50 USC 3059 - Foreign Malign Influence Center

View all text of Subchapter I [§ 3021 - § 3062]

§ 3059. Foreign Malign Influence Center

(a) Establishment

(b) Functions and compositionThe Center shall—

(1) be comprised of analysts from all elements of the intelligence community, including elements with diplomatic and law enforcement functions;

(2) have access to all intelligence and other reporting possessed or acquired by the United States Government pertaining to foreign malign influence;

(3) serve as the primary organization in the United States Government for analyzing and integrating all intelligence possessed or acquired by the United States Government pertaining to foreign malign influence; and

(4) provide to employees and officers of the Federal Government in policy-making positions and Congress comprehensive assessments, and indications and warnings, of foreign malign influence.

(1) Appointment

(2) RoleThe Director of the Center shall—

(A) report directly to the Director of National Intelligence;

(B) carry out the functions under subsection (b); and

(C) at the request of the President or the Director of National Intelligence, develop and provide recommendations for potential responses by the United States to foreign malign influence.

(d) Annual reports

(1) In general

(2) Matters includedEach report under paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to the period covered by the report, a discussion of the following:

(A) The most significant activities of the Center.

(B) Any recommendations the Director determines necessary for legislative or other actions to improve the ability of the Center to carry out its functions, including recommendations regarding the protection of privacy and civil liberties.

(e) TerminationAfter December 31, 2028, the Director of National Intelligence may terminate the Center, but only if the Director of National Intelligence submits to the congressional intelligence committees, the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a determination that the termination of the Center is appropriate, which includes—

(1) a detailed description that other offices or entities within the intelligence community—

(A) have the capabilities to perform the functions of the Center; and

(B) will exercise the functions of the Center upon the termination of the Center; and

(2) a detailed description of—

(A) the actions the Director of National Intelligence will take to conduct an orderly wind-down of the activities of the Center; and

(B) the proposed timeline for such actions.

(f) DefinitionsIn this section:

(1) Covered foreign countryThe term “covered foreign country” means the following:

(A) The Russian Federation.

(B) The Islamic Republic of Iran.

(D) The People’s Republic of China.

(E) Any other foreign country that the Director of the Center determines appropriate for purposes of this section.

(2) Foreign malign influenceThe term “foreign malign influence” means any hostile effort undertaken by, at the direction of, or on behalf of or with the substantial support of, the government of a covered foreign country with the objective of influencing, through overt or covert means—

(A) the political, military, economic, or other policies or activities of the United States Government or State or local governments, including any election within the United States; or

(B) the public opinion within the United States.

(July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title I, § 119C, as added Pub. L. 116–92, div. E, title LIII, § 5322(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2129; amended Pub. L. 117–263, div. F, title LXIII, § 6307(a)(1), (b), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3504, 3505.)