
public interest media on traditional and
 digital media platforms1 promote       
investigative journalism1 fortify the   
integrity of media environments1 and    
counter disinformation and              
misinformation across the ,americas2 and
  7#b7 plans by the ,secretary ,general 
of the ,organization of ,american       

,states to announce the creation of the 
,center for ,media ,integrity of the    
,americas at the ,ninth ,summit of the  
,americas4  7b7 ,in general ,as part of 
the strategy required by section        
#e7;a77#a71 the ,secretary of ,state    
shall develop and implement a plan for  
countering the spread and amplification 
of disinformation and misinformation in 
the ,americas and strengthening         
vulnerable information environments4    
7c7 ,elements ,the plan required by     
subsection 7b7 shall include-- 7#a7 an  
assessment of-- 7,a7 the nature and     
prevalence of disinformation and        
misinformation activities in            
traditional1 digital1 and social media  
in the ,americas1 including-- 7i7 the   
major intra-regional and extra-regional 
actors involved in spreading or         
amplifying disinformation and           
misinformation2  7ii7 the tactics those 
actors use2  7iii7 the major narratives 
those actors disseminate2 and  7iv7 the 
extent to which the activities involve  

or are being coordinated by state       
entities or government officials2  7,b7 
the vulnerability of information        
environments within the ,americas2  7,c7
 which countries are most targeted by   
campaigns to spread and amplify         
disinformation and misinformation and   
the effectiveness of those campaigns2   
and  7,d7 the nature and magnitude of   
the threats posed by disinformation and 
misinformation activities to democratic 
governance1 human rights1 and other     
,united ,states interests2 and  7#b7    
efforts1 including the multilateral     
diplomacy described in subsection 7d71  
in coordination with the ,organization  
of ,american ,states and member states  
of the ,organization of ,american       
,states-- 7,a7 to monitor and share     
information about disinformation and    
misinformation activities and the       
effects of those activities2  7,b7 to   
convene regional summits1 forums1 and   
multi-stakeholder initiatives with      
engagement from governments1 technology 

companies1 media organizations1         
academia1 and civil society groups to   
address the challenges posed by         
disinformation and misinformation and   
other related issues1 including data    
privacy1 shared cybersecurity standards1
 and platform interoperability2  7,c7 to
 develop a regional code of best        
practices and other joint solutions to  
address disinformation and              
misinformation1 including rapid alert   
systems and agreements on other related 
issues2  7,d7 to strengthen the capacity
 of the ,organization of ,american      
,states1 member states of the           
,organization of ,american ,states1 and 
independent media and civil society     
groups to counter disinformation and    
misinformation and address vulnerable   
information environments1 including by  
providing support for media and digital 
literacy1 independent journalism1 and   
fact-checking initiatives2 and  7,e7 to 
support and promote the creation of     
public interest media and investigative 

journalism to provide accurate1         
objective1 and reliable local news4  7d7
 ,multilateral diplomacy ,the ,secretary
 of ,state1 acting through the ,united  
,states ,permanent ,representative to   
the ,organization of ,american ,states1 
shall use the voice1 vote1 and influence
 of the ,united ,states-- 7#a7 to       
establish a working group at the        
,organization of ,american ,states to   
monitor the deleterious effects that    
disinformation and misinformation pose  
to democratic governance and human      
rights and develop regional approaches  
to address those effects2 and  7#b7 to  
advance a resolution of the             
,organization of ,american ,states on   
condemning and countering disinformation
 and misinformation in the ,americas4   
7e7 ,resources ,the ,secretary of       
,state1 acting through the ,united      
,states ,mission to the ,organization of
 ,american ,states1 should use the      
voice1 vote1 and influence of the       
,united ,states to support increased    

attention and resources for the ,general
 ,secretariat of the ,organization of   
,american ,states to develop efforts to 
address the threat posed by             
disinformation and misinformation to    
democratic governance and human rights1 
including-- 7#a7 by increasing the      
proportion of ,united ,states voluntary 
contributions designated for addressing 
that threat2 and  7#b7 by encouraging   
similar efforts by other member states  
of the ,organization of ,american       
,states4  #h4 ,addressing additional    
challenges to democratic governance in  
the ,americas  7a7 ,in general ,as part 
of the strategy required by section     
#e7;a77#a71 the ,secretary of ,state    
shall develop and implement a plan for  
addressing threats to democratic        
governance posed by-- 7#a7 corruption   
and criminality2 and  7#b7 the malign   
activities of nondemocratic1 nonmember  
states of the ,organization of ,american
 ,states1 including the ,people's       
,republic of ,china1 the ,russian       

,federation1 ,iran1 and ,cuba4  7b7     
,elements ,the plan required by         
subsection 7a7 shall include-- 7#a7 an  
assessment of-- 7,a7 the major threats  
from1 and vulnerabilities to1 corruption
 and criminality in the ,americas2 and  
7,b7 how the ,people's ,republic of     
,china and the ,russian ,federation have
 sought to exploit regional multilateral
 institutions to advance their goals and
 undermine democratic governance2 and   
7#b7 efforts by the ,secretary of       
,state-- 7,a7 to propose and develop1 in
 coordination with regional multilateral
 institutions1 digital governance       
programs-- 7i7 to strengthen            
transparency in public administration1  
tax collection1 and customs management2 
and  7ii7 to reduce corruption2 and     
7,b7 to use the voice1 vote1 and        
influence of the ,united ,states-- 7i7  
to diminish the influence of the        
,people's ,republic of ,china and the   
,russian ,federation in regional        
multilateral institutions and call      

attention to how those states undermine 
the principles of the ,inter-,american  
,democratic ,charter2 and  7ii7 to      
support the creation of a special       
rapporteur on anti-corruption at the    
,inter-,american ,commission on ,human  
,rights with the mandate to monitor     
threats from1 and vulnerabilities to1   
corruption among member states of the   
,organization of ,american ,states and  
promote the adoption of measures to     
address such threats1 including minimum 
standards for transparency and access to
 public records4  #i4 ,sunset ,this ,act
 shall terminate on the date that is #aj
 years after the date of the enactment  
of this ,act4