MEGOBARI Act

The bill would require the President, within 90 days of enactment, to determine whether Georgian parliament members (serving on or after January 1, 2014), senior political party officials, and government and law enforcement leaders knowingly engaged in significant corruption, violence, or intimidation connected to blocking Georgia's path toward the European Union and NATO. Those found to have done so, and immediate family members who benefited, would face mandatory U.S. visa bans and entry revocations. The bill would separately authorize property-blocking sanctions and require visa sanctions against any foreign person the President determines is undermining Georgia's peace, security, sovereignty, or territorial integrity. The President would also be required to assess whether additional corrupt foreign actors qualify for sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and report findings to Congress within 180 days.

Beyond sanctions, the bill would require a classified report on Russian intelligence penetration of Georgia and a five-year U.S.-Georgia bilateral strategy within 90 days. Enhanced military cooperation and people-to-people exchanges with Georgia would be conditioned on the President certifying meaningful democratic progress. The entire act sunsets five years after enactment.

Georgian parliament members, senior political party officials, government and judicial leaders, and law enforcement officials who may have obstructed Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration or engaged in corruption — along with their immediate family members who benefited from such conduct. Russian, Chinese, Iranian, and other foreign nationals found to be undermining Georgia's stability could also face sanctions. U.S. agencies, including the State Department, the intelligence community, and USAID, would carry out new reporting and strategy requirements.

If enacted, Georgian officials implicated in corruption or democratic backsliding would face immediate U.S. visa revocations and potential asset freezes, creating concrete personal consequences for the current government's trajectory. The bill would also tie expanded U.S. military assistance and diplomatic engagement to certified democratic reforms, giving the U.S. a formal lever over the bilateral relationship at a moment when Georgia has deepened ties with Russia and China.

Within 90 days of enactment, the President must make sanctionability determinations for covered Georgian officials and brief Congress, and the Secretary of State and USAID Administrator must submit a five-year bilateral strategy. Within 120 days, the President must issue implementing regulations with 10 days' advance notice to Congress. A classified report on Russian intelligence penetration of Georgia — with an annex on Chinese influence — is due within 180 days. The President must notify Congress within 10 days of imposing any sanctions under the security-stability provision. Sanctions may be waived for national security reasons or changed circumstances, and all sanctions terminate upon presidential certification of changed conduct or at the five-year sunset.