[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2258 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2258

 To provide for review on a case-by-case basis of the effectiveness of 
                 country sanctions mandated by statute.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 26, 1998

   Mr. Glenn introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for review on a case-by-case basis of the effectiveness of 
                 country sanctions mandated by statute.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sanctions Implementation Procedures 
Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF COUNTRY SANCTIONS.

    (a) Circumstances Under Which Sanctions May Be Delayed or 
Subsequently Imposed.--
            (1) Authority to delay.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law and except as otherwise provided in this 
        subsection, the President may delay the initial imposition of a 
        country sanction mandated by statute with respect to a 
        sanctionable activity if the President determines that the 
        delay is necessary--
                    (A) to assist in negotiating a cessation by the 
                country of the sanctionable activity; or
                    (B) for a review of the potential effectiveness of 
                the sanction in accordance with this section.
            (2) Termination of delay.--Except as provided in paragraphs 
        (3) and (4), a delay commenced under paragraph (1) with respect 
        to a country sanction shall terminate, and the country sanction 
        shall be imposed with respect to the sanctionable activity, on 
        the earlier of--
                    (A) the date that is 45 days after the date the 
                delay commenced; or
                    (B) in the case of a report submitted under 
                subsection (b) that does not contain a recommendation 
                described in subsection (b)(5), on the date of 
                submission of the report.
            (3) Extended delay in case of congressional review.--In the 
        case of a report submitted under subsection (b) that contains a 
        recommendation described under subsection (b)(5) that a country 
        sanction should not apply with respect to the sanctionable 
        activity, a delay commenced under paragraph (1) with respect to 
        a country sanction shall terminate, and the country sanction 
        shall be imposed with respect to the sanctionable activity, on 
        the date that is 15 session days of Congress after Congress 
        receives the report containing the recommendation unless, 
        within the 15-day period, Congress enacts a joint resolution 
        approving the recommendation of the President that the country 
        sanction should not apply with respect to the sanctionable 
        activity.
            (4) Presidential discretion.--The President may 
        subsequently impose at any time a country sanction delayed 
        under paragraph (1) with respect to the same sanctionable 
        activity except in the case of--
                    (A) an extended delay under paragraph (3);
                    (B) the inapplicability of a country sanction under 
                subsection (c); or
                    (C) the removal of a country sanction under 
                subsection (e).
            (5) Federal register publication.--The President shall 
        cause notice of a delay in imposition of a country sanction and 
        any subsequent imposition of the country sanction to be 
        published in the Federal Register.
            (6) Statutory construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        authorizes the President to suspend any country sanction in 
        effect as of the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Initial Sanction Reports.--Not later than 45 days after the 
commencement of a delay under subsection (a), without regard to whether 
the country sanction is subsequently imposed under subsection (a)(4), 
the President shall submit a report to Congress setting forth, for the 
country sanction with respect to the sanctionable activity--
            (1) the objectives of the country sanction delayed;
            (2) the extent of multilateral support, if any, for the 
        imposition of the country sanction;
            (3) the estimated impact on the country to be sanctioned;
            (4) the costs and benefits to the United States of imposing 
        the country sanction, taking into account intangible as well as 
        tangible costs and benefits; and
            (5) if the President so determines, based on the 
        information contained in paragraphs (1) through (5), a 
        recommendation that the country sanction should not apply with 
        respect to a sanctionable activity.
    (c) Inapplicability of Country Sanctions.--Notwithstanding 
subsection (a) (2) or (4), a country sanction with respect to which the 
President has made a recommendation under subsection (b)(5) shall not 
apply with respect to the sanctionable activity covered by the 
recommendation if Congress enacts a joint resolution approving the 
recommendation of the President in accordance with section 3.
    (d) Biennial and Annual Sanction Reports.--Two years after the date 
of initial imposition of any country sanction mandated by statute, and 
annually thereafter, the President shall submit a report to Congress 
setting forth, for the country sanction with respect to the 
sanctionable activity--
            (1) a summary evaluation of the effectiveness of the 
        country sanction as an instrument of United States foreign 
        policy;
            (2) the objectives of the continued imposition of the 
        country sanction;
            (3) the extent of multilateral support for the continued 
        imposition of the country sanction;
            (4) the estimated impact achieved and likely to continue to 
        be achieved by the country sanction;
            (5) the costs and benefits to the United States of the 
        continued imposition of the country sanction, taking into 
        account intangible as well as tangible costs and benefits; and
            (6) if the President so determines, based on the 
        information contained in paragraphs (1) through (5), a 
        recommendation that the country sanction be removed from 
        application to a sanctioned country with respect to a 
        sanctionable activity.
    (e) Removal of Country Sanctions.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, a country sanction with respect to which the 
President has made a recommendation under subsection (c)(6) shall be 
removed from application to the sanctioned country with respect to the 
sanctionable activity covered by the recommendation upon the enactment 
by Congress of a joint resolution approving the recommendation of the 
President in accordance with section 3.
    (f) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to 
country sanctions required to be commenced on or after the date of 
enactment of this Act, except that subsections (d) and (e) shall 
apply--
            (1) in the case where the initial imposition of the 
        sanction occurred less than two years prior to the date of 
        enactment of this Act, on the second anniversary of the initial 
        imposition of the sanction; and
            (2) in the case where the initial imposition of the 
        sanction occurred more than two years prior to the date of 
        enactment of this Act, on the next anniversary of the 
        imposition of the sanction following the date of enactment of 
        this Act.

SEC. 3. PROCEDURES FOR JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF APPROVAL.

    (a) Joint Resolution Defined.--For purposes of this section, the 
term ``joint resolution'' means--
            (1) in the case of a joint resolution introduced within 5 
        session days of Congress of receipt by Congress of a report 
        described in section 2(b), only a joint resolution the matter 
        after the resolving clause of which is as follows: ``That 
        Congress approves the recommendation of the President to not 
        apply the country sanction described in the report submitted on 
____ pursuant to section 2(b) of the Sanctions Implementation 
Procedures Act of 1998 with respect to the sanctionable activity 
described in the report.'', with the blank filled in with the 
appropriate date; and
            (2) in the case of a joint resolution introduced within 5 
        session days of Congress of receipt by Congress of a report 
        described in section 2(d), only a joint resolution the matter 
        after the resolving clause of which is as follows: ``That 
        Congress approves the recommendation of the President to remove 
        the country sanction described in the report submitted on ____ 
        pursuant to section 2(d) of the Sanctions Implementation 
        Procedures Act of 1998 with respect to the sanctionable 
        activity described in the report.'', with the blank filled in 
        with the appropriate date.
    (b) Referral of Resolutions.--A resolution described in subsection 
(a) that is introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations of the Senate. A resolution described in 
subsection (a) that is introduced in the House of Representatives shall 
be referred to the Committee on International Relations of the House of 
Representatives.
    (c) Discharge of Committees.--If the committee to which is referred 
a resolution described in subsection (a) has not reported such 
resolution (or an identical resolution) at the end of 5 session days of 
Congress after its introduction, the committee shall be deemed to be 
discharged from further consideration of the resolution and the 
resolution shall be placed on the appropriate calendar of the House 
involved.
    (d) Motions To Proceed to the Consideration of the Resolutions.--
Whenever the committee to which a resolution is referred has reported, 
or has been deemed to be discharged from further consideration of, a 
resolution described in subsection (a), it is at any time thereafter in 
order (even though a previous motion to the same effect has been 
disagreed to) for any member of the respective House to move to proceed 
to the consideration of the resolution, and all points of order against 
the resolution (and against consideration of the resolution) are 
waived. The motion is highly privileged in the House of Representatives 
and is privileged in the Senate and is not debatable. The motion is not 
subject to amendment, or to a motion to postpone, or to a motion to 
proceed to the consideration of other business. A motion to reconsider 
the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be 
in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of the resolution 
is agreed to, the resolution shall remain unfinished business of the 
respective House until disposed of.
    (e) Time for Debate.--Debate on the resolution, and on all 
debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited 
to not more than 8 hours, which shall be divided equally between those 
favoring and those opposing the resolution. A motion further to limit 
debate is in order and not debatable. An amendment to, or a motion to 
postpone, or a motion to proceed to the consideration of other 
business, or a motion to recommit the resolution is not in order. A 
motion to reconsider the vote by which the resolution is agreed to or 
disagreed to is not in order.
    (f) Vote on Final Passage.--Immediately following the conclusion of 
the debate on a resolution described in subsection (a), and a single 
quorum call at the conclusion of the debate if requested in accordance 
with the rules of the appropriate House, the vote on final passage of 
the resolution shall occur.
    (g) Appeals.--Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to 
the application of the rules of the Senate or the House of 
Representatives, as the case may be, to the procedure relating to a 
resolution described in subsection (a) shall be decided without debate.
    (h) Treatment of Other House's Resolution.--If, before the passage 
by one House of a resolution of that House described in subsection (a), 
that House receives from the other House a resolution described in 
subsection (a), then the following procedures shall apply:
            (1) The resolution of the other House shall not be referred 
        to a committee.
            (2) With respect to a resolution described in subsection 
        (a) of the House receiving the resolution--
                    (A) the procedure in that House shall be the same 
                as if no resolution had been received from the other 
                House; but
                    (B) the vote on final passage shall be on the 
                resolution of the other House.
    (i) Presidential Vetoes.--
            (1) In general.--Upon receipt of a message from the 
        President returning the joint resolution unsigned to the House 
        of origin and setting further his objections to the joint 
        resolution, the House receiving the message shall immediately 
        enter the objections at large on the journal of that House and 
        the House shall proceed to the immediate reconsideration of the 
        joint resolution the objections of the President to the 
        contrary notwithstanding or of a motion to proceed to the 
immediate reconsideration of the joint resolution, or the joint 
resolution and objections shall lie on the table. Upon receipt of a 
message of a House transmitting the joint resolution and the objections 
of the President, the House receiving the message shall proceed to the 
immediate reconsideration of the joint resolution the objections of the 
President to the contrary notwithstanding or of a motion to proceed to 
the immediate reconsideration of the joint resolution, or the joint 
resolution and objections shall lie on the table. A motion to refer the 
joint resolution to a committee shall not be in order in either House.
            (2) Motion to proceed.--After the receipt of a message by a 
        House as described in paragraph (1), it is at any time in order 
        (even though a previous motion to the same effect has been 
        disagreed to) for any Member of the respective House to move to 
        proceed to the reconsideration of the joint resolution the 
        objections of the President to the contrary notwithstanding. 
        The motion is highly privileged in the House of Representatives 
        and is a question of highest privilege in the Senate and is not 
        debatable. The motion is not subject to amendment, or to a 
        motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the 
        consideration of other business. A motion to reconsider the 
        vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not 
        be in order. If a motion to proceed to the reconsideration of 
        the resolution is agreed to, the resolution shall remain the 
        unfinished business of the respective House until disposed of.
            (3) Limit on debate.--Debate on reconsideration of the 
        joint resolution, and on all debatable motions and appeals in 
        connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than 8 
        hours, which shall be divided equally between those favoring 
        and those opposing the joint resolution. A motion further to 
        limit debate is in order and not debatable. An amendment to, or 
        a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the 
        consideration of other business is not in order. A motion to 
        reconsider the vote by which the joint resolution is agreed to 
        notwithstanding the objections of the President or disagreed to 
        is not in order.
            (4) Vote to override veto.--Immediately following the 
        conclusion of the debate on reconsideration of the resolution, 
        and a single quorum call at the conclusion of the debate if 
        requested in accordance with the rules of the appropriate 
        House, the vote on the question of passage, the objections of 
        the President to the contrary notwithstanding, shall occur.
    (j) Rules of the Senate and the House.--This section is enacted by 
Congress--
            (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate 
        and House of Representatives, respectively, and as such as it 
        is deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but 
        applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in 
        that House in the case of a resolution described in subsection 
        (a), and it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it 
        is inconsistent with such rules; and
            (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the 
        procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner and to 
        the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that House.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Country sanction.--The term ``country sanction'' means 
        any prohibition or restriction that is expressly directed to or 
        is applied to, a specific foreign country or government--
                    (A) on the use of Federal funds with respect to the 
                foreign country or government; or
                    (B) on transactions involving property in which the 
                foreign country or government has any interest.
            (2) Mandated by statute.--The term ``mandated by 
        statute''--
                    (A) means any direction or requirement expressed in 
                statute; and
                    (B) excludes any provision of law conferring 
                discretion or authority upon an officer or employee of 
                the United States, including any authority to exercise 
                a waiver or delay in the implementation of a statutory 
                provision, except that this exclusion does not apply to 
                any provision of law containing a waiver that may only 
                be exercised on grounds more restrictive than a 
                determination that it is in the national interests of 
                the United States to do so.
            (3) Initial imposition.--The term ``initial imposition'' 
        means, with respect to a sanction or sanctions, the first 
        imposition of any sanction with respect to a specific 
        determination made under the statute mandating the sanction.
            (4) Sanctionable activity.--The term ``sanctionable 
        activity'' means the conduct of the foreign country or 
        government that is the basis for the imposition of a country 
        sanction mandated by statute.
            (5) Session day of congress.--The term ``session day of 
        Congress'' means any day on which the respective House of 
        Congress is in session.
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