RENACER Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2946 To advance the strategic alignment of United States diplomatic tools toward the realization of free, fair, and transparent elections in Nicaragua and to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to protect the funda- mental freedoms and human rights of the people of Nicaragua, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 30, 2021 Mr. SIRES (for himself, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. GREEN of Tennessee, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. SOTO, Mr. VARGAS, and Mr. DEUTCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To advance the strategic alignment of United States diplo- matic tools toward the realization of free, fair, and trans- parent elections in Nicaragua and to reaffirm the com- mitment of the United States to protect the fundamental freedoms and human rights of the people of Nicaragua, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:11 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2946.IH H2946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2946 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Reinforcing Nicaragua’s Adherence to Conditions for 3 Electoral Reform Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘RENACER Act’’. 4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 5 this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. Sec. 4. Restrictions on international financial institutions relating to Nicaragua. Sec. 5. Targeted sanctions to advance democratic elections. Sec. 6. Developing and implementing a coordinated sanctions strategy with dip- lomatic partners. Sec. 7. Inclusion of Nicaragua in list of countries subject to certain sanctions relating to corruption. Sec. 8. Classified report on the involvement of Ortega family members and Nic- araguan government officials in corruption. Sec. 9. Classified report on the activities of the Russian Federation in Nica- ragua. Sec. 10. Report on human rights abuses in the interior of Nicaragua. Sec. 11. Supporting independent news media and freedom of information in Nicaragua. Sec. 12. Amendment to short title of Public Law 115–335. Sec. 13. Definition. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress makes the following findings: 8 (1) Adopted by the Organization of American 9 States (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘OAS’’) on Oc- 10 tober 21, 2020, the Resolution Restoring Democratic 11 Institutions and Respect for Human Rights in Nica- 12 ragua Through Free and Fair Elections (in this sec- 13 tion referred to as the ‘‘OAS Resolution’’) reiterated 14 hemispheric concern that the government of Presi- 15 dent Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has failed to re- 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:11 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2946.IH H2946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2946 IH lease all political prisoners and implement agreed- 1 upon measures to ensure freedom of expression. 2 (2) The OAS Resolution called on the Ortega 3 government to accept the deployment of domestic 4 and international electoral observation missions and 5 outlined a need for timely, inclusive negotiations to 6 achieve meaningful electoral reforms, including the 7 modernization of the Supreme Electoral Council, the 8 revitalization of a pluralistic political process, and an 9 independent audit of Nicaraguan voter rolls. 10 (3) A November 19, 2019, report from the OAS 11 High Level Commission on Nicaragua noted the Or- 12 tega government had engaged in significant efforts 13 since April 2018 to curtail the fundamental rights of 14 the citizens of Nicaragua, including repeated acts of 15 police intimidation and at least 325 murders, which 16 were predominately committed by government secu- 17 rity forces. 18 (4) On April 21, 2018, Nicaraguan journalist 19 A´ngel Gahona was killed while broadcasting live on 20 social protests in the country. Since April 2018, the 21 Ortega government has increased its harassment of 22 independent media, which includes December 2019 23 police raids of the digital newspaper Confidencial 24 and the 100% Noticias news channel, and a Sep- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:11 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2946.IH H2946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2946 IH tember 2020 court-ordered seizure of assets belong- 1 ing to independent broadcaster Nicavision Canal 12. 2 (5) Since 2007, family members of President 3 Daniel Ortega and their political allies have pur- 4 chased over a dozen TV channels, radio stations, 5 and online news sites in Nicaragua, including Canal 6 4, 8, and 13, Radio Nicaragua, and El 19 Digital, 7 to increase pro-government media coverage and si- 8 lence media coverage critical of the government. 9 (6) Sandinista National Liberation Front mem- 10 bers of the National Assembly of Nicaragua, with 11 support from the Ortega government, recently ap- 12 proved legislation to obstruct citizen mobilization 13 and codify the persecution of political opponents, in- 14 cluding— 15 (A) the Foreign Agents Regulation Law on 16 October 15, 2020, which requires civil society, 17 nongovernmental organizations, and citizens 18 who receive funds originating from abroad to 19 register as ‘‘foreign agents’’, and bars them 20 from engaging in domestic political activity; 21 (B) the Special Cybercrimes Law on Octo- 22 ber 27, 2020, which established prison sen- 23 tences for individuals who spread information 24 online that the Government of Nicaragua deems 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:11 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2946.IH H2946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2946 IH to be false or construes to cause alarm, terror, 1 or unease in the public; 2 (C) the Self-Determination Law on Decem- 3 ber 21, 2020, which provides President Ortega 4 with the authority to unilaterally declare citi- 5 zens ‘‘terrorists’’ or ‘‘traitors to the homeland’’ 6 for opposing his rule and ban them from run- 7 ning for public office, effectively preventing any 8 individuals who supported the 2018 protests 9 from being candidates; and 10 (D) the reform to the Consumer Protection 11 Law on February 4, 2021, which provides the 12 Government of Nicaragua the authority to man- 13 date Nicaraguan commercial banks to overturn 14 and ignore sanctions imposed by the United 15 States with respect to persons on the list of 16 specifically designated national and blocked per- 17 sons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets 18 Control of the Department of the Treasury. 19 (7) According to preliminary reports of the 20 Government of Nicaragua, Hurricanes Eta and Iota, 21 which made landfall in Nicaragua on November 3 22 and November 16, 2020, respectively, affected more 23 than 3,000,000 individuals and resulted in an eco- 24 nomic loss in excess of $742,000,000. Indigenous 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:11 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2946.IH H2946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2946 IH Miskito and Mayangna communities situated in the 1 North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region bore the 2 brunt of the devastation, with at least 23 indigenous 3 territories and upwards of 147,000 indigenous in- 4 habitants directly impacted by the weather phe- 5 nomena. 6 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 7 It is the sense of Congress that— 8 (1) ongoing efforts by the government of Presi- 9 dent Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua to suppress the 10 voice and actions of civil society, political opponents, 11 and independent news media violate the fundamental 12 freedoms and basic human rights of the people of 13 Nicaragua; 14 (2) Congress unequivocally condemns the pas- 15 sage of the Foreign Agents Regulation Law, the 16 Special Cybercrimes Law, and the Self-Determina- 17 tion Law by the National Assembly of Nicaragua, 18 which represent clear attempts by the Ortega gov- 19 ernment to curtail the fundamental freedoms and 20 basic human rights of the people of Nicaragua; 21 (3) Congress recognizes that free, fair, and 22 transparent elections predicated on robust reform 23 measures and the presence of domestic and inter- 24 national observers represent the best opportunity for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:11 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2946.IH H2946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2946 IH the people of Nicaragua to restore democracy and 1 reach a peaceful solution to the political and social 2 crisis in Nicaragua; 3 (4) the United States should align the use of 4 diplomatic engagement and all other foreign policy 5 tools, including the use of targeted sanctions, in sup- 6 port of efforts by democratic political actors and 7 civil society in Nicaragua to advance the necessary 8 conditions for free, fair, and transparent elections in 9 Nicaragua; 10 (5) the United States, in order to maximize the 11 effectiveness of efforts described in paragraph (4), 12 should— 13 (A) coordinate with diplomatic partners, 14 including the Government of Canada, the Euro- 15 pean Union, and partners in Latin America and 16 the Caribbean; and 17 (B) advance diplomatic initiatives in con- 18 sultation with the OAS and the United Nations; 19 and 20 (6) pursuant to section 6(b) of the Nicaragua 21 Investment Conditionality Act of 2018, the Presi- 22 dent should waive the application of restrictions 23 under section 4 of that Act and the sanctions under 24 section 5 of that Act if the Secretary of State cer- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:11 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2946.IH H2946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2946 IH tifies that the Government of Nicaragua is taking 1 the steps identified in section 6(a) of that Act, in- 2 cluding taking steps to ‘‘to hold free and fair elec- 3 tions overseen by credible domestic and international 4 observers’’. 5 SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS ON INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL IN- 6 STITUTIONS RELATING TO NICARAGUA. 7 Section 4 of the Nicaragua Investment Conditionality 8 Act of 2018 is amended— 9 (1) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), and 10 (c) as subsections (b), (c), and (d), respectively; 11 (2) by inserting before subsection (b), as redes- 12 ignated by paragraph (1), the following: 13 ‘‘(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 14 gress that the Secretary of the Treasury should take all 15 possible steps, including through the full implementation 16 of the exceptions set forth in subsection (c), to ensure that 17 the restrictions required under subsection (b) do not nega- 18 tively impact the basic human needs of the people of Nica- 19 ragua.’’; 20 (3) in subsection (c), as so redesignated, by 21 striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 22 (b)’’; and 23 (4) by striking subsection (d), as so redesig- 24 nated, and inserting the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:11 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2946.IH H2946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2946 IH ‘‘(d) INCREASED OVERSIGHT.— 1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States Execu- 2 tive Director at each international financial institu- 3 tion of the World Bank Group, the United States 4 Executive Director at the Inter-American Develop- 5 ment Bank, and the United States Executive Direc- 6 tor at each other international financial institution, 7 including the International Monetary Fund, shall 8 take all practicable steps to increase scrutiny of any 9 loan or financial or technical assistance provided for 10 a project in Nicaragua to ensure that the loan or as- 11 sistance is being used for the intended purposes. 12 ‘‘(2) MECHANISMS FOR INCREASED SCRU- 13 TINY.—The United States Executive Director at 14 each international financial institution described in 15 paragraph (1) shall use the voice, vote, and influence 16 of the United States to encourage that institution to 17 develop oversight mechanisms for new and existing 18 loans or financial or technical assistance provided 19 for a project in Nicaragua to ensure that such loans 20 and assistance are being used for the intended pur- 21 poses. 22 ‘‘(e) INTERAGENCY CONSULTATION.—Before imple- 23 menting the restrictions described in subsection (b), or be- 24 fore exercising an exception under subsection (c), the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:11 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2946.IH H2946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2946 IH retary of the Treasury shall consult with the Secretary of 1 State and with the Administrator of the United States 2 Agency for International Development to ensure that all 3 loans and financial or technical assistance to Nicaragua 4 are consistent with United States foreign policy objectives 5 as defined in section 3. 6 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 7 date of the enactment of the RENACER Act, and annu- 8 ally thereafter until the termination date specified in sec- 9 tion 10, the Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination 10 with the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the 11 United States Agency for International Development, shall 12 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re- 13 port on the implementation of this section, which shall in- 14 clude— 15 ‘‘(1) summary of any loans and financial and 16 technical assistance provided by international finan- 17 cial institutions for projects in Nicaragua; 18 ‘‘(2) a description of the implementation of the 19 restrictions described in subsection (b); 20 ‘‘(3) an identification of the occasions in which 21 the exceptions under subsection (c) are exercised 22 and an assessment of how the loan or assistance 23 provided with each such exception may address basic 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:11 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2946.IH H2946 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2946 IH human needs or promote democracy in Nicaragua; 1 and 2 ‘‘(4) a description of the results of the in- 3 creased oversight conducted under subsection (d).’’. 4 SEC. 5. TARGETED SANCTIONS TO ADVANCE DEMOCRATIC 5 ELECTIONS. 6 (a) COORDINATED STRATEGY.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and 8 the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with 9 the intelligence community (as defined in section 3 10 of the National [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]