Countering PRC Influence Fund Unit

(a) Countering PRC Influence Fund Unit The Secretary of State may establish and maintain a Countering the PRC Influence Fund Unit (hereinafter referred to as the CPIF Unit), within the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. (b) Personnel (1) Composition The CPIF 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 CPIF 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 CPIF Unit shall fulfill the following responsibilities: (A) Identify specific strategic priorities for CPIF consistent with United States national security priorities. (B) Coordinate, select, and approve all CPIF programming, based on criteria that the program directly counters malign activities by China or provides United States alternatives to such activities. (C) Ensure that all CPIF programming advances United States foreign policy and interests. (D) Conduct oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of the effectiveness of all CPIF programming to ensure that it advances United States interests and degrades the ability of China or entities acting on the behalf of China to conduct malign influence operations. (E) Ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that all CPIF programming is carried out in coordination with other Federal activities to counter PRC malign influence. (4) Deputy Director The Deputy Director of the CPIF Unit may have responsibility for policy and programming to assist the Director, particularly with respect to CPIF Unit activities handled by other United States agencies. (c) Monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities The Director may— (1) direct monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities to maximize government efficiency and reduce the risks of fraud and waste; (2) conduct regular research and evaluation of CPIF programs and activities to improve ongoing and future activities; and (3) make available to Congress the findings of any research or evaluation conducted under paragraph (2). (d) PRC malign influence defined In this section, the term PRC malign influence means influence by China or an entity acting on the behalf of China that— (1) undermines a free and open international order; (2) utilizes coercion and dependency to advance the strategic objectives of the People’s Republic of China; (3) undermines the national security, territorial integrity, or sovereignty of the United States or other country; or (4) undermines the political and economic security of the United States or other country, including by promoting corruption or elite capture, distorting markets, and advancing coercive economic practices, including theft of intellectual property. (e) Termination A CPIF Unit established under this section shall terminate 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.