This Act may be cited as the “Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act of 2018”.

(a) Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership.—

(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall establish a partnership, to be known as the “Trans-Sahara Coun­ter­ter­ror­ism Partnership” (TSCTP), to coordinate all United States programs, projects, and activities in the Sahel, Maghreb, and adjacent regions of Africa that are conducted for any of the following purposes:

(A) To build the capacity of foreign military and law enforcement entities in such regions to conduct counterterrorism operations.

(B) To improve the ability of foreign military and law enforcement entities in such regions to cooperate on counterterrorism efforts.

(C) To enhance the border security capacity of partner countries in such regions, including the ability to monitor, restrain, and interdict terrorist movements.

(D) To strengthen the rule of law in such countries, including access to justice, and the ability of the law enforcement entities of such partner countries to detect, disrupt, respond to, investigate, and prosecute terrorist activity.

(E) To monitor and counter the financing of terrorism.

(F) To further reduce any opportunities among communities in such regions for recruitment or incitement for terrorist activities through public diplomacy efforts, such as supporting youth employment, promoting meaningful participation of women, strengthening local governance and civil society capacity, and improving access to education.

(2) CONSULTATION.—In coordinating programs through the TSCTP, the Secretary of State may also consult, as appropriate, with the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies.

(3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 15 days before obligating amounts for an activity coordinated by the TSCTP pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretaries of State shall submit a notification, in accordance with the requirements of section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394–1), that includes the following:

(A) The foreign country and entity, as applicable, whose capabilities are to be enhanced in accordance with the purposes specified in paragraph (1).

(B) The amount, type, and purpose of support to be provided.

(C) An assessment of the capacity of the foreign country or entity to absorb the training or equipment to be provided.

(D) The estimated cost, implementation timeline, and delivery schedule for assistance.

(E) A description of the arrangements to sustain any equipment provided by the activity beyond the completion date of such activity, if applicable, and the estimated cost and source of funds to support such sustainment.

(F) The amount, type, statutory authorization, and purpose of any United States assistance provided to such foreign country during the three preceding fiscal years.

(b) Comprehensive strategy for counterterrorism efforts.—

(1) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive, interagency strategy that—

(A) highlights the desired end states, strategic objectives, and sub-objectives for the United States counterterrorism effort in the Sahel, Maghreb, and adjacent regions of Africa with respect to the use of all forms of United States assistance to counter violent extremism; and

(B) includes a plan by the Secretary of State for the manner in which programs shall be coordinated by the TSCTP pursuant to subsection (a)(1).

(2) SUPPORTING MATERIAL IN ANNUAL BUDGET REQUEST.—The Secretary of State shall include, in the budget materials submitted in support of the budget of the President (submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code) for each fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act, a description of the requirements, activities, and planned allocation of amounts requested by the TSCTP.

(3) FORM.—The report required by paragraph (1) and each description required under paragraph (2) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.

(c) Assessment, monitoring, and evaluation of programs and activities.—

(1) MONITORING AND EVALUATION.—The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall conduct rigorously assess, monitor, and evaluate programs coordinated by the TSCTP pursuant to subsection (a)(1) including by the following:

(A) Initial assessments of partner capability requirements, potential programmatic risks, baseline information, and indicators of efficacy for purposes of planning, monitoring, and evaluation of the programs and activities coordinated by the TSCTP.

(B) Evaluations of the efficiency and effectiveness of such programs and activities.

(C) Monitoring implementation of such programs and activities with respect to the stated objectives outlined in the strategy required under subsection (b)(1).

(D) Identification of lessons learned in carrying out such programs and activities to develop recommendations for improving such strategy and future security cooperation programs and activities of the TSCTP.

(2) BEST PRACTICES REQUIREMENTS.—The ongoing assessment required under paragraph (1) shall be conducted in accordance with the best practices described in section 383(b)(2) of title 10, United States Code.

(3) REPORTS.—

(A) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—For the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an annual report on the findings of the ongoing assessment required by paragraph (1) during the previous fiscal year. Each report shall include, with respect to such previous year, the following:

(i) A description of all activities coordinated by the TSCTP pursuant to subsection (a)(1).

(ii) An evaluation of the lessons learned and best practices identified in accordance with paragraph (2).

(iii) An analysis of major actions taken by the government of each foreign country receiving assistance coordinated by the TSCTP to combat corruption, improve transparency and accountability, and promote other forms of good governance such as those described in section 133 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152c) (relating to programs to encourage good governance).

(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF EFFICIENCY EVALUATION.—The Secretaries of State and Defense shall jointly make publicly available a summary of each evaluation conducted pursuant to paragraph (1), from which the Secretaries may redact or omit any information that the Secretaries determine should not be disclosed to the public in order to protect the interests of the United States or of any relevant foreign country.

(C) FORM.—The report required by subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.

(d) Appropriate congressional committees defined.—In this section, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means—

(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and

(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.