[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8508-S8509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4816. Mr. COONS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed to
the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022
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 appropriate place, insert the following:
Subtitle __--Sudan Democracy Act
SEC. __1. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Sudan Democracy Act''.
SEC. __2. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien''
have the meanings given such terms in section 101 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1001).
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a
person that is not a United States person.
(4) Gross violations of internationally recognized human
rights.--The term ``gross violations of internationally
recognized human rights'' has the meaning given such term in
section 502B(d)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)).
(5) International financial institutions.--The term
``international financial institutions'' means--
(A) the International Monetary Fund;
(B) the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development;
(C) the International Development Association;
(D) the International Finance Corporation;
(E) the Inter-American Development Bank;
(F) the Asian Development Bank;
(G) the Inter-American Investment Corporation;
(H) the African Development Bank;
(I) the African Development Fund;
(J) the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development;
and
(K) the Multilateral Investment Guaranty Agency.
(6) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'' means, with respect
to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person
has actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct,
the circumstance, or the result.
(7) Security and intelligence services.--The term
``security and intelligence services'' means--
(A) the Sudan Armed Forces;
(B) the Rapid Support Forces;
(C) the Popular Defense Forces;
(D) other Sudanese paramilitary units;
(E) Sudanese police forces; and
(F) the General Intelligence Service (previously known as
the National Intelligence and Security Services).
(8) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen, an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence to the United States, or any other
individual subject to the jurisdiction of the United States;
or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States
or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a
foreign branch of such entity.
SEC. __3. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On November 17, 1958, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Abboud
of Sudan led the country's first coup after independence, and
the first successful coup in post-independence Africa.
(2) There have been more than 200 coup attempts across
Africa since the 1958 coup in Sudan, including successful
coups in Sudan in 1969, 1985, 1989, and 2019.
(3) On April 11, 2019, President Omar al Bashir of Sudan,
who came to power in a military coup in 1989, was overthrown
after months of popular protests by his own security chiefs,
who established a Transitional Military Council, led by
Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, that ignored calls
from the Sudanese people to transfer power to civilians.
(4) On August 17, 2019--
(A) the Transitional Military Council, under domestic and
international pressure, signed a power-sharing agreement with
the Forces for Freedom and Change, a broad coalition of
political parties and civic groups representing the protest
movement that had pushed for the end of the Bashir regime and
a transition to civilian rule; and
(B) a transitional government was formed that allowed the
junta leaders to remain in government in a partnership with
new civilian authorities nominated by the Forces for Freedom
and Change, including Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, for a
transitional period to democracy.
(5) On October 25, 2021, Lieutenant General Burhan, with
the support of Lieutenant Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known
as ``Hemedti'')--
(A) seized control of the Government of Sudan;
(B) deployed the military to the streets of Khartoum and
Omdurman;
(C) shut down the internet in Sudan; and
(D) detained Prime Minister Hamdok and other civilian
officials.
(6) The African Union Peace and Security Council has
condemned the military takeover, rejected the
unconstitutional change of
[[Page S8509]]
government, and on October 27, 2021, suspended Sudan from the
Council until the civilian-led transitional government is
restored.
(7) The Troika (the United States, United Kingdom, Norway),
the European Union, and Switzerland ``continue to recognize
the Prime Minister and his cabinet as the constitutional
leaders of the transitional government''.
(8) The Sudanese people have condemned the military
takeover and launched a campaign of peaceful civil
disobedience, continuing the protests for democracy that
began in late 2018 and reflecting a historic tradition of
non-violence protests led by previous generations in Sudan
against military regimes in 1964 and 1985.
(9) In response to public calls for civilian rule since
October 25, 2021, Sudanese security forces have arbitrarily
detained civilians and used excessive and lethal force
against peaceful protesters that has resulted in civilian
deaths across the country.
(10) The October 25, 2021 military takeover represents a
threat to--
(A) Sudan's economic recovery and stability;
(B) the bilateral relationship between Sudan and the United
States; and
(C) regional peace and security.
(b) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United
States--
(1) to support the democratic aspirations of the people of
Sudan and a political transition process that results in a
civilian government that is democratic, accountable, respects
the human rights of its citizens, and is at peace with itself
and with its neighbors;
(2) to encourage the reform of the security sector of Sudan
to one that is protects citizens under a democracy and
respects civilian authority; and
(3) to deter military coups and efforts by external parties
to support them.
SEC. __4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.
(a) In General.--The President shall impose the sanctions
described in subsection (b) with respect to any person or
entity that the President determines, on or after the date of
enactment of this Act--
(1) is responsible for, complicit in, or directly or
indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in--
(A) actions that undermine the transition to democracy in
Sudan, or, after elections, undermine democratic processes or
institutions;
(B) actions that threaten the peace, security, or stability
of Sudan;
(C) actions that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise
of freedom of expression or assembly by people in Sudan, or
limit access to print, online, or broadcast media in Sudan;
(D) the arbitrary detention or torture of any person in
Sudan or other gross violations of internationally recognized
human rights in Sudan;
(E) significant efforts to impede investigations or
prosecutions of alleged serious human rights abuses in Sudan;
(F) actions that result in the misappropriation of
significant state assets of Sudan or manipulation of the
currency, or that hinder government oversight of parastatal
budgets and revenues;
(G) actions that violate medical neutrality, including
blocking access to care and targeting first responders,
medical personnel, or medical institutions; or
(H) disrupting access to communication technologies and
information on the internet;
(2) is an entity owned or controlled by any person or
entity described in paragraph (1);
(3) forms an entity for the purpose of evading sanctions
that would otherwise be imposed pursuant to subsection (b);
(4) is acting for, or on behalf of, a person or entity
referred to in paragraph (1), (2), or (3);
(5) is an entity that is owned or controlled (directly or
indirectly) by security and intelligence services, from which
1 or more persons or entities described in paragraph (1)
derive significant revenue or financial benefit; or
(6) has knowingly--
(A) provided significant financial, material, or
technological support--
(i) to a foreign person or entity described in paragraph
(1) in furtherance of any of the acts described in
subparagraph (A) or (B) of such paragraph; or
(ii) to any entity owned or controlled by such person or
entity or an immediate family member of such person; or
(B) received significant financial, material, or
technological support from a foreign person or entity
described in paragraph (1) or an entity owned or controlled
by such person or entity or an immediate family member of
such person.
(b) Sanctions; Exceptions.--
(1) Sanctions.--
(A) Asset blocking.--Notwithstanding section 202 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701),
the exercise of all powers granted to the President by such
Act to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all
transactions in all property and interests in property of a
foreign person the President determines meets 1 or more of
the criteria described in subsection (a) if such property and
interests in property are in the United States, come within
the United States, or are or come within the possession or
control of a United States person.
(B) Aliens inadmissible for visas, admission, or parole.--
(i) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien who the
Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security (or
a designee of one of such Secretaries) knows, or has reason
to believe, meets any of the criteria described in subsection
(a)--
(I) is inadmissible to the United States;
(II) is ineligible to receive a visa or other documentation
to enter the United States; and
(III) is otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled
into the United States or to receive any other benefit under
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
(ii) Current visas revoked.--
(I) In general.--The issuing consular officer, the
Secretary of State, or a designee of the Secretary of State,
in accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), shall revoke any visa or
other entry documentation issued to an alien described in
clause (i) regardless of when the visa or other entry
documentation was issued.
(II) Effect of revocation.--A revocation under subclause
(I) shall take effect immediately and shall automatically
cancel any other valid visa or entry documentation that is in
the alien's possession.
(2) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters
agreement.--Sanctions under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply
with respect to an alien if admitting or paroling the alien
into the United States is necessary to permit the United
States to comply with the Agreement regarding the
Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success
June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947,
between the United Nations and the United States, or other
applicable international obligations.
(3) Penalties.--Any person that violates, attempts to
violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this
section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry
out subsection (b) shall be subject to the penalties set
forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705)
to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act
described in subsection (a) of such section.
(4) Implementation.--The President--
(A) may exercise all authorities provided under sections
203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers
Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this section; and
(B) shall issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as
may be necessary to carry out this section.
(5) Exception to comply with national security.--Activities
subject to the reporting requirements under title V of the
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) and
any authorized intelligence or law enforcement activities of
the United States shall be exempt from sanctions under this
section.
(c) Waiver.--The President may annually waive the
application of sanctions imposed on a foreign person pursuant
to subsection (a) if the President--
(1) determines that such waiver with respect to such
foreign person is in the national interest of the United
States; and
(2) not later than the date on which such waiver will take
effect, submits notice of, and justification for, such waiver
to--
(A) the appropriate congressional committees;
(B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of
the Senate; and
(C) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives.
(d) Sunset.--The requirement to impose sanctions under this
section shall cease to be effective on December 31, 2026.
______