[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2954 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2954
To prohibit the importation into the United States of colombo tantalite
from certain countries involved in the conflict in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 25, 2001
Ms. McKinney introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on
International Relations, 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 prohibit the importation into the United States of colombo tantalite
from certain countries involved in the conflict in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) A war has been ongoing in the eastern region of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (in this section referred to
as the ``DRC''), with reports that as many as 2,500,000 people
have died as a result of the conflict.
(2) The war is a result of the August 1998 invasion of the
DRC by Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi.
(3) After the invasion, additional loss of life and misery
were caused to the people of the DRC when, on occasion, the
forces of Uganda and Rwanda fought against each other.
(4) A staff member of the United Nations was murdered while
visiting the region for the purpose of studying the damage done
to the DRC by Uganda and Rwanda.
(5) Human rights abuses stemming from this conflict include
child and forced labor, mass displacement causing large refugee
populations, rape, conscription, arbitrary detention, torture,
and bans on political expression and freedom of speech.
(6) A recent United Nations report, entitled ``Report of
the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural
Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic
of Congo'', found that ``Illegal exploitation of the mineral
and forest resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is
taking place at an alarming rate.''.
(7) The United Nations report states that resources being
looted from the DRC include diamonds, gold, timber, cobalt,
coltan (colombo tantalite), coffee, ivory, other minerals, and
exotic animals.
(8) The United Nations report, in addition to numerous
press and eyewitness reports, cites the use, by Rwandans and
Rwandan-supported rebels, of slave and prison labor in the
mining and extraction of coltan, diamonds, and other minerals.
(9) According to the World Conservation Union, ``coltan
mining is taking place in [two] World Heritage sites'' in the
DRC, Kahuzi-Biega National Park and Okapi Wildlife Reserve, in
contravention of DRC protective restrictions. The World
Conservation Union further states that ``over 10,000 miners
have moved into the Parks and are largely relying on meat from
wild animals (bushmeat) for food'', including the endangered
eastern lowland gorilla.
(10) According to the United States Geological Survey 1999
Minerals Yearbook, 3 of the top 6 nations from which the United
States imports unrefined tantalum--a component of coltan--are
the DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda, providing for nearly $4,000,000 in
revenue to those nations in 1999, and totaling imports of 164
metric tons.
(11) As miners have pushed into the forests of the DRC in
pursuit of coltan, gold, and other minerals, increased logging
has resulted on account of greater access to forest resources
and rare woods and has reduced the opportunity for oversight of
illegal activities.
(12) The United Nations Report of the Panel of Experts
found that one result of the illegal exploitation of the DRC
was a ``massive availability of financial resources for the
Rwandan Patriotic Army, and the individual enrichment of top
Ugandan military commanders and civilians'', thereby not only
allowing the infiltrating nations to continue their armed
incursions, but also providing substantial motivation to pursue
such conflict.
(13) The United Nations Panel concluded that ``tough
measures must be taken to bring an end to the cycle of
exploitation of the natural resources and the continuation of
the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo'', including
sanctions against the countries involved in the illegal
activities, preventive measures to avoid a recurrence of the
situation, and an improvement of international mechanisms and
regulations governing some natural resources.
(14) Some United States corporations that process and use
tantalum for manufacture, including Kemet of Greenville, South
Carolina, and Cabot Corporation of Boston, Massachusetts, have
asked tantalum suppliers to certify that the mineral does not
originate in the Congo region; if they do not, the corporations
have said that they will not buy any tantalum from the region.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF COLOMBO TANTALITE AND TANTALUM.
(a) Colombo Tantalite From Certain Countries.--Colombo tantalite
(``coltan'') that is the product of Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, or the
Democratic Republic of the Congo may not be imported into the United
States.
(b) Tantalum, Tantalum Ore, and Tantalum Powder.--Tantalum,
tantalum ore, and tantalum powder may not be imported into the United
States unless the importer can demonstrate to the Customs Service that
the tantalum, tantalum ore, or tantalum powder (as the case may be) is
not produced from colombo tantalite that is a product of a country
listed in subsection (a).
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PURCHASE OVERSEAS OF COLOMBO TANTALITE AND
TANTALUM.
(a) Prohibition.--No United States person may purchase outside the
United States colombo tantalite, tantalum, tantalum ore, or tantalum
powder that is a product of a country listed in section 2(a).
(b) Civil Penalty.--The Secretary of the Treasury may impose a
civil penalty of not more than $100,000 on any United States person who
knowingly violates subsection (a).
(c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``United States person''
means--
(1) a United States citizen or alien admitted for permanent
residence into the United States;
(2) a partnership, corporation, or other legal entity
organized under the laws of the United States; and
(3) a partnership, corporation, or other legal entity that
is organized under the laws of a foreign country and is
controlled by entities described in paragraph (2) or United
States citizens, or both.
SEC. 4. PREVENTION OF TRANSSHIPMENT.
The Commissioner of Customs, in consultation with the heads of
appropriate departments and agencies, shall, to the extent possible,
determine the origins of all colombo tantalite, tantalum, tantalum ore,
and tantalum powder in order to prevent the transshipment of colombo
tantalite, tantalum, tantalum ore, and tantalum powder that is a
product of a country listed in section 2(a) through another country for
the purpose of evading the prohibition contained in section 2(a).
SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF PROHIBITIONS.
The prohibitions contained in sections 2 and 3(a) shall cease to be
effective with respect to a country listed in section 2(a) on the date
on which the President certifies to the Congress that the country has
withdrawn from the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
that country is abiding by the Ceasefire Agreement of July 10, 1999
(known as the ``Lusaka Accord'').
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