[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 25, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5319-S5320]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY AMENDMENT ACT OF 2018

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 499, S. 2779.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the bill by 
title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2779) to amend the Zimbabwe Democracy and 
     Economic Recovery Act of 2001.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations, with 
an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Zimbabwe Democracy and 
     Economic Recovery Amendment Act of 2018''.

     SEC. 2. RECONSTRUCTION AND REBUILDING OF ZIMBABWE.

       Section 2 of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery 
     Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-99; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note) is 
     amended by inserting ``to enable Zimbabweans to reconstruct 
     and rebuild Zimbabwe and come to terms with the past through 
     a process of genuine reconciliation that acknowledges past 
     human rights abuses and orders inquiries into disappearances, 
     including the disappearance of human rights activists, such 
     as Patrick Nabanyama, Itai Dzamara, and Paul Chizuze'' before 
     the period at the end.

     SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

       Section 4(a) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 
     Recovery Act of 2001 is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``costly deployment of 
     troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo'' and 
     inserting ``private appropriation of public assets''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) In October 2016, the Government of Zimbabwe cleared a 
     small hurdle in its longstanding public sector arrears with 
     the IMF.''.

     SEC. 4. PROVISIONS RELATED TO MULTILATERAL DEBT RELIEF AND 
                   OTHER FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

       Section 4(b)(2) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 
     Recovery Act of 2001 is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``to propose that the 
     bank should undertake a review of the feasibility of 
     restructuring, rescheduling, or eliminating the sovereign 
     debt of Zimbabwe held by that bank'' and inserting ``to 
     support efforts to reevaluate plans to restructure, rebuild, 
     reschedule, or eliminate Zimbabwe's sovereign debt held by 
     that bank and provide an analysis based on reasonable 
     financial options to achieve those goals''; and
       (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``dollar'' and 
     inserting ``currency''.

     SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ASSISTANCE.

       Section 4(d) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 
     Recovery Act of 2001 is amended--
       (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
       ``(2) Pre- and post-election conditions.--The following 
     pre- and post-election conditions are met:
       ``(A) Establishment and public release, without cost, of a 
     provisional and a final voter registration roll.
       ``(B) The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is permitted to 
     entirely carry out the functions assigned to it in section 
     239 of Zimbabwe's 2013 Constitution in an independent manner, 
     and the chairperson meets with and consults regularly with 
     representatives of political parties represented in the 
     parliament of Zimbabwe and those parties contesting the 
     elections.
       ``(C) Consistent with Zimbabwe's 2013 Constitution, the 
     Defence Forces of Zimbabwe--
       ``(i) are neither permitted to actively participate in 
     campaigning for any candidate nor to intimidate voters;
       ``(ii) are required to verifiably and credibly uphold their 
     Constitutionally mandated duty to respect the fundamental 
     rights and freedoms of all persons and to be nonpartisan in 
     character; and
       ``(iii) are not permitted to print, transfer, or control 
     ballots or transmit the results of elections.
       ``(D) International observers, including from the United 
     States, the African Union, the Southern African Development 
     Community, and the European Union--
       ``(i) are permitted to observe the entire electoral process 
     prior to, on, and following voting day, including by 
     monitoring polling stations and tabulation centers; and
       ``(ii) are able to independently access and analyze vote 
     tallying tabulation and the transmission and content of 
     voting results.
       ``(E) Candidates are allowed access to public broadcasting 
     media during the election period, as provided in Zimbabwe's 
     Electoral Act, and candidates are able to campaign in an 
     environment that is free from intimidation and violence.
       ``(F) Civil society organizations are able to freely and 
     independently carry out voter and civic education, and to 
     monitor the entire electoral process, including by observing, 
     recording, and transmitting publicly-posted or announced 
     voting results, including at the ward, constituency, and all 
     higher levels of the vote tallying process.'';
       (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (5) as paragraphs 
     (8) and (9), respectively;
       (3) by striking paragraph (4);
       (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
       ``(3) Presidential election.--Zimbabwe has held an election 
     that is widely accepted as free, fair, and credible by 
     independent international and domestic civil society 
     monitors, and the president-elect is free to assume the 
     duties of the office.
       ``(4) Updating statutes.--Laws enacted prior to passage of 
     Zimbabwe's March 2013 Constitution that are inconsistent with 
     the new Constitution are amended or repealed or are subject 
     to a formal process for review and correction so that such 
     laws are consistent with the new Constitution.
       ``(5) Upholding the constitution.--The Government of 
     Zimbabwe--
       ``(A) has made significant progress on the implementation 
     of all elements of the new Constitution; and
       ``(B) has demonstrated its commitment to sustain such 
     efforts in achieving full implementation of the new 
     Constitution.
       ``(6) Economic reforms.--The Government of Zimbabwe has 
     demonstrated a sustained commitment to reforming Zimbabwe's 
     economy in ways that will promote economic growth, address 
     unemployment and underdevelopment, and restore livelihoods, 
     including significant progress toward monetary policy reform, 
     particularly with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, and currency 
     exchange reforms.
       ``(7) Role of traditional leaders.--Traditional leaders of 
     Zimbabwe observe section 281 of the 2013 Constitution and are 
     not using humanitarian assistance provided by outside donor 
     organizations or countries in a politicized manner to 
     intimidate or pressure voters during the campaign period.''; 
     and
       (5) in paragraph (8), as redesignated by paragraph (2) of 
     this subsection, by striking ``consistent with'' and all that 
     follows through ``September 1998''.

     SEC. 6. REMOVAL OF AUTHORITY TO PAY LAND ACQUISITION COSTS.

       Section 5(a) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 
     Recovery Act of 2001 is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``, including the payment 
     of costs'' and all that follows through ``thereto; and'' and 
     inserting a semicolon;
       (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) identify and recover stolen public assets.''.

     SEC. 7. INCLUSION OF AUSTRALIA AND THE UNITED KINGDOM IN 
                   CONSULTATIONS ABOUT ZIMBABWE.

       Section 6 of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery 
     Act of 2001 is amended by inserting ``Australia, the United 
     Kingdom,'' after ``Canada,''.

     SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENFORCEMENT OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN 
                   DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY TRIBUNAL RULINGS.

       It is the sense of Congress that the Government of Zimbabwe 
     and the Southern African Development Community (referred to 
     in this section as ``SADC'') should enforce the SADC tribunal 
     rulings from 2007 to 2010, including 18 disputes involving 
     employment, commercial, and human rights cases surrounding 
     dispossessed Zimbabwean commercial farmers and agricultural 
     companies.

     SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE UNITED STATES-ZIMBABWE 
                   BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP.

       It is the sense of Congress that the United States 
     Government is optimistic about the possibility for a stronger 
     bilateral relationship with Zimbabwe, including in the areas 
     of trade and investment, if--
       (1) the Government of Zimbabwe takes concrete, tangible 
     steps outlined in paragraphs (2) through (6) of section 4(d) 
     of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, 
     as amended by section 5 of this Act; and
       (2) takes concrete, tangible steps towards--
       (A) good governance, including respect for the opposition, 
     rule of law, and human rights;
       (B) economic reforms such as respect for contracts and 
     private property rights; and
       (C) identification and recovery of stolen private and 
     public assets within Zimbabwe and abroad.

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
committee-reported amendment be withdrawn, the Flake amendment at the 
desk be agreed to, and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third 
time.

[[Page S5320]]

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
withdrawn.
  The amendment (No. 3541) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to, 
as follows:

                (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Zimbabwe Democracy and 
     Economic Recovery Amendment Act of 2018''.

     SEC. 2. RECONSTRUCTION AND REBUILDING OF ZIMBABWE.

       Section 2 of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery 
     Act of 2001 (22 U.S.C. 2151 note; Public Law 107-99) is 
     amended by striking ``and restore the rule of law'' and 
     inserting ``restore the rule of law, reconstruct and rebuild 
     Zimbabwe, and come to terms with the past through a process 
     of genuine reconciliation that acknowledges past human rights 
     abuses and orders inquiries into disappearances, including 
     the disappearance of human rights activists, such as Patrick 
     Nabanyama, Itai Dzamara, and Paul Chizuze''.

     SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

       Section 4(a) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 
     Recovery Act of 2001 is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``costly deployment of 
     troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo'' and 
     inserting ``private appropriation of public assets''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) In October 2016, the Government of Zimbabwe cleared a 
     small hurdle in its longstanding public sector arrears with 
     the IMF.''.

     SEC. 4. PROVISIONS RELATED TO MULTILATERAL DEBT RELIEF AND 
                   OTHER FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

       Section 4(b)(2) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 
     Recovery Act of 2001 is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``to propose that the 
     bank should undertake a review of the feasibility of 
     restructuring, rescheduling, or eliminating the sovereign 
     debt of Zimbabwe held by that bank'' and inserting ``to 
     support efforts to reevaluate plans to restructure, rebuild, 
     reschedule, or eliminate Zimbabwe's sovereign debt held by 
     that bank and provide an analysis based on reasonable 
     financial options to achieve those goals''; and
       (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``dollar'' and 
     inserting ``currency''.

     SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE UNITED STATES-ZIMBABWE 
                   BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP.

       It is the sense of Congress that the United States should 
     seek to forge a stronger bilateral relationship with 
     Zimbabwe, including in the areas of trade and investment, if 
     the following conditions are satisfied:
       (1) The Government of Zimbabwe takes the concrete, tangible 
     steps outlined in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 4(d) 
     of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, 
     as amended by section 6 of this Act.
       (2) The Government of Zimbabwe takes concrete, tangible 
     steps towards--
       (A) good governance, including respect for the opposition, 
     rule of law, and human rights;
       (B) economic reforms that promote growth, address 
     unemployment and underdevelopment, restore livelihoods, 
     ensure respect for contracts and private property rights, and 
     promote significant progress toward monetary policy reforms, 
     particularly with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, and currency 
     exchange reforms; and
       (C) identification and recovery of stolen private and 
     public assets within Zimbabwe and in other countries.
       (3) The Government of Zimbabwe holds an election that is 
     widely accepted as free and fair, based on the following pre- 
     and post-election criteria or conditions:
       (A) Establishment and public release, without cost, of a 
     provisional and a final voter registration roll.
       (B) The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is permitted to 
     entirely carry out the functions assigned to it under section 
     239 of Zimbabwe's 2013 Constitution in an independent manner, 
     and the chairperson meets and consults regularly with 
     representatives of political parties represented in the 
     parliament of Zimbabwe and the parties contesting the 
     elections.
       (C) Consistent with Zimbabwe's 2013 Constitution, the 
     Defence Forces of Zimbabwe--
       (i) are neither permitted to actively participate in 
     campaigning for any candidate nor to intimidate voters;
       (ii) are required to verifiably and credibly uphold their 
     constitutionally-mandated duty to respect the fundamental 
     rights and freedoms of all persons and to be nonpartisan in 
     character; and
       (iii) are not permitted to print, transfer, or control 
     ballots or transmit the results of elections.
       (D) International observers, including observers from the 
     United States, the African Union, the Southern African 
     Development Community, and the European Union--
       (i) are permitted to observe the entire electoral process 
     prior to, on, and following voting day, including by 
     monitoring polling stations and tabulation centers; and
       (ii) are able to independently access and analyze vote 
     tallying tabulation and the transmission and content of 
     voting results.
       (E) Candidates are allowed access to public broadcasting 
     media during the election period, consistent with Zimbabwe's 
     Electoral Act and are able to campaign in an environment that 
     is free from intimidation and violence.
       (F) Civil society organizations are able to freely and 
     independently carry out voter and civic education and monitor 
     the entire electoral process, including by observing, 
     recording, and transmitting publicly-posted or announced 
     voting results at the ward, constituency, and all higher 
     levels of the vote tallying process.
       (4) Laws enacted prior to the passage of Zimbabwe's March 
     2013 Constitution that are inconsistent with the new 
     Constitution are amended, repealed, or subjected to a formal 
     process for review and correction so that such laws are 
     consistent with the new Constitution.
       (5) The Government of Zimbabwe--
       (A) has made significant progress on the implementation of 
     all elements of the new Constitution; and
       (B) has demonstrated its commitment to sustain such efforts 
     in achieving full implementation of the new Constitution.
       (6) Traditional leaders of Zimbabwe observe section 281 of 
     the 2013 Constitution and are not using humanitarian 
     assistance provided by outside donor organizations or 
     countries in a politicized manner to intimidate or pressure 
     voters during the campaign period.

     SEC. 6. CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.

       Section 4(d) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 
     Recovery Act of 2001 is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``consistent with'' and 
     all that follows through ``September 1998'';
       (2) by striking paragraph (4); and
       (3) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (4).

     SEC. 7. REMOVAL OF AUTHORITY TO PAY LAND ACQUISITION COSTS.

       Section 5(a) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 
     Recovery Act of 2001 is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``, including the payment 
     of costs'' and all that follows through ``thereto; and'' and 
     inserting a semicolon;
       (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) identify and recover stolen public assets.''.

     SEC. 8. INCLUSION OF AUSTRALIA, THE UNITED KINGDOM, THE 
                   AFRICAN UNION, AND THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN 
                   DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY IN CONSULTATIONS ABOUT 
                   ZIMBABWE.

       Section 6 of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery 
     Act of 2001 is amended by inserting ``Australia, the United 
     Kingdom, the African Union, the Southern African Development 
     Community,'' after ``Canada,''.

     SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENFORCEMENT OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN 
                   DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY TRIBUNAL RULINGS.

       It is the sense of Congress that the Government of Zimbabwe 
     and the Southern African Development Community (referred to 
     in this section as ``SADC'') should enforce the SADC tribunal 
     rulings issued between 2007 to 2010, including 18 disputes 
     involving employment, commercial, and human rights cases 
     surrounding dispossessed Zimbabwean commercial farmers and 
     agricultural companies.

  The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read 
the third time.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the 
bill.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. There being no further debate, the 
bill having been read the third time, the question is, Shall the bill 
pass?
  The bill (S. 2779), as amended, was passed.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion 
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________