[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2789 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2789
To direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy on efforts to
strengthen subnational cooperation between the United States and
Mexico, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 20, 2023
Mr. Stanton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy on efforts to
strengthen subnational cooperation between the United States and
Mexico, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``American Cooperation with Our
Neighbors Act''.
SEC. 2. SUBNATIONAL COOPERATION STRATEGY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate a strategy on efforts to strengthen subnational cooperation
between the United States and Mexico for the purposes of--
(1) enhancing law enforcement cooperation at a subnational
level for the purpose of curbing fentanyl trafficking and other
synthetic opioids, including activities such as--
(A) bolstering technical assistance for law
enforcement agencies;
(B) carrying out exchange programs for the purposes
of professional development; and
(C) enhancing data sharing, as appropriate;
(2) bolstering subnational dialogue between local
governments, civil society, faith-based organizations, and
business community leaders and integrating issues faced by
local communities, including with respect to trafficking of
fentanyl and other synthetic opioids; and
(3) strengthening capacity building and provide resources
for border towns and organizations within those towns that
attempt to meet the needs of local communities.
(b) Update.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the
submission of the strategy under subsection (a), the President shall
submit to the congressional committees specified in subsection (a) an
update containing an assessment of the implementation and effectiveness
of the strategy, lessons learned from the past year with respect to the
strategy, and planned changes to the strategy.
(c) Form.--The strategy under subsection (a), and the update under
subsection (b), shall be submitted in unclassified form.
SEC. 3. LOW-EARTH ORBIT SATELLITE TECHNOLOGIES FEASIBILITY STUDY AND
REPORT.
(a) Feasibility Study.--The Secretary of State, in consultation
with the Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, the Director of the United States
Trade and Development Agency, and the heads of other Federal agencies
as appropriate, shall conduct a feasibility study for the countries of
Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean on the possibility of low-
Earth orbit satellites, high altitude platforms systems, or other
trusted space-based telecommunications technologies to--
(1) provide broadband connection to remote areas that lack
access to network service;
(2) provide mobile and internet services without the use of
untrusted telecommunications equipment or services; and
(3) provide uncensored internet access to the people of
such countries the governments of which use firewalls to
prevent their populations from freely accessing information.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the completion of the
feasibility study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall prepare and
submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a
report on the results of the feasibility study under subsection (a)
that includes an analysis of the--
(1) scalability of the implementation of the technologies
described in subsection (a);
(2) economic viability of using space-based technologies to
reach remote areas, including the cost of space-enabled
broadband service per newly connected person;
(3) feasibility of using such technologies to limit or
phase out the use of untrusted telecommunications equipment or
services; and
(4) capability of satellite internet technologies to
provide uncensored internet to people in countries where open
internet access is forbidden or curtailed.
SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF STATE REVIEW OF ACCESS TO FINANCE IN THE
COUNTRIES OF THE CARIBBEAN.
(a) Review.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with the
Secretary of Treasury, shall conduct a review to determine any steps,
balancing costs and benefits, that the Secretaries could take to expand
financial access to the countries of the Caribbean, including through a
review of--
(1) sanctions enforcement laws and compliance standards;
(2) reporting requirements pertaining to narcotics
trafficking and illicit finance thereof;
(3) possible expansion of embassies and consulates in the
region; and
(4) programming or lack thereof pertaining to access to
capital in the region.
(b) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the findings of the Secretary
pertaining to the review under subsection (a).
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
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