SEC. 254. Coordinating aid and assistance across Europe and Eurasia.
(a) Authorization of appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated for the Countering Russian Influence Fund $250,000,000 for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.
(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).
