accompanying this Act. (b) Authority Funds made available by this Act for democracy programs may be made available notwithstanding any other provision of law, and with regard to the National Endowment for Democracy, any regulation. (c) Definition of Democracy Programs For purposes of funds appropriated by this Act, the term democracy programs means programs that support good governance, credible and competitive elections, freedom of expression, association, assembly, and religion, human rights, labor rights, independent media, and the rule of law, and that otherwise strengthen the capacity of democratic political parties, governments, nongovernmental organizations and institutions, and citizens to support the development of democratic states, and institutions that are responsive and accountable to citizens. (d) Restriction on Prior Approval With respect to the provision of assistance for democracy programs in this Act, the organizations implementing such assistance, the specific nature of that assistance, and the participants in such programs shall not be subject to the prior approval by the government of any foreign country: Provided , That the Secretary of State, in coordination with the USAID Administrator, shall report to the Committees on Appropriations, not later than 120 days after enactment of this Act, detailing steps taken by the Department of State and USAID to comply with the requirements of this subsection. (e) Continuation of current practices USAID shall continue to implement civil society and political competition and consensus building programs abroad with funds appropriated by this Act in a manner that recognizes the unique benefits of grants and cooperative agreements in implementing such programs: Provided , That nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to affect the ability of any entity, including United States small businesses, from competing for proposals for USAID-funded civil society and political competition and consensus building programs. (f) Informing the national endowment for