[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3890 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3890

  To amend the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 to waive the 
     requirement for annual renewal resolutions relating to import 
  sanctions, impose import sanctions on Burmese gemstones, expand the 
 number of individuals against whom the visa ban is applicable, expand 
 the blocking of assets and other prohibited activities, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 18, 2007

 Mr. Lantos (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. King of New York, Mrs. 
Maloney of New York, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, and Mr. Pitts) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
   Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means and 
 Judiciary, 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 amend the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 to waive the 
     requirement for annual renewal resolutions relating to import 
  sanctions, impose import sanctions on Burmese gemstones, expand the 
 number of individuals against whom the visa ban is applicable, expand 
 the blocking of assets and other prohibited activities, 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 ``Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-
Democratic Efforts) Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Burmese regime has continued and worsened its 
        obstruction of democratic processes and mass violation of human 
        rights identified in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 
        2003 (Public Law 108-61; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note). In August and 
        September 2007, Burmese people from all walks of life conducted 
        their largest peaceful public protests since 1988. The peaceful 
        public protests responded to a drastic increase in fuel prices, 
        as well as the Burmese regime's ongoing denial of the 
        democratic and human rights of the Burmese people. On September 
        24, 2007, Buddhist monks actively participated and increasingly 
        led these peaceful demonstrations, culminating in an estimated 
        100,000 people marching through Rangoon, Burma. The protesters 
        peacefully demanded the release of 1991 Nobel Peace Prize 
        Winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League 
        for Democracy (NLD), marching past security barricades to her 
        house in a show of support for Burmese democracy. The Burmese 
        regime continues to refuse to recognize the results of the 1990 
        election, won by the NLD, which gave Aung San Suu Kyi the right 
        to be named Prime Minister.
            (2) The Burmese regime, which calls itself the State Peace 
        and Development Council (SPDC), responded to these peaceful 
        protests with a violent crackdown leading to the reported 
        killing of some 200 people, including a Japanese 
        photojournalist, and hundreds of injuries. Human rights groups 
        further estimate that over 2,000 individuals have been 
        detained, arrested, imprisoned, beaten, tortured, or otherwise 
        intimidated as part of this crackdown. The Burmese regime 
        continues to detain, torture, and otherwise intimidate those 
        individuals whom it believes participated in or led the 
        protests and it has closed down or otherwise limited access to 
        several monasteries and temples that played key roles in the 
        protests.
            (3) The Burmese regime and its supporters finance their 
        ongoing violations of human rights, undemocratic policies, and 
        military activities through financial transactions, travel, and 
        trade involving the United States, including the sale of 
        gemstones. Despite the sanctions imposed in the Burmese Freedom 
        and Democracy Act of 2003, the Burmese regime seeks out ways to 
        evade these restrictions. Millions of dollars in gemstones that 
        are exported from Burma ultimately enter the United States but 
        the Burmese regime attempts to conceal the origin of the 
        gemstones in an effort to evade the sanctions in the Burmese 
        Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. For example, over 90 percent 
        of the world's ruby supply originates in Burma but only three 
        percent of the rubies entering the United States are claimed to 
        be of Burmese origin. The value of Burmese gemstones is more 
        than 99 percent a function of their original quality and 
        geological origin, and not a result of the labor involved in 
        cutting and polishing the gemstones.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE BURMESE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2003.

    (a) Annual Renewal Resolutions No Longer Required.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (b) of section 9 of the Burmese 
        Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 is amended to read as 
        follows:
    ``(b) Continuation of Import Sanctions.--The import restrictions 
under section 3(a)(1) shall continue until such time as such 
restrictions are terminated--
            ``(1) pursuant to the enactment into law of a joint 
        resolution of the two Houses of Congress, the sole matter after 
        the resolving clause of which is as follows: `That Congress 
        terminates the import restrictions under section 3(a)(1) of the 
        Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.'; or
            ``(2) by the President in accordance with subsection 
        (a).''.
            (2) Repeal.--Section 9 of such Act is amended by striking 
        subsection (c).
    (b) Import Restrictions on Gemstones.--Paragraph (1) of section 
3(a) of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 is amended by 
striking the period at the end and inserting the following: ``, 
including the importation of any gemstone or rough unfinished 
geological material mined or extracted from Burma, whether imported as 
a loose item or as any part or component of a finished piece of 
jewelry. Such restriction on such importation shall not be deemed to be 
an amendment to the general rules of origin applied by the United 
States.''.
    (c) Visa Ban.--Paragraph (1) of section 6(a) of the Burmese Freedom 
and Democracy Act of 2003 is amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) Visa ban.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary of State shall 
                deny the issuance of a visa and the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security shall deny admission to the United 
                States to--
                            ``(i) former and present leadership of the 
                        SPDC or the Union Solidarity Development 
                        Association;
                            ``(ii) any member of the Burmese military 
                        involved in the violent repression of the 
                        public protests in Burma in August, September, 
                        and October 2007;
                            ``(iii) any Burmese official who has 
                        engaged in, ordered, or facilitated acts of 
                        gross violations of internationally recognized 
                        human rights (as defined in section 502B(d)(1) 
                        of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
                        U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)), either as an individual or 
                        as a member of a group or government; and
                            ``(iv) any member of the immediate family 
                        of any individual described in clauses (i), 
                        (ii), or (iii).
                    ``(B) Waiver.--The ban described in subparagraph 
                (A) may be waived only if the President determines and 
                certifies in writing to Congress that such is in the 
                national interests of the United States.''.
    (d) Freezing Assets of the Burmese Regime in the United States.--
Section 4 of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsection 
        (c) and (d); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(b) Blocking of Assets and Other Prohibited Activities.--
            ``(1) In general.--The President shall block all property 
        and interests in property, including all commercial, 
        industrial, or public utility undertakings or entities, that, 
        on or after the date of the enactment of the Block Burmese JADE 
        (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2007--
                    ``(A) are owned, in whole or in part, by an 
                individual on the list specified in section 6(a)(1)(A); 
                and
                    ``(B) are in the United States, or in the 
                possession or control of the Government of the United 
                States or of any United States financial institution, 
                including any branch or office of such financial 
                institution that is located outside the United States.
            ``(2) Prohibited activities.--Activities prohibited by 
        reason of the blocking of property and interests in property 
        under paragraph (1) shall include--
                    ``(A) payments or transfers of any property, or any 
                transactions involving the transfer of anything of 
                economic value by any United States person, including 
                any United States financial institution and any branch 
                or office of such financial institution that is located 
                outside the United States, to an individual on the list 
                specified in section 6(a)(1)(A);
                    ``(B) direct or indirect payments of any tax, 
                cancellation penalty, or any other amount to the 
                Burmese Government;
                    ``(C) the export or reexport to any entity owned, 
                controlled, or operated by such an individual directly 
                or indirectly, of any goods, technology, or services by 
                a United States person; or
                    ``(D) the performance by any United States person 
                of any contract, including a contract providing a loan 
                or other financing, in support of an industrial, 
                commercial, or public utility operated, controlled, or 
                owned by such an individual.
            ``(3) Extension of authority.--The President may block all 
        property and interests in property of the following persons, to 
        the same extent as property and interests in property of a 
        foreign person determined to have committed acts of terrorism 
        for purposes of Executive Order No. 13224 of September 21, 
        2001, (50 U.S.C. 1701 note) may be blocked:
                    ``(A) Persons and financial institutions who assist 
                or provide financial, material, or technological 
                support for, or financial or other services to or in 
                support of, an individual on the list specified in 
                section 6(a)(1)(A) or entities owned or effectively 
                controlled by such an individual.
                    ``(B) Persons otherwise associated with such an 
                individual.
            ``(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall be construed to prohibit any contract or other financial 
        transaction with any nongovernmental humanitarian organization 
        in Burma.
            ``(5) Exceptions.--The prohibitions and restrictions 
        described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) shall not apply to 
        medicine, medical equipment or supplies, food, or any other 
        form of humanitarian assistance provided to Burma as relief in 
        response to a humanitarian crisis.
            ``(6) Penalties.--Any person who violates any prohibition 
        or restriction described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) shall be 
        subject to the penalties under section 6 of the International 
        Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same 
        extent as for a violation under that Act.
            ``(7) United states person defined.--In this subsection, 
        the term `United States person' means--
                    ``(A) any United States citizen or alien lawfully 
                admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
                    ``(B) any entity organized under the laws of the 
                United States, and any foreign branch or subsidiary of 
                such an entity; and
                    ``(C) any person in the United States.''.

SEC. 4. DENIAL OF TAX BENEFITS RELATING TO THE BURMESE REGIME.

    (a) In General.--No deduction or credit against tax shall be 
allowed under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to amounts 
paid or incurred with respect to the Burmese Government, the SPDC, or a 
joint production agreement relating to the Yadana gas field or 
pipeline.
    (b) Effective Date.--This section shall apply to amounts paid or 
incurred after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>