Coordinating aid and assistance across Europe and Eurasia

22 U.S.C. § 9543

• Title: 22 — Foreign Relations and Intercourse
• Chapter: SUBCHAPTER II—COUNTERING RUSSIAN INFLUENCE IN EUROPE AND EURASIA

Text

(a) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated for the Countering Russian Influence Fund $250,000,000 for fiscal years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
(b) Use of funds
Amounts in the Countering Russian Influence Fund shall be used to effectively implement, prioritized in the following order and subject to the availability of funds, the following goals:
(1) To assist in protecting critical infrastructure and electoral mechanisms from cyberattacks in the following countries:
(A) Countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union that the Secretary of State determines—
(i) are vulnerable to influence by the Russian Federation; and
(ii) lack the economic capability to effectively respond to aggression by the Russian Federation without the support of the United States.
(B) Countries that are participating in the enlargement process of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Kosovo, Serbia, and Ukraine.
(2) To combat corruption, improve the rule of law, and otherwise strengthen independent judiciaries and prosecutors general offices in the countries described in paragraph (1).
(3) To respond to the humanitarian crises and instability caused or aggravated by the invasions and occupations of Georgia and Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
(4) To improve participatory legislative processes and legal education, political transparency and competition, and compliance with international obligations in the countries described in paragraph (1).
(5) To build the capacity of civil society, media, and other nongovernmental organizations countering the influence and propaganda of the Russian Federation to combat corruption, prioritize access to truthful information, and operate freely in all regions in the countries described in paragraph (1).
(6) To assist the Secretary of State in executing the functions specified in section 1287(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) for the purposes of recognizing, understanding, exposing, and countering propaganda and disinformation efforts by foreign governments, in coordination with the relevant regional Assistant Secretary or Assistant Secretaries of the Department of State.
(7) To assist United States agencies that operate under the foreign policy guidance of the Secretary of State in providing assistance under section 9563 of this title.
(c) Revision of activities for which amounts may be used
The Secretary of State may modify the goals described in subsection (b) if, not later than 15 days before revising such a goal, the Secretary notifies the appropriate congressional committees of the revision.
(d) Implementation
The Secretary of State shall, acting through the Coordinator of United States Assistance to Europe and Eurasia (authorized pursuant to section 5461 of this title and section 5812 of this title), and in consultation with the Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development, the Director of the Global Engagement Center of the Department of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, coordinate and carry out activities to achieve the goals described in subsection (b).
Activities to achieve the goals described in subsection (b) shall be carried out through—
(A) initiatives of the United States Government;
(B) Federal grant programs such as the Information Access Fund; or
(C) nongovernmental or international organizations, such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Black Sea Trust, the Balkan Trust for Democracy, the Prague Civil Society Centre, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, the European Endowment for Democracy, and related organizations.
Not later than April 1 of each year, the Secretary of State, acting through the Coordinator of United States Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the programs and activities carried out to achieve the goals described in subsection (b) during the preceding fiscal year.
Each report required by subparagraph (A) shall include, with respect to each program or activity described in that subparagraph—
(i) the amount of funding for the program or activity;
(ii) the goal described in subsection (b) to which the program or activity relates; and
(iii) an assessment of whether or not the goal was met.
(e) Coordination With global partners
In order to maximize cost efficiency, eliminate duplication, and speed the achievement of the goals described in subsection (b), the Secretary of State shall ensure coordination with—
(A) the European Union and its institutions;
(B) the governments of countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union; and
(C) international organizations and quasi-governmental funding entities that carry out programs and activities that seek to accomplish the goals described in subsection (b).
Not later than April 1 of each year, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes—
(A) the amount of funding provided to each country referred to in subsection (b) by—
(i) the European Union or its institutions;
(ii) the government of each country that is a member of the European Union or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; and
(iii) international organizations and quasi-governmental funding entities that carry out programs and activities that seek to accomplish the goals described in subsection (b); and
(B) an assessment of whether the funding described in subparagraph (A) is commensurate with funding provided by the United States for those goals.
(f) Rule of construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to or limit United States foreign assistance not provided using amounts available in the Countering Russian Influence Fund.
(g) Ensuring adequate staffing for governance activities
In order to ensure that the United States Government is properly focused on combating corruption, improving rule of law, and building the capacity of civil society, media, and other nongovernmental organizations in countries described in subsection (b)(1), the Secretary of State shall establish a pilot program for Foreign Service officer positions focused on governance and anticorruption activities in such countries.

History

(Pub. L. 115–44, title II, §254, Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 928; Pub. L. 116–94, div. P, title XX, §2004(d)(2), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3225.)

Editorial Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments
2019—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–94, §2004(d)(2)(A), substituted "fiscal years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023" for "fiscal years 2018 and 2019".
Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 116–94, §2004(d)(2)(B), added par. (7).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name
Broadcasting Board of Governors renamed United States Agency for Global Media pursuant to section 6204(a)(21) of this title. The renaming was effectuated by notice to congressional appropriations committees dated May 24, 2018, and became effective Aug. 22, 2018.

Countering Russian Influence Fund Unit
Pub. L. 119–60, div. E, title I, §5160, Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1582, provided that:
"(a) Establishment.—The Secretary [of State] shall establish and maintain a Countering Russian Influence Fund Unit (in this section referred to as the 'CRIF Unit') in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the Department [of State].
"(b) Personnel.—
"(1) Composition.—The CRIF Unit may be comprised of a Director, Deputy Director, and additional staff as appropriate, including a budget analyst, a grant officer, a program assistant, and a monitoring, evaluation, and learning specialist.
"(2) Staffing.—The CRIF Unit shall be comprised of personnel with expertise or experience in performing the following functions:
"(A) Grants officer.
"(B) Program assistant.
"(C) Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning specialist.
"(3) Director.—The Director of the CRIF Unit shall fulfill the following responsibilities:
"(A) Identify on an annual basis specific strategic priorities for the CRIF Unit consistent with United States foreign policy and national security priorities and objectives described in section 254 of the Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017 (22 U.S.C. 9543).
"(B) In coordination with the head of the Office of Foreign Assistance and other relevant officials, provide policy guidance, coordinate, select, and approve all CRIF Unit programming, based on criteria that the program directly counters malign activities by the Russian Federation in accordance with the use of funds described in such section 254.
"(C) Ensure that all CRIF Unit programming advances United States foreign policy and national security interests, including efforts to counter Russian aggression against sovereign countries and other nefarious kinetic and hybrid Russian activities in countries that are United States allies or partners that affect, threaten, or undermine United States interests.
"(D) Conduct oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of the effectiveness of all CRIF Unit programming to ensure that it advances United States foreign policy and national security interests and degrades the ability of the Russian Federation or entities acting on the behalf of the Russian Federation to conduct malign influence operations.
"(E) Ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that all CRIF Unit programming is carried out in coordination with other Federal activities to counter Russian malign influence.
"(F) On a quarterly basis, brief the appropriate congressional committees on the development of annual strategic priorities and CRIF Unit project selection and implementation.
"(G) Provide a written list of CRIF Unit projects approved for each fiscal year to the appropriate congressional committees.
"(4) Deputy director.—The Deputy Director may have responsibility for policy and programming to assist the Director, particularly with respect to CRIF Unit activities handled by other Federal departments or agencies.
"(5) Appropriate congressional committee defined.—In this subsection, the term 'appropriate congressional committees' means—
"(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
"(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
"(c) Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Activities.—The Director of the CRIF Unit may—
"(1) direct monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities to assess programmatic outcomes, maximize government efficiency, and reduce the risks of fraud and waste;
"(2) conduct regular research and evaluation of CRIF Unit programs and activities to improve ongoing and future activities, including by implementing a process to ensure monitoring, evaluation, and learning results are considered in funding decisions; and
"(3) make available to Congress the findings of any research or evaluation conducted under paragraph (2).
"(d) Definition.—In this section, the term 'Russian malign influence' means activities by the Russian Federation or an entity acting on the behalf of the Russian Federation that—
"(1) advance an alternative, repressive international order that bolsters the hegemonic ambitions of the Russian Federation;
"(2) utilize covert or overt information operations, corruption, political interference, or economic coercion and dependency to influence the political, military, economic, or other policies of a foreign country and advance the strategic objectives of the Russian Federation;
"(3) undermine the national security, territorial integrity, or sovereignty of the United States or other country; or
"(4) undermine the political and economic security of the United States or other country, including by facilitating corruption or elite capture, distorting markets, and advancing coercive economic practices, including theft of intellectual property, and engaging in malign information operations.
"(e) Termination.—The CRIF Unit established under this section shall terminate on the date that is four years after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 18, 2025]."