Empower Burma Act of 2016

Summary: Empower Burma Act of 2016 This bill directs the President to establish a multiyear strategy to encourage international efforts to promote sustainable economic development in Burma in order to reduce poverty, drive economic growth, and support democracy.  The President may establish an Interagency Working Group to coordinate the activities of U.S. agencies involved in carrying out such strategy. The President should direct U.S. representatives to appropriate international bodies to advocate for increased economic development efforts in Burma.  The U.S. government should ensure that international development assistance projects that it supports in Burma:   do not benefit entities on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (SDN list) or entities otherwise undermining peace in Burma, do not benefit the military, do not marginalize vulnerable populations or exclude any ethnic or religious communities, and  promote good governance and meet internationally recognized labor standards.   It is the sense of Congress that:   preferential duty treatment should be extended to Burma as soon as Burma meets specified eligibility criteria;  the Millennium Challenge Corporation should provide assistance to Burma as soon as Burma qualifies as an eligible country and enters into a Millennium Challenge Compact with the United States; and  the President should not remove any entity from the SDN list without credible evidence that the entity is no longer participating in the activities for which it was listed and is not undermining peace in Burma.  

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Empower Burma Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It shall be the policy of the United States--
            (1) to support peaceful, democratic, and inclusive 
        development of Burma; and
            (2) to support United States and international assistance, 
        as appropriate, to address urgent and long-term development and 
        infrastructure challenges in Burma, including universal access 
        to electricity.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Since 2011, the Government of Burma has taken admirable 
        and concrete steps toward the establishment of democratic 
        institutions and the rule of law.
            (2) The November 2015 parliamentary elections in Burma were 
        conducted in a peaceful and transparent manner and culminated 
        in an overwhelming victory for the National League of Democracy 
        (NLD), led by Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
            (3) Since assuming office on March 30, 2016, Burma's new 
        President Htin Kyaw has authorized the release of more than 200 
        political prisoners.
            (4) Aung Sun Suu Kyi has successfully initiated a 
        nationwide and historic effort to achieve lasting peace in 
        Burma, titled the ``21st Century Panglong Conference''.
            (5) Burma faces serious short- and long-term economic and 
        development challenges, which the new NLD-led government has 
        pledged to address.
            (6) According to World Bank estimates, over 70 percent of 
        Burma's population and 84 percent of rural households lack 
        access to grid electricity.
            (7) The Government of Burma has announced a National 
        Electrification Plan (NEP) to assure universal access to 
        electricity by 2030.
            (8) The World Bank has approved a $400,000,000 interest-
        free credit to Burma to support the NEP.
            (9) The World Bank has approved $1,690,000,000 total in 
        development projects in Burma.
            (10) The Asian Development Bank has approved $1,920,000,000 
        in development projects in Burma.

SEC. 4. EMPOWER BURMA STRATEGY.

    (a) Strategy Required.--
            (1) In general.--The President shall establish a 
        comprehensive, integrated, multiyear strategy to encourage 
        international efforts to promote sustainable economic 
        development in Burma, including universal access to sufficient 
        reliable, affordable, and sustainable power, in order to reduce 
        poverty and drive economic growth and job creation, and to 
        support the continued democratic transition in Burma.
            (2) Flexibility.--The President shall ensure that the 
        strategy required under paragraph (1) maintains sufficient 
        flexibility for and remains responsive to concerns and 
        interests of affected local communities and technological 
        innovation.
    (b) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives a report that contains the strategy 
required under subsection (a).
    (c) Interagency Working Group.--
            (1) In general.--The President may, as appropriate, 
        establish an Interagency Working Group to coordinate the 
        activities of relevant United States Government departments and 
        agencies involved in carrying out the strategy required under 
        this section.
            (2) Functions.--The Interagency Working Group may, among 
        other things--
                    (A) seek to coordinate the activities of the United 
                States Government departments and agencies involved in 
                implementing the strategy required under this section;
                    (B) ensure efficient and effective coordination 
                between participating departments and agencies; and
                    (C) facilitate information sharing and coordinate 
                partnerships between the United States Government, the 
                private sector, and other development partners to 
                achieve the goals of the strategy.

SEC. 5. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Policy.--In implementing the strategy required under section 4, 
the President should direct the United States representatives to 
appropriate international bodies to use the voice, vote, and influence 
of the United States to advocate, as appropriate, for commitments to 
significantly increase efforts to promote economic development efforts 
in Burma, including power sector and electrification projects that 
increase energy access, in partnership with the private sector.
    (b) Restrictions.--The United States Government should ensure that 
international development assistance projects in Burma it supports--
            (1) do not directly or indirectly benefit entities on the 
        SDN list or entities otherwise undermining peace and stability 
        in Burma;
            (2) do not directly or indirectly benefit the military;
            (3) do not marginalize vulnerable populations or exclude 
        any ethnic or religious communities; and
            (4) promote good governance, transparency, and meet 
        internationally recognized labor standards.

SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING BURMA AND THE GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF 
              PREFERENCES.

    It is the sense of Congress that preferential duty treatment under 
the Generalized System of Preferences under title V of the Trade Act of 
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.) should be extended to Burma as soon as 
Burma meets the eligibility criteria under section 502 of that Act (19 
U.S.C. 2462).

SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING BURMA AND THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE 
              CORPORATION.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Board of Directors for the 
Millennium Challenge Corporation should provide assistance to Burma 
under section 605 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 
7704) as soon as Burma qualifies as an eligible country under section 
607 of that Act (22 U.S.C. 7706) and enters into a Millennium Challenge 
Compact with the United States under section 609 of that Act (22 U.S.C. 
7708).

SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON BURMA SANCTIONS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the President should not remove any entity from the 
        list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons 
        maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 
        Department of the Treasury (in this section referred to as the 
        ``SDN list'') for activities related to Burma without credible 
        evidence that the entity is no longer participating in the 
        activities for which the entity was placed on the SDN list and 
        is not otherwise undermining peace and stability in Burma; and
            (2) the President or his designees should closely consult 
        with Congress with respect to, and seek congressional approval 
        for, any modifications to the SDN list or other United States 
        restrictions on assistance to Burma, including any military-to-
        military engagements.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out activities under this Act.