Congressional Oversight of Sanctions Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5879 To impose certain limits relating to the national emergency authorities of the President, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 12, 2020 Ms. OMAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To impose certain limits relating to the national emergency authorities of the President, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional Over- 4 sight of Sanctions Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Article I, section 8 of the United States 8 Constitution gives Congress the power ‘‘to regulate 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5879 IH Commerce with foreign Nations’’ as well as to ‘‘de- 1 fine and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on 2 the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Na- 3 tions’’. 4 (2) The House Committee on International Re- 5 lations report (No. 95–459) on the International 6 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 7 et seq.) states ‘‘that given the breadth of the au- 8 thorities and their availability at the President’s dis- 9 cretion upon a declaration of national emergency, 10 their exercise should be subject to various sub- 11 stantive restrictions. The main one stems from a 12 recognition that emergencies are by their nature 13 rare and brief, and are not to be equated with nor- 14 mal, ongoing problems’’. 15 (3) It further states, ‘‘A national emergency 16 should be declared and emergency authorities em- 17 ployed only with respect to a specific set of cir- 18 cumstances which constitute a real emergency, and 19 for no other purpose’’ and that ‘‘[t]he emergency 20 should be terminated in a timely manner when the 21 factual state of emergency is over and not continued 22 in effect for use in other circumstances. A state of 23 emergency should not be a normal state of affairs’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5879 IH (4) Since 1977, Presidents have invoked au- 1 thorities under the International Emergency Eco- 2 nomic Powers Act with respect to 56 declarations of 3 national emergency. On average, these emergencies 4 last nearly a decade. 5 (5) As of August 2019, there are 31 ongoing 6 national emergencies involving the International 7 Emergency Economic Powers Act, the oldest of 8 which was put in place forty years ago. 9 (6) The average length of an emergency de- 10 clared in the 1980s and invoking International 11 Emergency Economic Powers Act authorities was 12 four years. That average extended to 10 years for 13 emergencies declared in the 1990s and 12 years for 14 emergencies declared in the 2000s. 15 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 16 It is the sense of Congress that— 17 (1) successive Presidents from both parties have 18 used the authority granted by the International 19 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 20 et seq.) and the National Emergencies Act (50 21 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) to declare national emergencies 22 that do not meet the threshold of ‘‘unusual and ex- 23 traordinary threat[s] to the national security and 24 foreign policy of the United States’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5879 IH (2) in order to restore Congress’ original intent 1 in enacting such laws, it is necessary to reclaim Con- 2 gress’ constitutional power over the use of sanctions. 3 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL REQUIRED TO EXTEND 4 NATIONAL EMERGENCIES. 5 (a) AUTOMATIC TERMINATION.—Subsection (a) of 6 section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 7 1622) is amended— 8 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 9 striking ‘‘if’’; 10 (2) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘if’’ before 11 ‘‘there is enacted’’; 12 (3) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘if’’ before 13 ‘‘the President issues’’; 14 (4) in the matter following paragraph (2)— 15 (A) by striking ‘‘clause (1)’’ and inserting 16 ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; and 17 (B) by striking ‘‘clause (2)’’ and inserting 18 ‘‘paragraph (3)’’; 19 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2), as 20 so amended, as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; 21 and 22 (6) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so re- 23 designated, the following new paragraph: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5879 IH ‘‘(1) on the date that is 60 days after the first 1 day on which either House of Congress is in session 2 following the date of the declaration, unless a joint 3 resolution to extend the emergency is enacted in ac- 4 cordance with subsection (c);’’. 5 (b) JOINT RESOLUTION OF EXTENSION.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of such sec- 7 tion 202 is amended by striking ‘‘terminated’’ and 8 inserting ‘‘extended for a six-month period’’. 9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection 10 (c)(1) of such section 202 is amended by striking 11 ‘‘terminate’’ and inserting ‘‘extend’’. 12 (c) PROHIBITION ON SUCCESSOR DECLARATIONS.— 13 Such section 202 is further amended by adding at the end 14 the following new subsection: 15 ‘‘(d) If a joint resolution to extend the emergency is 16 not enacted in accordance with subsection (c) within 60 17 days after the first day on which either House of Congress 18 is in session following the date of the declaration, the 19 President may not declare a new national emergency 20 based on substantially similar facts during the 1-year pe- 21 riod following such 60-day period.’’. 22 (d) ADDITIONAL CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Sec- 23 tion 207(b) of the International Emergency Economic 24 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1706(b)) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5879 IH (1) by striking ‘‘concurrent resolution’’ each 1 place it appears and inserting ‘‘joint resolution’’; 2 and 3 (2) by inserting ‘‘or if the national emergency 4 terminates in accordance with subsection (a)(1) of 5 such section 202’’ before the period at the end. 6 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL EXCEPTIONS TO GRANTS OF AUTHORI- 7 TIES. 8 (a) SAFE HARBOR FOR MAINTENANCE OF INFRA- 9 STRUCTURE.—Subsection (a) of section 203 of the Inter- 10 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 11 1702) is amended by adding at the end the following new 12 paragraph: 13 ‘‘(4) In implementing the authority under para- 14 graph (1), the President shall allow for the expor- 15 tation of equipment and material to a territory that 16 is subject to the control of a person otherwise sub- 17 ject to sanctions under the laws of the United States 18 if the exporter certifies that such equipment or ma- 19 terial is intended for use in the maintenance, in such 20 territory, of— 21 ‘‘(A) civilian healthcare facilities; 22 ‘‘(B) water infrastructure; 23 ‘‘(C) civilian energy infrastructure; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5879 IH ‘‘(D) primary or secondary educational fa- 1 cilities.’’. 2 (b) EXCEPTION FOR SUPPORT INCIDENTAL TO COM- 3 MUNICATION INTENDED TO REDUCE CONFLICT OR AL- 4 LEVIATE SUFFERING.—Subsection (b) of such section 203 5 is amended— 6 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and in- 7 serting a semicolon; 8 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 9 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 10 (3) by adding at the end the following new 11 paragraph: 12 ‘‘(5) any support provided to a foreign person 13 subject to sanctions under the laws of the United 14 States, including organizations designated as foreign 15 terrorist organizations under section 219(a)(1) of 16 the Immigration and Nationality Act, that is inci- 17 dental to speech or communication with such person 18 for the purpose of— 19 ‘‘(A) reducing or eliminating the frequency 20 and severity of violent conflict, including by fos- 21 tering diplomatic solutions to violent conflict; or 22 ‘‘(B) preventing or alleviating the suffering 23 of a civilian populations.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5879 IH SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 204 of 2 the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 3 U.S.C. 1703) is amended— 4 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 5 striking ‘‘to the Congress’’ and inserting ‘‘to the ap- 6 propriate congressional committees’’; 7 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 8 paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; and 9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol- 10 lowing new paragraphs: 11 ‘‘(4) the goals and outcomes expected to be 12 achieved through such actions; 13 ‘‘(5) other tools considered to address the emer- 14 gency, and the reason for choosing to respond to 15 such emergency through the imposition of sanctions; 16 ‘‘(6) a list of other countries imposing sanctions 17 in accordance with the sanctions imposed by the 18 President or, if such sanctions are unilateral, an ex- 19 planation for why no other country has imposed 20 such sanctions; 21 ‘‘(7) the strategy of the President to provide 22 compliance guidance to entities in the private sector 23 (including financial institutions), humanitarian orga- 24 nizations, and peacebuilding organizations; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5879 IH ‘‘(8) the criteria, if any, that a sanctioned per- 1 son must meet before any sanctions imposed in the 2 exercise of such authority with respect to such per- 3 son may be lifted;’’. 4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Such section 204 is 5 further amended by adding at the end the following new 6 subsection: 7 ‘‘(e) For purposes of this section, the term ‘appro- 8 priate congressional committees’ means— 9 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 10 Committee on Financial Services of the House of 11 Representatives; and 12 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 13 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af- 14 fairs of the Senate.’’. 15 (c) REPORT ON TREATY OBLIGATIONS.—Not later 16 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 17 and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State and the 18 Secretary of the Treasury shall jointly submit to Congress 19 a report, which shall be submitted in unclassified form but 20 may include a classified annex, on the manner and extent 21 to which each action taken during the preceding 1-year 22 period using the authorities of the International Emer- 23 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5879 IH in compliance with the treaty obligations of the United 1 States. 2 SEC. 7. REPORTS REQUIRED. 3 (a) PROJECTION REPORT.—Not later than 30 days 4 after the publication of any executive order, proclamation, 5 or other notice to declare a national emergency, the Comp- 6 troller General of the United States shall submit to Con- 7 gress a report that includes the following: 8 (1) The expected impact of such declaration on 9 the economic interests of the United States and of 10 allied countries. 11 (2) The expected humanitarian impact of such 12 declaration, including the extent to which organiza- 13 tions or entities attempting to provide humanitarian 14 assistance face restricted access as a result of such 15 declaration. 16 (3) The expected impact of such declaration on 17 the economy of any country targeted by such dec- 18 laration. 19 (4) The expected financial impact of such dec- 20 laration on United States citizens and entities, in- 21 cluding the impact on any such citizens or entities 22 who maintain accounts or assets in financial institu- 23 tions subject to sanctions pursuant to such declara- 24 tion. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5879 IH (b) IMPACT REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 1 publication of an executive order, proclamation, or other 2 notice described in subsection (a), the Comptroller General 3 shall submit to Congress an updated report that includes 4 the assessment of the Comptroller General with respect 5 to the actual impact of the declaration of such national 6 emergency on each of the interests described in para- 7 graphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a). 8 (c) CONSULTATIONS REQUIRED.—In preparing the 9 report required by subsection (b), the Comptroller General 10 shall consult with relevant nongovernmental organizations 11 working in areas affected by the applicable declaration, in- 12 cluding organizations engaged in the provision of humani- 13 tarian assistance. 14 (d) GOALS AND OUTCOMES REPORT.—Not later than 15 1 year after the publication of an executive order, procla- 16 mation, or other notice described in subsection (a), the 17 President shall submit to Congress a report that sets 18 forth, with respect to each goal and outcome described 19 pursuant to section 204(b)(3) of the International Emer- 20 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1703(b)(4))(as 21 added by section 6 of this Act), the manner and extent 22 to which such goal or outcome has been achieved through 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5879 IH the sanctions imposed pursuant to the declaration of such 1 national emergency. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5879.IH H5879 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS