[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 742 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H.R. 742

 To provide the people of Iraq with access to food and medicines from 
               the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 27, 2001

 Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Bonior, Mr. 
   Clay, Ms. McKinney, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Jefferson, Ms. 
 Slaughter, and Ms. Baldwin) introduced the following bill; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide the people of Iraq with access to food and medicines from 
               the United States, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Humanitarian Exports Leading to 
Peace Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Iraqi people suffered under a decade of war and 
        continue to suffer under a repressive regime and the most 
        comprehensive economic sanctions ever imposed on any country.
            (2) The economic sanctions have caused extraordinary 
        hardship on the people of Iraq and failed to weaken the 
        leadership of Iraq, and have undermined the institutions of 
        civil society which are necessary for democratic political 
        life.
            (3) The investigative panel established by the United 
        Nations Security Council and other independent bodies have 
        confirmed that the United Nations Oil-for-Food program has 
        failed to adequately meet the needs of the Iraqi people.
            (4) According to the United States Department of 
        Agriculture, Iraq represents a potential market for nearly 
        $1,000,000,000 in agricultural products from the United States.
            (5) The sanctions regime continues to harm the Iraqi 
        population for the crimes of its leaders and has not served 
        either the goal of the United States of punishing Iraq's 
        leaders or disarming weapons of mass destruction.
            (6) Rigorous weapons inspections and adequate provision for 
        civilian needs in Iraq are not mutually exclusive.
            (7) The devastating effect of the economic sanctions on 
        Iraq has been reported by numerous international and 
        independent bodies, including the following:
                    (A) The Center for Economic and Social Rights of 
                the United Nations documented dramatic increases in 
                malnutrition and disease, leading to the deaths of 
                hundreds of thousands of children under the age of 5 
                since 1991.
                    (B) UNICEF reported in 1995 that ``no significant 
                movement towards food security can be achieved so long 
                as the embargo remains in place''. Further, despite the 
                Oil-for-Food Program, UNICEF reported in July 1999 
                survey findings that ``Both the infant mortality rate 
                and the under-five mortality rate consistently show a 
                major increase in mortality over the 10 years preceding 
                the survey. More specifically, the results show that 
                the infant mortality rate has increased from 47 deaths 
                per 1,000 live births for the period 1984-89, to 108 
                deaths per 1,000 live births for the period 1994-99.''.
                    (C) A report authorized by the United National 
                Security Council on March 30, 1999, found that ``the 
                gravity of the humanitarian situation of the Iraqi 
                people is indisputable and cannot be overstated.''. 
                Further, it emphasized that ``Even if not all suffering 
                in Iraq can be imputed to external factors, especially 
                sanctions, the Iraqi people would not be undergoing 
                such deprivations in the absence of the prolonged 
                measures imposed by the Security Council and the 
                effects of the war''.
                    (D) UNICEF and the World Food Program found in 1997 
                that ``One out of every 4 young Iraqi children is 
                malnourished. More than 750,000 children are suffering 
                from malnutrition''.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON PROHIBITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE WITH IRAQ 
              TO ALLOW FOR THE EXPORT OF FOOD, MEDICINES, AND CERTAIN 
              OTHER PRODUCTS.

    The sanctions applied with respect to Iraq under the Iraq Sanctions 
Act of 1990 (sections 586-586J of the Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1991 (Public Law 
101-513)) or any other provision of law shall not apply with respect to 
the export to Iraq of any food or other agricultural products 
(including fertilizer), medicines, medical supplies, medical 
instruments, or medical equipment, or with respect to travel incident 
to the sale or delivery to Iraq of food or other agricultural products 
(including fertilizer), medicines, medical supplies, medical 
instruments, or medical equipment.

SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION BY SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.

    (a) Administration by Secretary of Commerce.--The Secretary of 
Commerce shall exercise the authorities of the Export Administration 
Act of 1979, as in effect pursuant to the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act, to carry out section 3, except that--
            (1) the Secretary may not require a license for the export 
        of any of the items to which section 3 applies; but
            (2) the Secretary shall require persons exporting such 
        items to notify the Secretary of such exports.
    (b) Regulations.--The Secretary of Commerce shall issue such 
regulations as are necessary to carry out section 3.

SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

    Section 906(a)(1) of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export 
Enhancement Act of 2000 (title IX of H.R. 5426 of the 106th Congress, 
as enacted into law by section 1(a) of Public Law 106-387) is amended 
by inserting ``(other than Iraq)'' after ``government of a country''.

SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the United States Government 
should take all necessary steps to end the suffering of innocent 
populations, primarily children and the elderly, by allowing the free 
flow of humanitarian aid to Iraq without threat of prosecution. Such 
steps should include, but not be limited to, using its position as a 
permanent member of the United Nations Security Council--
            (1) to lift the economic sanctions on Iraq so as to allow 
        exports and travel referred to in section 3; and
            (2) to recommend a ban on transfers of weapons to Iraq by 
        countries that are members of the United Nations.

SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the President shall transmit to the Congress a report that sets 
forth--
            (1) the extent (expressed in volume and dollar amounts) of 
        sales to Iraq of food and other agricultural products 
        (including fertilizer), medicines, medical supplies, medical 
        instruments, and medical equipment, since the enactment of this 
        Act;
            (2) the impact the exports have had on food security in 
        Iraq;
            (3) a description of the types and end users of the goods 
        so exported;
            (4) whether there has been any indication that any 
        medicines, medical supplies, medical instruments, or medical 
        equipment exported to Iraq since the enactment of this Act--
                    (A) have been diverted by the Government of Iraq or 
                any other third party from the intended recipients; or
                    (B) have been used for any unintended 
                nonhumanitarian or dual-use purposes; and
            (5) what steps the United States has taken through the 
        United Nations, with the cooperation of Security Council 
        members, to--
                    (A) lift nonmilitary sanctions on Iraq, including 
                actions described in section 6; or
                    (B) impose a strict regional arms control regime 
                pursuant to Article 14 of Security Council Resolution 
                687.
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