MacBride Principles of Economic Justice Act of 1997

Summary: MacBride Principles of Economic Justice Act of 1997 - Amends the Anglo-Irish Agreement Support Act of 1986 to revise its purposes to state that U.S. contributions to the International Fund for Ireland should be used to:  (1) increase employment opportunities in communities in Northern Ireland with rates of unemployment significantly higher than average; and (2) benefit individuals or entities in Northern Ireland which employ practices consistent with the MacBride principles of economic justice. 
Authorizes the United States to make contributions to the Fund only if the President certifies to the Congress that, among other things, disbursements from the Fund will be distributed to individuals or entities whose practices are consistent with the principles of economic justice and will create employment opportunities in communities of Northern Ireland suffering the highest rates of unemployment. 
Sets forth the MacBride principles of economic justice.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``MacBride Principles of Economic 
Justice Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO ANGLO-IRISH AGREEMENT SUPPORT ACT OF 1986.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Purposes.--Section 2(b) of the Anglo-Irish Agreement 
        Support Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-415; 100 Stat. 947) is 
        amended by adding at the end the following new sentences: 
        ``United States contributions should be used in a manner that 
        effectively increases employment opportunities in communities 
        with rates of unemployment significantly higher than the local 
        or urban average of unemployment in Northern Ireland. In 
        addition, such contributions should be used to benefit 
        individuals residing in such communities.''.
            (2) Conditions and understandings.--Section 5(a) of such 
        Act is amended--
                    (A) in the first sentence--
                            (i) by striking ``The United States'' and 
                        inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--The United States'';
                            (ii) by striking ``in this Act may be 
                        used'' and inserting the following: ``in this 
                        Act--
                    ``(A) may be used'';
                            (iii) by striking the period and inserting 
                        ``; and''; and
                            (iv) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) should be provided to individuals or entities 
                in Northern Ireland which employ practices consistent 
                with the principles of economic justice.''; and
                    (B) in the second sentence, by striking ``The 
                restrictions'' and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Additional requirements.--The restrictions''.
            (3) Prior certifications.--Section 5(c)(2) of such Act is 
        amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``in 
                accordance with the principle of equality'' and all 
                that follows and inserting ``to individuals and 
                entities whose practices are consistent with principles 
                of economic justice; and''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before the 
                period at the end the following: ``and will create 
                employment opportunities in regions and communities of 
                Northern Ireland suffering from high rates of 
                unemployment''.
            (4) Annual reports.--Section 6 of such Act is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(4) the extent to which the practices of each individual 
        or entity receiving assistance from United States contributions 
        to the International Fund has been consistent with the 
        principles of economic justice.''.
            (5) Requirements relating to funds.--Section 7 of such Act 
        is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Prohibition.--Nothing included herein shall require quotas or 
reverse discrimination or mandate their use.''.
            (6) Definitions.--Section 8 of such Act is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(3) the term `principles of economic justice' means the 
        following principles:
                    ``(A) Increasing the representation of individuals 
                from underrepresented religious groups in the 
                workforce, including managerial, supervisory, 
                administrative, clerical, and technical jobs.
                    ``(B) Providing adequate security for the 
                protection of minority employees at the workplace.
                    ``(C) Banning provocative sectarian or political 
                emblems from the workplace.
                    ``(D) Providing that all job openings be advertised 
                publicly and providing that special recruitment efforts 
                be made to attract applicants from underrepresented 
                religious groups.
                    ``(E) Providing that layoff, recall, and 
                termination procedures do not favor a particular 
                religious group.
                    ``(F) Abolishing job reservations, apprenticeship 
                restrictions, and differential employment criteria 
                which discriminate on the basis of religion.
                    ``(G) Providing for the development of training 
                programs that will prepare substantial numbers of 
                minority employees for skilled jobs, including the 
                expansion of existing programs and the creation of new 
                programs to train, upgrade, and improve the skills of 
                minority employees.
                    ``(H) Establishing procedures to assess, identify, 
                and actively recruit minority employees with the 
                potential for further advancement.
                    ``(I) Providing for the appointment of a senior 
                management staff member to be responsible for the 
                employment efforts of the entity and, within a 
                reasonable period of time, the implementation of the 
                principles described in subparagraphs (A) through 
                (H).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.