What This Bill Does
This bill changes a law called the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to protect Americans who invest money in other countries. It stops the federal government from giving aid (foreign assistance) to countries whose governments take unfair actions against American investors.
Who It Affects
* American citizens who invest in foreign countries
* American corporations, partnerships, and associations that invest in foreign countries
* Foreign country governments that receive United States aid
* Public officials of foreign governments
* The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States
* Financial institutions located in the United States
Key Provisions
* The bill expands what counts as unfair treatment to include when a foreign government refuses to hold good faith consultations and negotiations (honest discussions to try to reach agreement) with an American investor within 30 days of a written request, as required by investment treaties (Sec. 2(1)(A))
* American investors can ask the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to give an advisory report (a recommendation) to the President within 120 days about whether the United States should stop giving aid to that foreign country (Sec. 2(3)(A))
* If the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission does not provide its report on time, investors can go to court and file a mandamus (a legal action to force a government official to do their job) to force the government to suspend aid (Sec. 2(3)(B))
* Foreign government officials who help carry out unfair actions against American investors cannot get visas or immigration status and cannot enter the United States until the unfair action is fixed (Sec. 2(4))
* Foreign government officials who help carry out unfair actions cannot receive money transfers through any financial institution in the United States until the unfair action is fixed (Sec. 2(5))
What Changes
The bill expands the definition of "assistance" to mean any direct or indirect transfer, grant, loan, or guarantee given to a foreign country that Congress must approve through the budget process. Assistance does not include money that mainly supports United States law enforcement or national security interests.
Important Definitions
* "Assistance" means any direct or indirect transfer, grant, loan, or guarantee given to a foreign country that Congress must approve through the budget process, but does not include assistance mainly supporting United States law enforcement or national security interests (Sec. 2(1)(B))
Effective Date
The law takes effect on the date this bill becomes law and applies to any controversy (disagreement) involving an investment that arose before, on, or after that date (Sec. 3)
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 465
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to improve the protection
of United States investors against certain prejudicial actions taken by
the government of a foreign country.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 24, 2023
Mr. GOSAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Affairs
A BILL
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to improve
the protection of United States investors against certain
prejudicial actions taken by the government of a foreign
country.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect U.S. Invest-
4
ments Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF UNITED STATES INVESTORS.
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Section 620(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
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(22 U.S.C. 2370(e)) is amended—
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•HR 465 IH
(1) in paragraph (1)—
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(A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘,
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including by failing to meet, confer, or engage
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in good faith consultations and negotiations
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through a duly authorized representative with
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any such United States citizen or corporation,
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partnership, or association, as contemplated by
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any governing investment treaty, such as Arti-
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cle 10.15 of the Dominican Republic-Central
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America-United States Free Trade Agreement,
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not later than 30 days after having been served
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a written request for such treaty consultations
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or negotiations, separately or in connection with
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a notice of intent to arbitrate’’ after ‘‘citizens’’;
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and
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(B) by adding at the end the following new
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sentence: ‘‘For purposes of this subsection and
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in addition to any other forms otherwise pro-
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vided for by law, the term ‘assistance’ includes
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any direct or indirect transfer, grant, loan, or
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guarantee, which is subject to appropriation by
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Congress, to the government of any foreign
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country, but does not include assistance pri-
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marily supporting United States law enforce-
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ment or national security interests.’’; and
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•HR 465 IH
(2) by adding at the end the following new
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paragraphs:
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‘‘(3) A United States citizen or corporation, partner-
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ship, or association, whose investment comes within the
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scope of paragraph (1) shall have—
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‘‘(A) the right to petition the Foreign Claims
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Settlement Commission of the United States, or its
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successor, to render an advisory report to the Presi-
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dent, not later than 120 days after service of such
9
petition, regarding the merits of enforcing this sub-
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section with respect to the alleged treatment of said
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investment by the identified foreign country; and
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‘‘(B) in the event that the Foreign Claims Set-
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tlement Commission of the United States, or its suc-
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cessor, shall fail to timely render such advisory re-
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port, to file an action in the nature of a mandamus
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to compel the suspension of assistance under this
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subsection as to the identified foreign country, as re-
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ferred to in subparagraph (A) in any court of com-
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petent jurisdiction.
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‘‘(4) Any public official of the government of any for-
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eign country who has materially assisted in any prejudicial
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action relative to an investment in that country by any
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United States citizen or corporation, partnership or asso-
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ciation, whose investment comes within the scope of para-
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•HR 465 IH
graph (1), may not be provided any immigration status
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or issued a visa under the immigration laws (as such term
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is defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nation-
3
ality Act), or be admitted to the United States, until such
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prejudicial action is rescinded, reversed, permanently en-
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joined, or fully remediated.
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‘‘(5) Any public official of the government of any for-
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eign country who has materially assisted in any prejudicial
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action relative to an investment in that country by any
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United States citizen or corporation, partnership or asso-
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ciation, whose investment comes within the scope of para-
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graph (1), shall be denied remittances by every financial
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institution located in the United States until such preju-
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dicial action is rescinded, reversed, permanently enjoined,
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or fully remediated.’’.
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SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
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The amendments made by section 2 shall take effect
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on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply
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with respect to any controversy arising before, on, or after
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such date that involves an investment within the scope of
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section 620(e)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
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(22 U.S.C. 2370(e)(1)).
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Æ
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