3.0.0 4264 2023-01-11T13:32:27Z 2023-01-11T13:32:27Z House HR 2015-12-16 114 [Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 183 (Wednesday, December 16, 2015)]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. SMITH of New Jersey:H.R. 4264.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18[Page H9375]]]> hsba00 Financial Services Committee House Standing Referred to 2015-12-16T14:01:00Z hsju00 Judiciary Committee House Standing Referred to 2015-12-16T14:00:50Z hsfa00 Foreign Affairs Committee House Standing Referred to 2015-12-16T14:00:45Z 2015-12-16 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Financial Services, 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. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hsba00 Financial Services Committee 2015-12-16 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Financial Services, 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. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hsju00 Judiciary Committee 2015-12-16 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Financial Services, 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. IntroReferral H11100-A 9 Library of Congress 2015-12-16 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Financial Services, 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. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hsfa00 Foreign Affairs Committee 2015-12-16 Introduced in House IntroReferral Intro-H 9 Library of Congress 2015-12-16 Introduced in House IntroReferral 1000 9 Library of Congress S000522 Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] CHRISTOPHER SMITH R NJ H. 4 N S000480 Rep. Slaughter, Louise McIntosh [D-NY-25] LOUISE SLAUGHTER D NY M. 25 2016-01-06 False H001055 Rep. Heck, Joseph J. [R-NV-3] Joseph Heck R NV J. 3 2016-02-11 False M000312 Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] JAMES MCGOVERN D MA P. 2 2016-03-02 False S001150 Rep. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA-28] ADAM SCHIFF D CA B. 28 2016-04-12 False International Affairs Asia Azerbaijan Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad Europe Foreign aid and international relief Foreign loans and debt Foreign property Fraud offenses and financial crimes Government ethics and transparency, public corruption Human rights International organizations and cooperation News media and reporting Protest and dissent Rule of law and government transparency Sanctions U.S. and foreign investments Visas and passports International Affairs 00 2015-12-16 Introduced in House 2016-01-06T22:32:16Z Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015

This bill prohibits the issuance of any visa to, and requires denial of entry to the United States of, any alien who:

  • holds a position in the senior leadership of the government of Azerbaijan, or is an immediate family member of such person;
  • through his or her business dealings with such senior leadership derives significant financial benefit from policies or actions, including electoral fraud, human rights abuses, or corruption, that undermine democratic institutions or impede the transition to democracy in Azerbaijan; or
  • is a member of any branch of the security, judicial, or law enforcement services of Azerbaijan and has participated in the persecution or harassment of independent media or journalists, human rights defenders, opposition groups, or religious groups.

The Department of State shall revoke any existing visas of such ineligible aliens.

The visa and entry prohibitions shall not apply to a government official of Azerbaijan seeking U.S. entry to participate in talks related to resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

It is the sense of Congress that:

  • no loan, credit guarantee, insurance, or financing assistance be extended by any U.S. agency to the government of Azerbaijan, except for the provision of humanitarian goods and agricultural or medical products; and
  • no funds available to the Trade and Development Agency should be available for activities of the Agency in or for Azerbaijan.

It is also the sense of Congress that the President should block all property and interests in property that:

  • are owned by any member of the senior leadership of the government of Azerbaijan, by any family member, or by any person who through his or her business dealings with such persons derives significant financial benefit from policies or actions that undermine Azerbaijan's democratic institutions; and
  • are or come within the United States, or that are or come within the possession or control of any U.S. person.

Activities prohibited by reason of the blocking of property and interests in property should include payments or transfers of any property, or any transactions involving the transfer of anything of economic value by any U.S. person to any person whose assets are blocked.

It is the sense of Congress that the President should continue to seek the support of other countries, particularly European countries, for a multilateral strategy to further the purposes of this Act.

]]> Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015 Display Title Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015 Official Title as Introduced To promote United States national security and foreign policy objectives through consolidation and strengthening of the rule of law and respect for human rights in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Introduced in House IH Short Titles as Introduced Azerbaijan Democracy Act of 2015 Introduced in House 2015-12-16T05:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-114hr4264ih/xml/BILLS-114hr4264ih.xml 2015-12-16 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Financial Services, 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. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.