American Cooperation with Our Neighbors Act
What changed between versions
The entire low-Earth orbit satellite technologies feasibility study and report section was deleted. This provision had required the Secretary of State to study LEO satellites, high altitude platforms, or other space-based telecom for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, covering broadband access, avoiding untrusted equipment, and providing uncensored internet.
The subnational cooperation strategy was broadened to explicitly include 'local, State, and Federal security forces' alongside law enforcement agencies, and to add 'capacity building' to the dialogue provision. The dialogue now spans 'Federal and local governments' rather than just 'local governments.'
The Caribbean finance access review was narrowed from covering 'the countries of the Caribbean' to specifically 'the member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM),' which is a more defined and slightly narrower geographic scope.
A new subsection 2(d) requires the Secretary of State to notify the Judiciary, Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence committees in both chambers before carrying out any data-sharing project with foreign countries under the subnational cooperation strategy. This creates a pre-implementation congressional oversight gate.
