American Cooperation with Our Neighbors Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4532 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4532

 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

                             July 17, 2025

 Mr. Stanton (for himself and Mr. Kean) 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 and local, State,
        and Federal security forces cooperation at a subnational level
        for the purpose of curbing fentanyl trafficking and other
        synthetic opioids, including activities such as--
                    (A) bolstering technical assistance and
                coordination for law enforcement agencies and local,
                State, and Federal security forces;
                    (B) carrying out exchange programs for the purposes
                of professional development; and
                    (C) enhancing data sharing, as appropriate;
            (2) bolstering subnational dialogue and capacity building
        between Federal and 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 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.
    (d) Limitation on Data Sharing.--
            (1) Limitation.--The Secretary of State may not carry out
        any project, program, or activity that implements the strategy
        under subsection (a) for the purpose specified in paragraph
        (1)(C) of such subsection until the Secretary submits to the
        appropriate congressional committees a notification regarding
        the data intended to be shared with foreign countries pursuant
        to such strategy.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--In this
        subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee
                on Homeland Security, the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
                and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of
                the House of Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee
                on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the
                Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Select
                Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF STATE REVIEW OF ACCESS TO FINANCE IN CARICOM
              MEMBER STATES.

    (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 member states of the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM), including through a review of--
            (1) enforcement of international 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.
                                 <all>