[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 139 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5076-H5077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SANCTIONS LISTS HARMONIZATION ACT
Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 5613) to require a review of whether individuals or entities
subject to the imposition of certain sanctions through inclusion on
certain sanctions lists should also be subject to the imposition of
other sanctions and included on other sanctions lists, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5613
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Sanctions Lists
Harmonization Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS TO INCLUDE INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES
SUBJECT TO UNITED STATES SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN
OTHER SANCTIONS LISTS.
(a) Notification to Other Federal Officials.--Not later
than 30 days after the date on which an individual or entity
is included on one of the lists described in subsection (d),
the Federal official responsible for administering such list
shall notify the Federal officials responsible for
administering the other lists described in subsection (d) of
the inclusion of the individual or entity on such list.
(b) Determination and Other Requirements of Other Federal
Official.--
(1) Review.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which
a Federal official receives a notification under subsection
(a) of the inclusion of an individual or entity on one of the
lists described in subsection (d), such Federal official
shall initiate a review regarding whether such individual or
entity warrants inclusion on such other lists.
(2) Determination.--Not later than 90 days after the date
on which a Federal official receives a notification under
subsection (a) of the inclusion of an individual or entity on
one of the lists described in subsection (d), such Federal
official shall make a determination of whether to include
such individual or entity on such other lists.
(c) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the
enactment of this Act, each Federal agency maintaining a list
described in subsection (d) shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report--
(A) certifying compliance with subsections (a) and (b) of
this section;
(B) explaining the agency's deliberative process to meet
the requirements in subsections (a) and (b); and
(C) enumerating any instances in which the requirements in
subsections (a) and (b) led to the inclusion of additional
individuals or entities to one of the lists described in
subsection (d).
(2) Form.--The report required by this subsection shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex.
(d) Lists Described.--The lists described in this
subsection are the following:
(1) The list of specially designated nationals and blocked
persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of
the Department of the Treasury.
(2) The list maintained and set forth in Supplement No. 4
to part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations
(commonly known as the ``Entity List'').
(3) The Department of Defense's list maintained and
published under 1260H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10
U.S.C. 113 note).
(4) The Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex
Companies (NS-CMIC) List of the Office of Foreign Assets
Control of the Department of the Treasury.
(5) The Sectoral Sanctions List of the Office of Foreign
Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury.
(6) The Military End User List of the Bureau of Industry
and Security of the Department of Commerce.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on
Armed Services, the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence, and the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,
the Committee on Armed Services, the Select Committee on
Intelligence, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the
Committee on Finance of the Senate.
(2) Export administration regulations.--The term ``Export
Administration Regulations'' means the regulations set forth
in subchapter C of chapter VII of title 15, Code of Federal
Regulations, or successor regulations.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Kentucky (Mr. Barr) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.
General Leave
Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Kentucky?
There was no objection.
Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Waltz), the author of this bill.
Mr. WALTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge passage of my bill, H.R.
5613, the Sanctions Lists Harmonization Act.
Mr. Speaker, sanctions are a critical tool in America's foreign
policy toolkit, and that has been the case really since the end of
World War II.
Unfortunately, the U.S. faces significant challenges in coordinating
its sanction policy to support our national security objectives. For
example, entities that we sanction in the U.S. are not similarly
sanctioned by our allies in Europe, even when our policies are aligned.
We spend a significant amount of time and effort coordinating these
actions to target actors like Iran and other malign actors, even when
we are all rowing in the same direction.
Mr. Speaker, it is often even worse than that. We don't even
coordinate within our own government. Under current law, our Federal
agencies are not required to communicate with each other when foreign
entities are added to their sanctions lists.
{time} 1815
For example, if the Department of Defense has concerns and they
communicate those concerns, an entity may be denied an export license
by the Department of Commerce but then still allowed to conduct banking
transactions regulated by Treasury.
Mr. Speaker, there are many other examples, but at the very least,
our agencies should proactively notify and coordinate with one another
to maximize the penalties to these bad actors when it makes sense.
My bill simply requires the Department of Treasury, the Department of
Commerce, and the Department of Defense to notify each other and
communicate with each other within 30 days
[[Page H5077]]
when placing a foreign entity on certain sanctions lists, whether it is
with the Office of Foreign Asset Control, OFAC, BIS, or somewhere else.
From there, these other agencies would then have to determine whether
that entity that is sanctioned should be added to their own sanctions
list.
It is required, Mr. Speaker. It is not optional. It is not when the
agency gets around to it, if ever. It is required.
Subsequently, each agency will be required to submit a report to
Congress specifying which entities they chose to include on their list
and explaining their process.
Let me be clear: This bill does not mandate inclusion of any entity
on any list. It doesn't tie the hand of the executive branch, but it
does require the executive branch agencies to communicate with each
other.
I view this as a simple way for the interagency to coordinate,
maximize penalties on foreign bad actors, close loopholes they may take
advantage of, and it also creates the bureaucratic incentive to better
coordinate our sanctions process.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman McCaul for his leadership and Ranking
Member Meeks for working with us to get this language to a bipartisan
agreement in the Foreign Affairs Committee. I urge its swift passage on
the floor.
Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to close, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5613, as amended.
The U.S. Government operates many lists of foreign companies run by
different departments with different departments. This is entirely
appropriate. A North Korean nuclear proliferation agency is not the
same as an unverified South Korean company.
While we may want to place restrictions on both, at least
temporarily, the penalties and consequences should differ accordingly.
The purpose of this bill is straightforward.
When one agency, like the Department of Commerce, lists a foreign
entity, it ensures that other agencies, such as the Department of
Defense, are formally notified. The right hand simply needs to know
what the left hand is doing.
We need smart and effective policies, not a one-size-fits-all
approach, particularly when it comes to economic statecraft and
especially in our competition with China.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill. Also,
since the gentleman said that he was prepared to close, that is my
closing. It is my opening and my closing.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Well done, my friend, from New York for opening and closing.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, Congressman Waltz, for
his leadership on this. This is a good bill. This is something we need
to do. We need to force harmonization, coordination on the interagency.
We have a lot of different lists. We have got the Treasury's Chinese
Military-Industrial Complex List. We have the entity list at Commerce
BIS. We have the Military End User List at Commerce. We have the 1260H
list at DOD. We need this bill. We need better coordination.
I thank Chairman McCaul and Armed Services Committee Chairman Rogers
for their leadership in moving this bill to the floor today. I hope
that all of our colleagues will join us in ensuring that U.S. sanctions
remain a powerful tool for defending our interests and values against
those who seek to undermine democracy, security, and human rights
around the world. Until we get outbound sanctions legislation, this is
a good placeholder.
Mr. Speaker, I urge unanimous support for H.R. 5613, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 5613, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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