[House Report 108-159]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                            Rept. 108-159
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     Part 1

======================================================================



 
               BURMESE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2003

                                _______
                                

                 June 17, 2003.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Hyde, from the Committee on International Relations, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2330]

    The Committee on International Relations, to whom was 
referred the bill (H.R. 2330) to sanction the ruling Burmese 
military junta, to strengthen Burma's democratic forces and 
support and recognize the National League of Democracy as the 
legitimate representative of the Burmese people, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do 
pass.

                           TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
The Amendment....................................................     2
Purpose and Summary..............................................     4
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     5
Hearings.........................................................     6
Committee Consideration..........................................     6
Votes of the Committee...........................................     6
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     6
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     6
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................     6
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     6
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     6
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     7
Agency Views.....................................................     9
New Advisory Committees..........................................     9
Congressional Accountability Act.................................    10
Federal Mandates.................................................    10

                             The Amendment

    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has 
        failed to transfer power to the National League for Democracy 
        (NLD) whose parliamentarians won an overwhelming victory in the 
        1990 elections in Burma.
            (2) The SPDC has failed to enter into meaningful, political 
        dialogue with the NLD and ethnic minorities and has dismissed 
        the efforts of United Nations Special Envoy Razali bin Ismail 
        to further such dialogue.
            (3) According to the State Department's ``Report to the 
        Congress Regarding Conditions in Burma and U.S. Policy Toward 
        Burma'' dated March 28, 2003, the SPDC has become ``more 
        confrontational'' in its exchanges with the NLD.
            (4) On May 30, 2003, the SPDC, threatened by continued 
        support for the NLD throughout Burma, brutally attacked NLD 
        supporters, killed and injured scores of civilians, and 
        arrested democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi and other 
        activists.
            (5) The SPDC continues egregious human rights violations 
        against Burmese citizens, uses rape as a weapon of intimidation 
        and torture against women, and forcibly conscripts child-
        soldiers for the use in fighting indigenous ethnic groups.
            (6) The SPDC is engaged in ethnic cleansing against 
        minorities within Burma, including the Karen, Karenni, and Shan 
        people, which constitutes a crime against humanity and has 
        directly led to more than 600,000 internally displaced people 
        living within Burma and more than 130,000 people from Burma 
        living in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border.
            (7) The ethnic cleansing campaign of the SPDC is in sharp 
        contrast to the traditional peaceful coexistence in Burma of 
        Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and people of traditional 
        beliefs.
            (8) The SPDC has demonstrably failed to cooperate with the 
        United States in stopping the flood of heroin and 
        methamphetamines being grown, refined, manufactured, and 
        transported in areas under the control of the SPDC serving to 
        flood the region and much of the world with these illicit 
        drugs.
            (9) The SPDC provides safety, security, and engages in 
        business dealings with narcotics traffickers under indictment 
        by United States authorities, and other producers and 
        traffickers of narcotics.
            (10) The International Labor Organization (ILO), for the 
        first time in its 82-year history, adopted in 2000, a 
        resolution recommending that governments, employers, and 
        workers organizations take appropriate measures to ensure that 
        their relations with the SPDC do not abet the government-
        sponsored system of forced, compulsory, or slave labor in 
        Burma, and that other international bodies reconsider any 
        cooperation they may be engaged in with Burma and, if 
        appropriate, cease as soon as possible any activity that could 
        abet the practice of forced, compulsory, or slave labor.
            (11) The SPDC has integrated the Burmese military and its 
        surrogates into all facets of the economy effectively 
        destroying any free enterprise system.
            (12) Investment in Burmese companies and purchases from 
        them serve to provide the SPDC with currency that is used to 
        finance its instruments of terror and repression against the 
        Burmese people.
            (13) On April 15, 2003, the American Apparel and Footwear 
        Association expressed its ``strong support for a full and 
        immediate ban on U.S. textiles, apparel and footwear imports 
        from Burma'' and called upon the United States Government to 
        ``impose an outright ban on U.S. imports'' of these items until 
        Burma demonstrates respect for basic human and labor rights of 
        its citizens.
            (14) The policy of the United States, as articulated by the 
        President on April 24, 2003, is to officially recognize the NLD 
        as the legitimate representative of the Burmese people as 
        determined by the 1990 election.
            (15) The United States must work closely with other 
        nations, including Thailand, a close ally of the United States, 
        to highlight attention to the SPDC's systematic abuses of human 
        rights in Burma, to ensure that nongovernmental organizations 
        promoting human rights and political freedom in Burma are 
        allowed to operate freely and without harassment, and to craft 
        a multilateral sanctions regime against Burma in order to 
        pressure the SPDC to meet the conditions identified in section 
        3(a)(3) of this Act.

SEC. 3. BAN AGAINST TRADE THAT SUPPORTS THE MILITARY REGIME OF BURMA.

    (a) General Ban.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, until such time as the President determines and certifies 
        to Congress that Burma has met the conditions described in 
        paragraph (3), no article may be imported into the United 
        States that is produced, mined, manufactured, grown, or 
        assembled in Burma.
            (2) Ban on imports from certain companies.--The import 
        restrictions contained in paragraph (1) shall apply to, among 
        other entities--
                    (A) the SPDC, any ministry of the SPDC, a member of 
                the SPDC or an immediate family member of such member;
                    (B) known narcotics traffickers from Burma or an 
                immediate family member of such narcotics trafficker;
                    (C) the Union of Myanmar Economics Holdings 
                Incorporated (UMEHI) or any company in which the UMEHI 
                has a fiduciary interest;
                    (D) the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) or any 
                company in which the MEC has a fiduciary interest;
                    (E) the Union Solidarity and Development 
                Association (USDA); and
                    (F) any successor entity for the SPDC, UMEHI, MEC, 
                or USDA.
            (3) Conditions described.--The conditions described in this 
        paragraph are the following:
                    (A) The SPDC has made substantial and measurable 
                progress to end violations of internationally 
                recognized human rights including rape, and the 
                Secretary of State, after consultation with the ILO 
                Secretary General and relevant nongovernmental 
                organizations, reports to the appropriate congressional 
                committees that the SPDC no longer systematically 
                violates workers rights, including the use of forced 
                and child labor, and conscription of child-soldiers.
                    (B) The SPDC has made measurable and substantial 
                progress toward implementing a democratic government 
                including--
                            (i) releasing all political prisoners;
                            (ii) allowing freedom of speech and the 
                        press;
                            (iii) allowing freedom of association;
                            (iv) permitting the peaceful exercise of 
                        religion; and
                            (v) bringing to a conclusion an agreement 
                        between the SPDC and the democratic forces led 
                        by the NLD and Burma's ethnic nationalities on 
                        the transfer of power to a civilian government 
                        accountable to the Burmese people through 
                        democratic elections under the rule of law.
                    (C) Pursuant to section 706(2) of the Foreign 
                Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public 
                Law 107-228), Burma has not been designated as a 
                country that has failed demonstrably to make 
                substantial efforts to adhere to its obligations under 
                international counternarcotics agreements and to take 
                other effective counternarcotics measures, including, 
                but not limited to (i) the arrest and extradition of 
                all individuals under indictment in the United States 
                for narcotics trafficking, (ii) concrete and measurable 
                actions to stem the flow of illicit drug money into 
                Burma's banking system and economic enterprises, and 
                (iii) actions to stop the manufacture and export of 
                methamphetamines.
            (4) Appropriate congressional committees.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
        means the Committees on Foreign Relations and Appropriations of 
        the Senate and the Committees on International Relations and 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
    (b) Waiver Authorities.--The President may waive the prohibitions 
described in this section for any or all products imported from Burma 
to the United States if the President determines and notifies the 
Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Relations of the Senate and 
the Committees on Appropriations, International Relations, and Ways and 
Means of the House of Representatives that to do so is in the national 
interest of the United States.
    (c) Duration of Trade Ban.--The President may terminate the 
restrictions contained in this Act upon the request of a democratically 
elected government in Burma, provided that all the conditions in 
subsection (a)(3) have been met.

SEC. 4. FREEZING ASSETS OF THE BURMESE REGIME IN THE UNITED STATES.

    Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall direct, and promulgate regulations to 
the same, that any United States financial institution holding funds 
belonging to the SPDC or the assets of those individuals who hold 
senior positions in the SPDC or its political arm, the Union Solidarity 
Development Association, shall promptly report those assets to the 
Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Secretary of the Treasury may 
take such action as may be necessary to secure such assets or funds.

SEC. 5. LOANS AT INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

    The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States 
executive director to each appropriate international financial 
institution in which the United States participates, to oppose, and 
vote against the extension by such institution of any loan or financial 
or technical assistance to Burma until such time as the conditions 
described in section 3(a)(3) are met.

SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF VISA BAN.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Visa ban.--The President is authorized to deny visas 
        and entry to the former and present leadership of the SPDC or 
        the Union Solidarity Development Association.
            (2) Updates.--The Secretary of State shall coordinate on a 
        biannual basis with representatives of the European Union to 
        allow officials of the United States and the European Union to 
        ensure a high degree of coordination of lists of individuals 
        banned from obtaining a visa by the European Union for the 
        reason described in paragraph (1) and those banned from 
        receiving a visa from the United States.
    (b) Publication.--The Secretary of State shall post on the 
Department of State's website the names of individuals whose entry into 
the United States is banned under subsection (a).

SEC. 7. CONDEMNATION OF THE REGIME AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.

    Congress encourages the Secretary of State to highlight the abysmal 
record of the SPDC to the international community and use all 
appropriate fora, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
Regional Forum and Asian Nations Regional Forum, to encourage other 
states to restrict financial resources to the SPDC and Burmese 
companies while offering political recognition and support to Burma's 
democratic movement including the National League for Democracy and 
Burma's ethnic groups.

SEC. 8. SUPPORT DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS IN BURMA.

    (a) In General.--The President is authorized to use all available 
resources to assist Burmese democracy activists dedicated to nonviolent 
opposition to the regime in their efforts to promote freedom, 
democracy, and human rights in Burma, including a listing of 
constraints on such programming.
    (b) Reports.--
            (1) First report.--Not later than 3 months after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall provide 
        the Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Relations of the 
        Senate and the Committees on Appropriations and International 
        Relations of the House of Representatives a comprehensive 
        report on its short- and long-term programs and activities to 
        support democracy activists in Burma, including a list of 
        constraints on such programming.
            (2) Report on resources.--Not later than 6 months after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 
        provide the Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Relations 
        of the Senate and the Committees on Appropriations and 
        International Relations of the House of Representatives a 
        report identifying resources that will be necessary for the 
        reconstruction of Burma, after the SPDC is removed from power, 
        including--
                    (A) the formation of democratic institutions;
                    (B) establishing the rule of law;
                    (C) establishing freedom of the press;
                    (D) providing for the successful reintegration of 
                military officers and personnel into Burmese society; 
                and
                    (E) providing health, educational, and economic 
                development.

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 2330 is intended to strengthen democratic forces in 
Burma and to sanction the ruling Burmese military junta. The 
bill includes: (Sec. 2) a series of findings detailing the 
Burmese regime's repression and misdeeds; (Sec. 3) a trade ban 
on the import of Burmese goods into the U.S. (which the 
President may waive for purposes of the national interest); 
(Sec. 4) a freeze on Burmese regime assets in U.S. financial 
institutions; (Sec. 5) a codification of the current policy 
directing the Treasury Department to oppose any new loans or 
technical assistance to Burma; (Sec. 6) an expansion of the 
current ban prohibiting Burmese leaders from receiving U.S. 
visas; (Sec. 7) a section encouraging the Secretary of State to 
use all appropriate fora to encourage other states to restrict 
support for the Burmese regime and to support the Burmese 
democracy movement; and (Sec. 8) a section authorizing the 
President to use resources to assist Burmese democracy 
activists, and requiring reports on U.S. democracy programs in 
Burma and on resources that will be necessary for the 
reconstruction of Burma after the regime is removed from power.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    On May 30, 2003, a group of government-affiliated thugs 
carried out a premeditated ambush of the motorcade of Burma 
democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has 
been detained since then. An undetermined number of her 
supporters were murdered in that attack.
    Burma is ruled by a military junta that seized power by 
force in 1988 and currently calls itself the State Peace and 
Development Council (SPDC). Although Aung San Suu Kyi's 
National League for Democracy (NLD) won the majority of 
National Assembly seats in a free and fair election in 1990, 
the junta nullified the results and imprisoned NLD leaders. The 
military regime has committed numerous other human rights 
abuses, such as large-scale forced labor and the reported use 
of rape as a weapon against insurgencies by ethnic minorities.
    The findings and sanctions in H.R. 2330 are justified and 
necessary to promote freedom in Burma, both because of the 
Burmese regime's egregious behavior, and because export trade 
is a key source of foreign exchange for the junta and its 
apparatus of repression. Rarely does Congress have the 
opportunity to respond immediately to fast-breaking 
international developments to effect a decisive and dramatic 
change in U.S. foreign policy. Congress has just such an 
opportunity now regarding Burma.
    The history of this bill is instructive. Legislation 
imposing an import sanctions ban was first proposed last 
Congress, but Congress did not act in large part because the 
Burmese regime released Aung Sang Suu Kyi from her longstanding 
house arrest. It appeared that dialogue and national 
reconciliation in Burma was possible.
    But with the brutal attack last week, the Rangoon regime 
unambiguously recommitted itself to quashing all democratic 
opposition in Burma and extending is reign of terror over a 
captive nation. It is clear that dialogue and national 
reconciliation in Burma are dead. The United States must adopt 
a new approach toward Burma that includes a strong sanctions 
regime.
    H.R. 2330 also presents the United States with an 
opportunity to exercise global leadership and to provide an 
example for the international action that must follow in order 
to have a far-reaching impact on Burma's military junta. 
Europe--which already has strong Burma policies in place--also 
should adopt import sanctions. Thailand and China must 
recognize that national reconciliation will not happen under 
the current regime, and stop their economic and political 
patronage of the Burmese dictatorship.

                                Hearings

    The Committee's Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific held 1 
day of hearings that addressed recent developments in Burma and 
H.R. 2330 on June 10, 2003. Testimony was received from four 
witnesses, representing four organizations.

                        Committee Consideration

    On June 10, 2003, the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific 
met in open session and ordered favorably reported the bill 
H.R. 2330, by a voice vote, a quorum being present. On June 12, 
2003, the Committee met in open session and ordered favorably 
reported the bill H.R. 2330 with amendments by voice vote, a 
quorum being present.

                         Votes of the Committee

    There were no recorded votes.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of House Rule XIII is inapplicable because 
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or 
increased tax expenditures.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

    At the time of the filing of the report on H.R. 2330, the 
cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office was not 
available. Based on the best information available at this 
time, the Committee estimates that, should H.R. 2330 be 
enacted, it would require no expenditures but would reduce 
Federal revenues by, at most, approximately $26 million in FY 
2004 and $130 million over the next 5 fiscal years. This 
estimate assumes that the President does not exercise the 
waiver authority provided in Section 3(b) of the bill during 
that period, and that conditions do not improve so as to 
terminate the trade ban, as provided in Section 3(c).

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    H.R. 2330 will strengthen democratic forces in Burma and 
sanction the ruling Burmese military junta.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in article I, section 8, of the Constitution.

               Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion

Section 1. Short Title
    This section contains the short title to the legislation, 
the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.''
Section 2. Findings
    This section contains a series of findings regarding: (1) 
the victory of the opposition National League of Democracy 
(NLD) in the 1990 elections in Burma; (2) the efforts made by 
the United Nations to negotiate a solution between the ruling 
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and NLD leader Aung 
San Suu Kyi; (3) the increasingly confrontational policies of 
the SPDC; (4) the attack by the regime on the NLD and Aung San 
Suu Kyi on May 30; (5), the gross violations of human rights 
carried out by the Burmese regime; (6) the SPDC's ethnic 
cleansing campaign against Burma's ethnic minorities; (7) the 
traditional peaceful coexistence of Burma's various religions; 
(8) the flow of illegal narcotics from Burma; (9) the regime's 
business dealings with narcotics traffickers; (10) the regime's 
use of forced labor; (11) the integration of the SPDC into the 
Burmese economy; (12) the role of foreign investment in 
supporting the Burmese regime; (13) the call of the American 
Apparel and Footwear Association for an import ban on Burmese 
products; (14) President Bush's recent statements in support of 
the NLD in Burma; and, (15) the need for the U.S. to work 
closely with other nations on Burma policy.
Section 3. Trade Ban
    This section prohibits the importation into the U.S. of any 
article which is produced, mined, manufactured, grown or 
assembled in Burma. The section also delineates several Burmese 
entities which will be included in the comprehensive import 
ban, including the SPDC, Burmese narcotics traffickers and 
their family members, the Union of Myanmar Economics Holdings 
Incorporated (UMEHI), the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), 
the Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA), and any 
successor entities for the SPDC, UMEHI, MEC or USDA.
    The sanctions in the bill may be lifted when the President 
certifies to Congress that a series of conditions inside Burma 
have been met. The conditions include substantial and 
measurable progress to end human rights violations, and the 
Secretary of State has reported to Congress that the SPDC no 
longer systematically violates workers rights, including the 
use of forced and child labor, and conscription of child-
soldiers. The conditions also include measurable and 
substantial progress towards implementing a democratic 
government, including releasing all political prisoners, 
allowing freedom of speech and the press, freedom of 
association, and the peaceful exercise of religion. The 
President must also certify the conclusion of an agreement 
between the SPDC, the NLD and Burma's ethnic nationalities on 
the transfer of power to a civilian government accountable to 
the Burmese people through democratic elections under the rule 
of law, and that Burma has not ``demonstrably failed'' to 
cooperate with the U.S. on counter-narcotics matters pursuant 
to Section 706(2) of the PL 107-228.
    The sanctions may be waived if it is in the ``national 
interest of the United States.'' The Committee expects that the 
President will not exercise this waiver authority without prior 
consultations with the Members of the appropriate Congressional 
committees, including the House International Relations 
Committee.
    The President also may terminate the restrictions contained 
in this act upon the request of a democratically elected 
government in Burma, provided that all of the conditions in 
subsection (a)(3) have been met.
Section 4. Freezing of Burmese Assets
    This section directs the Secretary of the Treasury to 
freeze any assets in U.S. financial institutions belonging to 
the SPDC and its senior members, and its political arm, the 
Union Solidarity Development Association, and promptly report 
those assets to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Section 5. Loans to Burma from the International Financial Institutions
    This section codifies existing policy directing the 
Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States 
executive director to each appropriate international financial 
institution in which the United States participates, to oppose 
and vote against any new loans or financial or technical 
assistance to Burma until such time as the conditions in 
section 3(a)(3) are met.
Section 6. Visa Ban Expansion
    This section authorizes the President to deny visas and 
entry to the former and present leadership of the SPDC or the 
Union Solidarity Development Association. The State Department 
is directed to consult biannually with the European Union to 
ensure full coordination of the lists of individuals banned 
from obtaining a visa from the European Union and those banned 
from receiving a visa from the United States. This section also 
requires the Secretary of State to post on the State 
Department's website the names of individuals whose entry into 
the U.S. is banned.
Section 7. Condemnation of the Burmese Regime
    This section state that Congress encourages the Secretary 
of State to highlight the abysmal record of the SPDC to the 
international community and use all appropriate fora to 
encourage other states to restrict financial support to the 
SPDC and Burmese companies while offering political recognition 
and support to Burma's democratic movement.
Section 8. Support for Democracy Activists
    This section authorizes the President to use all available 
resources to assist Burmese democracy activists dedicated to 
nonviolent opposition to the regime in their efforts to promote 
freedom, democracy, and human rights in Burma. The section also 
requires two reports from the Secretary of State to Congress, 
one report due 3 months after the date of enactment on all U.S. 
democracy programs in Burma, the second report due 6 months 
after the date of enactment identifying the resources that will 
be necessary for the reconstruction of Burma after the SPDC is 
removed from power.

                              Agency Views

                  United States Department of State
                                       Washington, DC 20520
                                                      June 11, 2003
Hon. Henry J. Hyde, Chairman,
Committee on International Relations,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The deteriorating conditions in Burma 
are of grave concern to the Administration and we appreciate 
your leadership in advancing legislation to respond to these 
events.
    The Department of State also appreciates the opportunity to 
review and comment on the ``Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act 
of 2003 (H.R. 2330),'' which Mr. Lantos introduced on June 4, 
2003. We fully support the goal and intent of this legislation 
and agree on the need for many similar measures. For example, 
we are working on a unilateral expansion of the visa ban, 
extending it to all officials of the Union Solidarity 
Development Association (part of the SPDC) and their immediate 
families, rather than just to senior officials, as is current 
practice. We will also be adding managers of the state-run 
enterprises and their families to the list.
    We agree on the need to prevent IFI funds going to the 
junta. We will continue to use our voice and vote in those 
institutions to oppose loans that benefit the military regime. 
We also agree on the need to express strong support for the 
NLD, and are doing so in every international forum in which the 
United States participates, including at the UN. Also 
significant are the findings of the annual Country Report on 
Human Rights Practices, Trafficking in Persons Report and 
Report on International Religious Freedom, which identify and 
strongly condemn known SPDC abuses. The President's Annual 
Report on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing 
Countries has also identified Burma as a country that 
demonstrably has failed to meet its international obligations 
regarding narcotics.
    In addition to the above efforts, which are already 
underway, we are determined to pursue additional measures 
against the regime, including an asset freeze, a possible ban 
on remittances and, with appropriate legislation, a ban on 
travel to Burma. We hope to move forward with these measures 
expeditiously and with the support of the Congress. We are also 
considering a further limitation on commerce with Burma, as 
proposed in your legislation. Any legislation would need to be 
crafted to take into account its impact on our broader policy 
objectives, including our WTO obligations, and the President's 
need for waiver authority.
    Again, thank you for your leadership on this issue and your 
commitment to the cause of freedom. We look forward to working 
with you on the bill.
            Sincerely,
                         Paul V. Kelly, Assistant Secretary
                                        Legislative Affairs

                        New Advisory Committees

    H.R.2330 does not establish or authorize any new advisory 
committees.

                    Congressional Accountability Act

    H.R. 2330 does not apply to the legislative branch.

                            Federal Mandates

    H.R. 2330 provides no Federal mandates.

                                
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