[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 425 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 425

   To require the approval of Congress for the imposition of any new 
 unilateral agricultural sanction, or any new unilateral sanction with 
respect to medicine, medical supplies, or medical equipment, against a 
                            foreign country.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 11, 1999

 Mr. Ashcroft (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Baucus, and Mr. Kerrey) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the approval of Congress for the imposition of any new 
 unilateral agricultural sanction, or any new unilateral sanction with 
respect to medicine, medical supplies, or medical equipment, against a 
                            foreign country.

    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 ``Food and Medicine for the World Act 
of 1999''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF ANY NEW UNILATERAL 
              AGRICULTURAL SANCTION.

    (a) Definitions.--
            (1) Agricultural commodity.--The term ``agricultural 
        commodity'' has the meaning given the term in section 402 of 
        the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 
        (7 U.S.C. 1732).
            (2) Agricultural program.--The term ``agricultural 
        program'' means--
                    (A) any program administered through the 
                Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 
                1954 (Public Law 480; 7 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.);
                    (B) any program administered through section 416 of 
                the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1431);
                    (C) any commercial sale of agricultural commodities 
                or agricultural products, including plant nutrient 
                materials; or
                    (D) any export financing (including credits or 
                credit guarantees) for agricultural commodities or 
                agricultural products.
            (3) New unilateral agricultural sanction.--The term ``new 
        unilateral agricultural sanction'' means any prohibition, 
        restriction, or condition on carrying out an agricultural 
        program with respect to a foreign country or foreign entity 
        that is imposed by the United States on or after the date of 
        enactment of this Act for reasons of foreign policy or national 
        security, except in a case in which the United States imposes 
        the measure pursuant to a multilateral regime and the other 
        member countries of that regime have agreed to impose 
        substantially equivalent measures.
            (4) New unilateral sanction with respect to medicine, 
        medical supplies, or medical equipment.--The term ``new 
        unilateral sanction with respect to medicine, medical supplies, 
        or medical equipment'' means any prohibition, restriction, or 
        condition on trade in, or the provision of assistance 
        consisting of, medicine, medical supplies, or medical equipment 
        with respect to a foreign country or foreign entity that is 
        imposed by the United States on or after the date of enactment 
        of this Act for reasons of foreign policy or national security, 
        except in a case in which the United States imposes the measure 
        pursuant to a multilateral regime and the other member 
        countries of that regime have agreed to impose substantially 
        equivalent measures.
            (5) Session day of congress.--The term ``session day of 
        Congress'' means any day on which a House of Congress is in 
        session.
    (b) Restriction.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law and 
subject to subsection (c), the President may not impose a new 
unilateral agricultural sanction against a foreign country, or a new 
unilateral sanction with respect to medicine, medical supplies, or 
medical equipment against a foreign country, unless--
            (1) not less than 60 days before the sanction is proposed 
        to be imposed, the President submits a report to Congress 
        that--
                    (A) describes the activity proposed to be 
                prohibited, restricted, or conditioned; and
                    (B) describes the actions by the foreign country 
                that justify the sanction; and
            (2) Congress enacts a joint resolution stating the approval 
        of Congress for the report submitted under paragraph (1).
    (c) Exception.--Notwithstanding subsection (b), the President may 
impose a sanction described in that subsection--
            (1) against a foreign country with respect to which--
                    (A) Congress has enacted a declaration of war; or
                    (B) the President has proclaimed a state of 
                national emergency; or
            (2) to the extent that the sanction would prohibit, 
        restrict, or condition the provision or use of any commodity, 
        product, medicine, supply, or equipment that is controlled on 
        the United States Munitions List under section 38 of the Arms 
        Export Control Act or the Commerce Control List under the 
        Export Administration Act of 1979.
    (d) Congressional Priority Procedures.--
            (1) Joint resolution defined.--For the purpose of 
        subsection (b)(2), ``joint resolution'' means only a joint 
        resolution introduced within 10 session days of Congress after 
        the date on which the report of the President under subsection 
        (b)(1) is received by Congress, the matter after the resolving 
        clause of which is as follows: ``That Congress approves the 
        report of the President pursuant to section 2(b)(1) of the Food 
        and Medicine for the World Act of 1999, transmitted on 
        ______________.'', with the blank completed with the 
        appropriate date.
            (2) Referral of report.--The report described in subsection 
        (b)(1) shall be referred to the appropriate committee or 
        committees of the House of Representatives and to the 
        appropriate committee or committees of the Senate.
            (3) Referral of joint resolution to committee.--A joint 
        resolution introduced in the House of Representatives shall be 
        referred to the Committee on International Relations of the 
        House of Representatives. A joint resolution introduced in the 
        Senate shall be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
        of the Senate. Such a joint resolution may not be reported 
        before the eighth session day of Congress after its 
        introduction.
            (4) Discharge from committee.--If the committee of either 
        House to which a joint resolution is referred has not reported 
        the joint resolution (or an identical joint resolution) at the 
        end of 30 session days of Congress after its introduction, the 
        committee shall be discharged from further consideration of the 
        joint resolution and the joint resolution shall be placed on 
        the appropriate calendar of the House in which it was 
        introduced.
            (5) Floor consideration.--
                    (A) Motion to proceed.--When the committee to which 
                a joint resolution is referred has reported, or has 
                been deemed to be discharged (under paragraph (4)) from 
                further consideration of, a joint resolution, 
                notwithstanding any rule or precedent of the 
Senate, including Rule 22, 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 joint resolution, and all points of order against 
the joint resolution (and against consideration of the joint 
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 joint resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution shall remain 
the unfinished business of the respective House until disposed of.
                    (B) Debate on the joint resolution.--Debate on the 
                joint resolution, and on all debatable motions and 
                appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to 
                not more than ten 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, or a motion to 
                recommit the joint resolution is not in order. A motion 
                to reconsider the vote by which the joint resolution is 
                agreed to or disagreed to is not in order.
                    (C) Vote on final passage.--Immediately following 
                the conclusion of the debate on a joint 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 final passage of the 
                joint resolution shall occur.
                    (D) Appeals of rulings.--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 joint 
                resolution described in paragraph (1) shall be decided 
                without debate.
            (6) Treatment of other house's joint resolution.--If, 
        before the passage by one House of Congress of a joint 
        resolution of that House, that House receives from the other 
        House a joint resolution, then the following procedures shall 
        apply:
                    (A) Referral of joint resolutions of sending 
                house.--The joint resolution of the sending House shall 
                not be referred to a committee in the receiving House.
                    (B) Procedures in receiving house.--With respect to 
                a joint resolution of the House receiving the joint 
                resolution--
                            (i) the procedure in that House shall be 
                        the same as if no joint resolution had been 
                        received from the sending House; but
                            (ii) the vote on final passage shall be on 
                        the joint resolution of the sending House.
                    (C) Disposition of joint resolutions of receiving 
                house.--Upon disposition of the joint resolution 
                received from the other House, it shall no longer be in 
                order to consider the joint resolution originated in 
                the receiving House.
            (7) Procedures after action by both the house and senate.--
        If the House receiving a joint resolution from the other House 
        after the receiving House has disposed of a joint resolution 
        originated in that House, the action of the receiving House 
        with regard to the disposition of the joint resolution 
        originated in that House shall be deemed to be the action of 
        the receiving House with regard to the joint resolution 
        originated in the other House.
            (8) Status of procedures.--This subsection is enacted by 
        Congress--
                    (A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the 
                Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, and 
                as such 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 
                joint resolution described in paragraph (1), and it 
                supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is 
                inconsistent with such rules; and
                    (B) 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.
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