; (B) the Department of State’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy; (C) the United States Agency for International Development’s Digital Strategy; and (D) the Department of Energy’s CyberForce Program. (17) Corruption and disinformation proliferate in political environments marked by autocratic control or partisan conflict. (18) Dependence on Russian sources of oil and natural gas for the countries of the Western Balkans ties their economies and politics to the Russian Federation and inhibits their aspirations for European integration. (19) The reliance of the Western Balkans on fossil fuels for energy sources causes damage to the environment and to human health, while inhibiting economic development in the region. (20) Reducing the reliance of the Western Balkans on Russian natural gas supplies is in the national interest of the United States. (21) The growing influence of China in the Western Balkans could also have a deleterious impact on strategic competition, democracy, and economic integration with Europe. (22) The United States International Development Finance Corporation plays an important role in the pursuit of United States policy goals focused on economic development. (23) In March 2022, President Biden launched the European Democratic Resilience Initiative to bolster democratic resilience, advance anti-corruption efforts, and defend human rights in Ukraine and its neighbors in response to Russia’s war of aggression. 3. Sense of Congress It is a sense of Congress that the United States should— (1) encourage increased trade and investment between the United States and allies and partners in the Western Balkans; (2) expand United States assistance to regional integration efforts in the Western Balkans; (3) strengthen and expand regional economic integration in the Western Balkans, especially enterprises owned by and employing women and youth