[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1646 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1646

  To repeal the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 4, 2011

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To repeal the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.

    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 ``Zimbabwe Sanctions Repeal Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe and leader of the 
        Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, has ruled 
        Zimbabwe for 31 years.
            (2) During President Mugabe's regime, Zimbabwe has gone 
        from being the ``bread basket'' of Africa to the world's 
        fastest shrinking economy.
            (3) In 2000, the Government of Zimbabwe initiated a 
        farmland redistribution program, designed to reallocate foreign 
        commercial farmland to poor and middle-class citizens of 
        Zimbabwe.
            (4) The farmland redistribution program--
                    (A) led to the confiscation of industrial, fertile, 
                and previously settled lands, and mass chaos;
                    (B) undermined the Constitution of Zimbabwe; and
                    (C) caused more than 400,000 farmers to lose their 
                homes and livelihoods.
            (5) In 2005, President Mugabe implemented a project known 
        as Operation Murambatsvina, translated into English as 
        Operation ``Clean Out the Filth''.
            (6) Under Operation Clean Out the Filth, the Mugabe regime 
        bulldozed and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, 
        leading to an estimated 700,000 internally displaced persons, 
        of whom 569,685 are still displaced.
            (7) The majority of the people of Zimbabwe live on less 
        than $1 per day.
            (8) The 95 percent unemployment rate in Zimbabwe has forced 
        an estimated 3,000,000 of the people of Zimbabwe, representing 
        25 percent of the overall population, to migrate to neighboring 
        countries.
            (9) All of these actions by President Mugabe's regime have 
        caused significant and persistent economic hardships in 
        Zimbabwe.
            (10) On March 29, 2008, a presidential election was held 
        between President Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of 
        the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change.
            (11) Of the votes cast in the presidential election--
                    (A) Tsvangirai received 47.9 percent;
                    (B) President Mugabe received 43.2 percent; and
                    (C) Simba Mankoni, of the Mavambo Kusile Dawn 
                Party, received 8.3 percent.
            (12) Because Tsvangirai failed to achieve 50 percent of the 
        votes needed to win outright, a run-off was scheduled for June 
        27, 2008.
            (13) President Mugabe--
                    (A) declared that he would not relinquish power 
                regardless of the election outcome;
                    (B) directed a crackdown on opposition parties; and
                    (C) stated, ``Only God, who appointed me, will 
                remove me.''.
            (14) As many as 400 members and supporters of the Movement 
        for Democratic Change were killed during the run-off campaign 
        period.
            (15) Tsvangirai dropped out of the run-off race, and took 
        refuge in the Embassy of the Netherlands, stating that he could 
        not ask people to vote ``when that vote could cost them their 
        lives''.
            (16) The violence surrounding this unfair election came to 
        the world's attention and specifically to that of the Southern 
        African Development Community, compromised of 15 southern 
        African countries, and the United States.
            (17) Pressure from the Southern African Development 
        Community and the United States led to the creation of a power-
        sharing agreement between Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National 
        Union-Patriotic Front and Tsvangirai and Mutambara's respective 
        wings of the Movement for Democratic Change Party. This 
        agreement, which is known as the Global Political Agreement, 
        became effective on September 15, 2008.
            (18) The Parliament of Zimbabwe amended the Constitution of 
        Zimbabwe to allow for the creation of the power-sharing 
        government.
            (19) While Mugabe retained the office of President, 
        Tsvangirai was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on 
        February 11, 2009, and Tendai Biti was appointed Minister of 
        Finance by Prime Minister Tsvangirai.
            (20) Since the appointment of Biti as Minister of Finance, 
        the economy of Zimbabwe has seen remarkable recovery in a short 
        period of time. Minister Biti dollarized the Zimbabwean economy 
        to combat inflation. By using stable foreign currencies, the 
        2008 annual inflation rate of 15,000,000,000 percent was 
        reduced to the current 2011 rate of 2.5 percent.
            (21) During Biti's tenure as Minister of Finance, the real 
        gross domestic product (GDP) of Zimbabwe has also improved. In 
        2008, the real GDP in Zimbabwe was contracting at a rate of 
        negative 14.4 percent. Current projections estimate that the 
        real GDP in Zimbabwe will increase by 9.3 percent during 2011.
            (22) The salaries of government employees have also been 
        reissued, allowing those employed in basic government services 
        like medicine, education, and transportation to return to work.
            (23) The overall economy and well-being of the citizens of 
        Zimbabwe have made tremendous advances since Tsvangirai and the 
        Movement for Democratic Change gained power-sharing authority 
        in the Government of Zimbabwe.
            (24) The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 
        2001 (Public Law 107-99; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note), which was 
        enacted into law in 2001, imposed sanctions on the Mugabe 
        regime and members of the Zimbabwe African National Union-
        Patriotic Front.
            (25) Section 4(c) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 
        Recovery Act of 2001 specifically directs the United States 
        Executive Director to each international financial institution 
        to oppose and vote against--
                    (A) any extension by the institution of any loan, 
                credit, or guarantee to the Government of Zimbabwe; or
                    (B) any cancellation or reduction of indebtedness 
                owed by the Government of Zimbabwe to the United States 
                or any international financial institution.
            (26) Repealing the sanctions imposed under the Zimbabwe 
        Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 that burden the 
        power-sharing government in Zimbabwe is necessary--
                    (A) to fully restore the economy of Zimbabwe; and
                    (B) to assist Zimbabwe in transitioning to 
                democracy.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT OF 2001.

    The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 (Public 
Law 107-99; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note) is repealed.
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