[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 83 (Wednesday, May 25, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3202-S3203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4172. Mr. KIRK (for himself, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Roberts, Mr.
Menendez, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Tillis,
Mr. Cruz, Mr. Portman, Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Hatch, and Mr. Nelson) submitted
an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2943, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of title XII, add the following:
Subtitle I--Matters Relating to Israel
SEC. 1281. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Combating BDS Act of
2016''.
SEC. 1282. AUTHORITY OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO DIVEST
FROM ENTITIES THAT ENGAGE IN CERTAIN BOYCOTT,
DIVESTMENT, OR SANCTIONS ACTIVITIES TARGETING
ISRAEL.
(a) Authority To Divest.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, a State or local government may adopt and
enforce measures that meet the notice requirement of
subsection (b) to divest the assets of the State or local
government from, or prohibit investment of the assets of the
State or local government in--
(1) an entity that the State or local government
determines, using credible information available to the
public, engages in a commerce-related or investment-related
boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel;
(2) a successor entity or subunit of an entity described in
paragraph (1); or
(3) an entity that owns or controls, is owned or controlled
by, or is under common ownership or control with, an entity
described in paragraph (1).
(b) Notice Requirement.--
(1) In general.--A State or local government shall provide
written notice to each entity to which a measure taken by the
State or local government under subsection (a) is to be
applied before applying the measure with respect to the
entity.
(2) Rule of construction.--Paragraph (1) shall not be
construed to prohibit a State or local government from taking
additional steps to provide due process with respect to an
entity to which a measure is to be applied under subsection
(a).
(c) Nonpreemption.--A measure of a State or local
government authorized under subsection (a) is not preempted
by any Federal law.
(d) Effective Date.--This section applies to any measure
adopted by a State or local government before, on, or after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to abridge the authority of a State to issue and
enforce rules governing the safety, soundness, and solvency
of a financial institution subject to its jurisdiction or the
business of insurance pursuant to the Act of March 9, 1945
(59 Stat. 33, chapter 20; 15 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) (commonly
known as the ``McCarran-Ferguson Act'').
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Assets.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
the term ``assets'' means any pension, retirement, annuity,
or endowment fund, or similar instrument, that is controlled
by a State or local government.
(B) Exception.--The term ``assets'' does not include
employee benefit plans covered by title I of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1001 et
seq.).
(2) Boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting
israel.--The term ``boycott, divestment, or sanctions
activity targeting Israel'' means any activity that is
intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise
limit commercial relations with Israel or persons doing
business in Israel or in Israeli-controlled territories for
purposes of coercing political action by, or imposing policy
positions on, the Government of Israel.
(3) Entity.--The term ``entity'' includes--
(A) any corporation, company, business association,
partnership, or trust; and
(B) any governmental entity or instrumentality of a
government, including a multilateral development institution
(as defined in section 1701(c)(3) of the International
Financial Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r(c)(3))).
(4) Investment.--The term ``investment'' includes--
(A) a commitment or contribution of funds or property;
(B) a loan or other extension of credit; and
(C) the entry into or renewal of a contract for goods or
services.
(5) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and
any other territory or possession of the United States.
(6) State or local government.--The term ``State or local
government'' includes--
(A) any State and any agency or instrumentality thereof;
(B) any local government within a State and any agency or
instrumentality thereof; and
(C) any other governmental instrumentality of a State or
locality.
SEC. 1283. SAFE HARBOR FOR CHANGES OF INVESTMENT POLICIES BY
ASSET MANAGERS.
Section 13(c)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15
U.S.C. 80a-13(c)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``; or'' and inserting
a semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) engage in any boycott, divestment, or sanctions
activity targeting Israel described
[[Page S3203]]
in section 1282 of the Combating BDS Act of 2016.''.
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