[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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