[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 120 (Thursday, September 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9198-S9218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. ALLARD:
  S. 1162. A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act and the 
Controlled Substances Import and Export Act with respect to penalties 
for powder cocaine and crack offenses; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.


       the powder-crack cocaine penalty equalization act of 1997

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, today I rise to address one of the most 
longstanding and racially sensitive disputes in the criminal justice 
system. I am introducing legislation to equalize the criminal penalties 
for offenses involving crack and powder cocaine.
  Under current law, a seller of 5 grams of crack cocaine receives the 
same mandatory 5-year prison term as a seller of 500 grams of powder 
cocaine.
  That disparity between penalties has been scrutinized by the U.S. 
Sentencing Commission, Congress, and the Clinton administration for the 
last several years. Although many solutions have called for narrowing 
the gap in penalties, these recommendations don't go far enough. 
Instead of equalizing the penalties, they only narrow the disparity in 
sentencing for powder versus crack cocaine by altering the ratio from 5 
to 1 instead of the current 100 to 1.
  Additional recommendations have called for lessening the penalty for 
crack dealers, bringing it closer to the lax penalties applied to 
powder offenders.
  My legislation rejects the hollow solution of lowering the penalty 
for crack to make it equal to powder cocaine penalties. The fact is 
that 90 percent of those convicted of dealing crack are African-
Americans, while the majority of powder cocaine offenders are white.
  Raising the powder cocaine penalties to that of crack will help 
alleviate the perception of unfairness and racial bias in sentencing. 
But reducing the penalties for crack cocaine would only increase 
violent crime and harm those which the law is seeking to help.
  Statistics remind us that cocaine addiction continues to plague our 
society. According to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, 1 out of 
every 10 babies born in the United States is born addicted to drugs, 
and most are addicted to crack cocaine. Crime exploded between 1985 and 
1990, the years crack was introduced. In fact, violent crime went up 37 
percent in 1990 and aggravated assaults increased 43 percent. Partly 
because of crack cocaine, more teens in this country now die of gunshot 
wounds than all natural causes combined. Lowering sentences on crack 
cocaine would be devastating to the progress we have made in fighting 
the drug war.
  During the 1980's, Congress legislated steep consequences for crack 
cocaine.
  The crack epidemic spread across our Nation--and it warranted several 
drastic legal reforms. We saw the destruction wrought on entire 
communities by this cheap and highly addictive form of cocaine and 
realized that tough penalties were needed to restrict its availability.
  These tougher sentences were needed, but the problem we are seeing 
today is that powder cocaine sentences were set before the crack 
epidemic began and do not reflect the influence powder has had on crime 
and drug trafficking.
  This bill provides a twofold solution: It corrects the inequality in 
penalties which has contributed to the perceived race bias in 
sentencing; while at the same time stiffening the penalty for powder 
cocaine offenses, which are currently far too lenient.
  In light of the numerous proposals introduced to correct this 
problem, I encourage my colleagues to contemplate the alternatives and 
consider how justice is served in this matter. Maintaining the current 
ratio is allowing a wrongful disparity in penalties to continue. 
Congress must act now to correct this injustice.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. BRYAN:
  S. 1163. A bill to amend the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit the 
distribution of any negotiable check or other instrument with any 
solicitation to a consumer by a creditor to open an account under any 
consumer credit plan or to engage in any other credit transaction which 
is subject to that Act, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.


              the unsolicited loan consumer protection act

  Mr. BRYAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that 
will protect consumers from a new, egregious banking practice that 
gives new meaning to the old expression, ``The check's in the mail.''
  This practice involves financial institutions sending unsolicited 
checks to consumers, some of whom have no prior relationship with the 
financial institution at all. These checks in fact obligate the 
recipient to a loan with interest rates as high as 25 percent.
  I invite my colleagues' attention to a format that is frequently 
used. This check is sent in a window envelope in which the recipient 
sees his or her name, opens it up and believes that indeed a check has 
been sent to him or to her.
  What may at first appear to be pennies from Heaven is in reality a 
loan backed by exorbitant interest rates and punitive loan terms, but 
these details are only found in the fine print often on the back of the 
check.
  While only a few banks are engaged in this practice, it is 
nevertheless a growing practice and needs to be stopped before it gets 
completely out of hand. For example, one bank has booked $1 billion of 
these unsolicited loans in a period of 18 months.
  At a time when personal bankruptcies are at an all-time high --many 
attribute that to easy credit-card debt--the practice in which 
consumers are enticed into taking a loan that they really have not 
sought should concern all Americans.
  I fear for the long-term consequence of these loans should the 
economy take a sudden downturn and these loans are left in default.
  The bottom line, Mr. President, is loans should only be issued when 
an application has been made and approved, with the consumer fully 
understanding the terms of the loan. In the case of these loans, all 
the pertinent information consumers need to know about

[[Page S9199]]

fees, charges, interest rates is in microscopic print and most 
frequently on the back of the check itself.
  Mr. President, banks are trying the patience of the American consumer 
with their ever increasing use of fees and questionable market 
practices.
  My State of Nevada has gone through a series of bank mergers that 
have left customers frustrated and confused. Service has been 
downgraded, accounts lost and fees increased. According to one report, 
the number of types of fees charged by banks increased from 96 to 250 
while the banking industry itself continues to earn record profits--
surpassing $50 billion.
  These unsolicited checks are setting rates right up against the usury 
ceilings with some carrying rates as high as 25 percent. Adding insult 
to injury, these checks are targeted to people who can least afford to 
pay these exorbitant rates but are easily tempted by the lure of easy 
money.
  Mr. President, I want to commend Congressmen Hinchey and Gonzalez in 
the House for raising this issue. I look forward to the Banking 
Committee holding hearings on this important legislation. The 
distinguished chairman of the subcommittee has indicated that it is his 
intention to hold hearings on this issue. I look forward to processing 
this legislation as quickly as possible.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. ABRAHAM (for himself, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. 
        Coverdell, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Mack, 
        and Mr. Helms):
  S. 1164. A bill to state a policy of the United States that engages 
the People's Republic of China in areas of mutual interest, promotes 
human rights, religious freedom, and democracy in China, and enhances 
the national security interests of the United States with respect to 
China, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.


                        CHINA POLICY ACT OF 1997

  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the China 
Policy Act of 1997. Cosponsors of this legislation include Senators 
Feingold, Hutchinson, Coverdell, DeWine, Ashcroft, Brownback, Mack, and 
Helms.
  Now is the time, Mr. President, to take a closer look at our 
relations with the People's Republic of China. Preparations are 
underway for the October 28 state visit of Chinese President Jiang 
Zemin. The President will be feted, toasted, and praised. Meanwhile, 
Wei Jingsheng rots in a Beijing prison, serving out a 14-year sentence 
for the crime of peacefully advocating democracy and other political 
reforms.
  This contrast, in my view, points up the current crisis in United 
States-China relations. For too long now, this administration has put 
process over substance, holding repeated meetings and discussions with 
Chinese leaders, but failing to set and hold to a concrete agenda 
addressing critical issues of human rights and religious freedom, as 
well as nuclear and other weapons proliferation.
  There is much of substance to work out with Chinese leaders, Mr. 
President. To begin with, China's record of human rights abuses and 
repression of religious faith is long and disturbing. Women pregnant 
with their second or third child have been coerced into abortions. 
Peaceful advocates of democracy and political reforms have been 
sentenced to long terms in prisons where they have been beaten, 
tortured, and denied needed medical care. Religious meeting places have 
been forcibly closed. Tibetan monks refusing to condemn their religious 
leader, the Dalai Lama, have been forced from their monasteries; some 
of their leaders have disappeared.
  President Clinton knows full well about these abuses. His own State 
Department just released a report on human rights in China which states 
that in 1996 ``The Government continued to commit widespread and well-
documented human rights abuses, in violation of internationally 
accepted norms, stemming from the authorities' intolerance of dissent, 
fear of unrest, and the absence or inadequacy of laws protecting basic 
freedoms.'' America cannot allow these abuses of fundamental human 
rights to continue unopposed.
  Our own national security also demands that we take a firmer, more 
substantive stance in our dealings with China. Although China signed 
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and agreed to abide by the terms 
of the missile technology control regime in 1992, violations of both 
agreements continue. Especially worrisome are Chinese sales of weapons 
technology to Pakistan, Iran, and other countries in the Middle East.
  Chinese weapons exports also have more directly threatened Americans 
here on United States soil. Companies associated with the People's 
Liberation Army [PLA] have been caught attempting to sell smuggled 
assault weapons to street gangs in Los Angeles.
  Mr. President, I am not advocating any rash response to these 
provocations. China is an important nation with the potential to take 
part in mutually beneficial commerce and diplomatic cooperation, or 
destabilize a number of important strategic areas. In my view our 
disagreements with China call for development of incentives and 
disincentives designed to steer that country toward internal 
liberalization and constructive participation in the international 
community.
  Up until now, debates over American policy toward China have focused 
almost exclusively on the annual extension of that country's most-
favored-nation trading status [MFN]. Both sides in this debate have 
highlighted legitimate issues calling for reasoned argument. But, now 
that Congress has renewed MFN, it is imperative that we address broader 
United States-China relations, lest China policy be relegated to the 
back pages for another year.
  I firmly believe, Mr. President, that Congress and the President can 
put United States-Chinese relations on a course toward substantive 
progress by taking concrete action now. That is why I am introducing 
the China Policy Act of 1997. This legislation is designed to 
discourage the Chinese regime from oppressive internal policies and 
destabilizing actions contrary to United States national security, 
while advancing American values of freedom and human rights among the 
Chinese people. It represents a consensus view reached among proponents 
on both sides of the MFN question. It combines provisions of China-
related bills and amendments authored by myself and Senators Feingold, 
Ashcroft, DeWine, Coverdell, and Brownback. I would like to extend 
special thanks to Senator Feingold for strengthening the human rights 
focus of the bill.
  This legislation includes a number of sanctions aimed at Chinese 
leaders intended to express our dismay at recent human rights abuses. 
First, the bill would deny American visas to high ranking Chinese 
Government officials involved in political and religious persecution. 
The bill also would require United States representatives at 
multilateral development banks to vote ``no'' on all loans to China, 
except those related to famine, national disaster relief, and 
environmental protection. This last provision also puts into practice 
the important principle that United States taxpayers should not be 
forced to subsidize the Chinese Government.
  In addition, Mr. President, the bill would institute targeted 
sanctions against PLA companies found to have engaged in weapons 
proliferation, illegal importation of weapons to the United States or 
military or political espionage in the United States. The U.S. 
Government also would publish a list of other PLA-controlled companies. 
This would allow American companies and consumers to decide whether 
they wish to purchase products manufactured in whole or in part by the 
Communist Chinese army. The bill also takes direct aim at China's use 
of slave labor by instituting stricter enforcement of the ban against 
sale of Chinese products produced in prison labor camps.
  These sanctions, specifically aimed at government officials and the 
Chinese Governmental apparatus, will show our determination to stand up 
and defend human rights and religious freedom.
  This legislation also would tighten United States export licensing 
requirements for supercomputers sold to China. This will impede Chinese 
weapons development and proliferation.
  In addition to its sanctions, the bill includes provisions to 
encourage internal reforms and cultural exchanges between our two 
countries. It would increase funding for international broadcasting to 
China, including Radio Free Asia and the Voice of America. I also

[[Page S9200]]

would increase funding for National Endowment for Democracy and U.S. 
Information Agency student, cultural, and legislative exchange 
programs.
  These concrete actions would make clear to the Chinese leadership 
that there is a price to be paid for human rights abuses and for 
irresponsible weapons proliferation. They also would encourage greater 
openness in that country, without penalizing the Chinese people for the 
actions of their Government. They would provide the basis for 
substantive negotiations and a productive relationship with China.
  It is my hope that my colleagues will adopt these measures, and that 
the President will seize the opportunity to set our policy on a new, 
more productive course.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a summary and the full 
text of the China Policy Act of 1997 be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill and summary were ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1164

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``China 
     Policy Act of 1997''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Declaration of policy.

                           TITLE I--SANCTIONS

Sec. 101. Denial of entry into United States of certain officials of 
              the People's Republic of China.
Sec. 102. Limitations on multilateral assistance for the People's 
              Republic of China.
Sec. 103. Sanctions regarding China North Industries Group, China Poly 
              Group, and certain other entities affiliated with the 
              People's Liberation Army.
Sec. 104. Consultations with allies regarding sanctions against the 
              People's Republic of China.
Sec. 105. Termination of certain authorities.

   TITLE II--HUMAN RIGHTS, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND DEMOCRACY IN CHINA

Sec. 201. Findings on human rights abuses in the People's Republic of 
              China.
Sec. 202. Findings on religious freedom in the People's Republic of 
              China.
Sec. 203. Findings on Tibet.
Sec. 204. Findings on coercive family planning practices in the 
              People's Republic of China.
Sec. 205. Combating slave labor and ``reeducation'' centers.
Sec. 206. International broadcasting to China.
Sec. 207. National Endowment for Democracy.
Sec. 208. United States Information Agency student, cultural, and 
              legislative exchange programs.
Sec. 209. Annual reports on family planning activities in the People's 
              Republic of China by recipients of United States funds.
Sec. 210. Sense of Congress regarding multilateral efforts to address 
              China's human rights record.
Sec. 211. Sense of Congress regarding compliance by the People's 
              Republic of China with the Joint Declaration on Hong 
              Kong.

                  TITLE III--NATIONAL SECURITY MATTERS

Sec. 301. Findings on the proliferation of ballistic missiles by the 
              People's Republic of China.
Sec. 302. Findings on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction 
              by the People's Republic of China.
Sec. 303. Findings on the proliferation of destabilizing advanced 
              conventional weapons by the People's Republic of China.
Sec. 304. Findings on the evasion of United States export control laws 
              by the People's Republic of China.
Sec. 305. Findings on the inconsistent application of United States 
              export control laws to the People's Republic of China and 
              Hong Kong.
Sec. 306. Exports of supercomputers to the People's Republic of China.
Sec. 307. Dual-use exports to Hong Kong.
Sec. 308. Enforcement of Iran-Iraq Arms Non-Proliferation Act with 
              respect to the People's Republic of China.
Sec. 309. Transfers of sensitive equipment and technology by the 
              People's Republic of China.
Sec. 310. Annual reports on activities of the People's Liberation Army.
Sec. 311. Annual reports on intelligence activities of the People's 
              Republic of China.
Sec. 312. Study of theater ballistic missile defense system for Taiwan.
Sec. 313. Sense of Congress regarding United States force levels in 
              Asia.
Sec. 314. Sense of Congress regarding establishment of commission on 
              security and cooperation in Asia.

                            TITLE IV--TRADE

Sec. 401. Sense of Congress regarding the accession of Taiwan to the 
              World Trade Organization.

         TITLE V--HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WORLDWIDE

Sec. 501. Training for immigration officers regarding religions 
              persecution.
Sec. 502. Promotion of religious freedom and human rights worldwide.

                        TITLE VI--OTHER MATTERS

Sec. 601. Termination of United States assistance for East-West Center.

     SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

       The policy of the United States with respect to the 
     People's Republic of China is as follows:
       (1) To encourage freedom and democracy in the People's 
     Republic of China and to deter the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China from engaging in activities that are 
     contrary to the national security interests of the United 
     States.
       (2) To encourage the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China to make progress towards improving overall human rights 
     conditions in China and Tibet, including the taking of 
     concrete steps to assure freedom of speech, freedom of 
     religion, and freedom of association in compliance with 
     international standards on human rights.
       (3) To encourage the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China to channel its emerging power and influence along paths 
     that are conducive to peace, stability, and development in 
     the Asian Pacific region.
       (4) To preserve and protect the national security interests 
     of the United States and its allies by--
       (A) deterring the proliferation of weapons and sensitive 
     equipment and technology by the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China; and
       (B) sanctioning companies affiliated with the People's 
     Liberation Army that engage in the proliferation of weapons 
     of mass destruction, the importation of illegal weapons or 
     firearms into the United States, or espionage in the United 
     States.
       (5) To support a strong United States presence in and 
     commitment to the leadership of the Asian Pacific region.
       (6) To support integration of the People's Republic of 
     China into the community of nations.
       (7) To limit the use of United States taxpayer funds for 
     the subsidization of the Government of the People's Republic 
     of China through such mechanisms as assistance through 
     multilateral development banks and other United States 
     Government programs.
                           TITLE I--SANCTIONS

     SEC. 101. DENIAL OF ENTRY INTO UNITED STATES OF CERTAIN 
                   OFFICIALS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       (a) Denial of Entry.--Except as provided in subsection (b), 
     the Secretary of State may not issue any visa to, and the 
     Attorney General may not admit to the United States, any of 
     the following officials of the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China:
       (1) High-ranking officials of the People's Liberation Army, 
     as determined by the Secretary.
       (2) High-ranking officials of the Public Security Bureau, 
     as so determined.
       (3) High-ranking officials of the Religious Affairs Bureau, 
     as so determined.
       (4) Other high-ranking officials determined by the 
     Secretary to be involved in the implementation or enforcement 
     of laws and directives of the People's Republic of China 
     which restrict religious freedom.
       (5) High-ranking officials determined by the Secretary to 
     be involved in the implementation or enforcement of laws and 
     directives of the People's Republic of China on family 
     planning.
       (6) Officials determined by the Secretary to have been 
     materially involved in ordering or carrying out the massacre 
     of students in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
       (b) Waiver.--
       (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the President 
     may waive the applicability of subsection (a) with respect to 
     any official otherwise covered by that subsection if the 
     President determines that the waiver with respect to the 
     official is in the interests of the United States.
       (2) Notice.--
       (A) Requirement.--The President may not exercise the 
     authority provided in paragraph (1) with respect to an 
     official unless the President submits to Congress a written 
     notification of the exercise of the authority before the 
     entry of the official into the United States.
       (B) Contents.--Each notice shall include a justification of 
     the exercise of the authority, including--
       (i) a statement why the exercise of the authority is in the 
     interests of the United States; and
       (ii) a statement why such interests supersede the need for 
     the United States to deny entry to the official concerned in 
     response to the practices of the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China which limit the free exercise of religion 
     and other human rights.

     SEC. 102. LIMITATIONS ON MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE 
                   PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       (a) International Bank for Reconstruction and 
     Development.--
       (1) Opposition to assistance.--
       (A) Opposition.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United 
     States Executive Director of the International Bank for 
     Reconstruction and Development to vote against any loan or 
     other utilization of the

[[Page S9201]]

     funds of the Bank to or for the People's Republic of China.
       (B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any 
     loan or other utilization of funds for purposes of--
       (i) meeting basic human needs; or
       (ii) environmental improvements or safeguards.
       (2) Opposition to modification of single country loan 
     limit.--The Secretary shall instruct the United States 
     Executive Director of the International Bank for 
     Reconstruction and Development to vote against any 
     modification of the limitation on the share of the total 
     funds of the Bank that may be loaned to a single country.
       (b) Asian Development Bank.--
       (1) Opposition to assistance.--Except as provided in 
     paragraph (2), the Secretary shall instruct the United States 
     Director of the Asian Development Bank to vote against any 
     loan or other utilization of the funds of the Bank to or for 
     the People's Republic of China.
       (2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any loan 
     or other utilization of funds for purposes of--
       (A) meeting basic human needs; or
       (B) environmental improvements or safeguards.
       (c) International Monetary Fund.--
       (1) Opposition to assistance.--Except as provided in 
     paragraph (2), the Secretary shall instruct the United States 
     Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund to vote 
     against any loan or other utilization of the funds of the 
     Fund to or for the People's Republic of China.
       (2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any loan 
     or other utilization of funds for purposes of--
       (A) meeting basic human needs; or
       (B) environmental improvements or safeguards.
       (d) Basic Human Needs Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``basic human needs'' refers to human needs arising from 
     natural disasters or famine.

     SEC. 103. SANCTIONS REGARDING CHINA NORTH INDUSTRIES GROUP, 
                   CHINA POLY GROUP, AND CERTAIN OTHER ENTITIES 
                   AFFILIATED WITH THE PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY.

       (a) Finding; Purpose.--
       (1) Finding.--Congress finds that, in May 1996, United 
     States authorities caught representatives of the People's 
     Liberation Army enterprise, China Poly Group, and the 
     civilian defense industrial company, China North Industries 
     Group, attempting to smuggle 2,000 AK-47s into Oakland, 
     California, and offering to sell to Federal undercover agents 
     300,000 machine guns with silencers, 66-millimeter mortars, 
     hand grenades, and ``Red Parakeet'' surface-to-air missiles, 
     which, as stated in the criminal complaint against one of 
     those representatives, ``. . . could take out a 747'' 
     aircraft.
       (2) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to impose 
     targeted sanctions against entities affiliated with the 
     People's Liberation Army that engage in the proliferation of 
     weapons of mass destruction, the importation of illegal 
     weapons or firearms into the United States, or espionage in 
     the United States.
       (b) Sanctions Against Certain PLA Affiliates.--
       (1) Sanctions.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) and 
     subject to paragraph (3), the President shall--
       (A) prohibit the importation into the United States of all 
     products that are produced, grown, or manufactured by a 
     covered entity, the parent company of a covered entity, or 
     any affiliate, subsidiary, or successor entity of a covered 
     entity;
       (B) direct the Secretary of State and the Attorney General 
     to deny or impose restrictions on the entry into the United 
     States of any foreign national serving as an officer, 
     director, or employee of a covered entity or other entity 
     described in subparagraph (A);
       (C) prohibit the issuance to a covered entity or other 
     entity described in subparagraph (A) of licenses in 
     connection with the export of any item on the United States 
     Munitions List;
       (D) prohibit the export to a covered entity or other entity 
     described in subparagraph (A) of any goods or technology on 
     which export controls are in effect under section 5 or 6 of 
     the Export Administration Act of 1979;
       (E) direct the Export-Import Bank of the United States not 
     to give approval to the issuance of any guarantee, insurance, 
     extension of credit, or participation in the extension of 
     credit with respect to a covered entity or other entity 
     described in subparagraph (A);
       (F) prohibit United States nationals from directly or 
     indirectly issuing any guarantee for any loan or other 
     investment to, issuing any extension of credit to, or making 
     any investment in a covered entity or other entity described 
     in subparagraph (A); and
       (G) prohibit the departments and agencies of the United 
     States and United States nationals from entering into any 
     contract with a covered entity or other entity described in 
     subparagraph (A) for the procurement or other provision of 
     goods or services from such entity.
       (2) Exceptions.--
       (A) In general.--The President shall not impose sanctions 
     under this subsection--
       (i) in the case of the procurement of defense articles or 
     defense services--

       (I) under contracts or subcontracts that are in effect on 
     October 1, 1997 (including the exercise of options for 
     production quantities to satisfy United States operational 
     military requirements);
       (II) if the President determines that the person or entity 
     to whom the sanctions would otherwise be applied is a sole 
     source supplier of essential defense articles or services and 
     no alternative supplier can be identified; or
       (III) if the President determines that such articles or 
     services are essential to the national security; or

       (ii) in the case of--

       (I) products or services provided under contracts or 
     binding agreements (as such terms are defined by the 
     President in regulations) or joint ventures entered into 
     before October 1, 1997;
       (II) spare parts;
       (III) component parts that are not finished products but 
     are essential to United States products or production;
       (IV) routine servicing and maintenance of products; or
       (V) information and technology products and services.

       (B) Immigration restrictions.--The President shall not 
     apply the restrictions described in paragraph (1)(B) to a 
     person described in that paragraph if the President, after 
     consultation with the Attorney General, determines that the 
     presence of the person in the United States is necessary for 
     a Federal or State judicial proceeding against a covered 
     entity or other entity described in paragraph (1)(A).
       (3) Termination.--The sanctions under this subsection shall 
     terminate as follows:
       (A) In the case of an entity referred to in paragraph (1) 
     or (2) of subsection (c), on the date that is one year after 
     the date of enactment of this Act.
       (B) In the case of an entity that becomes a covered entity 
     under paragraph (3) or (4) of subsection (c) by reason of its 
     identification in a report under subsection (d), on the date 
     that is one year after the date on which the entity is 
     identified in such report.
       (c) Covered Entities.--For purposes of subsection (b), a 
     covered entity is any of the following:
       (1) China North Industries Group.
       (2) China Poly Group, also known as Polytechnologies 
     Incorporated or BAOLI.
       (3) Any affiliate of the People's Liberation Army 
     identified in a report of the Director of Central 
     Intelligence under subsection (d)(1).
       (4) Any affiliate of the People's Liberation Army 
     identified in a report of the Director of the Federal Bureau 
     of Investigation under subsection (d)(2).
       (d) Reports on Activities of PLA Affiliates.--
       (1) Transfers of sensitive items and technologies.--Not 
     later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act 
     and annually thereafter through 2002, the Director of Central 
     Intelligence shall submit to the appropriate members Congress 
     a report that identifies each entity owned wholly or in part 
     by the People's Liberation Army which, during the 2-year 
     period ending on the date of the report, transferred to any 
     other entity a controlled item for use in the following:
       (A) Any item listed in category I or category II of the 
     MTCR Annex.
       (B) Activities to develop, produce, stockpile, or deliver 
     chemical or biological weapons.
       (C) Nuclear activities in countries that do not maintain 
     full-scope International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards or 
     equivalent full-scope safeguards.
       (2) Illegal activities in the united states.--Not later 
     than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act and 
     annually thereafter through 2002, the Director of the Federal 
     Bureau of Investigation shall submit to the appropriate 
     members Congress a report that identifies each entity owned 
     wholly or in part by the People's Liberation Army which, 
     during the 2-year period ending on the date of the report, 
     attempted to--
       (A) illegally import weapons or firearms into the United 
     States; or
       (B) engage in military intelligence collection or espionage 
     in the United States under the cover of commercial business 
     activity.
       (3) Form.--Each report under this subsection shall be 
     submitted in classified form.
       (e) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Affiliate.--The term ``affiliate'' does not include any 
     United States national engaged in a business arrangement with 
     a covered entity or other entity described in subsection 
     (b)(1)(A).
       (2) Appropriate members of congress.--The term 
     ``appropriate members of congress'' means the following:
       (A) The Majority leader and Minority leader of the Senate.
       (B) The chairmen and ranking members of the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations and the Committee on Armed Services of the 
     Senate.
       (C) The Speaker and Minority leader of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (D) The chairmen and ranking members of the Committee on 
     International Relations and the Committee on National 
     Security of the House of Representatives.
       (3) Component part.--The term ``component part'' means any 
     article that is not usable for its intended function without 
     being embedded or integrated into any other product and, if 
     used in the production of a finished product, would be 
     substantially transformed in that process.
       (4) Controlled item.--The term ``controlled item'' means 
     the following:
       (A) Any item listed in the MTCR Annex.
       (B) Any item listed for control by the Australia Group.
       (C) Any item relevant to the nuclear fuel cycle of nuclear 
     explosive applications that

[[Page S9202]]

     are listed for control by the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
       (5) Finished product.--The term ``finished product'' means 
     any article that is usable for its intended function without 
     being embedded in or integrated into any other product, but 
     does not include an article produced by a person or entity 
     other than a covered entity or other entity described in 
     subsection (b)(1)(A) that contains parts or components of 
     such an entity if the parts or components have been 
     substantially transformed during production of the finished 
     product.
       (6) Investment.--The term ``investment'' includes any 
     contribution or commitment of funds, commodities, services, 
     patents, processes, or techniques, in the form of--
       (A) a loan or loans;
       (B) the purchase of a share of ownership;
       (C) participation in royalties, earnings, or profits; and
       (D) the furnishing of commodities or services pursuant to a 
     lease or other contract,

     but does not include routine maintenance of property.
       (7) MTCR annex.--The term ``MTCR Annex'' has the meaning 
     given that term in section 74(4) of the Arms Export Control 
     Act (22 U.S.C. 2797c(4)).
       (8) United states national.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``United States national'' 
     means--
       (i) any United States citizen; and
       (ii) any corporation, partnership, or other organization 
     created under the laws of the United States, any State, the 
     District of Columbia, or any territory or possession of the 
     United States.
       (B) Exception.--The term ``United States national'' does 
     not include a subsidiary or affiliate of corporation, 
     partnership, or organization that is a United States national 
     if the subsidiary or affiliate is located outside the United 
     States.

     SEC. 104. CONSULTATIONS WITH ALLIES REGARDING SANCTIONS 
                   AGAINST THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the President should begin consultations with the major 
     allies and other trading partners of the United States in 
     order to encourage such allies and trading partners to adopt 
     sanctions against the People's Republic of China that are 
     similar to the sanctions imposed on the People's Republic of 
     China by section 102.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 45 days after the completion of 
     the first Group of Seven summit meeting after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress 
     a report on the results, if any, of consultations referred to 
     in subsection (a).

     SEC. 105. TERMINATION OF CERTAIN AUTHORITIES.

       (a) Termination Date.--Sections 101 and 102 shall cease to 
     apply at the end of the five-year period beginning on the 
     date of enactment of this Act.
       (b) Sense of Congress on Review.--It is the sense of 
     Congress that Congress should review the desirability of 
     terminating the sanctions in this title before the date on 
     which the sanctions would otherwise terminate under this 
     title upon the occurrence of any of the following events:
       (1) The admission of the People's Republic of China into 
     the World Trade Organization on commercially viable terms.
       (2) A determination by the President that the Government of 
     the People's Republic of China is implementing fully all 
     applicable international agreements relating to the 
     proliferation of arms.
       (3) A determination by the President that the Government of 
     the People's Republic of China is actively and effectively 
     combatting all forms of religious persecution in China.
       (4) A determination by the President that the Government of 
     the People's Republic of China is reevaluating in a 
     meaningful manner its actions regarding the massacre of 
     students in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
       (5) The publication by the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China of a report on the national security 
     strategy of that government which includes a comprehensive 
     description and discussion of the elements of that strategy 
     similar to the description and discussion of the national 
     security strategy of the United States in the annual report 
     required by section 108 of the National Security Act of 1947 
     (50 U.S.C. 404a).
       (6) A determination by the President that the Government of 
     the People's Republic of China has taken meaningful actions 
     toward improving overall human rights conditions in China and 
     Tibet, including the release of political prisoners, 
     improving prison conditions, providing prisoners with 
     adequate medical care, and full compliance with any 
     international human rights accords to which that government 
     is a signatory.
   TITLE II--HUMAN RIGHTS, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND DEMOCRACY IN CHINA

     SEC. 201. FINDINGS ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN THE PEOPLE'S 
                   REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       Congress makes the following findings regarding human 
     rights abuses in the People's Republic of China:
       (1) Congress concurs in the following conclusions of the 
     Department of State regarding human rights in the People's 
     Republic of China in 1996:
       (A) The People's Republic of China is ``an authoritarian 
     state'' in which ``citizens lack the freedom to peacefully 
     express opposition to the party-led political system and the 
     right to change their national leaders or form of 
     government''.
       (B) The Government of the People's Republic of China has 
     ``continued to commit widespread and well documented human 
     rights abuses, in violation of internationally accepted 
     norms, stemming from the authorities' intolerance of dissent, 
     fear of unrest, and the absence or inadequacy of laws 
     protecting basic freedoms''.
       (C) ``Abuses include torture and mistreatment of prisoners, 
     forced confessions, and arbitrary and incommunicado 
     detention''.
       (D) ``Prison conditions remained harsh [and] [t]he 
     Government continued severe restrictions on freedom of 
     speech, the press, assembly, association, religion, privacy, 
     and worker rights''.
       (E) ``Although the Government denies that it holds 
     political prisoners, the number of persons detained or 
     serving sentences for `counterrevolutionary crimes' or 
     `crimes against the state' and for peaceful political or 
     religious activities are believed to number in the 
     thousands''.
       (F) ``Non-approved religious groups, including Protestant 
     and Catholic groups . . . experienced intensified 
     repression''.
       (G) ``Serious human rights abuses persist in minority 
     areas, including Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia [, and] 
     [c]ontrols on religion and other fundamental freedoms in 
     these areas have also intensified''.
       (H) ``Overall in 1996, the authorities stepped up efforts 
     to cut off expressions of protest or criticism. All public 
     dissent against the party and government was effectively 
     silenced by intimidation, exile, the imposition of prison 
     terms, administrative detention, or house arrest. No 
     dissidents were known to be active at year's end.''.
       (2) People's Republic of China authorities continue to hold 
     Wei Jingsheng in prison for his prodemocracy beliefs, and he 
     is suffering in prison from a lack of medical attention and 
     beatings by fellow prisoners.
       (3) On October 30, 1996, a People's Republic of China court 
     sentenced Wang Dan to 11 years in prison primarily for 
     articles published outside the People's Republic of China, 
     and People's Republic of China authorities are not providing 
     him with adequate medical care.
       (4) In addition to Wei Jingsheng and Wang Dan, hundreds, if 
     not thousands, of other political, religious, and labor 
     dissidents are imprisoned in China for peacefully expressing 
     their beliefs and exercising their internationally recognized 
     rights of free association and expression.
       (5) Labor activist Liu Nianchun, severely ill in a labor 
     camp, has not only been denied medical treatment but has been 
     tortured with electric batons and has had his 3 year 
     reeducation-through-labor sentence in prison arbitrarily 
     extended by 216 days.
       (6) Li Hai was charged with prying into and gathering state 
     secrets and subsequently sentenced to a 9-year term in prison 
     on December 18, 1996, for going door-to-door to collect the 
     names, ages, family situations, alleged crimes, lengths of 
     prison sentences, locations of imprisonment, and treatment 
     while imprisoned of people sentenced to prison for their 
     activities during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
       (7) Gao Yu, serving a 6-year term in prison on charges of 
     ``leaking state secrets'' despite the fact that the 
     information in question was already common knowledge, has 
     been denied medical parole and adequate medical care despite 
     life threatening illness and was vilified by People's 
     Republic of China authorities after she was awarded the 
     UNESCO Guillemo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
       (8) People's Republic of China companies still export 
     prison labor products to the United States. Since 1991, the 
     United States Customs Service has issued 27 detention orders 
     banning the importation of goods suspected to be products of 
     prison labor in China, including hand tools, artificial 
     flowers, Christmas tree lights, and diesel engines.
       (9) The People's Republic of China has not fully complied 
     with the 1992 Memorandum of Understanding on Prison Labor, 
     and People's Republic of China authorities often wait several 
     years before granting requests by United States Customs 
     Service officials to inspect prison facilities in China. In 
     1996, such authorities granted just one of eight outstanding 
     requests by such officials to inspect prison facilities in 
     China.
       (10) Under current law, People's Republic of China 
     authorities may administratively sentence China citizens to 3 
     years of labor reform without trial.
       (11) The People's Republic of China restricts the access of 
     its citizens to the Internet and blocks web sites operated by 
     foreign news organizations and human rights organizations.
       (12) The Government of the People's Republic of China 
     prohibits independent labor unions, and workers who attempt 
     to form unions without state approval are given severe prison 
     sentences as shown in the treatment of Zhang Jingsheng, a 
     labor leader in Hunan province who was arrested following the 
     1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre and sentenced to 13 years in 
     prison for organizing workers.

     SEC. 202. FINDINGS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE PEOPLE'S 
                   REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       Congress makes the following findings regarding religious 
     freedom in the People's Republic of China:
       (1) The Government of the People's Republic of China 
     restricts the ability of religious adherents, including 
     Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, and others, to practice 
     outside of state-approved religious organizations, and

[[Page S9203]]

     detains worshipers and clergy who participate in religious 
     services conducted outside state-approved religious 
     organizations, as well as those who refuse to register with 
     the authorities as required.
       (2) Bishop Zeng Jingmu, 76 years old, detained for the 
     third time in 7 months and in poor health from pneumonia, is 
     serving a reeducation through labor term for organizing 
     religious assemblies and masses not sanctioned by the 
     official Chinese Catholic Church.
       (3) On January 31, 1994, Premier Li Peng signed decrees 
     number 144 and 145 which restrict worship, religious 
     education, distribution of Bibles and others religious 
     literature, and contact with foreign coreligionists.
       (4) The Government of the People's Republic of China has 
     created official religious organizations that control all 
     religious worship, activity, and association in China and 
     Tibet and supplant the independent authority of the Roman 
     Catholic Church, independent Protestant churches, and 
     independent Buddhist, Taoist, and Islamic associations.
       (5) In July 1995, Ye Xiaowen, a rigid communist hostile to 
     religion, was appointed to head the Bureau of Religious 
     Affairs, a government agency of the People's Republic of 
     China that is controlled by the United Front Work Department 
     of the Chinese Communist Party. The Bureau of Religious 
     Affairs has administrative control over all religious worship 
     and activity in China and Tibet through a system of granting 
     or denying rights through an official registration system. 
     Those who fail to or are not allowed to register are subject 
     to punitive measures.
       (6) Unofficial Christian and Catholic communities were 
     targeted by the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     during 1996. A renewed campaign aimed at forcing all churches 
     to register or face dissolution resulted in beating and 
     harassment of congregants, closure of churches, and numerous 
     arrests, fines, and sentences. In Shanghai, for example, more 
     than 300 house churches or meeting points were closed down by 
     the security authorities in April alone.

     SEC. 203. FINDINGS ON TIBET.

       Congress makes the following findings regarding Tibet:
       (1) The Department of State China Country Report on Human 
     Rights Practices for 1996 states: ``Chinese government 
     authorities continued to commit widespread human rights 
     abuses in Tibet, including instances of death in detention, 
     torture, arbitrary arrest, detention without public trial, 
     long detention of Tibetan nationalists for peacefully 
     expressing their religious and political views, and 
     intensified controls on religion and on freedom of speech and 
     the press, particularly for ethnic Tibetans.''.
       (2) The report also cites three instances in which Tibetan 
     Buddhist monks died in prison in the People's Republic of 
     China in 1996.
       (3) Many victims of the brutality committed by the People's 
     Armed Police and the Public Security Bureau of the People's 
     Republic of China have been young Tibetan Buddhist nuns and 
     monks.
       (4) Between June 1994 and May 1995, three Tibetan nuns--15-
     year-old Sherab Ngawang, 24-year-old Gyaltsen Kelsang, and 
     20-year-old Phuntsok Yangkyi--died as a result of torture in 
     prison in Tibet.
       (5) On March 11, 1997, the Senate adopted a resolution 
     calling for the release by the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China of Tibetan ethnomusicologist and Fulbright 
     Scholar Ngawang Choephel, who was sentenced to 18 years in 
     prison in the People's Republic of China in December 1996, 
     and of other Tibetans who are prisoners in the People's 
     Republic of China for reasons of conscience.
       (6) In May 1995, authorities of the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China detained Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, 
     then 6 years old, and his parents, just days after the boy 
     was recognized by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, 
     and authorities of that government continue to hold him and 
     his family.
       (7) In May 1997, the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China announced the sentencing of Chadrel Rinpoche, the head 
     of the search committee for the 11th Panchen Lama, to 6 years 
     in prison.
       (8) In April 1996, authorities of the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China banned the display of photographs 
     of the Dalai Lama, even in private homes, and the decision 
     led to demonstrations in Ganden monastery during which 90 
     monks were arrested and 1 monk was shot to death by security 
     forces of that government.

     SEC. 204. FINDINGS ON COERCIVE FAMILY PLANNING PRACTICES IN 
                   THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       Congress makes the following findings regarding family 
     planning practices in the People's Republic of China:
       (1) For more than 15 years there have been frequent and 
     credible reports of forced abortion and forced sterilization 
     in connection with the coercive population control practices 
     of the People's Republic of China.
       (2) Forced abortion was rightly denounced as a crime 
     against humanity by the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal.
       (3) Although it is the stated position of the politburo of 
     the Chinese Communist Party that forced abortion and forced 
     sterilization have no role in the population control program 
     of the Government of the People's Republic of China, the 
     policy of that government seems to encourage both forced 
     abortion and forced sterilization through a combination of 
     strictly enforced birth quotas and impunity for local 
     population control officials who engage in coercion. 
     Officials acknowledge that there have been instances of 
     forced abortions and sterilization, yet there is no evidence 
     that the perpetrators of such acts have been punished.
       (4) The People's Republic of China population control 
     officials, in cooperation with employers and works unit 
     officials, monitor women's menstrual cycles and subject women 
     who conceive without government authorization to extreme 
     psychological pressure, to harsh economic sanctions 
     (including unpayable fines and loss of employment), and to 
     physical force.
       (5) Official sanctions for giving birth to unauthorized 
     children include fines in amounts several times larger than 
     the per capita annual incomes of residents of the People's 
     Republic of China. In Fujian, for example, the average fine 
     is estimated to be twice a family's gross annual income. 
     Families who cannot pay the fine have had their homes and 
     personal property confiscated and destroyed.
       (6) Especially harsh punishments have been inflicted on 
     those whose resistance to such policies is motivated by 
     religion. For example, according to a 1995 Amnesty 
     International report, the Catholic inhabitants of two 
     villages in Hebei Province were subjected to population 
     control under the slogan ``better to have more graves than 
     one more child''. Enforcement measures included torture, 
     sexual abuse, and the detention of resisters' relatives as 
     hostages.
       (7) Forced abortions in the People's Republic of China 
     often take place in the very late stages of pregnancy, or 
     even during the process of birth itself.

     SEC. 205. COMBATING SLAVE LABOR AND ``REEDUCATION'' CENTERS.

       (a) Authorizations for Appropriations for Additional 
     Monitoring of Exportation of Slave Labor Products.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1998 
     and $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 for monitoring by the 
     United States Customs Service and the Department of State of 
     the export by the People's Republic of China to the United 
     States of products which may be made with slave labor in 
     violation of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
     1307) or section 1761 of title 18, United States Code.
       (b) Reports on Exportation of Products Made With Slave 
     Labor.--
       (1) Reports.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the 
     Commissioner of Customs and the Secretary of State shall each 
     submit to the Members of Congress referred to in subparagraph 
     (B) a report on the manufacturing and exportation of products 
     made with slave labor in the People's Republic of China 
     during the one-year period ending on the date of the report. 
     Each report shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 
     include a classified annex.
       (B) Members of congress.--Reports under subparagraph (A) 
     shall be submitted to the following Members of Congress:
       (i) The Majority leader and Minority leader of the Senate.
       (ii) The chairman and ranking member of the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations of the Senate.
       (iii) The Speaker and Minority leader of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (iv) The chairman and ranking member of the Committee on 
     International Relations of the House of Representatives.
       (2) Contents of reports.--Each report under paragraph (1) 
     shall include information concerning the following:
       (A) The extent of the use of slave labor in manufacturing 
     products for exportation by the People's Republic of China, 
     as well as the volume of exports of such slave labor products 
     by that country.
       (B) The progress of the United States Government--
       (i) in identifying products made with slave labor in the 
     People's Republic of China that are destined for the United 
     States market in violation of section 307 of the Tariff Act 
     of 1930 or section 1761 of title 18, United States Code; and
       (ii) in stemming the importation of such products.
       (c) Renegotiation of Memorandum of Understanding on Prison 
     Labor With the People's Republic of China.--It is the sense 
     of Congress that, since the People's Republic of China has 
     substantially frustrated the purposes of the 1992 Memorandum 
     of Understanding with the United States on Prison Labor, the 
     President should immediately commence negotiations to replace 
     the memorandum of understanding with one providing for 
     effective monitoring of forced labor in the People's Republic 
     of China, without restrictions on which prison labor camps 
     international monitors may visit.

     SEC. 206. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING TO CHINA.

       (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to such 
     sums as are otherwise authorized to be appropriated for 
     ``International Broadcasting Activities'' for fiscal year 
     1998, there is authorized to be appropriated for 
     ``International Broadcasting Activities'' for that fiscal 
     year $5,000,000, which shall be available only for 
     broadcasting by Radio Free Asia and the Voice of America to 
     the People's Republic of China.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     United States international broadcasting through Radio Free 
     Asia and Voice of America should be increased to provide 
     continuous 24-hour broadcasting in Chinese and Tibetan 
     dialects which include Mandarin Chinese, Tibetan, and at 
     least one other dialect.

[[Page S9204]]

     SEC. 207. NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY.

       In addition to such sums as are otherwise authorized to be 
     appropriated for fiscal year 1998 for grants to the National 
     Endowment for Democracy, there is authorized to be 
     appropriated for that fiscal year $2,000,000 for grants to 
     the Endowment which shall be available only for purposes of 
     programs relating to the People's Republic of China.

     SEC. 208. UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY STUDENT, CULTURAL, 
                   AND LEGISLATIVE EXCHANGE PROGRAMS.

       In addition to such sums as are otherwise authorized to be 
     appropriated to the United States Information Agency for 
     fiscal year 1998, there is authorized to be appropriated for 
     the Agency for that fiscal year $2,000,000, which shall be 
     available only for the purposes of student, cultural, and 
     legislative exchange activities in or with the People's 
     Republic of China.

     SEC. 209. ANNUAL REPORTS ON FAMILY PLANNING ACTIVITIES IN THE 
                   PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA BY RECIPIENTS OF 
                   UNITED STATES FUNDS.

       (a) Annual Reports.--
       (1) Requirement.--Not later than January 15 each year, the 
     Secretary of State shall submit to Congress a report that 
     describes the family planning activities in the People's 
     Republic of China during the preceding year of each covered 
     family planning organization that carried out such activities 
     in the People's Republic of China during that year.
       (2) Additional information.--Each report under paragraph 
     (1) shall include the filing submitted to the Secretary for 
     purposes of such report by each covered family planning 
     organization whose activities are covered by such report.
       (b) Covered Family Planning Organization Defined.--In this 
     section, the term ``covered family planning organization'' 
     means any for-profit or non-profit entity that receives 
     United States funds to conduct family planning activities 
     abroad.

     SEC. 210. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING MULTILATERAL EFFORTS TO 
                   ADDRESS CHINA'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) On April 15, 1997, members of the United Nations Human 
     Rights Commission voted 27-17 to block a resolution, 
     sponsored by Denmark, critical of the human rights record of 
     the Government of the People's Republic of China.
       (2) The United States Government failed to vigorously lobby 
     other nations to support the resolution in a timely and 
     effective manner, and France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, 
     Australia, and Japan did not cosponsor the resolution.
       (3) In response to support for the resolution by Denmark 
     and the Netherlands, the Government of the People's Republic 
     of China has adopted punitive measures against Denmark and 
     Netherlands businesses--including the denial of contracts to 
     Netherlands companies and undue delays in authorizing 
     expansion plans by the Denmark shipping line Maersk--thereby 
     linking human rights and trade.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the United States Government should greatly increase 
     efforts in the United Nations Human Rights Commission and 
     other international fora to draw attention to and condemn the 
     gross violations of international standards on human rights 
     by the Government of the People's Republic of China;
       (2) the President should vigorously lobby other countries 
     for passage of future Commission resolutions on the human 
     rights record of the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China; and
       (3) such lobbying should begin not later than 6 months 
     before the commencement of the next annual meeting of the 
     Commission.

     SEC. 211. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING COMPLIANCE BY THE 
                   PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA WITH THE JOINT 
                   DECLARATION ON HONG KONG.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The People's Republic of China resumed sovereignty over 
     Hong Kong on July 1, 1997.
       (2) In the Joint Declaration, a legally binding document in 
     all its parts and the highest form of commitment between 
     sovereign states, the People's Republic of China pledged that 
     after its resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong ``[t]he 
     current social and economic systems in Hong Kong will remain 
     unchanged, and so will the life-style. Rights and freedoms, 
     including those of the person, of speech, of the press, of 
     association, of travel, of movement, of correspondence, of 
     strike, of choice of occupation, of academic research and 
     religious belief will be ensured by law in the Hong Kong 
     Special Administrative Region''.
       (3) The People's Republic of China further pledged in the 
     Joint Declaration that the policies of the ``. . . Joint 
     Declaration will be stipulated in a Basic Law of the Hong 
     Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic 
     of China, by the National People's Congress of the People's 
     Republic of China, and they will remain unchanged for 50 
     years''.
       (4) The Basic Law prescribes the systems to be practiced in 
     the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region after the 
     resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong by the People's 
     Republic of China.
       (5) According to Article 2 of the Basic Law: ``The National 
     People's Congress authorizes the Hong Kong Special 
     Administrative Region to exercise a high degree of autonomy 
     and enjoy executive, legislative and independent judicial 
     power, including that of final adjudication''.
       (6) According to Article 5 of the Basic Law: ``The 
     socialist system and policies (of the People's Republic of 
     China) shall not be practiced in the Hong Kong Special 
     Administrative Region, and the previous capitalist system and 
     way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years''.
       (7) According to Article 27 of the Basic Law: ``Hong Kong 
     residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and 
     publication; freedom of association, of assembly, of 
     procession and of demonstration; and the right and freedom to 
     form and join trade unions, and to strike''.
       (8) According to Article 32 of the Basic Law: ``Hong Kong 
     residents shall have freedom of religious belief and freedom 
     to preach and to conduct and participate in religious 
     activities in public''.
       (9) According to Article 34 of the Basic Law: ``Hong Kong 
     residents shall have freedom to engage in academic research, 
     literary and artistic creation, and other cultural 
     activities''.
       (10) According to Article 39 of the Basic Law: ``The 
     provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and 
     Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, 
     Social and Cultural Rights, and international labour 
     conventions as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force and 
     shall be implemented through the laws of the Hong Kong 
     Special Administrative Region''.
       (11) President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of 
     China, in his statement of July 1, 1997, at the ceremony in 
     Hong Kong marking the establishment of the Hong Kong Special 
     Administrative Region, said that ``. . . Hong Kong will enjoy 
     a high degree of autonomy as provided for by the Basic Law, 
     which includes the executive, legislative and independent 
     judicial power, including that of final adjudication''.
       (12) President Jiang further said that the Hong Kong 
     Special Administrative Region has the ``ultimate aim of 
     electing the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council by 
     universal suffrage''.
       (13) President Jiang further said that ``[n]o central 
     department or locality (of the People's Republic of China) 
     may or will be allowed to interfere in the affairs which, 
     under the Basic Law, should be administered by the Hong Kong 
     Special Administrative Region on its own''.
       (14) President Jiang further said that ``the provisions of 
     the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 
     International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 
     Rights, and international covenants as applied to Hong Kong 
     shall remain in force to be implemented through the laws of 
     Hong Kong's regional legislation''.
       (15) President Jiang further said that adherence to these 
     principles ``serves Hong Kong, serves the (People's Republic 
     of China) and serves the entire nation as well. Therefore 
     there is no reason whatsoever to change them. Here I want to 
     reaffirm that `one country, two systems, Hong Kong 
     administering Hong Kong' and `a high degree of autonomy' will 
     remain unchanged for 50 years''.
       (16) President Jiang, in another statement of July 1, 1997, 
     at a rally in Beijing marking the establishment of the Hong 
     Kong Special Administrative Region, said that the People's 
     Republic of China ``will unswervingly carry out the 
     principles of `one country, two systems', `Hong Kong people 
     administering Hong Kong' and `high degree of autonomy', and 
     make sure that the previous socio-economic system and way of 
     life of Hong Kong remain unchanged and that laws previously 
     in force will remain basically unchanged. We will firmly 
     support the Hong Kong SAR in its exercise of the functions 
     and powers bestowed on it by the Basic Law and the Hong Kong 
     SAR Government in its administration in accordance with 
     law.''.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the statements of President Jiang Zemin of the People's 
     Republic of China constitute a welcome reaffirmation of the 
     obligations of the People's Republic of China under the Joint 
     Declaration to ensure that Hong Kong remains autonomous, the 
     human rights of the people of Hong Kong remain protected, and 
     the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 
     is elected democratically; and
       (2) the fulfillment by the People's Republic of China of 
     the obligations under the terms of the Joint Declaration and 
     the Basic Law constitutes a crucial test of Beijing's ability 
     to play a responsible global role.
       (c) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Basic Law.--The term ``Basic Law'' means the Basic Law 
     of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the 
     People's Republic of China, as adopted on April 4, 1990, by 
     the Seventh National People's Congress of the People's 
     Republic of China.
       (2) Joint declaration.--The term ``Joint Declaration'' 
     means the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United 
     Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China on the Question 
     of Hong Kong, done at Beijing on December 19, 1984.
                  TITLE III--NATIONAL SECURITY MATTERS

     SEC. 301. FINDINGS ON THE PROLIFERATION OF BALLISTIC MISSILES 
                   BY THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       Congress makes the following findings regarding the 
     proliferation of ballistic missiles by the People's Republic 
     of China:

[[Page S9205]]

       (1) In December 1992, the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China violated the Arms Export Control Act and 
     the Export Administration Act of 1979 with the transfer by 
     the Ministry of Aerospace Industry of approximately 24 M-11 
     missiles to Sargodha Air Force Base in Pakistan.
       (2) From September 1994 to June 1996, the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China again violated the Arms Export 
     Control Act and the Export Administration Act of 1979 with 
     the transfer by the Ministry of Aerospace Industry of as many 
     as 30 M-11 ballistic missiles to Sargodha Air Force Base.
       (3) In June 1995, the Government of the People's Republic 
     of China violated the Arms Export Control Act and the Export 
     Administration Act of 1979 with the transfer by the Chinese 
     Aerospace Corporation to Iran of possibly hundreds of missile 
     guidance systems and computerized machine tools for the 
     production of ballistic missiles.
       (4) In August 1996, the Government of the People's Republic 
     of China violated the Arms Export Control Act and the Export 
     Administration Act of 1979 with the transfer to Pakistan of 
     factory plans and equipment capable of constructing a 
     ballistic missile factory.
       (5) In August 1996, the Government of the People's Republic 
     of China violated the Arms Export Control Act, the Export 
     Administration Act of 1979, and the Iran-Iraq Arms Non-
     Proliferation Act of 1992 with the transfer by the China 
     Precision Engineering Institute to Iran's Defense Industries 
     of gyroscopes, accelerometers, and test equipment for the 
     construction and test of ballistic missile guidance systems.
       (6) It has been reported that the Central Intelligence 
     Agency discovered a shipment by the People's Republic of 
     China to the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, a 
     Syria Government agency that oversees missile development, of 
     guidance equipment for M-11 ballistic missiles. This alleged 
     shipment would be a violation of the Missile Technology 
     Control Regime. This alleged shipment would have taken place 
     after the limited sanctions imposed by the United States on 
     the People's Republic of China for shipments of M-11 missiles 
     and components to Pakistan had been lifted following the 
     assurances of the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China that it would comply with the Missile Technology 
     Control Regime.
       (7) After each of these violations, the President either 
     failed to take appropriate actions to deter future violations 
     of such Acts and the Regime, took the least onerous action 
     against the Government of the People's Republic of China that 
     was possible under such Acts and the Regime, or rescinded 
     previous actions thereby diluting or eliminating the 
     deterrent effect of sanctions under such Acts and the Regime 
     with respect to the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China.
       (8) This inaction forces Congress to take affirmative 
     action in the bilateral relations between the United States 
     and the People's Republic of China in order to respond 
     sufficiently to these violations of United States law.

     SEC. 302. FINDINGS ON THE PROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS OF MASS 
                   DESTRUCTION BY THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       Congress makes the following findings regarding the 
     proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by the People's 
     Republic of China:
       (1) In January 1996, the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China violated the Arms Export Control Act, the 
     Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act of 1994, and the Export-
     Import Bank Act of 1945 with the transfer by the China 
     Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation to the Abdul Qadeer Khan 
     Research Laboratory in Kahuta, Pakistan, of as many as 5,000 
     ring-magnets for the extraction of enriched uranium for the 
     potential use in nuclear weapons.
       (2) In September 1996, the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China violated the Arms Export Control Act, the 
     Export Administration Act of 1979, and the Nuclear 
     Proliferation Prevention Act of 1994 with the transfer by the 
     China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation to a nuclear 
     reactor facility in Khushab, Pakistan, of an industrial 
     furnace and special diagnostic equipment capable of 
     converting plutonium and uranium to weapons grade material.
       (3) In March 1996, the Government of the People's Republic 
     of China violated the Arms Export Control Act, the Export 
     Administration Act of 1979, the Iran-Iraq Arms Non-
     Proliferation Act of 1992, and Executive Order 12938 with the 
     transfer by the Jiangsu Corporation to Iran organizations 
     affiliated with the Iranian Defense Industries Organization 
     and the Revolutionary Guards of virtually complete chemical 
     weapons production facilities.
       (4) After each of these violations, the President either 
     failed to take any action to deter future violations of such 
     Acts or took such trifling action as to have no meaning or 
     effect on the future proliferation of weapons of mass 
     destruction by the People's Republic of China.
       (5) This inaction forces Congress to take affirmative 
     action in the bilateral relations between the People's 
     Republic of China and the United States in order to respond 
     sufficiently to these violations of United States law.

     SEC. 303. FINDINGS ON THE PROLIFERATION OF DESTABILIZING 
                   ADVANCED CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS BY THE PEOPLE'S 
                   REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       Congress makes the following findings regarding the 
     proliferation of destabilizing advanced conventional weapons 
     by the People's Republic of China:
       (1) In January 1996, the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China violated the Iran-Iraq Arms Non-
     Proliferation Act of 1992 with the transfer by the Chinese 
     Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation to the Iran 
     military of 60 C-802 advanced anti-ship missiles and 20 
     Houdong fast-attack patrol craft, 15 of which were equipped 
     with C-802 missiles.
       (2) In test firings of this missile from land-based 
     batteries and from naval vessels, and test firings of a 
     similar missile from fighter aircraft, the Iran Government 
     claimed direct hits on the intended targets. This operational 
     ability restores an anti-surface warfare capability lost by 
     the Iran military during the Iran-Iraq War.
       (3) The Commander of the United States Fifth Fleet 
     commented that these missiles represented a new dimension to 
     the threat faced by the United States Navy, stating ``[i]t 
     used to be we just had to worry about land-based cruise 
     missiles. Now [the Iranians] have the potential to have that 
     throughout the [Persian] Gulf mounted on ships.''.
       (4) It was reported in numerous press sources that the 
     Department of Defense found these transfers destabilizing, 
     and pressed for the imposition of sanctions under the Iran-
     Iraq Arms Non-Proliferation Act of 1992 but that the 
     Department of State did not wish to impose such sanctions for 
     fear of damaging bilateral relations between the People's 
     Republic of China and the United States.
       (5) The Iran-Iraq Arms Non-Proliferation Act of 1992 does 
     not differentiate between transfers of destabilizing weapons 
     that will and will not damage bilateral relations. Any 
     determination of whether to impose sanctions on the People's 
     Republic of China for this transfer should have been made 
     strictly on the basis whether this transfer was or was not 
     destabilizing.
       (6) In light of these reports, it is likely that sanctions 
     would have been imposed if the Clinton Administration had 
     been more concerned with the stability of the region and the 
     security of United States troops than with the maintenance of 
     cordial relations between the People's Republic of China and 
     the United States.
       (7) This inaction forces Congress to take affirmative 
     action in the bilateral relations between the People's 
     Republic of China and the United States in order to respond 
     sufficiently to this violation of United States law.

     SEC. 304. FINDINGS ON THE EVASION OF UNITED STATES EXPORT 
                   CONTROL LAWS BY THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       Congress makes the following findings regarding the evasion 
     of United States export control laws by the People's Republic 
     of China:
       (1) On November 14, 1994, the President issued Executive 
     Order 12938, relating to the emergency regarding weapons of 
     mass destruction, declaring that the proliferation of weapons 
     of mass destruction and the means of delivering them 
     constitute ``an unusual and extraordinary threat to the 
     national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United 
     States'' and that he had therefore decided to ``declare a 
     national emergency to deal with that threat''.
       (2) The President reaffirmed Executive Order 12938 on 
     November 15, 1995, and again on November 11, 1996.
       (3) The Director of Central Intelligence stated in the 
     report entitled ``The Acquisition of Technology Relating to 
     Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional 
     Munitions'' that, from July to December 1996, ``China was the 
     most significant supplier of W[eapons of] M[ass] 
     D[estruction]-related goods and technology to foreign 
     countries.''.
       (4) United States supercomputers are the computer of choice 
     for the nuclear weapons agencies of the People's Republic of 
     China as highlighted by the comments of the Chinese Academy 
     of Sciences, an agency known to work on nuclear weapons 
     development, that its United States-built supercomputer 
     provides the Academy with ``computational power previously 
     unknown'' and is available to ``all the major scientific and 
     technological institutes across China''.
       (5) The People's Republic of China has consistently 
     provided technical and scientific assistance for the 
     development of nuclear weapons to both Iran and Pakistan, and 
     it is illogical to believe that such assistance would not 
     also include computational assistance if needed.
       (6) According to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Export 
     Administration, 47 United States high-performance 
     supercomputers were exported to the People's Republic of 
     China between January 1996 and March 1997. Press reports 
     indicate United States intelligence sources consider the 
     actual number of such supercomputers exported to the People's 
     Republic of China during that period to have been in the 
     hundreds.
       (7) Current United States export regulations require an 
     export license for shipments of supercomputers to the 
     People's Republic of China only if the end-use will be 
     militarily related. However, the determination of that end-
     use is left to the exporter, thereby providing an incentive 
     for inadequate investigations of the end-use of 
     supercomputers exported to the People's Republic of China.

[[Page S9206]]

       (8) The Department of Commerce has initiated investigations 
     of United States supercomputer manufacturers who, as last as 
     June 1996, allegedly sold supercomputers to the Chinese 
     Academy of Sciences, which also administers research in 
     nuclear weapons and missiles, in violation of existing United 
     States export control regulations relating to supercomputers.
       (9) On 14 July 1997, the ``China Daily'', the newspaper of 
     the Government of the People's Republic of China, stated that 
     ``China will open up its defense sector to foreign 
     investors'' by ``strengthening international military-related 
     electronic technology exchanges'' and that ``China's defense-
     related electronics should no longer be hidden from foreign 
     investors''.
       (10) It was exactly this concern of diversion to military 
     end-use and to third nation proliferators that prompted the 
     President, on June 16, 1997, to tighten export controls for 
     supercomputers so as to address the concern of ``[t]he 
     potential diversion to military use of technology acquired'' 
     through experience developed in operating supercomputers and 
     customizing software and the concern that ``the People's 
     Republic of China may transfer advanced-weapons related 
     technology to other countries, as in the case of ballistic 
     missile transfers''.
       (11) Throughout this period, the President has consistently 
     acted in a manner so as to loosen controls on the export of 
     supercomputers from the United States and thereby make it 
     easier for the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     to divert United States supercomputers to military end-uses 
     and to assist in the proliferation of weapons of mass 
     destruction.
       (12) This inaction forces Congress to take affirmative 
     action in the bilateral relations between the People's 
     Republic of China and the United States in order to respond 
     sufficiently to these violations of United States law.

     SEC. 305. FINDINGS ON THE INCONSISTENT APPLICATION OF UNITED 
                   STATES EXPORT CONTROL LAWS TO THE PEOPLE'S 
                   REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND HONG KONG.

       Congress makes the following findings regarding the 
     inconsistent application of United States export control laws 
     to the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong:
       (1) While Hong Kong was sovereign territory of the United 
     Kingdom, United States control of United States exports to 
     Hong Kong of items listed on the United States Munitions List 
     and the Commerce Control List was considerably more lax than 
     United States control of exports of such items to the 
     People's Republic of China.
       (2) On June 19, 1997, at a time when Hong Kong was still 
     territory of the United Kingdom, the Department of Commerce 
     discovered that a supercomputer exported to a Hong Kong based 
     company without the need of an export license because it was 
     being exported to Hong Kong was reexported to a defense 
     research institute in Changsha, People's Republic of China.
       (3) A Federal grand jury is currently investigating the 
     1995 diversion by the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China to military aviation production of aircraft machining 
     equipment that was originally exported from the United States 
     for civilian end-use.
       (4) The People's Republic of China is the only country 
     which does not allow United States officials to investigate 
     the final end-use of exported technology and recently refused 
     United States requests to examine the location of the 
     supercomputer diverted from Hong Kong.
       (5) The continuation of this inconsistent export control 
     regime without specific assurances and verification measures 
     to prevent unauthorized reexport from Hong Kong, or diversion 
     to military end-use, provides the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China with the means to circumvent United States 
     export controls and gain access to critical technology 
     necessary both for defense modernization and the 
     proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass 
     destruction.
       (6) This inaction forces Congress to take affirmative 
     action in the bilateral relations between the People's 
     Republic of China and the United States in order to respond 
     sufficiently to these violations of United States law.

     SEC. 306. EXPORTS OF SUPERCOMPUTERS TO THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC 
                   OF CHINA.

       (a) Prior Approval of Exports and Reexports.--The President 
     shall require that no covered computer may be exported or 
     reexported to the People's Republic of China without the 
     prior written approval of each of the designated officials.
       (b) Export or Reexport Without Unanimous Approval.--If any 
     one of the designated officials does not approve of the 
     export or reexport of a covered computer to the People's 
     Republic of China, the computer may be exported or reexported 
     to the People's Republic of China only pursuant to a license 
     issued by the Secretary of Commerce under the export 
     administration regulations of the Department of Commerce, and 
     without regard to the licensing exceptions otherwise 
     authorized under section 740.7 of title 15, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, as in effect on June 10, 1997.
       (c) Deadline for Response to Application.--Each designated 
     official shall approve or disapprove in writing of the export 
     or reexport of a covered computer to the People's Republic of 
     China not later than 10 days after receipt by the United 
     States of the application for the export or reexport of the 
     computer.
       (d) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Covered computers.--The term ``covered computers'' 
     means the digital computers listed as ``eligible computers'' 
     in section 740.7(d)(2) of title 15, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, as in effect on June 10, 1997.
       (2) Designated officials.--The term ``designated 
     officials'' means the following:
       (1) The Secretary of Commerce.
       (2) The Secretary of Defense.
       (3) The Secretary of Energy.
       (4) The Secretary of State.
       (5) The Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament 
     Agency.

     SEC. 307. DUAL-USE EXPORTS TO HONG KONG.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the provisions of this section shall apply with respect 
     to exports of covered items to Hong Kong.
       (b) Pre-License Verifications.--The Secretary of State and 
     the Secretary of Commerce shall not approve an export license 
     application for the export of a covered item to Hong Kong if 
     United States officials are denied an opportunity to conduct 
     a pre-license verification with respect to the end-use of 
     such covered item and the recipient of such item.
       (c) Post-Shipment Verification.--If United States officials 
     are denied the ability to a conduct post-shipment 
     verification of the location, recipient, and end use of a 
     covered item that has been exported to Hong Kong from the 
     United States pursuant to an export license granted by the 
     Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, thereafter 
     any application to export a covered item to Hong Kong shall 
     be treated in the same manner as a request to export such 
     item to the People's Republic of China.
       (d) Diversion of Covered Items.--If the President, or any 
     other official of the United States, obtains credible 
     evidence that a covered item exported from the United States 
     to Hong Kong on or after July 1, 1997, has been diverted--
       (1) to the People's Republic of China;
       (2) to an end use not authorized under the export control 
     laws or regulations of the United States, or
       (3) to a recipient, other than the recipient specified in 
     the export license application,

     any application to export a covered item to Hong Kong that is 
     pending or filed after the date on which such evidence is 
     obtained shall be treated in the same manner as a request to 
     export such item to the People's Republic of China.
       (e) Covered Item Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``covered item'' means the following:
       (1) Any item on the United States Munitions List.
       (2) Any item on the Commerce Control List of the Department 
     of Commerce.

     SEC. 308. ENFORCEMENT OF IRAN-IRAQ ARMS NON-PROLIFERATION ACT 
                   WITH RESPECT TO THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       (a) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the 
     United States that--
       (1) the delivery of 60 C-802 cruise missiles by the China 
     National Precision Machinery Import Export Corporation to 
     Iran poses a new, direct threat to deployed United States 
     forces in the Middle East and materially contributed to the 
     efforts of Iran to acquire destabilizing numbers and types of 
     advanced conventional weapons; and
       (2) the delivery is a violation of the Iran-Iraq Arms Non-
     Proliferation Act of 1992 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note).
       (b) Implementation of Sanctions.--
       (1) Requirement.--The President shall impose on the 
     People's Republic of China the mandatory sanctions set forth 
     in paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of section 1605(b) of the 
     Iran-Iraq Arms Non-Proliferation Act of 1992.
       (2) Nonavailability of waiver.--For purposes of this 
     section, the President shall not have the authority contained 
     in section 1606 of the Iran-Iraq Arms Non-Proliferation Act 
     of 1992 to waive the sanctions required under paragraph (1).

     SEC. 309. TRANSFERS OF SENSITIVE EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY BY 
                   THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Credible allegations exist that the People's Republic 
     of China has transferred equipment and technology as follows:
       (A) Gyroscopes, accelerometers, and test equipment for 
     missiles to Iran.
       (B) Chemical weapons equipment and technology to Iran.
       (C) Missile guidance systems and computerized machine tools 
     to Iran.
       (D) Industrial furnace equipment and high technology 
     diagnostic equipment to a nuclear facility in Pakistan.
       (E) Blueprints and equipment to manufacture M-11 missiles 
     to Pakistan.
       (F) M-11 missiles and components to Pakistan.
       (2) The Department of State has failed to determine whether 
     most such transfers violate provisions of relevant United 
     States laws and Executive orders relating to the 
     proliferation of sensitive equipment and technology, 
     including the Arms Export Control Act, the Nuclear 
     Proliferation Prevention Act of 1994, the Export 
     Administration Act of 1979, and the Export-Import Bank Act of 
     1945, and Executive Order 12938.
       (3) Where the Department of State has made such 
     determinations, it has imposed the least onerous form of 
     sanction, which significantly weakens the intended deterrent

[[Page S9207]]

     effect of the sanctions provided for in such laws.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the transfers of equipment and technology by the 
     People's Republic of China described in subsection (a)(1) 
     pose a threat to the national security interests of the 
     United States;
       (2) the failure of the Clinton Administration to initiate a 
     formal process to determine whether to impose sanctions for 
     such transfers under the provisions of law referred to in 
     subsection (a)(2) contributes to the threat posed to the 
     national security interests of the United States by the 
     proliferation of such equipment and technology; and
       (3) the President should immediately initiate the 
     procedures necessary to determine whether sanctions should be 
     imposed under such provisions of law for such transfers.
       (c) Report.--
       (1) Requirement.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress 
     a report setting forth--
       (A) the date, if any, of the commencement and of the 
     conclusion of each formal process conducted by the Department 
     of State to determine whether to impose sanctions under the 
     provisions of law referred to in subsection (a)(2) for each 
     transfer described in subsection (a)(1);
       (B) the facts providing the basis for each determination 
     not to impose sanctions under such provisions of law on the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China, or entities 
     within or having a relationship with that government, for 
     each transfer, and the legal analysis supporting such 
     determination; and
       (C) a schedule for initiating a formal process described in 
     paragraph (1) for each transfer not yet addressed by such 
     formal process and an explanation for the failure to commence 
     such formal process with respect to such transfer before the 
     date of the report.
       (2) Form.--The report shall be submitted in unclassified 
     form, but may include a classified annex.

     SEC. 310. ANNUAL REPORTS ON ACTIVITIES OF THE PEOPLE'S 
                   LIBERATION ARMY.

       (a) Entities Owned by PLA.--Not later than January 31 each 
     year, the Secretary of State shall publish in the Federal 
     Register a list of each corporation or other business entity 
     that was owned in whole or in part by the People's Liberation 
     Army of the People's Republic of China as of December 31 of 
     the preceding year.
       (b) Report on PRC Military Modernization.--
       (1) Requirement.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than March 31 each year, the 
     Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of 
     State, shall submit to Congress a report on the military 
     modernization activities of the People's Liberation Army.
       (B) Submittal.--The Secretary of Defense shall submit each 
     report to the following:
       (i) The Majority leader and Minority leader of the Senate.
       (ii) The chairmen and ranking members of the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations and the Committee on Armed Services of the 
     Senate.
       (iii) The Speaker and Minority leader of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (iv) The chairmen and ranking members of the Committee on 
     International Relations and the Committee on National 
     Security of the House of Representatives.
       (C) Form.--The report shall be submitted in unclassified 
     form, but may include a classified annex.
       (2) Contents of report.--
       (A) Contents.--Each report under paragraph (1) shall 
     include the following:
       (i) A description of developments within the People's 
     Liberation Army, including the implications of the 
     developments for United States policy toward the People's 
     Republic of China.
       (ii) A description of the scope and pace of modernization 
     by the People's Liberation Army.
       (iii) To the maximum extent practicable, an analysis of the 
     intent of such modernization programs.
       (B) Relationship to annual human rights report.--The report 
     shall complement and not replace applicable sections of the 
     annual report on human rights in China by the Department of 
     State.
       (c) Protection of Sources and Methods.--In publishing a 
     list under subsection (a) and preparing a report under 
     subsection (b), the Secretary of Defense shall take 
     appropriate actions to ensure the protection of sources and 
     methods of gathering intelligence.

     SEC. 311. ANNUAL REPORTS ON INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES OF THE 
                   PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

       (a) Reports.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than March 31 each year, the 
     Director of Central Intelligence and the Director of the 
     Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly and in consultation 
     with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies 
     (including the Departments of Defense, Justice, Treasury, and 
     State), shall submit to the Members of Congress referred to 
     in paragraph (2) a report on the intelligence activities of 
     the People's Republic of China directed against or affecting 
     the interests of the United States.
       (2) Submittal.--Each report under paragraph (1) shall be 
     submitted to the following:
       (A) The Majority leader and Minority leader of the Senate.
       (B) The chairman and ranking member of the Select Committee 
     on Intelligence of the Senate.
       (C) The Speaker and Minority leader of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (D) The chairman and ranking member of the Permanent Select 
     Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
       (3) Form.--Each report shall be submitted in unclassified 
     form, but may include a classified annex.
       (b) Contents of Reports.--Each report under subsection (a) 
     shall include information concerning the following:
       (1) Political and military espionage.
       (2) Intelligence activities designed to gain political 
     influence, including activities undertaken or coordinated by 
     the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist 
     Party.
       (3) Efforts to gain direct or indirect influence through 
     commercial or noncommercial intermediaries subject to control 
     by the People's Republic of China, including enterprises 
     controlled by the People's Liberation Army.
       (4) Disinformation and press manipulation by the People's 
     Republic of China with respect to the United States, 
     including activities undertaken or coordinated by the United 
     Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party.

     SEC. 312. STUDY OF THEATER BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM 
                   FOR TAIWAN.

       (a) Study.--The Secretary of Defense shall carry out, with 
     appropriate representatives of the Government of Taiwan, a 
     study of the architecture requirements for the establishment 
     and operation of a theater ballistic missile defense system 
     for Taiwan, including the Penghu Islands, Kinmen, and Matsu. 
     The study shall include the following:
       (1) An assessment of missile threats to Taiwan.
       (2) Identification of the requirements of Taiwan for 
     deployment of an effective theater ballistic missile defense 
     system.
       (3) Identification of existing theater ballistic missile 
     defense systems or existing technology for such systems, that 
     the United States could sell to Taiwan to assist in meeting 
     the requirements identified under paragraph (2).
       (4) Systems or technologies the United States is developing 
     that could address the missile threats to Taiwan's security.
       (5) Identification of potential joint cooperative efforts 
     by the United States and Taiwan to develop theater ballistic 
     missile defense systems.
       (b) Submittal to Congress.--
       (1) Submittal.--Not later than July 1, 1998, the Secretary 
     of Defense shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services 
     and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 
     Committee on National Security and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report on 
     the study conducted under subsection (a).
       (2) Form.--The report shall be submitted in unclassified 
     form, but may include a classified annex.

     SEC. 313. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING UNITED STATES FORCE 
                   LEVELS IN ASIA.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the current force levels in the Pacific Command Theater 
     of Operations are necessary to the fulfillment of the 
     military mission of that command and are vital to continued 
     peace and stability in the region covered by that command;
       (2) any reductions in such force levels should only be done 
     in close consultation with Congress and with a clear 
     understanding of their impact upon the capacity of the United 
     States to fulfill its current treaty obligations with other 
     states in the region as well as to the continued ability of 
     the United States to deter potential aggression in the 
     region; and
       (3) the annual report on the national security strategy of 
     the United States required by section 108 of the National 
     Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 404a) should include specific 
     information on the adequacy of the capabilities of the United 
     States Armed Forces to support the implementation of the 
     national security strategy of the United States as it relates 
     to the People's Republic of China.

     SEC. 314. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ESTABLISHMENT OF 
                   COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN ASIA.

       It is the sense of Congress that the President and the 
     Secretary of State should initiate negotiations with the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China and the 
     governments of other countries in Asia to establish a 
     commission on matters relating to security and cooperation in 
     Asia that would be modeled after the Commission on Security 
     and Cooperation in Europe.
                            TITLE IV--TRADE

     SEC. 401. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE ACCESSION OF TAIWAN 
                   TO THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION.

       It is the sense of Congress that Taiwan should be admitted 
     to the World Trade Organization as a separate customs 
     territory when Taiwan meets the established criteria of the 
     Organization for membership on that basis.
         TITLE V--HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WORLDWIDE

     SEC. 501. TRAINING FOR IMMIGRATION OFFICERS REGARDING 
                   RELIGIONS PERSECUTION.

       Section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1225) is amended by adding at the end the following:

[[Page S9208]]

       ``(e) Training on Religious Persecution.--The Attorney 
     General shall establish and operate a program to provide to 
     immigration officers performing functions under subsection 
     (b), or section 207 or 208, training on religious 
     persecution, including training on--
       ``(1) the fundamental components of the right to freedom of 
     religion;
       ``(2) the variation in beliefs of religious groups; and
       ``(3) the governmental and nongovernmental methods used in 
     violation of the right to freedom of religion.''.

     SEC. 502. PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND HUMAN RIGHTS 
                   WORLDWIDE.

       (a) Reports on Religious Persecution.--
       (1) Reports.--Not later than March 30, 1998, and annually 
     thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 
     Committee on International Relations of the House of 
     Representatives a report on religious persecution worldwide.
       (2) Contents.--Each report shall include a list of the 
     government officials of any country worldwide who have been 
     materially involved in the commission of acts of persecution 
     that are motivated by a person's religion.
       (b) Prisoner Information Registry.--
       (1) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall establish 
     and maintain a registry to be known as the Prisoner 
     Information Registry.
       (2) Contents.--The registry shall be a repository of 
     information on matters relating to the penal systems of the 
     various countries and of individuals in such systems, 
     including--
       (A) the charges brought against the individuals in such 
     systems;
       (B) the judicial or administrative processes to which such 
     individuals were subject;
       (C) the length of imprisonment of such individuals in such 
     systems;
       (D) the use (if any) of forced labor in such systems;
       (E) the incidences (if any) of torture in such systems;
       (F) the physical and health conditions in such systems; and
       (G) such other matters as the Secretary considers 
     appropriate.
       (3) Allocation of resources.--The Secretary may make funds 
     available to non-governmental organizations currently engaged 
     in monitoring penal systems worldwide or individuals in such 
     systems in order to assist in the establishment and 
     maintenance of the registry.
                        TITLE VI--OTHER MATTERS

     SEC. 601. TERMINATION OF UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE FOR EAST-
                   WEST CENTER.

       (a) Repeal of Authorization of Assistance.--The Center for 
     Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West Act 
     of 1960 (chapter VII of Public Law 86-472; 22 U.S.C. 2054 et 
     seq.) is repealed.
       (b) Prohibition on Use of Funds for Center.--
     Notwithstanding any other law, no funds appropriated or 
     otherwise made available to the Director of the United States 
     Information Agency for any fiscal year after fiscal year 1997 
     may be used for any purposes (including grants and payments 
     and expenses of operation) relating to the Center for 
     Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West.
                                                                    ____


                Summary of the China Policy Act of 1997


                           title i: sanctions

        Deny visas to Chinese Government officials 
     involved in political and religious persecution. This measure 
     would deny visas to high ranking officials who are employed 
     by the Public Security Bureau (the state police), the 
     Religious Affairs Bureau, China's family planning apparatus, 
     the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and those found to be 
     materially involved in the ordering or carrying out of the 
     massacre of Chinese students in Tiananmen Square. The 
     President is granted waiver authority that can be exercised, 
     in writing, each time a proscribed individual is to enter 
     this country that explains why awarding such visas overrides 
     United States concerns about China's human rights practices 
     past and present.
        Require U.S. Representatives at multilateral banks 
     to vote ``no'' on loans to China. Exception for loans related 
     to environmental improvements and safeguards, famine, and 
     natural disaster relief. China received approximately $3 
     billion in World Bank loans in the most recent fiscal year. 
     While receiving this foreign aid, the Chinese military budget 
     increased by 12.7 percent. Between 1985 and 1995 the United 
     States supported 111 of 183 loans approved by the World Bank 
     Group and 15 of 92 loans that the Asian Development Bank 
     approved. The bill also requires the Secretary of Treasury to 
     oppose and instruct the U.S. executive director of the World 
     Bank to oppose any change in the World Bank's rules that 
     limit the total share of the bank's lending that can be made 
     in any one country.
        Require the President to begin consultations with 
     major United States allies and trading partners to encourage 
     them to adopt similar measures contained in this bill and to 
     work with our allies to vote against loans for China at 
     multilateral development banks. Within 60 days of a G-7 
     meeting, the President shall submit a report to Congress on 
     the progress of this effort.
        Targeted sanctions against People's Liberation 
     Army (PLA) companies involved in the illegal sale of AK-47 
     rifles in the United States. China North Industries Group 
     (NORINCO) and the PLA-owned company China Poly Group (POLY) 
     will be prohibited from (1) exporting to, and maintaining a 
     physical presence in, the United States; (2) receiving loans 
     from the Export-Import Bank; and (3) receiving contracts for 
     goods or services from the U.S. Government for a period of 
     one year. The attempted illegal sale of AK-47 machine guns to 
     street gangs in California warrant these targeted sanctions 
     against these firms.
        The bill establishes a mechanism to apply 
     sanctions on additional PLA companies based on certain 
     specific actions, including weapons proliferation, illegal 
     arms sales in U.S., and military and political espionage in 
     the United States. The Director of Central Intelligence and 
     the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 
     separate annual reports, shall identify entities owned in 
     part or wholly by the People's Liberation Army who have 
     engaged in proliferation of nuclear or chemical weapons, the 
     illegal importation of weapons to the United States, or 
     unlawful military intelligence collection or espionage in the 
     United States. Such entities will be prohibited from 
     exporting to, or maintaining a physical presence in the 
     United States, receiving loans from the Export-Import Bank, 
     and receiving contracts from the United States Government for 
     a period of 1 year.
        Sanctions remain in effect for 5 years. The bill 
     includes a Sense of Congress that the sanctions in the China 
     Policy Act shall be reviewed by Congress within the 5 year 
     period upon the occurrence of one or more of the following 
     events: (1) People's Republic of China's entry into the WTO 
     on commercially viable terms; (2) President's certification 
     of PRC's full implementation of international proliferation 
     standards and agreements; (3) President's certification that 
     PRC is actively and effectively combating all forms of 
     religious persecution; (4) PRC re-evaluation of Tiananmen 
     Square massacre; (5) Publication by the PRC of a National 
     Security White Paper describing its intentions 
     internationally; or (6) President's certification that the 
     PRC has taken concrete steps towards improving overall human 
     rights conditions in China and Tibet, including the release 
     of political prisoners; improving prison conditions and 
     providing prisoners with adequate medical care; and full 
     compliance with the international human rights accords to 
     which the PRC is a signatory.


        title ii: human rights, religious freedom, and democracy

        Congressional findings detailing the Chinese 
     Government's jailing of political dissidents, persecution of 
     religious groups, human rights violations in Tibet and 
     coercive family planning practices.
        Combats slave labor and ``reeducation'' centers. 
     The bill calls for stricter enforcement of the ban against 
     the sale of products produced in slave labor camps; 
     appropriations to United States Customs to increase 
     monitoring; require reporting and advocacy requirements; and 
     a Sense of Congress urging renegotiation of prison labor 
     memorandum of understanding with China.
        Authorize an additional $5 million for 
     international broadcasting to China, including Radio Free 
     Asia and the Voice of America to expand broadcast hours in 
     multiple Chinese dialects, Tibetan, and other languages 
     spoken in China.
        Authorize additional $2 million in funding for 
     National Endowment for Democracy programs in China.
        Authorize additional $2 million of funding for 
     existing United States Information Agency student, cultural, 
     and legislative exchange programs between the U.S. and China.
        Terminate the East-West Center. This center funds 
     cooperative programs of study, research and training between 
     the U.S. and Asian Pacific nations. However, the resources of 
     the State Department, which maintains a network of embassies 
     and consulates in Asian Pacific countries, should be more 
     than sufficient to promote good relations with these 
     countries. Eliminating this $10 million program offsets 
     the spending increases proposed in the bill.
       Require United States contractors who receive international 
     family planning funds from the United States to report on 
     their organization's activities in China.
       Sense of Congress concerning multilateral efforts to 
     address China's human rights record.
       Sense of Congress that China should abide by the 1984 Sino-
     British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong.


                  Title III: National Security Matters

       Congressional findings on PRC's proliferation of ballistic 
     missiles, weapons of mass destruction, destabilizing advanced 
     conventional weapons, and evasion of U.S. export controls.
       Tighten United States export licensing requirements on 
     super computers sold to China. Current regulation only 
     requires an export license for mid-range supercomputers to 
     countries such as China with only a certification, by the 
     exporting firm, that the end-use is not military-related. 
     This provision requires an export license for any mid-range 
     supercomputers (currently 2000-7000 MTOP range, but amendable 
     by the Secretary of Commerce) sold to China which the 
     Departments of Defense, State, Energy, and Commerce, and the 
     Arms Control and Disarmament Agency do not unanimously agree 
     to export without a license. This provision is a modified 
     version of the Spence-Dellums amendment to the House Fiscal 
     Year 98 DoD Authorization bill.

[[Page S9209]]

       Protects against dual-use export diversion from Hong Kong. 
     The recent diversion of a Sun Microsystems supercomputer from 
     a Hong Kong importer to a military end-user in the People's 
     Republic of China highlights the potential problems with 
     having dual-use technology exports to Hong Kong being treated 
     more liberally than such exports to the PRC. This provision 
     would deny licenses for export of items on the U.S. Munitions 
     List and the Commerce Control List to Hong Kong if United 
     States officials are denied access to conduct pre-license 
     checks verifying the end-user. It will also require that if 
     United States officials are denied access for post-shipment 
     verification checks, or if an actual diversion of dual-use 
     items takes place from Hong Kong to the PRC, then Hong Kong 
     will thereafter be placed in the same export control category 
     as the People's Republic of China.
       A finding that China violated the Iran-Iraq 
     Nonproliferation Act with the export of C-802 missiles to 
     Iran, and a requirement on the implementation of this Act's 
     sanctions. The Commander of the United States Navy's Fifth 
     Fleet in the Persian Gulf has called the Iranian acquisition 
     of C-802 cruise missiles a direct threat to the 15,000 US 
     servicemen stationed in the area. Iran acquired these 
     missiles from China, in direct contravention of the Iran-Iraq 
     Nonproliferation Act (McCain-Gore Act). However, the 
     Administration did not implement the sanctions called for in 
     the Act.
       Limiting transfers of sensitive equipment and technology by 
     the People's Republic of China. Require within 60 days a 
     report detailing State Department's sanctions determination 
     process for each allegation against China in the area of 
     proliferation, and a schedule for initiating sanctions 
     determination process where the process has not been 
     initiated.
       Sunshine requirement on PLA companies. On an annual basis, 
     the United States Government shall publish a list of all 
     companies owned in part or wholly by the People's Liberation 
     Army (PLA) of the People's Republic of China who export to, 
     or have an office in, the United States. In addition, require 
     a report on PLA military modernization.
       Require enhanced monitoring of Chinese intelligence 
     activities in the United States, including a report on such 
     activities and a report on political and military espionage.
       Require a bilateral United States-Taiwan study of 
     establishing theater missile defense in the Pacific Rim.
       Sense of the Congress that the current level of United 
     States forces in Asia are vital to continued peace and 
     stability in the region and should only be reduced with a 
     clear understanding of their impact on United States treaty 
     obligations and the continued ability of the United States to 
     deter potential aggression in the region.
       Sense of Congress that the President shall initiate 
     negotiations with the PRC and other Asian countries to 
     establish a ``Helsinki Commission'' for Asia.


                            Title IV: Trade

       Sense of Congress that Taiwan should enter the World Trade 
     Organization (WTO) as soon as it meets the established 
     criteria.


         Title V: Human rights and Religious Freedom Worldwide

       The legislation mandates additional and extensive training 
     for United States asylum officers world-wide in recognizing 
     religious persecution.
       Enhanced reporting of human rights violations and religious 
     persecution around the world. Increased publicizing of 
     political and religious persecution world-wide through annual 
     reports by the State Department, publication of list of 
     individuals involved in religious persecution, and 
     establishment of a Prisoner Information Registry.

  Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the 
China Policy Act of 1997. As an original cosponsor of the act, I 
believe this legislation provides the starting point for a much needed 
restructuring of United States-China relations. For too long, our 
approach to China has been one of passivity and appeasement. The 
Clinton administration seems willing to tolerate virtually any 
misbehavior--gross violations of human rights, arms deals with 
terrorist states, a headlong push to develop military capabilities that 
exceed any conceivable threat, even efforts to smuggle guns into the 
United States. This is no way to build a stable, peaceful, and 
constructive relationship.
  Our legislation offers a dramatically different approach. Under this 
bill, when China violates standards of decency or endangers vital 
American interests, there will be a response that is swift, 
predictable, and appropriate. This legislation is an important first 
step toward a policy that rewards and encourages constructive behavior, 
and discourages questionable activity. It points the way to a new and 
better era in United States-China relations.
  The 20th century has been the American century, and if the new 
century is to bear the same imprint, we must fashion a stable and 
constructive relationship with the People's Republic of China, which is 
pushing hard for global superpower status.
  One specific provision I have included in this bill protects the 
United States from Chinese diversion of sensitive technology from Hong 
Kong. Hong Kong has abided by international export control regimes and 
has benefited from preferential access to sensitive U.S. technology--
technology that can be used for military purposes.
  My provision simply does the following: if China diverts controlled 
technology from Hong Kong, or if United States officials are denied the 
opportunity to conduct post-shipment checks on location and end use of 
controlled items, then the United States shall apply the stricter 
export controls to Hong Kong presently applied to the rest of China. In 
addition, if United States officials are denied an opportunity to 
conduct a prelicense check on the end use and end user of a controlled 
item, then the export license for that item shall be denied.
  A May, 1997 GAO report on the export of controlled items to Hong Kong 
stated that effective monitoring is critical to prevent weapons and 
technology proliferation. The report identified pre-license checks and 
post-shipment verification as possible means to ensure the continued 
effectiveness of Hong Kong's export control system.
  Now that Hong Kong has reverted to Chinese control, China undoubtedly 
will attempt to use the port to divert technology and proliferate 
weapons. Prosecutions for illegal shipments of arms-related commodities 
in Hong Kong have grown dramatically in recent years, from 65 cases in 
1994 to 250 last year. One Hong Kong firm, Cheong Yee, was sanctioned 
by the United States last May for helping Iran obtain chemical weapons.
  The technology flow to Hong Kong is a significant national security 
risk if China compromises the integrity of Hong Kong's export control 
system. Chinese front companies in Hong Kong already have been 
identified with efforts to acquire controlled technologies for illicit 
export to countries of proliferation concern, according to United 
States and Hong Kong officials. China has refused to sign many of the 
export control regimes by which Hong Kong historically has abided. The 
old restrictions are kept in place only from a sense of moral 
obligation, states Brian Lo, Hong Kong's chief trade-licensing officer.
  Mr. President, moral obligation is flimsy stuff when you are dealing 
with the Communist leaders of Beijing. These are the leaders who attack 
their own young people in Tiananmen Square, persecute Christians, and 
proliferate weapons to terrorist states which target U.S. citizens 
around the world.
  In the face of this growing proliferation risk, the Clinton 
administration has been relaxing America's export control regulations. 
Just this week, a bipartisan report issued by the House National 
Security Committee stated that the changes made to U.S. export controls 
contributed to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and 
their means of delivery as well as the development of advanced 
conventional weapons.
  The number of export licenses reviewed each year for national 
security reasons has fallen from 150,000 in the mid-1980's to less than 
8,000 today. The world may have become a safer place, but the 
international arena is still threatening.
  Clearly, it is time for the United States to take aggressive steps 
which protect United States national security interests and limit the 
ability of potential enemies to develop weapons of mass destruction. I 
am proud to be a cosponsor of the China Policy Act and believe that the 
provisions contained therein make a significant contribution to the 
United States-China debate. I urge the Senate's prompt consideration 
and passage of this bill.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I join the Senator from Michigan [Mr. 
Abraham] in introducing the China Policy Act of 1997. This is a bill 
that I am proud to cosponsor and one that will send a much-needed 
message to the leaders of the People's Republic of China. I commend the 
Senator from Michigan for his efforts.
  The China Policy Act is an omnibus bill that covers a broad range of 
issues. This legislation will impose targeted sanctions against Chinese 
entities--

[[Page S9210]]

such as the military and public security apparatus--that are directly 
engaged in weapons proliferation and human rights abuses. In addition, 
this bill calls for tighter enforcement of various laws related to 
China, such as the ban on Chinese prison-labor goods and controls on 
the export of high-speed computers to China. The legislation also 
contains funding increases for student, cultural, and legislative 
exchanges between the United States and China.
  The China Policy Act is designed to move Congress and the American 
public beyond the sometimes polarizing debate over China's most-
favored-nation trade status, offering realistic alternatives to 
revoking MFN that merit broad bipartisan support.
  As many of my colleagues know, I have been a strong opponent of 
granting MFN privileges to China and, in fact, have been an original 
cosponsor of the resolutions of disapproval for the past 3 years. I 
strongly believe that, in light of Beijing's egregious human rights 
record, China does not deserve to have such trade privileges with the 
United States. Ever since the administration delinked MFN and human 
rights in 1994, I have watched with alarm as the Chinese Government has 
heightened its political and religious persecution throughout the 
country.
  But despite my strong views on the issue, I realize that the Congress 
has been unable to reach a consensus on whether MFN is the best tool to 
pressure China to make improvements in human rights. I know that many 
of my colleagues share my concerns over China's human rights record, 
but nevertheless feel that MFN is too blunt an instrument, especially 
for a nation as large and diverse as China.
  But once you step away from the debate over the effectiveness of MFN, 
there is widespread agreement among Members of both the Senate and the 
House that the administration's current policy of constructive 
engagement toward China remains unsatisfactory.
  I believe the administration is promoting engagement for engagement's 
sake, not as a way to halt the many offensive behaviors of the Chinese 
regime. I prefer to call the administration policy not ``constructive'' 
engagement but rather unconditional engagement.
  No matter how uncooperative China is, the United States appears ready 
to continue business as usual with the Chinese regime. This is 
especially true with respect to human rights. Recent events paint a 
very bleak picture. In October of last year, a Chinese court sentenced 
Wang Dan--a leader of the Tiananmen Square protests--to 11 years in 
prison for peacefully expressing his prodemocracy beliefs. Seventy-six-
year-old Bishop Zeng Jingmu has been sentenced to reeducation through 
labor for organizing religious ceremonies outside China's official 
Catholic Church. In Tibet, Chinese authorities have banned the display 
of the Dalai Lama's photograph and the State Department Human Rights 
Report cites three instances of Buddhist monks dying in Chinese prisons 
in 1996. Sadly, this represents on a tiny fraction of the human rights 
abuses that are taking place in China today. It would be impossible to 
name all of the people who are being kept behind bars for the 
expression of their political and religious beliefs.
  Yet, even as the Chinese leadership continues to brutalize political 
dissidents and the people of Tibet, the administration is preparing to 
welcome China's President, Jiang Zemin, to the White House next month. 
What kind of message does this send?
  The China Policy Act of 1997 represents the efforts of both pro- and 
anti-MFN Senators to find new ways to deal with the problems the United 
States currently faces in China.
  And there is no shortage of problems.
  I have already mentioned my primary concern, which is China's 
deplorable human rights record, but in addition, the Government of 
China continues to sell dangerous chemical and nuclear weapons 
technologies to terrorist and rogue regimes. China has used military 
intimidation to disrupt free elections in Taiwan and has harassed its 
neighbors in the South China Sea. Furthermore, we have all seen reports 
of Beijing's unfair trade practices and rampant copyright violations. 
This is what I refer to as a ``kaleidoscope'' of problems the United 
States has with China.
  The China Policy Act of 1997 contains targeted sanctions aimed at the 
organizations most directly associated with China's poor behavior. For 
example, the bill contains provisions imposing comprehensive sanctions 
against enterprises run by the People's Liberation Army that have 
engaged in weapons smuggling or proliferation. The United States simply 
should refrain from doing business with companies that create security 
risks to our country.
  This bill will also require the administration to deny United States 
visas to high-level Chinese officials directly connected with human 
rights violations and religious persecution. This provision expresses 
United States outrage at China's human rights abuses while still giving 
the President adequate waiver authority to conduct foreign policy.
  I am particularly pleased this bill contains strong language on human 
rights, an area that has been a special focus of mine. The bill 
includes a provision stating that the administration needs to greatly 
increase multilateral efforts to condemn China's human rights record. 
As you know, Mr. President, this past April, the U.N. Human Rights 
Commission failed to pass a resolution criticizing China's human rights 
policies. Unfortunately, the United States only began lobbying for the 
resolution at the last moment and, as a result of this delay, many of 
our allies--including France, Germany, and Canada--would not cosponsor 
the motion. To make our China policy more effective, the United States 
must do a better job of coordinating with our allies in multilateral 
fora.

  In addition to addressing a wide spectrum of issues in Sino-United 
States relations, the China Policy Act also gives the Senate--and the 
American people we represent--an important opportunity to have an 
extensive debate about China policy. Such a debate is long overdue, and 
has continued to be delayed because of the controversy surrounding MFN.
  It is my view that the inability of Congress to reach a consensus on 
MFN has led the Chinese authorities to believe that they can continue 
to commit gross human rights violations without facing any 
consequences. Unfortunately, it may be that, until now, the Beijing 
leadership has been right. In China's eyes, Congress has become what 
Chairman Mao Zedong would have called a paper tiger, something that 
might act ferocious, but is, in fact, harmless.
  However, once Congress steps out of the restrictive confines of the 
MFN debate, I think China will be surprised at the level of 
dissatisfaction in Congress toward Beijing's actions.
  The Chinese Government will obviously condemn this legislation 
because it demands that Chinese leaders live up to the international 
and bilateral agreements on weapons-proliferation, human rights, and 
trade to which China is a party. The Beijing government categorically 
rejects any outside scrutiny of its policies and equates good relations 
with a complete lack of criticism. But truly close relations between 
two countries can only be built when both sides fulfill their 
obligations and act in good faith toward one another.
  The China Policy Act of 1997 is intended to send a strong message 
that Chinese Government's actions on many fronts remains unacceptable. 
Unfortunately, Chinese leaders have not heard this message loudly or 
strongly enough in the past. They have not heard it from the U.N. Human 
Rights Commission. They have not heard it from our trade negotiators. 
And, until now, they have not heard it from the U.S. Congress.
  It is my view that the time has come for us to send this message 
clearly.
  I yield the floor.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. GRASSLEY:
  S. 1165. A bill to apply rules regarding the conduct of meetings and 
recordkeeping under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to the Social 
Security Advisory Board and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Finance.


            THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADVISORY BOARD SUNSHINE ACT

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Social 
Security Advisory Board Sunshine Act. This legislation will apply the 
public meeting and disclosure requirements of

[[Page S9211]]

the Federal Advisory Committee Act to the Social Security advisory 
board.
  The Social Security Advisory Board was created in 1994 when the 
Social Security Administration became an independent agency. Its 
purpose is to serve as an advisor to the Commissioner of the Social 
Security Administration, the President and the Congress. The 1994 law 
requires the Board to make recommendations on some of the most critical 
issues facing the Social Security Administration and the country, 
including: How to ensure economic security for Government retirement 
and disability programs; how to ensure the solvency of Social Security 
programs; how to improve the quality of service and the policies and 
regulations that influence that service; and how to increase the 
public's understanding of Social Security.
  With such a significant mandate, the question we should be asking is 
not why have open meetings, but why not have open meetings? This Board 
has been entrusted with the responsibility of making policy 
recommendations regarding the largest domestic Government program in 
this country. Virtually every American is affected by Social Security. 
Every American has a stake in Social Security. They have the right to 
know what recommendations are being made and why. The Federal Advisory 
Committee Act, which became public law in 1972 is intended to promote 
good Government values, such as openness, accountability, and balance 
of viewpoints. At the heart of the matter is a desire to keep the 
channels open between Government and the interested public.
  Yesterday, during the confirmation hearing for Ken Apfel for the 
position of Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, I asked 
him if bringing the Advisory Board under the Sunshine laws was a good 
idea. He said, ``I think sunshine is almost always a good idea.''
  My legislation would require the Advisory Board to provide notice of 
all meetings, make available for public inspection all Advisory Board 
documents, provide opportunities for nonmembers to participate in Board 
meetings, keep minutes of those meetings, and make transcripts of 
Advisory Board meetings available. In addition, the Social Security 
Administration will be required to disclose the disbursement of money 
to, and the disposal of money by, the advisory Board.
  My legislation would also provide for compensation of the board 
members. Board members are paid per diem travel expenses, but they 
receive no compensation for the time they take off work to attend the 
meetings, which are held once a month. Because they have been given 
charge of such an important task, and because of the homework that must 
be done in order for them to be prepared and participate in meetings, 
compensation commensurate with that of similar boards and committees is 
only fair.
  I want to commend the Board on the work it has done so far, 
particularly to highlight the need to expand the Social Security 
Administration's policy analysis capabilities. Those capabilities will 
be very important as we jump start discussions about Social Security 
reform.
  The Advisory Board will be undergoing some changes in membership in 
the near future. I intend to work at getting this legislation enacted 
as soon as possible so the change in membership will occur with a 
change in the philosophy that Government is best done in the open and 
not behind closed doors.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. CAMPBELL:
  S. 1166. A bill to prevent Federal agencies from pursuing policies of 
unjustifiable nonacquiescence in, and relitigation of, precedents 
established in the Federal judicial circuits; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.


                   The Federal Agency Compliance Act

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, because the concept of nonacquiescence 
is so often mired and hidden in the bureaucratic processes of our 
Government agencies, few realize the magnitude of its true 
implications. I am extremely concerned that so many Federal agencies 
currently fail to comply with established case law when dealing with 
American's rights and legal claims. Instead, the very agencies whose 
function it is to serve the people of this country have been ignoring 
the law through the policy of nonacquiescence. Specifically, 
nonacquiescence occurs when an agency refuses to comply with judicial 
precedent and instead, relies on agency policy to determine the outcome 
of a claim. For example, if a beneficiary has a social security claim, 
the agency can rule against the claimant even if the judicial precedent 
in that circuit is entirely in favor of the beneficiary. Agency wins--
claimant loses--end of story. The only recourse that beneficiary has is 
to relitigate that same issue in court. The beneficiary can't bypass 
the agency and go directly to court, because he or she must first 
exhaust all administrative remedies. This is an extremely expensive 
burden on any person with a claim against an agency. In fact, it is a 
financial burden on the entire judicial system and on the American 
taxpayer who eventually pays the cost of relitigation.
  Stare decisis--``let the decision stand''--is the fundamental 
doctrine of law upon which our entire judicial system is based. It is a 
concept of fairness and equity that has withstood the test of time. We 
require the American people and courts to adhere to judicial precedent. 
This policy of nonacquiescence completely undermines that principle. It 
allows the agency to completely ignore judicial precedent and instead 
rely solely on agency interpretation. The most glaring examples of 
nonacquiescence have surfaced in a select few agencies, such as the 
Social Security Administration, the National Labor Relations Board, and 
the Internal Revenue Service. This year alone, the Social Security 
Administration itself indicates that tens of thousands of claims 
involving nonacquiescence may be litigated. In a recent judicial 
opinion, the appellate judge stated that ``if a [social security] 
claimant has the determination and financial and physical strength and 
lives long enough to make it through the administrative process he can 
turn to the courts * * *'' and ultimately prevail. Similarly, the NLRB 
and the IRS have invoked this policy and were the subject of inquiry 
during a recent House hearing which investigated the alarming rise of 
agency nonacquiescence.
  The true residual dangers of the nonacquiescence policy, however, lie 
in its more far-reaching implications. Theoretically, any agency can 
invoke this policy to avoid the law. When the Bureau of Land Management 
recently proposed reform regulations for grazing permits, ranchers 
challenged the new provisions. After exhausting all administrative 
remedies, the ranchers took their case to court. Following lengthy and 
costly litigation, the appellate court ruled in favor of the ranchers. 
However, under the nonacquiescence policy, the BLM could refuse to 
abide by this ruling each and every time this issue arises. Now grazing 
permits may not seem like a big deal to people here in Washington, but 
like many Western States, more than 30 percent of all the land in my 
home State of Colorado is Government-owned and under the control of a 
Federal agency. In western Colorado, almost 60 percent of the land 
falls into this arrangement. A rancher waiting for a grazing permit may 
be unable to get a loan or conduct necessary planning, which could 
force that rancher out of the livestock industry altogether. At the 
very least, each time a claim is relitigated, it involves tens of 
thousands of dollars and years of financial uncertainty for the 
claimant. Such a refusal to adhere to judicial precedent sends a clear 
message to the American people--a message of unfairness and inequality 
which in turn breeds mistrust against the Government. If the people 
must adhere to judicial precedent, we should require no less of 
Government agencies.
  This problem has been around for decades, but Congress first 
addressed this issue when it was considering the Social Security Act of 
1984. The conference report for that legislation highlighted the 
magnitude of concern over this policy when it stated:

       By refusing to apply circuit court interpretations and by 
     not promptly seeking review by the Supreme Court, the 
     Secretary forces beneficiaries to re-litigate the same issue 
     over and over again in the circuit, at a substantial expense 
     to both beneficiaries and the federal government. This is 
     clearly an undesirable consequence.

  At that time, Congress allowed the agencies to address this problem 
internally rather than by statute. Now in

[[Page S9212]]

1997, 13 years later, nonacquiescence is alive and well and it would be 
a gross understatement to say that this problem continues to be an 
undesirable consequence. In fact, Congress' failure to act 13 years ago 
has allowed the nonacquiescence policy to grow into a bureaucratic 
nightmare. This is nothing less than bureaucracy run amuck. It is now 
our duty to address this situation before any more time and money is 
wasted.
  Because I believe it is important to hold Federal agencies 
accountable, today I am introducing legislation which would require a 
Federal agency to comply with Federal court precedents within the 
circuit where a claim is filed. However, this bill also allows an 
agency to deviate from such precedent under certain circumstances, thus 
giving the agency additional avenues when there is a conflict between 
judicial precedent and agency regulations. In contrast to the present 
policy of nonacquiescence, in which the general public has no 
additional avenue except to relitigate an issue at personal expense, my 
bill upholds the fundamental concept of stare decisis and will in turn 
provide stability, economy and equality for all Americans.
  The House version of this legislation was introduced earlier in this 
Congress by Congressman Gekas and Congressman Frank and has been 
reported favorably out of the Subcommittee on Commercial and 
Administrative Law. This bill is supported by the Judicial Conference 
of the United States, Americans for Tax Reform, the Association of 
Administrative Law Judges, and the American Bar Association.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent, that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1166

       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 ``Federal Agency Compliance 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROHIBITING INTRACIRCUIT AGENCY NONACQUIESCENCE IN 
                   APPELLATE PRECEDENT.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 707. Adherence to court of appeals precedent

       ``(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), an agency (as 
     defined in section 701(b)(1) of this title) shall, in 
     administering a statute, rule, regulation, program, or policy 
     within a judicial circuit, adhere to the existing precedent 
     respecting the interpretation and application of such 
     statute, rule, regulation, program, or policy, as established 
     by the decisions of the United States court of appeals for 
     that circuit.
       ``(b) An agency is not precluded under subsection (a) from 
     taking a position, either in administration or litigation, 
     that is at variance with precedent established by a United 
     States court of appeals if--
       ``(1) it is not certain whether the administration of the 
     statute, rule, regulation, program, or policy will be subject 
     to review by the court of appeals that established that 
     precedent or a court of appeals for another circuit;
       ``(2) the Government did not seek further review of the 
     case in which that precedent was first established, in that 
     court of appeals or the United States Supreme Court, 
     because--
       ``(A) neither the United States nor any agency or officer 
     thereof was a party to the case; or
       ``(B) the decision establishing that precedent was 
     otherwise substantially favorable to the Government; or
       ``(3) it is reasonable to question the continued validity 
     of that precedent in light of a subsequent decision of that 
     court of appeals or the United States Supreme Court, a 
     subsequent change in any pertinent statute or regulation, or 
     any other subsequent change in the public policy or 
     circumstances on which that precedent was based.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end of following new item:

``707. Adherence to court of appeals precedent.''.

     SEC. 3. PREVENTING UNNECESSARY AGENCY RELITIGATION IN 
                   MULTIPLE CIRCUITS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, 
     as amended by section 2(a), is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:

     ``Sec. 708. Supervision of litigation; limiting unnecessary 
       relitigation of legal issues

       ``(a) In supervising the conduct of litigation, the 
     officers of any agency of the United States authorized to 
     conduct litigation, including the Department of Justice 
     acting under sections 516 and 519 of title 28 shall ensure 
     that the initiation, defense, and continuation of proceedings 
     in the courts of the United States within, or subject to 
     the jurisdiction of, a particular judicial circuit avoids 
     unnecessarily repetitive litigation on questions of law 
     already consistently resolved against the position of the 
     United States, or an agency or officer thereof, in 
     precedents established by the United States courts of 
     appeals for 3 or more other judicial circuits.
       ``(b) Decisions on whether to initiate, defend, or continue 
     litigation for purposes of subsection (a) shall take into 
     account, among other relevant factors, the following:
       ``(1) The effect of intervening changes in pertinent law or 
     the public policy or circumstances on which the established 
     precedents were based.
       ``(2) Subsequent decisions of the United States Supreme 
     Court or the courts of appeals that previously decided the 
     relevant question of law.
       ``(3) The extent to which that question of law was fully 
     and adequately litigated in the cases in which the precedents 
     were established.
       ``(4) The need to conserve judicial and other parties' 
     resources.
       ``(c) The Attorney General shall report annually to the 
     Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives on the efforts of the Department of Justice 
     and other agencies to comply with subsection (a).
       ``(d) A decision on whether to initiate, defend, or 
     continue litigation is not subject to review in a court, by 
     mandamus or otherwise, on the grounds that the decision 
     violates subsection(a).''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, as 
     amended by section 2(b) is amended by adding at the end of 
     the following new item:

``708, Supervision of litigation; limiting unnecessary relitigation of 
              legal issues.''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. INOUYE (for himself and Mr. Akaka):
  S. 1167. A bill to amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to clarify the method 
for calculating cost of production for purposes of determining 
antidumping margins; to the Committee on Finance.


 THE TARIFF ACT OF 1930 ANTIDUMPING CLARIFICATION AMENDMENT ACT OF 1997

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation that would 
make very minor changes to the antidumping provisions of the Tariff Act 
of 1930. This bill will clarify Commerce Department authority to 
allocate costs in antidumping cases consistent with sound accounting 
principles and commercial reality. Although the antidumping law 
generally affords the Commerce Department wide latitude in determining 
proper cost allocations in antidumping cases, developing case law in 
this area severely limits the ability of the Department to calculate 
accurate dumping margins. Specifically, these cases interpret the 
current antidumping statute to prevent the Department from relying on 
cost allocations based on revenues, even though revenue-based 
allocations are widely accepted in the accounting profession and often 
are most appropriate in particular fact situations.
  This bill would not require a particular kind of cost allocation in 
any given case. Rather, the proposal would clarify the Department of 
Commerce's authority to use any appropriate cost allocation 
methodology, including a revenue-based methodology, consistent with 
generally accepted accounting principles and the particular facts of 
the case at hand.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1167

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. CLARIFICATION OF RULES FOR CALCULATING COST OF 
                   PRODUCTION AND CONSTRUCTED VALUE.

       Section 773(f)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
     1677b(f)(1)(A)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Costs'' and inserting ``(i) Calculation 
     of costs.--Costs'';
       (2) by striking ``The Administering authority'' and 
     inserting ``(ii) Allocation of costs.--
       ``(I) General rule.--The administering authority'';
       (3) by indenting the text so as to align clauses (i) and 
     (ii) (as added by paragraphs (1) and (2)) with clause (i) of 
     subparagraph (C) of such section 773(f)(1)); and
       (4) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(II) Methods for allocating cost of production.--In 
     determining the proper allocation of costs, the administering 
     authority may use value-based methodology, weight-based cost 
     methodology, or any other methodology that is consistent with 
     generally accepted accounting principles of the exporter

[[Page S9213]]

     country (or producing country, where appropriate) and that 
     reasonably reflects the costs associated with the production 
     and sale of each product.''.
       (b) Application to Canada and Mexico.--Pursuant to article 
     1902 of the North American Free Trade Agreement and section 
     408 of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation 
     Act, the amendments made by this section shall apply with 
     respect to goods from Canada and Mexico.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply with respect to--
       (1) investigations initiated--
       (A) on the basis of petitions filed under section 732(b) or 
     783(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 after January 1, 1995; or
       (B) by the administering authority under section 732(a) of 
     such Act after such date;
       (2) reviews initiated under section 751 of such Act--
       (A) by the administering authority or the Commission on 
     their own initiative after such date; or
       (B) pursuant to a request filed after such date;
       (3) petitions filed under section 780 of such Act after 
     such date; and
       (4) inquiries initiated under section 781 of such Act--
       (A) by the administering authority on its initiative after 
     such date; or
       (B) pursuant to a request filed after such date.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. REED:
  S. 1169. A bill to establish professional development partnerships to 
improve the quality of America's teachers and the academic achievement 
of students in the classroom, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on Labor and Human Resources.


        the teacher excellence in america challenge act of 1997

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, we all recognize the need for qualified, 
well-trained and dedicated teachers to improve the education of 
students throughout the United States. Unfortunately, many students who 
are just returning from their summer vacations are entering classrooms 
where teachers have not been so prepared, who are not as qualified as 
they should be, and this, of course, impacts tremendously on the 
productivity and the excellence of American education.
  Today I am introducing legislation which I believe will change 
fundamentally the way teachers are trained and, thus, improve the 
quality of teaching in America's classrooms. This is absolutely 
critical, since over the next decade, 2 million new teachers will need 
to be hired. This is the result of a combination of retirements of 
existing teachers, together with the increase in student population 
which is taking place throughout the United States.
  Last year's report by the National Commission on Teaching and 
America's Future entitled, ``What Matters Most: Teaching for America's 
Future'', shed light on the disheartening state of the teaching 
profession in the United States: more than 12 percent of all newly 
hired teachers have no training whatsoever in educational technique and 
pedagogy; more than 14 percent enter the teaching profession without 
meeting State standards; 23 percent of all secondary teachers do not 
have even a minor in the main teaching field which they have been hired 
to perform, including more than 30 percent of mathematics teachers; 
and, in schools with the highest minority enrollments, students have 
less than a 50-percent chance of getting a science or mathematics 
teacher who holds a license and degree in the field which they are 
teaching.
  These findings were echoed also in ``Quality Counts: A Report Card on 
the Condition of Public Education in the 50 States,'' which was 
published this past January by Education Week. This report notes that 
on average, 4 out of 10 secondary teachers do not have a degree in the 
subjects they teach; there are too many unlicensed teachers in 
America's classrooms; and too few of our prospective teachers receive 
the high-quality education they need to be effective teachers.
  Overall, this report rated the States, and the average was C. No 
State received an A, and there were only eight B's: California, 
Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, and 
Vermont. Three States received D's for their teaching: Arizona, Hawaii, 
and Idaho. And the rest, including my State of Rhode Island, received a 
gentleman's C, which in today's competitive world is unsatisfactory for 
the future of our country and the success of our children.
  It must be noted that teacher quality varies tremendously; that in 
different classrooms in the same schools, you will see outstanding 
teachers in one and less qualified teachers in another. Many students 
are taught by a qualified teacher who understands their subject and how 
to teach students to excel. But not all students are so fortunate. 
These students are being deprived essentially of the quality education 
they need because their teacher is not well prepared and not qualified.
  ``What teachers know and do is the most important reflection on what 
students learn'' is the first premise of the National Commission on 
Teaching and America's Future.
  Given the statistics I just recited about the current state of 
teaching in America, it is no wonder American students are failing to 
make the grade in a very competitive world. Indeed, a study which 
compared high- and low-achieving elementary schools with similar 
student characteristics found that more than 90 percent of the 
variation in achievement in math and reading was directly attributable 
to differences in the qualifications of the teachers in those schools.
  It is also no wonder that American students don't fare well in 
international comparisons. The results of the eighth-grade 
Third International Mathematics and Science Study found that these 
students barely scored above the world average in science and below the 
world average in mathematics. And today, being mediocre is insufficient 
in order to face the challenges of a very complex world.

  Even though much has been done to address teacher quality, the truth 
is that the current system of teacher preparation does not give 
teachers a fair chance at success. Prospective teachers, those in 
training in our Nation's teacher colleges, are not likely to be 
provided with the panoply of experiences which they need, such as 
actual classroom time, structured practice opportunities, a talented 
and experienced teacher as a mentor, and the skills to work with 
diverse student populations.
  These are the tools they need to be adequately prepared and, sadly, 
many do not receive this help while they are in teacher preparation. 
Indeed, as the 1996 report by the National Commission on Teaching and 
America's Future notes, traditional teacher education programs are 
failing because they are too short, too fragmented and they use 
textbooks rather than active hands-on teaching methods. They also 
neglect to develop some of the ideas and concepts that are critical to 
success, such as working in teams and using technology.
  Sadly, I believe there is a real disconnect between the teacher 
colleges that prepare teachers and the elementary and secondary schools 
that hire them to teach the children of America. Consequently, 
beginning teachers are thrown into classrooms without the skills to 
succeed. As Linda Darling-Hammond, the Executive Director of the 
National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, writes, the 
message given to these teachers in the beginning of the school year is 
``Figure it out yourself. We'll see you in June. . .if you make it that 
long!''
  Due to this sink-or-swim method of teacher preparation, some teachers 
do not make it to June or survive past the first few years of teaching. 
As a USA Today article from earlier this year points out, 17 percent of 
new teachers leave the classroom after 1 year, and a 1987 study by 
Grissmer and Kirby estimated that 30 to 50 percent of new teachers 
leave the profession within 3 to 5 years.
  Add to this defection from the ranks of the profession the increased 
student enrollment due to the continuing Baby Boom Echo which will 
reach a record 52.2 million in 1997 and, indeed, increase each year 
through 2006, and impending retirements of many of our teachers. This 
situation creates a tremendous challenge and a need to prepare over 2 
million new teachers to face the next century.
  The time is ripe to face this challenge. We must do so now before 
public support for education wanes. By enacting needed reforms and 
changes in how we prepare and continue the development of teachers, we 
can guarantee the success of both students and teachers.
  We must directly connect our teacher preparation and development 
system to

[[Page S9214]]

our elementary and secondary schools. Our future teachers need and 
deserve the kind of hands-on training and ``real world'' experience 
they will get from more exposure and practice in today's classrooms, as 
well as the mentoring and assistance they will receive from our best 
and most experienced veteran teachers. My bill accomplishes this by 
fostering partnerships between the teacher colleges at our Nation's 
institutions of higher education and elementary and secondary schools.
  These partners should work in concert to prepare teachers adequately 
and keep their skills updated by working jointly to develop enhanced 
curricula and mentoring activities, as well as to research and 
implement sound teaching and learning practices.
  As Jerrald Shrive wrote in ``Lessons from Restructuring Experiences: 
Stories of Change in Professional Development Schools'':

       . . . educational partnerships and collaborations [between 
     schools and universities] can be one significant piece of the 
     actions necessary to move all of education to more productive 
     levels.

  These premises underlie the legislation I introduce today. The 
Teacher Excellence in America Challenge Act or the TEACH Act, aims to 
improve the continuum of professional development from preservice 
preparation to the induction of new teachers to the improvement of 
veteran teachers, all of this designed to increase the achievement of 
our students.
  My legislation establishes a competitive 5-year grant program to 
provide grants to professional development partnerships consisting of 
institutions of higher education, public elementary and secondary 
schools, local educational agencies, and others, such as the State 
educational agency, teacher organizations, or nonprofit organizations. 
These partnerships must be based upon a mutual commitment to improve 
teaching and learning.
  These partnerships would use grant funding to support, as well as 
create, professional development schools, a reform that has been 
employed across this country and other industrialized nations and has 
shown success in increasing student achievement, better preparing 
prospective and beginning teachers, and providing critical ongoing 
opportunities for the professional development of veteran teachers.
  Professional development schools involve shared responsibility and 
cooperation between the institutions of higher education that prepare 
teachers and the public elementary and secondary schools that employ 
teachers, a system similar to teaching hospitals.
  An example of a professional development school can be found at the 
Sullivan School in Newport, RI. It is in a partnership with Salve 
Regina University. At the Sullivan School, Salve Regina students are 
given opportunities to practice teaching in a real classroom. Sullivan 
teachers are involved in observing these Salve Regina students, and 
they can also utilize the resources of Salve Regina University for 
professional development opportunities. Sullivan students go on field 
trips to Salve Regina for both higher education and career awareness 
activities, and the parents of these Sullivan students are also 
involved and are also provided opportunities for education and 
training.
  This is a model of one possible way to use professional development 
schools to enhance the preparation of teachers, the education of 
students, and the involvement of parents.
  Additional components of the TEACH Act include forging links between 
a university's school of education and their schools of arts and 
sciences. We have found in our discussions and research that many times 
within the university itself there is no collaboration, connection and 
concentration. This legislation will foster such cooperation.
  The TEACH Act also encourages the development of mentoring programs 
in which senior expert teachers would help younger teachers. It 
emphasizes technology training, which is a key piece now of higher 
education everywhere, and it recognizes that in order to be a good 
teacher, you have to have time to prepare to be a good teacher. It also 
would create a cadre of quality teachers that would act as a resource 
to enhance the professional development of all teachers and 
reestablishes principals as educational leaders.
  This is not a giveaway grant program. The TEACH Act offers resources 
to partnerships but it demands results. Strong evaluation provisions in 
the TEACH Act require that partnerships demonstrate increased student 
achievement, improved teacher preparation, increased opportunities for 
professional development, and also it insists that well-qualified 
teachers be placed in the classroom in order to continue to receive 
this grant funding.
  In addition, the legislation requires an independent national 
evaluation of the short-term and long-term impacts and outcomes of 
these professional development partnerships.
  Mr. President, given the growing need to update and improve the 
teacher training in this country, I expect we will see other proposals 
to address this problem offered in this body. I would be concerned if 
such proposals fell short on what we must accomplish by block granting 
training programs or failing to approach the kind of rigor that is 
included in the legislation I submit today. We have to have a rigorous 
and demanding legislative agenda in order to inspire and act as a 
catalyst for better teacher training across the country. Better teacher 
training will lead to better teachers. And better teachers will lead to 
better education and a better future for our children.
  My legislation puts us on track to answering the call of the National 
Commission on Teaching and America's Future to provide every student in 
America with access to competent, qualified, and dedicated teaching by 
the year 2006.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in this essential endeavor and to 
support the TEACH Act and help reform our system of teacher training as 
well as update the skills of teachers already in the classroom.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of this 
legislation be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1169

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. TEACHER EXCELLENCE IN AMERICA CHALLENGE.

       Part A of title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1102 et seq.) is amended to read as follows:

           ``PART A--TEACHER EXCELLENCE IN AMERICA CHALLENGE

     ``SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

       ``This part may be cited as the `Teacher Excellence in 
     America Challenge Act of 1997'.

     ``SEC. 502. PURPOSE.

       ``The purpose of this part is to improve the preparation 
     and professional development of teachers and the academic 
     achievement of students by encouraging partnerships among 
     institutions of higher education, elementary schools or 
     secondary schools, local educational agencies, State 
     educational agencies, teacher organizations, and nonprofit 
     organizations.

     ``SEC. 503. GOALS.

       ``The goals of this part are as follows:
       ``(1) To support and improve the education of students and 
     the achievement of higher academic standards by students, 
     through the enhanced professional development of teachers.
       ``(2) To ensure a strong and steady supply of new teachers 
     who are qualified, well-trained, and knowledgeable and 
     experienced in effective means of instruction, and who 
     represent the diversity of the American people, in order to 
     meet the challenges of working with students by strengthening 
     preservice education and induction of individuals into the 
     teaching profession.
       ``(3) To provide for the continuing development and 
     professional growth of veteran teachers.
       ``(4) To provide a research-based context for reinventing 
     schools, teacher preparation programs, and professional 
     development programs, for the purpose of building and 
     sustaining best educational practices and raising student 
     academic achievement.

     ``SEC. 504. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this part:
       ``(1) Elementary school.--The term ``elementary school'' 
     means a public elementary school.
       ``(2) Institution of higher education.--The term 
     `institution of higher education' means an institution of 
     higher education that--
       ``(A) has a school, college, or department of education 
     that is accredited by an agency recognized by the Secretary 
     for that purpose; or
       ``(B) the Secretary determines has a school, college, or 
     department of education of a quality equal to or exceeding 
     the quality of schools, colleges, or departments so 
     accredited.
       ``(3) Poverty line.--The term `poverty line' means the 
     poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and 
     Budget, and

[[Page S9215]]

     revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the 
     Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) 
     applicable to a family of the size involved.
       ``(4) Professional development partnership.--The term 
     `professional development partnership' means a partnership 
     among 1 or more institutions of higher education, 1 or more 
     elementary schools or secondary schools, and 1 or more local 
     educational agency based on a mutual commitment to improve 
     teaching and learning. The partnership may include a State 
     educational agency, a teacher organization, or a nonprofit 
     organization whose primary purpose is education research and 
     development.
       ``(5) Professional development school.--The term 
     `professional development school' means an elementary school 
     or secondary school that collaborates with an institution of 
     higher education for the purpose of--
       ``(A) providing high quality instruction to students and 
     educating students to higher academic standards;
       ``(B) providing high quality student teaching and 
     internship experiences at the school for prospective and 
     beginning teachers; and
       ``(C) supporting and enabling the professional development 
     of veteran teachers at the school, and of faculty at the 
     institution of higher education.
       ``(6) Secondary school.--The term `secondary school' means 
     a public secondary school.
       ``(7) Teacher.--The term `teacher' means an elementary 
     school or secondary school teacher.''

     ``SEC. 505. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

       ``(a) In General.--From the amount appropriated under 
     section 511 and not reserved under section 509 for a fiscal 
     year, the Secretary may award grants, on a competitive basis, 
     to professional development partnerships to enable the 
     partnerships to pay the Federal share of the cost of 
     providing teacher preparation, induction, classroom 
     experience, and professional development opportunities to 
     prospective, beginning, and veteran teachers while improving 
     the education of students in the classroom.
       ``(b) Duration; Planning.--The Secretary shall award grants 
     under this part for a period of 5 years, the first year of 
     which may be used for planning to conduct the activities 
     described in section 506.
       ``(c) Payments; Federal Share; Non-Federal Share.--
       ``(1) Payments.--The Secretary shall make annual payments 
     pursuant to a grant awarded under this part.
       ``(2) Federal share.--The Federal share of the costs 
     described in subsection (a)(1) shall be 80 percent.
       ``(3) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the 
     costs described in subsection (a)(1) may be in cash or in-
     kind, fairly evaluated.
       ``(d) Continuing Eligibility.--
       ``(1) 2nd and 3d years.--The Secretary may make a grant 
     payment under this section for each of the 2 fiscal years 
     after the first fiscal year a professional development 
     partnership receives such a payment, only if the Secretary 
     determines that the partnership, through the activities 
     assisted under this part, has made reasonable progress toward 
     meeting the criteria described in paragraph (3).
       ``(2) 4th and 5th years.--The Secretary may make a grant 
     payment under this section for each of the 2 fiscal years 
     after the third fiscal year a professional development 
     partnership receives such a payment, only if the Secretary 
     determines that the partnership, through the activities 
     assisted under this part, has met the criteria described in 
     paragraph (3).
       ``(3) Criteria.--The criteria referred to in paragraphs (1) 
     and (2) are as follows:
       ``(A) Increased student achievement as determined by 
     increased graduation rates, decreased dropout rates, or 
     higher scores on local, State, or national assessments for a 
     year compared to student achievement as determined by the 
     rates or scores, as the case may be, for the year prior to 
     the year for which a grant under this part is received.
       ``(B) Improved teacher preparation and development 
     programs, and student educational programs.
       ``(C) Increased opportunities for enhanced and ongoing 
     professional development of teachers.
       ``(D) An increased number of well-prepared individuals 
     graduating from a school, college, or department of education 
     within an institution of higher education and entering the 
     teaching profession.
       ``(E) Increased recruitment to, and graduation from, a 
     school, college, or department of education within an 
     institution of higher education with respect to minority 
     individuals.
       ``(F) Increased placement of qualified and well-prepared 
     teachers in elementary schools or secondary schools, and 
     increased assignment of such teachers to teach the subject 
     matter in which the teachers received a degree or specialized 
     training.
       ``(G) Increased dissemination of teaching strategies and 
     best practices by teachers associated with the professional 
     development school and faculty at the institution of higher 
     education.
       ``(e) Priority.--In awarding grants under this part, the 
     Secretary shall give priority to professional development 
     partnerships serving elementary schools, secondary schools, 
     or local educational agencies, that serve high percentages of 
     children from families below the poverty line.

     ``SEC. 506. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.

       ``(a) In General.--Each professional development 
     partnership receiving a grant under this part shall use the 
     grant funds for--
       ``(1) creating, restructuring, or supporting professional 
     development schools;
       ``(2) enhancing and restructuring the teacher preparation 
     program at the school, college, or department of education 
     within the institution of higher education, including--
       ``(A) coordinating with, and obtaining the participation 
     of, schools, colleges, or departments of arts and science;
       ``(B) preparing teachers to work with diverse student 
     populations; and
       ``(C) preparing teachers to implement research-based, 
     demonstrably successful, and replicable, instructional 
     programs and practices that increase student achievement;
       ``(3) incorporating clinical learning in the coursework for 
     prospective teachers, and in the induction activities for 
     beginning teachers;
       ``(4) mentoring of prospective and beginning teachers by 
     veteran teachers in instructional skills, classroom 
     management skills, and strategies to effectively assess 
     student progress and achievement;
       ``(5) providing high quality professional development to 
     veteran teachers, including the rotation, for varying periods 
     of time, of veteran teachers--
       ``(A) who are associated with the partnership to elementary 
     schools or secondary schools not associated with the 
     partnership in order to enable such veteran teachers to act 
     as a resource for all teachers in the local educational 
     agency or State; and
       ``(B) who are not associated with the partnership to 
     elementary schools or secondary schools associated with the 
     partnership in order to enable such veteran teachers to 
     observe how teaching and professional development occurs in 
     professional development schools;
       ``(6) preparation time for teachers in the professional 
     development school and faculty of the institution of higher 
     education to jointly design and implement the teacher 
     preparation curriculum, classroom experiences, and ongoing 
     professional development opportunities;
       ``(7) preparing teachers to use technology to teach 
     students to high academic standards;
       ``(8) developing and instituting ongoing performance-based 
     review procedures to assist and support teachers' learning;
       ``(9) activities designed to involve parents in the 
     partnership;
       ``(10) research to improve teaching and learning by 
     teachers in the professional development school and faculty 
     at the institution of higher education; and
       ``(11) activities designed to disseminate information, 
     regarding the teaching strategies and best practices 
     implemented by the professional development school, to--
       ``(A) teachers in elementary schools or secondary schools, 
     which are served by the local educational agency or located 
     in the State, that are not associated with the professional 
     development partnership; and
       ``(B) institutions of higher education in the State.
       ``(b) Construction Prohibited.--No grant funds provided 
     under this part may be used for the construction, renovation, 
     or repair of any school or facility.

     ``SEC. 507. APPLICATIONS.

       ``Each professional development partnership desiring a 
     grant under this part shall submit an application to the 
     Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 
     such information as the Secretary may require. Each such 
     application shall--
       ``(1) describe the composition of the partnership;
       ``(2) describe how the partnership will include the 
     participation of the schools, colleges, or departments of 
     arts and sciences within the institution of higher education 
     to ensure the integration of pedagogy and content in teacher 
     preparation;
       ``(3) identify how the goals described in section 503 will 
     be met and the criteria that will be used to evaluate and 
     measure whether the partnership is meeting the goals;
       ``(4) describe how the partnership will restructure and 
     improve teaching, teacher preparation, and development 
     programs at the institution of higher education and the 
     professional development school, and how such systemic 
     changes will contribute to increased student achievement;
       ``(5) describe how the partnership will prepare teachers to 
     implement research-based, demonstrably successful, and 
     replicable, instructional programs and practices that 
     increase student achievement;
       ``(6) describe how the teacher preparation program in the 
     institution of higher education, and the induction activities 
     and ongoing professional development opportunities in the 
     professional development school, incorporate--
       ``(A) an understanding of core concepts, structure, and 
     tools of inquiry as a foundation for subject matter pedagogy; 
     and
       ``(B) knowledge of curriculum and assessment design as a 
     basis for analyzing and responding to student learning;
       ``(7) describe how the partnership will prepare teachers to 
     work with diverse student populations, including minority 
     individuals and individuals with disabilities;
       ``(8) describe how the partnership will prepare teachers to 
     use technology to teach students to high academic standards;

[[Page S9216]]

       ``(9) describe how the research and knowledge generated by 
     the partnership will be disseminated to and implemented in--
       ``(A) elementary schools or secondary schools served by the 
     local educational agency or located in the State; and
       ``(B) institutions of higher education in the State;
       ``(10)(A) describe how the partnership will coordinate the 
     activities assisted under this part with other professional 
     development activities for teachers, including activities 
     assisted under titles I and II of the Elementary and 
     Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq., 6601 
     et seq.), the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (20 U.S.C. 5801 
     et seq.), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 
     U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and 
     Applied Technology Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); 
     and
       ``(B) describe how the activities assisted under this part 
     are consistent with Federal and State educational reform 
     activities that promote student achievement of higher 
     academic standards;
       ``(11) describe which member of the partnership will act as 
     the fiscal agent for the partnership and be responsible for 
     the receipt and disbursement of grant funds under this part;
       ``(12) describe how the grant funds will be divided among 
     the institution of higher education, the elementary school or 
     secondary school, the local educational agency, and any other 
     members of the partnership to support activities described in 
     section 506;
       ``(13) provide a description of the commitment of the 
     resources of the partnership to the activities assisted under 
     this part, including financial support, faculty 
     participation, and time commitments; and
       ``(14) describe the commitment of the partnership to 
     continue the activities assisted under this part without 
     grant funds provided under this part.

     ``SEC. 508. ASSURANCES.

       ``Each application submitted under this part shall contain 
     an assurance that the professional development partnership--
       ``(1) will enter into an agreement that commits the members 
     of the partnership to the support of students' learning, the 
     preparation of prospective and beginning teachers, the 
     continuing professional development of veteran teachers, the 
     periodic review of teachers, standards-based teaching and 
     learning, practice-based inquiry, and collaboration among 
     members of the partnership;
       ``(2) will use teachers of excellence, who have mastered 
     teaching techniques and subject areas, including teachers 
     certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching 
     Standards, to assist prospective and beginning teachers;
       ``(3) will provide for adequate preparation time to be made 
     available to teachers in the professional development school 
     and faculty at the institution of higher education to allow 
     the teachers and faculty time to jointly develop programs and 
     curricula for prospective and beginning teachers, ongoing 
     professional development opportunities, and the other 
     authorized activities described in section 506; and
       ``(4) will develop organizational structures that allow 
     principals and key administrators to devote sufficient time 
     to adequately participate in the professional development of 
     their staffs, including frequent observation and critique of 
     classroom instruction.

     ``SEC. 509. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall reserve a total of 
     not more than 10 percent of the amount appropriated under 
     section 511 for each fiscal year for evaluation activities 
     under subsection (b), and the dissemination of information 
     under subsection (c).
       ``(b) National Evaluation.--The Secretary, by grant or 
     contract, shall provide for an annual, independent, national 
     evaluation of the activities of the professional development 
     partnerships assisted under this part. The evaluation shall 
     be conducted not later than 3 years after the date of 
     enactment of the Teacher Excellence in America Challenge Act 
     of 1997 and each succeeding year thereafter. The Secretary 
     shall report to Congress and the public the results of such 
     evaluation. The evaluation, at a minimum, shall assess the 
     short-term and long-term impacts and outcomes of the 
     activities assisted under this part, including--
       ``(1) the extent to which professional development 
     partnerships enhance student achievement;
       ``(2) how, and the extent to which, professional 
     development partnerships lead to improvements in the quality 
     of teachers;
       ``(3) the extent to which professional development 
     partnerships improve recruitment and retention rates among 
     beginning teachers, including beginning minority teachers; 
     and
       ``(4) the extent to which professional development 
     partnerships lead to the assignment of beginning teachers to 
     public elementary or secondary schools that have a shortage 
     of teachers who teach the subject matter in which the teacher 
     received a degree or specialized training.
       ``(c) Dissemination of Information.--The Secretary shall 
     disseminate information (including creating and maintaining a 
     national database) regarding outstanding professional 
     development schools, practices, and programs.

     ``SEC. 510. SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.

       ``Funds appropriated under section 511 shall be used to 
     supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, and local 
     public funds expended for the professional development of 
     elementary school and secondary school teachers.

     ``SEC. 511. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     part $100,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, and such sums as may 
     be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2000 through 
     2003.''.

     SEC. 2. REPEALS.

       Part B of title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1103 et seq.), subparts 1 and 3 of part C of such 
     title (20 U.S.C. 1104 et seq., 1106 et seq.), subparts 3 and 
     4 of part D of such title (20 U.S.C. 1109 et seq., 1110 et 
     seq.), subpart 1 of part E of such title (20 U.S.C. 1111 et 
     seq.), and part F of such title (20 U.S.C. 1113 et seq.), are 
     repealed.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. SNOWE:
  S. 1170. A bill to establish a training voucher system, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


           the working american training voucher act of 1997

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President. I rise today to introduce legislation that 
will address a serious need of America's workers: The need to receive 
training that will prepare individuals for the workplace of the 21st 
century. My legislation, entitled the ``Working American Training 
Voucher Act,'' would provide $1,000 training vouchers to 1 million 
working men and women who typically have little or no access to 
employer-provided training.
  Mr. President, many Federal programs focus on the needs of those 
whose challenges and difficulties are most easily recognized and 
tangible. When we see a hungry child, an unemployed adult, or an 
impoverished senior citizen, we justifiably want to reach out and do 
what we can to help. Indeed, I am proud to be an active voice for those 
whose challenges and pains we can sometimes only imagine. However, it 
is oftentimes difficult to recognize the needs of those whose 
challenges are less tangible, whose concerns are less evident, or whose 
sense of insecurity about the future is known only by the individual 
and their family.
  It is this difficulty that confronts many American workers today. In 
the face of increasing global competition, many workers wonder if the 
job they have today will be there for them tomorrow. They are concerned 
that the advent of new technologies is making their skills and talents 
less useful for their current employers which, in turn, makes them feel 
more vulnerable and expendable. And they wonder if the skills they 
posses today are even marketable if they are downsized or otherwise put 
out of work.
  Unfortunately, these types of concerns and anxieties oftentimes do 
not show on the surface, so it can be difficult for others to recognize 
or address them. It is too easy for many to assume that because a man 
or woman is already holding down a job, all is well and his or her 
future is secure. After all, how bad can it be if you're punching a 
time clock and getting a paycheck? Unfortunately, such a view is not 
only shortsighted, it is also misguided and could prove disastrous.
  We should not wait until a worker has been laid off from their job, 
or a company shuts its doors and shutters its windows, to take steps to 
help the American worker. Rather, we should take steps to ensure that 
our Nation's work force is confident of their future and feels prepared 
to address the changes that tomorrow will bring. Not only does this 
help the individual, but I think we would all agree that the best way 
to reduce the impact and cost of unemployment is to take steps to keep 
those who are already employed on the job.
  Admittedly, many policies and decisions play an integral role in 
creating a vibrant job market. The tax burden we place on businesses, 
the trade agreements we sign with foreign governments, and the 
regulatory load we place on employers all have a significant impact on 
our economy's ability to produce and sustain good jobs. However, for 
the individual, many of these polices seem too macro to have an impact 
on their own employment prospects. In fact, an individual may not even 
recognized the direct impact these broader policies have on their job 
from day to day.
  There is, however, one issue that truly strikes at the heart of how 
an individual feels about the future: The degree to which he or she 
knows that their skills match the needs of their

[[Page S9217]]

current employer or other prospective employers in the marketplace. 
Without this knowledge, it does not matter to an individual if the 
unemployment rate is as low as economists consider the natural rate of 
unemployment or if the newspapers tell him or her that the economy 
couldn't be better. The simple fact is that unless an individual 
personally feels that their skills are up-to-date and marketable, there 
will never be a complete sense of security on the job from one day to 
the next.
  And that's what the legislation I am introducing today is all about. 
The Working American Training Voucher Act addresses the needs of the 
average American worker--the individual who has a job today, but 
doesn't know if he or she has the skills needed for the jobs of 
tomorrow. The person who's collecting a paycheck now, but is concerned 
that the rapidly changing work environment may put an end to that soon.
  Mr. President, we all know new technologies and new products are 
entering the workplace at an unprecedented rate and the changes these 
technologies bring are substantial. Few professions and few jobs have 
gone untouched by these changes--and even fewer will be immune from 
change in the future. Indeed, just as computers have changed the face 
of manufacturing, they have also changed the world of art and design. 
Even labor intensive tasks at assembly shops have taken on a high-tech 
flair thanks to new technologies.

  For an individual who understands these technologies or received 
training in their use, these changes present exciting new opportunities 
that improve performance and ultimately give one a sense of assurance 
that their skills are in demand. But for those who do not understand 
these technologies or do not receive training in their use, these 
technologies are nothing more than a threat and cause for anxiety.
  Regrettably, even as the demand for training at all levels in the 
workplace continues to grow because of these changing technologies, the 
United States has historically lagged far behind our global competitors 
in training workers. In fact, a study by the Congressional Office of 
Technology Assessment concluded: ``When measured by international 
standards, most American workers are not well trained.''
  While some U.S. companies devote a substantial amount of money to 
training, many of our global competitors spend considerably more. A 
study by the American Society for Training and Development highlighted 
this point when it found that U.S. companies spend--in the aggregate--
approximately 1.4 percent of their payroll on training, while a number 
of our competitor nations actually require companies to spend 2 to 4 
percent. While I would not espouse a mandatory training budget for any 
business, I believe we can and should seek to improve the availability 
of training for our Nation's workers--and especially for those who need 
it most but are least likely to receive it. And that's precisely who 
the working American training voucher is designed to reach.
   Mr. President, the working American training voucher would provide 
access to critically needed training for workers at businesses with 200 
or fewer employees. Why is it targeted to workers in small businesses? 
Quite simply, because these are the individuals who are the least 
likely to receive--or be offered--employer-provided training. The same 
report by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment summarized 
the plight of employees at small businesses quite succinctly: ``Many 
(employees) in smaller firms receive no formal training.''
  A recent report--completed by Prof. Craig Olson at the University of 
Wisconsin-Madison and presented to the Senate Manufacturing Task Force 
this past September--looked at the difference between the likelihood an 
individual would receive training and the level of educational 
achievement he or she attained, or the field he or she chose to enter. 
Dr. Olson's study found that individuals with a bachelor's or master's 
degree had a 50 percent chance of receiving training in the past year, 
while individuals with a high school diploma had only a 17 percent 
chance. Those who dropped out of high school fared even worse; their 
odds of receiving training were only 5 percent.
  When viewed by occupation, individuals who worked in production- or 
service-related jobs had only a 16 percent and 18 percent chance of 
receiving training respectively, while those in management had a 50 
percent chance. When considering that only one in four American workers 
received training in the past 12 months, these odds don't bode well for 
many employees at small businesses whose educational attainment and 
occupations fall in the categories that are the least likely to receive 
training.
  One might understandably ask: Why is it that small businesses often 
provide so little training? The answer: cost. Small businesses are 
quite often unable to afford the cost of sending an employee to a 
training program. When your business is just trying to make ends meet, 
it's impossible to send an employee to a training class that costs the 
business both money and time away from work.
   Mr. President, the working American training voucher is designed to 
address this problem in a straightforward and efficient way. These 
vouchers--valued at up to $1,000 each--would be made available to 
employees at small businesses through the existing job training system 
that is already in place as a result of the Job Training Partnership 
Act, or JTPA. As my colleagues in the Senate know, State and local 
governments--joined by the private sector--have primary responsibility 
for the development, management, and administration of job training 
programs in the JTPA, so no new distribution network would be necessary 
to conduct this voucher program.
  The only major requirement for receiving a voucher would be that the 
employee and employer must agree on the specific training that will be 
purchased with the voucher. This will ensure that the training will be 
targeted specifically to the needs of the individual and the business--
money would not be spent on generic training programs that teach skills 
that are of little, if any, use in a particular field or job. 
Furthermore, such an agreement will ensure that workers are actively 
engaged in pursuing training that will help their careers, even as 
employers will be urging employees to undertake training that will help 
the business.
  The Senate Labor Committee will soon be preparing legislation to 
recraft and consolidate many of our federally-run job training programs 
in the JTPA. I am greatly concerned that none of our current 128 job 
training programs is specifically targeted to training for currently 
employed individuals--and I believe that the working American training 
voucher would fill this void for those who need access to this training 
the most. Therefore, I am hopeful that my legislation and this concept 
will be incorporated in the job training reform bill when it is 
reported from the Senate Labor Committee and is considered on the floor 
of the Senate.
  Mr. President, I believe that as we prepare our work force for the 
next century, we should be encouraging workers to develop new skills 
that will improve their longevity in their current jobs even as they 
gain confidence that their skills will be needed in the future. Not 
only will these new skills increase the confidence and performance of 
the individual worker, but they will also improve the productivity of 
the business who employs them. And we all know that if we improve a 
business' productivity and output, that business is more likely to 
survive and thrive--which means that this voucher may ultimately assist 
in preserving businesses and jobs in the long run.
  Furthermore, better skills and training will ensure that individuals 
are able to rapidly transition to new jobs in the unfortunate event 
their current job is lost for reasons beyond their control. Regardless 
of how favorable the Tax Code is made or how many burdensome 
regulations we remove, we will never be able to guarantee an individual 
that his or her job will be around forever. But we can provide a worker 
with access to training that will keep his or her skills up to date and 
marketable no matter what the future holds.
  Mr. President, the working American training voucher would be a 
tangible, concrete, and definable program that would address a core 
issue facing American workers. It will ensure that those who typically 
have the least access to training will be able to acquire the skills 
needed for their current jobs, while improving their jobs in the 
future. It is targeted to those who are

[[Page S9218]]

most in need of assistance, and will ensure that we no longer wait 
until an individual is out of work to provide help.
  The Federal Government often promises the American people many 
things, but we can never offer peace of mind to a worker who doesn't 
know if his or her skills are adequate to keep them employed. Let's 
take a step in the right direction and at least ensure that those who 
have a job will not lose it due to a lack of access to training and new 
skills. Let's pass the Working American Training Voucher Act.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. MOSLEY-BRAUN:
  S. 1171. A bill for the relief of Janina Altagracia Castillo-Rojas 
and her husband, Diogenes Patricio Rojas; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.


                       private relief legislation

  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, I am introducing this bill today to 
provide relief to Janina Altagracia Castillo-Rojas and her husband, 
Diogenes Patricio Rojas. These two individuals, who currently reside in 
Chicago, IL, face deportation later this month to the Dominican 
Republic as a result of an absurd technicality in current Federal 
immigration law.
  Ms. Rojas has been denied citizenship because her mother was the 
child of a U.S. citizen female and foreign male. Previous law allowed 
only children of U.S. citizen males and foreign females to claim U.S. 
citizenship.
  Simply put, Mrs. Rojas has been denied U.S. citizenship because she 
had the ``misfortune'' of having a U.S. citizen grandmother instead of 
a U.S. citizen grandfather.
  In 1994, Senator Paul Simon passed the Immigration and Nationality 
and Technical Corrections Act, which allowed individuals born overseas 
before 1934 to U.S. citizen mothers, and their descendants, to claim 
U.S. citizenship. As a result of that 1994 law, the mother of Janina 
Rojas applied for U.S. citizenship, which she received in January 1996.
  When Janina Rojas attempted to derive citizenship as a descendant of 
a direct beneficiary of the 1994 law, however, her application was 
denied. Despite the 1994 law, the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service requires that the mother of Janina Rojas meet transmission 
requirements: the mother must have been physically present in the U.S. 
for 10 years prior to Janina's birth, 5 of which were after the age of 
16 years, in order for Janina to derive citizenship. Since her mother 
was prohibited from becoming a U.S. citizen until 1996, however, it is 
unreasonable to require that she was in the U.S. for 10 years.
  Clearly, while 60 years of discriminatory law was corrected in 1994, 
the citizenship qualifications of the line of descendants of those U.S. 
citizen females remain adversely impacted.
  On May 1 of this year, I introduced a bill, S. 677, the Equity In 
Transmission of Citizenship Act of 1997, that will waive the parental 
transmission requirement for the grandchildren of U.S. citizen females. 
That bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. While I 
am hopeful S. 677 will be promptly approved, it may not be approved 
before September 27, the deportation date of Mr. and Mrs. Rojas. The 
private relief bill I introduce today will provide an extension for Mr. 
and Mrs. Rojas so that S. 677 can be taken up and passed.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1171

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. PERMANENT RESIDENCE.

       Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, for purposes 
     of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
     seq.), Janina Altagracia Castillo-Rojas and her husband, 
     Diogenes Patrico Rojas, shall be held and considered to have 
     been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent 
     residence as of the date of the enactment of this Act upon 
     payment of the required visa fees.

     SEC. 2. REDUCTION OF NUMBER OF AVAILABLE VISAS.

       Upon the granting of permanent residence to Janina 
     Altagracia Castillo-Rojas and her husband, Diogenes Patricio 
     Rojas, as provided in this Act, the Secretary of State shall 
     instruct the proper officer to reduce by the appropriate 
     number during the current fiscal year the total number of 
     immigrant visas available to natives of the country of the 
     aliens' birth under section 203(a) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(a)).

                          ____________________