[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 24, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5479-S5482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3160. Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Warren,
and Mr. Markey) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him
to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025
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 G--Americas Regional Monitoring of Arms Sales
SECTION 1291. SHORT TITLES.
(a) Short Titles.--This subtitle may be cited as the
``Americas Regional Monitoring of Arms Sales Act of 2024'' or
the ``ARMAS Act''.
SEC. 1292. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Violence in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean
is exacerbated by firearms originating in the United States.
(2) While firearms are trafficked to Mexico from a variety
of countries, firearms originating in the United States
account for 70 percent of the firearms recovered and traced
from crimes in Mexico, according to the 2021 Government
Accountability Office (referred to in this section as
``GAO'') report published by the Comptroller General of the
United States titled ``Firearms Trafficking: U.S. Efforts to
Disrupt Gun Smuggling into Mexico Would Benefit from
Additional Data and Analysis''.
(3) United States-origin firearm flows contribute to human
rights violations, organized crime and gang violence,
extrajudicial killings, high homicide rates, domestic
violence, and femicides in Mexico, Central America, and the
Caribbean.
(4) Firearms trafficking from the United States and firearm
violence are key drivers of immigration and asylum claims
from Central America.
(5) According to the United Nations Regional Centre for
Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the
Caribbean, firearms are used in 70 percent of homicides in
the Caribbean compared to 30 percent globally, and while the
Caribbean constitutes less than 1 percent of the global
population, 23 percent of all recorded homicides worldwide
take place in the Caribbean.
(6) In an August 2022 press conference, Homeland Security
Investigations officials reported a ``marked uptick in the
number of weapons'', and an increase in the caliber and type
of weapons, being illegally trafficked to Haiti and the rest
of the Caribbean.
(7) The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative of the
Department of State, which commenced in 2009--
(A) is the regional foreign assistance program of the
United States that seeks to reduce illicit trafficking in the
Caribbean region and advance public safety and security;
(B) seeks to improve the capacity of Caribbean countries to
intercept smuggled weapons at airports and seaports; and
(C) provides support for forensic ballistics and firearms
destruction and stockpile management; and
(D) has also included support for regional organizations,
including--
(i) the Caribbean Community Implementation Agency for Crime
and Security (CARICOM IMPACS), which based in Trinidad and
Tobago, and is the lead agency involved in the issue of
illicit firearms trafficking and increasing the capacity of
member states to detect and prevent firearms trafficking; and
(ii) the Eastern Caribbean's Regional Security System,
which is based in Barbados.
(8) The Central America Regional Security Initiative of the
Department of State has been working since 2010 to promote
long-term investments in Central America--
(A) to increase citizen security;
(B) to disrupt illicit trafficking; and
(C) to enhance the capacity and accountability of
governments in the region to establish effective state-
presence and security in violent communities.
(9) Two GAO reports on firearms trafficking, which were
published in 2021 and 2022, respectively, have affirmed that
firearms trafficking to Mexico and Central America continues
to represent a security concern to the United States, as
United States-origin firearms are diverted from legitimate
owners and end up in the hands of violent criminals,
including drug traffickers and other transnational criminal
organizations. A GAO report on the effect of firearms
trafficking in the Caribbean has not yet been compiled.
(10) In the reports referred to in paragraph (9), the
Comptroller General of the United States found that--
(A) Federal departments and agencies lacked information and
analysis of the firearms trafficking networks in Mexico and
Central America;
(B) few efforts by the United States Government in the
region focused on firearms trafficking; and
(C) as a result, Federal departments and agencies lack a
detailed understanding of the firearms trafficking that fuels
violence and enables criminals in Belize, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
(11) Firearms used to kidnap and kill a group of United
States citizens traveling in Matamoros, Mexico were illegally
smuggled
[[Page S5480]]
from the United States into Mexico. The suspect in these
killings admitted to Federal agents that he purchased
firearms in the United States, smuggled them across the
border, and knowingly provided them to members of the Gulf
Cartel.
(12) As the incident described in paragraph (11)
demonstrates, United States-sourced firearms are being
smuggled and diverted to cartels implicated in the supply and
flow of illegal fentanyl and other dangerous drugs, which
threatens the public health and safety of United States
citizens.
(13) In the 2022 GAO report ``Firearms Trafficking: More
Information Needed to Inform U.S. Efforts in Central
America'', the Comptroller General of the United States
reported that efforts of the United States Government focused
on firearms trafficking in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala,
and Honduras lacked information about relevant country
conditions and performance measures to ensure such efforts
were designed and implemented to achieve the intended
objectives and, as a result, the Comptroller General
recommended that the Secretary of State obtain information
about the conditions in such countries to support the
development of effective programs to reduce the availability
of illicit firearms.
(14) Data on firearms trafficking is limited. Data
compilation is crucial to understanding the problem.
(15) As of the date of the publication of the report
referred to in paragraph (13), the Secretary of Commerce had
not assigned any agents to Central America on permanent
assignment.
(16) In 2021 and 2022, the annual Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices of the Department of State included
``unlawful and arbitrary killings'' as a significant human
rights issue in Guatemala. Despite such inclusion, the Under
Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security has
authorized approximately 99,270 firearms exports to Guatemala
since assuming responsibility for firearms licensing in 2020.
(17) When firearms were controlled under the United States
Munitions List and the licensing of firearms was the
responsibility of the Secretary of State, the average number
of firearms licensed for export to Guatemala was
approximately 4,000 per year.
(18) The number of exports specified in paragraph (16)
represents an extraordinary increase from the number
specified in paragraph (17). The Under Secretary of Commerce
for Industry and Security has only been able to conduct a
very limited number of end-use checks, according to the 2022
GAO report ``Firearms Trafficking: More Information Needed to
Inform U.S. Efforts in Central America''.
(19) Since the Department of Commerce gained jurisdiction
over the control of firearm export licensing--
(A) there has been a 42 percent increase in firearm exports
compared to averages for such exports when the control of
such exports was under the jurisdiction of the Department of
State;
(B) the total value of export licenses approved annually
has increased by an estimated $4,450,000,000; and
(C) the Secretary of Commerce has also approved 95 percent
of license applications for such exports.
(20) According to the Census Bureau, Mexico, Guatemala, and
Brazil have been among the top 10 destinations for United
States-manufactured semiautomatic firearm exports.
(21) The 2021 security cooperation plan, titled ``U.S.-
Mexico Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Heath, and
Safe Communities'', explicitly identifies reducing illicit
arms trafficking as a ``Cooperation Area'' with specific
objectives--
(A) to increase efforts to reduce the illicit trafficking
of firearms, ammunition, and explosive devices;
(B) to increase bilateral information sharing on illicit
firearms trafficking; and
(C) to increase investigative and prosecutorial capacity to
address illicit firearms trafficking.
(22) As of March 2023, during the second phase of the
Bicentennial Framework referred to in paragraph (21)--
(A) the United States and Mexico were focusing specifically
on stemming firearms trafficking to Mexico; and
(B) the Department of Justice's Operation Southbound had
deployed 9 interagency Firearms Trafficking Task Forces to 8
cities along the southwest border to focus on such firearms
trafficking, which resulted in the seizure of nearly 2,000
firearms during the first 6 months of fiscal year 2023, and
represents a 65.8 percent increase in firearms seizures
compared to the same period during fiscal year 2022.
(23) Homeland Security Investigations has reported a surge
in firearms trafficking from the United States to Haiti since
2021, and the recovery of increasingly sophisticated arms
destined for ports in Haiti, including--
(A) .50 caliber sniper rifles;
(B) .308 caliber rifles; and
(C) belt-fed machine guns.
(24) The 2023 Assessment by the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, titled ``Haiti's Criminal Markets: Mapping
Trends in Firearms and Drug Trafficking'', outlines the use
of increasingly sophisticated methods, including a 2022
seizure of containers filled with semi-automatic weapons and
handguns addressed to the Episcopal Church and labeled as
relief supplies.
(25) The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (Public Law 117-
159), which was enacted into law on June 25, 2022,
implemented key efforts to address firearm trafficking,
including--
(A) establishing a Federal criminal offense for firearm
trafficking; and
(B) strengthening the capability of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to interdict firearms.
(26) A growing number of firearms exported by United States
manufacturers are found involved in violent crimes worldwide,
including the pistol used in a mass shooting of 23 children
and two teachers in Thailand in October 2022, which was
linked to a United States factory.
SEC. 1293. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Covered country.--The term ``covered country'' means
any country designated by the Secretary of State pursuant to
section 1296 as a covered country.
(3) Covered munition.--The term ``covered munition''
means--
(A) any previously covered item; or
(B) any item that, on or after the date of the enactment of
this Act, is designated for control under Category I, II, or
III of the United States Munitions List pursuant to section
38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778) or
otherwise subject to control under any such category.
(4) Firearm.--The term ``firearm'' includes covered
munitions.
(5) 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)).
(6) Previously covered item.--The term ``previously covered
item'' means any item that--
(A) as of March 8, 2020, was included in Category I, II, or
III of the United States Munitions List; and
(B) as of the date of the enactment of this Act, is
included on the Commerce Control List.
(7) Security assistance.--The term ``security assistance''
includes--
(A) any type of assistance specified in section 502B(d)(2)
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304); and
(B) assistance furnished under an international security
assistance program of the United States conducted under any
other provision of law, including the authorities under
chapter 16 of title 10, United States Code.
(8) United states munitions list.--The term ``United States
Munitions List'' means the list maintained pursuant to part
121 of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations.
SEC. 1294. TRANSFER OF REGULATORY CONTROL OF CERTAIN
MUNITIONS EXPORTS FROM DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
TO DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
(a) Transfer.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act--
(1) the Secretary of Commerce shall transfer the control
over the export of each previously covered item to the
jurisdiction of the Department of State; and
(2) following such transfer, control over the export of any
covered munition may not be transferred to the jurisdiction
of the Department of Commerce.
(b) Rulemaking.--The Secretary of State and the Secretary
of Commerce shall prescribe such regulations as may be
necessary to implement this section by the date specified in
subsection (a).
(c) Prohibition on Promotion of Certain Munitions Exports
by Department of Commerce.--The Secretary of Commerce may not
take any actions to promote the export of any previously
covered item, including actions before, on, or after the date
on which the Secretary transfers the control over the export
of the previously covered item to the jurisdiction of the
Department State under subsection (a).
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed as limiting any authority relating to the
designation, control, or removal of items under the United
States Munitions List or the Commerce Control List, other
than the specific authority to transfer the control of an
item as specified in subsection (a).
SEC. 1295. REPORTS AND STRATEGY ON DISRUPTION OF ILLEGAL
EXPORT AND TRAFFICKING OF FIREARMS TO MEXICO
AND CERTAIN CENTRAL AMERICAN, CARIBBEAN, AND
SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES.
(a) Report.--
(1) Submission.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Attorney
General, the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives, and the heads of such other Federal
departments or agencies as the Secretary of State may
determine relevant, shall submit a report to the appropriate
congressional committees that describes the efforts of the
Secretary of State and the heads of other relevant Federal
departments and agencies to disrupt--
(A) the illegal export or diversion of firearms from the
United States to unauthorized
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recipients in covered countries, including through
unauthorized third-party transfers; and
(B) the illegal trafficking of firearms obtained in the
United States to recipients in such countries.
(2) Matters.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall
include, with respect to the efforts specified in such
paragraph--
(A) the identification of any such efforts, including
efforts--
(i) to track and verify information regarding the end-users
of firearms so exported, including by entering into data-
sharing agreements--
(I) with appropriate counterparts from the governments of
such covered countries; and
(II) between the relevant departments and agencies of the
United States Government;
(ii) to ensure the destruction of surplus firearms so
exported;
(iii) to ensure that firearms so exported are not used to
commit extrajudicial killings or other gross violations of
internationally recognized human rights;
(iv) to build the capacity of such covered countries to
prevent the trafficking of firearms so exported, including
through current programs supported or implemented by the
United States Government;
(v) to track and verify information regarding the end-users
of firearms obtained in the United States and illegally
trafficked to such covered countries;
(vi) to combat all forms of cross-border smuggling of
firearms from the United States, including via maritime
vessels and aircraft;
(vii) to engage with subnational government officials in
such covered countries to effectively implement and enforce
agreements relating to the trafficking of firearms that have
been concluded between the United States Government and the
national government of the respective covered country;
(viii) to identify the origin of trafficked firearms,
including through the serial numbers of trafficked firearms,
and sharing such information with relevant law enforcement
agencies of--
(I) the United States;
(II) the respective covered country; and
(III) any other country determined relevant for purposes of
such information sharing;
(ix) to implement--
(I) the ``U.S.-Mexico Bicentennial Framework for Security,
Public Heath, and Safe Communities'';
(II) any successor or subsequent bilateral agreements with
Mexico; or
(III) similar bilateral agreements with any other covered
country on combating firearm trafficking, transnational
organizations, or fentanyl;
(x) to implement the recommendations made in--
(I) the 2021 GAO report titled ``Firearms Trafficking: U.S.
Efforts to Disrupt Gun Smuggling into Mexico Would Benefit
from Additional Data and Analysis'';
(II) the 2022 GAO report titled ``Firearms Trafficking:
More Information Needed to Inform U.S. Efforts in Central
America''; and
(III) the forthcoming GAO report that focuses on a similar
topic for the Caribbean;
(xi) to enhance cooperation among relevant Federal
departments and agencies to combat firearms trafficking and
prosecute illegal firearm smugglers;
(B) an assessment of the results of the efforts described
in subparagraph (A); and
(C) an assessment of the impact that the March 2020
decision to transfer jurisdiction over the export of
semiautomatic weapons, including assault-style rifles and
sniper rifles, from the Department of State to the Department
of Commerce has had on the number of and types of firearms
manufactured in the United States being sent to covered
countries; and
(D) a description of how homicides, extrajudicial killings,
and other gross violations of internationally recognized
human rights committed in such covered countries using
firearms exported from or obtained in the United States have
been investigated.
(b) Interagency Strategy.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, in consultation
with the Secretary of Commerce, taking into account the
findings of the report required under subsection (a), shall
jointly develop an interagency strategy for the disruption of
the trafficking of firearms exported from the United States
to recipients in covered countries.
(2) Elements.--The strategy under paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) a plan for the United States to accomplish each of the
objectives specified in subsection (a)(2)(A);
(B) the identification of specific performance measures,
targets (including the baselines for such targets), and
timelines with respect to such objectives;
(C) an estimate of the resources and personnel necessary to
carry out the strategy;
(D) a plan for cooperation between the Secretary of State,
the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of any other Federal
departments or agencies involved in anti-firearm trafficking
efforts, including the Attorney General, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, and the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and
(E) a plan for coordination between the Secretary of State,
the Secretary of Commerce, and such heads regarding efforts
in countries designated as covered countries under section 5
to combat the trafficking of United States-sourced firearms--
(i) from the United States to such designated countries;
and
(ii) from such designated countries to other countries in
the surrounding region.
(3) Required considerations; consultations.--In developing
the strategy required under paragraph (1), the Secretary of
State shall--
(A) consider how the strategy may support or otherwise
align with broader efforts of the Secretary of State relating
to security assistance, anti-corruption, and the prevention
of organized crime and drug and gang violence;
(B) consider whether the placement in the Western
Hemisphere of an export control officer of the Bureau of
Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce, or other
personnel of the Department of Commerce or the Department of
State, would support the strategy;
(C) consult with the appropriate congressional committees;
and
(D) seek to consult with appropriate counterparts from the
government of each covered country.
(4) Submission to congress.--Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State
shall submit the strategy required under paragraph (1) to the
appropriate congressional committees.
(c) Improved Tracking of Trafficked Firearms.--
(1) Assessment of data availability.--Not later than 180
days after the date on which a country is designated (or
deemed to be designated, as the case may be) as a covered
country pursuant to section 1296, the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Attorney
General, the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives, and the heads of such other Federal
departments or agencies as the Secretary of State may
determine relevant, shall conduct and submit to the Committee
on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives an assessment
of the extent to which the law enforcement agencies of such
covered country make available to the United States
Government forensic information of trafficked firearms.
(2) Addressing gaps in data.--For the duration of the
period during which a country is designated as a covered
country pursuant to section 1296, the Secretary of State
shall--
(A) seek to engage with the foreign counterparts of the
government of such covered country to improve the collection
and sharing of the forensic information of trafficked
firearms confiscated by the law enforcement agencies of such
covered country; and
(B) promptly provide any such forensic information shared
pursuant to subparagraph (A) to the relevant Federal, State,
and local law enforcement agencies for purposes of use in
criminal or civil investigations into violations of relevant
United States Federal laws, including the Arms Export Control
Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.).
(3) Defined term.--In this subsection, the term ``forensic
information'', with respect to a trafficked firearm,
includes--
(A) the serial number of the firearm; and
(B) any other information that may be used to identify the
origin of the firearm or any person or organization involved
in the trafficking of the firearm.
(d) Annual Report.--
(1) Submission.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary or Secretaries concerned (in consultation with the
heads of such other Federal departments or agencies as the
Secretary or Secretaries concerned may determine relevant)
shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees that describes the export of covered munitions to
covered countries.
(2) Matters.--Each report under paragraph (1) shall
include, with respect to the year for which the report is
submitted, disaggregated by country--
(A) information regarding license applications approved or
denied by the Department of State or the Department of
Commerce, and previously issued licenses for the export of
covered munitions to proposed recipients in covered countries
that have been modified or revoked ;
(B) information regarding how evolving country contexts,
including with respect to developments in human rights,
affected the approval of license applications for such
exports;
(C) the number of licenses issued for the export of covered
munitions to proposed recipients in covered countries;
(D) the number of covered munitions exported to recipients
in covered countries;
(E) with respect to end-user checks for covered munitions
exported to recipients in covered countries conducted
pursuant to section 38(g)(7) of the Arms Export Control Act
(22 U.S.C. 2778(g)(7)) (commonly referred to as the ``Blue
Lantern'' program), the monitoring program established under
the second section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act (22
U.S.C. 2785) (as added by section 150(a) of Public Law 104-
164), or any other applicable program of the Department of
Commerce or the Department of State--
(i) the number of such end-user checks requested;
(ii) the number of such end-user checks conducted;
(iii) the type of such end-user checks conducted; and
(iv) the results of such end-user checks conducted;
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(F) information on the extent to which the heads of the
governments of covered countries shared with the Secretary or
Secretaries concerned and the heads of other relevant Federal
departments and agencies (such as the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) data relating to the
receipt and end-use of covered munitions exported from the
United States, and the type of data so shared; and
(G) for each covered country, a description of the United
States funding and resources allocated for the purpose of
disrupting trafficking of covered munitions.
(3) Defined term.--In this subsection, the term ``Secretary
or Secretaries concerned'' means--
(A) if a single Federal department or agency has
jurisdiction over the export control of covered munitions,
the head of such Federal department or agency; or
(B) if multiple Federal departments or agencies have
jurisdiction over the export control of covered munitions,
the head of each such Federal department or agency.
SEC. 1296. DESIGNATION OF COVERED COUNTRIES.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Bahamas, Belize, Brazil,
Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico,
Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago shall be designated
by the Secretary of State as covered countries for purposes
of this Act.
(b) Termination of Designation.--The countries designated
pursuant to subsection (a) shall continue to be so designated
during the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment
of this Act, after which period the Secretary of State may
terminate the designation with respect to any such country
if, at least 180 days before such termination, the Secretary
submits a notification of such termination to the appropriate
congressional committees.
SEC. 1297. CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CERTAIN
MUNITIONS EXPORTS.
(a) Initial Certification; Prohibition.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), no
covered munition may be transferred to the government of a
covered country, or any other organization, citizen, or
resident of such covered country, until the Secretary of
State submits to the appropriate congressional committees a
certification that the program required under subsection (c)
has been established.
(2) Waiver.--During the 1-year period beginning on the
effective date described in subsection (d), the Secretary of
State may waive the certification requirement under paragraph
(1) with respect to the transfer of a covered munition to the
government of a country described in paragraph (1) if the
Secretary--
(A) certifies to the appropriate congressional committees
that such waiver is in the national security interest of the
United States; and
(B) includes a written justification with such
certification.
(b) Review and Recertification.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
the submission of the certification pursuant to subsection
(a) for a covered country, and annually thereafter until such
time as the designation of such country is terminated
pursuant to section 1296(b), the Secretary of State shall
review, and submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a recertification of, such certification.
(2) Prohibition.--If the Secretary of State is unable to
recertify a covered country as required under paragraph (1),
no covered munition may be transferred to the government of
the covered country, or any other organization, citizen, or
resident of such covered country, until the date on which the
Secretary is able to so recertify.
(c) Program.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall establish
and carry out a program under which the Secretary shall
prohibit the retransfer of covered munitions transferred to
covered countries without the consent of the United States
and provide for the registration and end-use monitoring of
such covered munitions in accordance with the requirements
described in paragraph (2).
(2) Requirements.--
(A) Detailed record.--The Secretary shall maintain a
detailed record of the origin, shipping, and distribution of
covered munitions transferred to covered countries.
(B) Registration.--The Secretary shall register the serial
numbers of all covered munitions, which shall be provided to
the governments of covered countries and other organizations,
citizens, and residents within such covered countries.
(C) End-use monitoring.--The Secretary shall carry out a
program for the end-use monitoring of covered munitions
transferred to the entities and individuals described in
subparagraph (B).
(3) Review of database.--In prohibiting the retransfer of
covered munitions without the consent of the United States
pursuant to the program established pursuant to paragraph
(1), the Secretary of State, in consultation with the
Secretary of Commerce, shall--
(A) review the database of the Department of State that
stores records relating to vetting conducted pursuant to
section 620M of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2378d) or section 362 of title 10, United States Code, known
as the ``International Vetting and Security Tracking-cloud
system'' or ``INVEST system'' (or any successor database),
for any such records relating to the prospective recipients
of such retransfer; and
(B) ensure that such consent is not granted for any such
prospective recipient who the Secretary of State determines,
taking into account the review under subparagraph (A), is
credibly implicated in a gross violation of internationally
recognized human rights.
(4) Data storage and sharing.--In carrying out the program
established pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary of State
shall--
(A) ensure that any data received pursuant to such program
is stored and maintained in a database of the Department of
State; and
(B) to the extent practicable, provide for the sharing of
such data with the Secretary of Commerce and the heads of
such other Federal departments or agencies as the Secretary
of State may determine relevant.
(d) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the
date that is 1 year after the date on which the Secretary of
Commerce completes the transfer of the control over the
export of previously covered items to the jurisdiction of the
Department of State pursuant to section 1294(a).
SEC. 1298. LIMITATION ON LICENSES AND OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS
FOR EXPORT OF CERTAIN ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE
COMMERCE CONTROL LIST AND INCLUDED ON THE
UNITED STATES MUNITIONS LIST.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State may not grant an
export license or other authorization for the export of a
previously covered item unless, before granting such license
or other authorization, the Secretary submits to the
appropriate congressional committees a written certification
with respect to such proposed export license or other
authorization containing--
(1) the name of the person applying for the license or
other authorization;
(2) the name of the person who is the proposed recipient of
the export;
(3) the name of the country or international organization
to which the export will be made;
(4) a description of the items proposed to be exported; and
(5) the value of the items proposed to be exported.
(b) Form.--Each certification required under subsection (a)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, except that
information regarding the dollar value and number of items
proposed to be exported may be restricted from public
disclosure if such disclosure would be detrimental to the
security of the United States.
(c) Deadlines.--Each certification required under
subsection (a) shall be submitted--
(1) not later than 15 days before a proposed export license
or other authorization is granted in the case of a transfer
of items to a country which is a member of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization or Australia, Japan, the Republic of
Korea, Israel, or New Zealand, and
(2) not later than 30 days before a proposed export license
or other authorization is granted in the case of a transfer
of items to any other country.
(d) Congressional Resolution of Disapproval.--A proposed
export license or other authorization described in subsection
(c)(1) shall become effective after the end of the 15-day
period described in such subsection, and a proposed export
license or other authorization described in subsection (c)(2)
shall become effective after the end of the 30-day period
specified in such subsection if Congress does not enact,
within the applicable time period, a joint resolution
prohibiting the export of the covered item for which the
export license or other authorization was proposed.
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