Poor governance, corruption, weak or nonexistent infrastructure, and other factors have prevented Guinea's population from benefiting from its rich natural resource endowments, and average living conditions are poor even by regional standards in West Africa. The ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa has highlighted stark gaps in Guinea's healthcare infrastructure. The outbreak has affected Guinea's economy, social relations, and politics. Longtime opposition leader Alpha Condé was elected president in the country's first ever open elections organized by an independent electoral commission. The United States played a key role in Guinea's 2010 political transition by isolating the military junta and providing high-level support for elections. U.S. bilateral aid has since decreased, and is overwhelmingly focused on health. In 2008, President Lansana Conté, who came to power in a military coup in 1984, died after a long illness. In June 2010, Guineans voted in their country's first presidential elections organized by an independent electoral commission and without an incumbent candidate. Opposition leaders, however, assert that a 2013 political agreement between the government and opposition requires local elections to be held before the presidential vote. For example, EU observers stated that "the transmission of results suffered from a lack of transparency" and reported that a number of problems had "a negative impact on the quality of operations and lessened public confidence in electoral administration," including "the absence of detailed data on the revision of the electoral registry, the release of provisional voter lists that had not been purged or corrected, the unilateral and tardy announcement of a new map of polling stations that did not conform to legal requirements, concerns regarding the contractor in charge of the electoral registry, the inversion of key steps in the process, and the removal of proxy voting a week before the polls." U.S. Relations and Aid

According to the State Department, "U.S. policy seeks to encourage Guinea's democratic reforms, its positive contribution to regional stability, and sustainable economic and social development." Guinea's large mineral deposits represent potential strategic and commercial interests for U.S. actors. Guinea's extractive industries have also drawn attention from the U.S. Department of Justice for potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977. Foreign Assistance

U.S. bilateral aid to Guinea is predominantly focused on health assistance ( Table 1 ), in addition to separate Ebola-related programs. Recent Congressional Actions

The FY2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act ( P.L. 113-235 , Division J, Section 7042 [e]) restricts Guinea's ability to receive International Military Education and Training (IMET) assistance for purposes other than "training related to international peacekeeping operations and expanded IMET," with a further exception for maritime security assistance. Similar restrictions have been contained in previous annual appropriations measures. The FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act ( P.L. 112-81 ) authorized Guinea, among several West African countries, to receive Defense Department-administered counter-narcotics assistance. During the 111 th Congress, two resolutions condemning the "stadium massacre" of protesters in 2009 passed their respective chambers: H.Res. 1013 (Ros-Lehtinen) passed in the House; and S.Res. 345 (Boxer) passed in the Senate. Such tensions are likely to increase further ahead of presidential elections scheduled for October 2015.
Guinea is one of three countries most affected by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has affected the country's economy, social relations, food security, and politics. A former French colony on West Africa's Atlantic coast with a population of about 11 million, Guinea is rich in natural resources, but poverty is widespread. President Alpha Condé, a former opposition leader, was voted into office in 2010 in Guinea's first ever presidential election organized by an independent electoral commission and without an incumbent candidate. His inauguration brought an end to a turbulent period of military rule that followed the death in 2008 of longtime leader Lansana Conté (who himself came to power in a military coup).
As president, Condé has focused on containing the political influence of the military and improving economic governance, including by overhauling the mining code. However, state institutions remain weak; living conditions remain overwhelmingly poor; ethnic tensions have risen; and opposition activists accuse Condé of authoritarian tendencies. Political unrest appears likely ahead of presidential elections scheduled for October 2015, in which Condé is seeking a second term. Local-level elections have been repeatedly delayed and are the subject of a stand-off between the government and opposition over electoral procedures.
U.S. engagement in Guinea is focused on health assistance, military professionalization, counter-narcotics issues, and concerns about regional peace and stability. Following the 2008 military coup, the United States identified Guinea's political transition as a key policy goal in West Africa and made significant diplomatic and financial contributions toward the success of Guinea's 2010 election process. U.S. bilateral aid is now overwhelmingly focused on health issues. Guinea's large mineral deposits, including the world's largest known reserves of bauxite (an ore used in producing aluminum), represent potential strategic and commercial interests for U.S. actors. Guinea's extractive industries have also drawn recent attention from the U.S. Department of Justice for potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Congress plays a role in shaping U.S. engagement through its authorization and appropriation of aid funding, and its oversight of U.S. policies and aid programs. The FY2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (P.L. 113-235) restricts Guinea's ability to receive International Military Education and Training (IMET) assistance, except for certain purposes. Similar restrictions have been contained in previous annual foreign aid appropriations measures. The FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 112-81) authorized Guinea, among several West African countries, to receive Defense Department-administered counter-narcotics assistance. During the 111th Congress, two resolutions condemning a massacre of civilian protesters in the capital, Conakry, in September 2009, passed their respective chambers: H.Res. 1013 (Ros-Lehtinen) passed in the House; and S.Res. 345 (Boxer) passed in the Senate.
See also CRS Report R43807, FY2015 Funding to Counter Ebola and the Islamic State (IS), coordinated by [author name scrubbed]; CRS In Focus IF10022, The Global Health Security Agenda and International Health Regulations, by [author name scrubbed]; and CRS Report R43736, Ebola Virus Disease (Ebola or EVD): Experts List, by [author name scrubbed].