[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 20, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H4316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 BLOCKING PROPERTY OF PERSONS IN CONNECTION WITH SITUATION IN BELARUS--
 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 109-116)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed:
To the Congress of the United States:
  Consistent with subsection 204(b) of the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b)(IEEPA), and section 301 of the 
National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1631 (NEA), I hereby report that I 
have issued an Executive Order (the ``order'') blocking the property of 
persons in connection with the situation in Belarus. In that order, I 
declared a national emergency with respect to the policies and actions 
of certain individuals in Belarus, to address the unusual and 
extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the 
United States posed by the actions and circumstances involving Belarus, 
as described below. This action follows the issuance of Proclamation 
8015 of May 12, 2006, ``Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and 
Nonimmigrants of Persons Responsible for Policies or Actions That 
Threaten the Transition to Democracy in Belarus,'' in which I 
determined that it is in the interest of the United States to suspend 
the entry into the United States of members of the government of 
Alyaksandr Lukashenka and others who formulate, implement, participate 
in, or benefit from policies or actions, including electoral fraud, 
human rights abuses, and corruption, that undermine or injure 
democratic institutions or impede the transition to democracy in 
Belarus.
  The United States, the European Union, and other allies and partners 
around the world have repeatedly expressed support for the democratic 
aspirations of the Belarusian people and condemned the Belarusian 
government's human rights abuses, assaults on democracy, and 
corruption. The Belarusian authorities have resorted to intense 
repression in an attempt to preserve their power, including the 
disappearance of four regime critics in 1999 and 2000, which the 
authorities have failed to investigate seriously despite credible 
information linking top government officials to these acts.
  The undemocratic 2006 presidential election was only the latest 
example of the Belarusian government's disregard for the rights of its 
own citizens. Hundreds of civic and opposition activists were 
arrested--and many beaten--both before and after the vote for 
exercising their rights. The authorities forcibly dispersed peaceful 
post-election demonstrations. There is simply no place in a Europe 
whole and free for a regime of this kind.
  The order also takes an important step in the fight against public 
corruption, which threatens important United States interests globally, 
including ensuring security and stability, the rule of law and core 
democratic values, advancing prosperity, and creating a level playing 
field for lawful business activities. As noted in Proclamation 8015, 
the persistent acts of corruption by Belarusian government officials in 
the performance of public functions has played a significant role in 
frustrating the Belarusian people's aspirations for democracy. This 
order authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to block the asserts of 
senior-level officials of the Government of Belarus, their family 
members, or those closely linked to such officials engaged in such 
corruption.
  This, pursuant to IEEPA and the NEA, I have determined that these 
actions and circumstances constitute an unusual and extraordinary 
threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United 
States, and I have issued the order to deal with this threat.
  The order blocks the property and interests in property in the United 
States, or in the possession or control of United States persons, of 
the persons listed in the Annex to the order, as well as of any person 
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with 
the Secretary of State:
  --to be responsible for, or to have participated in, actions or 
policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in 
Belarus;
  --to be responsible for, or to have participated in, human rights 
abuses related to political repression in Belarus;
  --to be a senior-level official, a family member of such official, or 
a person closely linked to such an official who is responsible for or 
has engaged in public corruption related to Belarus.
  The order also authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, after 
consultation with the Secretary of State, to designate for such 
blocking any person determined to have materially assisted, sponsored, 
or provided financial, material, or assisted, sponsored, or provided 
financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services 
in support of, the activities listed above or any person listed in or 
designated pursuant to the order. I further authorized the Secretary of 
the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of State, to 
designate for such blocking any person determined to be owned or 
controlled by, or acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, 
directly or indirectly, any person listed in or designated pursuant to 
the other. The Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the 
Secretary of State, is also authorized to remove any persons from the 
Annex to the order as circumstances warrant.
  I delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with 
the Secretary of State, the authority to take such actions, including 
the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers 
granted to the President by IEEPA, as may be necessary to carry out the 
purposes of the order. All executive agencies are directed to take all 
appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions 
of the order.
  The order, a copy of which is enclosed, was effective at 12:01 a.m. 
eastern daylight time on June 19, 2006.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, June 19, 2006.

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