[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5879 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5879

To impose certain limits relating to the national emergency authorities 
               of the President, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 12, 2020

   Ms. Omar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on 
   Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rules, 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 impose certain limits relating to the national emergency authorities 
               of the President, 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 ``Congressional Oversight of Sanctions 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Article I, section 8 of the United States Constitution 
        gives Congress the power ``to regulate Commerce with foreign 
        Nations'' as well as to ``define and punish Piracies and 
        Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the 
        Law of Nations''.
            (2) The House Committee on International Relations report 
        (No. 95-459) on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 
        (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) states ``that given the breadth of the 
        authorities and their availability at the President's 
        discretion upon a declaration of national emergency, their 
        exercise should be subject to various substantive restrictions. 
        The main one stems from a recognition that emergencies are by 
        their nature rare and brief, and are not to be equated with 
        normal, ongoing problems''.
            (3) It further states, ``A national emergency should be 
        declared and emergency authorities employed only with respect 
        to a specific set of circumstances which constitute a real 
        emergency, and for no other purpose'' and that ``[t]he 
        emergency should be terminated in a timely manner when the 
        factual state of emergency is over and not continued in effect 
        for use in other circumstances. A state of emergency should not 
        be a normal state of affairs''.
            (4) Since 1977, Presidents have invoked authorities under 
        the International Emergency Economic Powers Act with respect to 
        56 declarations of national emergency. On average, these 
        emergencies last nearly a decade.
            (5) As of August 2019, there are 31 ongoing national 
        emergencies involving the International Emergency Economic 
        Powers Act, the oldest of which was put in place forty years 
        ago.
            (6) The average length of an emergency declared in the 
        1980s and invoking International Emergency Economic Powers Act 
        authorities was four years. That average extended to 10 years 
        for emergencies declared in the 1990s and 12 years for 
        emergencies declared in the 2000s.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) successive Presidents from both parties have used the 
        authority granted by the International Emergency Economic 
        Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and the National 
        Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) to declare national 
        emergencies that do not meet the threshold of ``unusual and 
        extraordinary threat[s] to the national security and foreign 
        policy of the United States''; and
            (2) in order to restore Congress' original intent in 
        enacting such laws, it is necessary to reclaim Congress' 
        constitutional power over the use of sanctions.

SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL REQUIRED TO EXTEND NATIONAL EMERGENCIES.

    (a) Automatic Termination.--Subsection (a) of section 202 of the 
National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
        ``if'';
            (2) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``if'' before ``there is 
        enacted'';
            (3) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``if'' before ``the 
        President issues'';
            (4) in the matter following paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``clause (1)'' and inserting 
                ``paragraph (2)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``clause (2)'' and inserting 
                ``paragraph (3)'';
            (5) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2), as so amended, 
        as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and
            (6) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 
        the following new paragraph:
            ``(1) on the date that is 60 days after the first day on 
        which either House of Congress is in session following the date 
        of the declaration, unless a joint resolution to extend the 
        emergency is enacted in accordance with subsection (c);''.
    (b) Joint Resolution of Extension.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (b) of such section 202 is 
        amended by striking ``terminated'' and inserting ``extended for 
        a six-month period''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Subsection (c)(1) of such 
        section 202 is amended by striking ``terminate'' and inserting 
        ``extend''.
    (c) Prohibition on Successor Declarations.--Such section 202 is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) If a joint resolution to extend the emergency is not enacted 
in accordance with subsection (c) within 60 days after the first day on 
which either House of Congress is in session following the date of the 
declaration, the President may not declare a new national emergency 
based on substantially similar facts during the 1-year period following 
such 60-day period.''.
    (d) Additional Conforming Amendments.--Section 207(b) of the 
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1706(b)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``concurrent resolution'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``joint resolution''; and
            (2) by inserting ``or if the national emergency terminates 
        in accordance with subsection (a)(1) of such section 202'' 
        before the period at the end.

SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL EXCEPTIONS TO GRANTS OF AUTHORITIES.

    (a) Safe Harbor for Maintenance of Infrastructure.--Subsection (a) 
of section 203 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
U.S.C. 1702) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(4) In implementing the authority under paragraph (1), 
        the President shall allow for the exportation of equipment and 
        material to a territory that is subject to the control of a 
        person otherwise subject to sanctions under the laws of the 
        United States if the exporter certifies that such equipment or 
        material is intended for use in the maintenance, in such 
        territory, of--
                    ``(A) civilian healthcare facilities;
                    ``(B) water infrastructure;
                    ``(C) civilian energy infrastructure; or
                    ``(D) primary or secondary educational 
                facilities.''.
    (b) Exception for Support Incidental to Communication Intended To 
Reduce Conflict or Alleviate Suffering.--Subsection (b) of such section 
203 is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``; or'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) any support provided to a foreign person subject to 
        sanctions under the laws of the United States, including 
        organizations designated as foreign terrorist organizations 
        under section 219(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 
        that is incidental to speech or communication with such person 
        for the purpose of--
                    ``(A) reducing or eliminating the frequency and 
                severity of violent conflict, including by fostering 
                diplomatic solutions to violent conflict; or
                    ``(B) preventing or alleviating the suffering of a 
                civilian populations.''.

SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--Subsection (b) of section 204 of the International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1703) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``to 
        the Congress'' and inserting ``to the appropriate congressional 
        committees'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs 
        (9) and (10), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new 
        paragraphs:
            ``(4) the goals and outcomes expected to be achieved 
        through such actions;
            ``(5) other tools considered to address the emergency, and 
        the reason for choosing to respond to such emergency through 
        the imposition of sanctions;
            ``(6) a list of other countries imposing sanctions in 
        accordance with the sanctions imposed by the President or, if 
        such sanctions are unilateral, an explanation for why no other 
        country has imposed such sanctions;
            ``(7) the strategy of the President to provide compliance 
        guidance to entities in the private sector (including financial 
        institutions), humanitarian organizations, and peacebuilding 
        organizations;
            ``(8) the criteria, if any, that a sanctioned person must 
        meet before any sanctions imposed in the exercise of such 
        authority with respect to such person may be lifted;''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Such section 204 is further amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) For purposes of this section, the term `appropriate 
congressional committees' means--
            ``(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and
            ``(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee 
        on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.''.
    (c) Report on Treaty Obligations.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury shall jointly 
submit to Congress a report, which shall be submitted in unclassified 
form but may include a classified annex, on the manner and extent to 
which each action taken during the preceding 1-year period using the 
authorities of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is in compliance with the treaty obligations of 
the United States.

SEC. 7. REPORTS REQUIRED.

    (a) Projection Report.--Not later than 30 days after the 
publication of any executive order, proclamation, or other notice to 
declare a national emergency, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to Congress a report that includes the following:
            (1) The expected impact of such declaration on the economic 
        interests of the United States and of allied countries.
            (2) The expected humanitarian impact of such declaration, 
        including the extent to which organizations or entities 
        attempting to provide humanitarian assistance face restricted 
        access as a result of such declaration.
            (3) The expected impact of such declaration on the economy 
        of any country targeted by such declaration.
            (4) The expected financial impact of such declaration on 
        United States citizens and entities, including the impact on 
        any such citizens or entities who maintain accounts or assets 
        in financial institutions subject to sanctions pursuant to such 
        declaration.
    (b) Impact Report.--Not later than 1 year after the publication of 
an executive order, proclamation, or other notice described in 
subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress an 
updated report that includes the assessment of the Comptroller General 
with respect to the actual impact of the declaration of such national 
emergency on each of the interests described in paragraphs (1) through 
(3) of subsection (a).
    (c) Consultations Required.--In preparing the report required by 
subsection (b), the Comptroller General shall consult with relevant 
nongovernmental organizations working in areas affected by the 
applicable declaration, including organizations engaged in the 
provision of humanitarian assistance.
    (d) Goals and Outcomes Report.--Not later than 1 year after the 
publication of an executive order, proclamation, or other notice 
described in subsection (a), the President shall submit to Congress a 
report that sets forth, with respect to each goal and outcome described 
pursuant to section 204(b)(3) of the International Emergency Economic 
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1703(b)(4))(as added by section 6 of this Act), 
the manner and extent to which such goal or outcome has been achieved 
through the sanctions imposed pursuant to the declaration of such 
national emergency.
                                 <all>