II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4647 

To require the transfer of regulatory control of certain munitions exports 

from the Department of Commerce to the Department of State, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 9, 2024 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To require the transfer of regulatory control of certain munitions exports from the Department of Commerce to the 

Department of State, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLES.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Americas Regional Monitoring of Arms Sales Act of 

6 2024’’ or the ‘‘ARMAS Act of 2024’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short titles; table of contents. 


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Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Transfer of regulatory control of certain munitions exports from Department of Commerce to Department of State. 

Sec. 5. Reports and strategy on disruption of illegal export and trafficking of 

firearms to Mexico and certain Central American, Caribbean, 

and South American countries. 

Sec. 6. Designation of covered countries. 

Sec. 7. Certification requirements relating to certain munitions exports. 

Sec. 8. Limitation on licenses and other authorizations for export of certain 

items removed from the Commerce Control List and included 

on the United States Munitions List. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Violence in Mexico, Central America, and 

4 the Caribbean is exacerbated by firearms originating 

5 in the United States. 

6 (2) While firearms are trafficked to Mexico 

7 from a variety of countries, firearms originating in 

8 the United States account for 70 percent of the fire9 arms recovered and traced from crimes in Mexico, 

10 according to the 2021 Government Accountability 

11 Office (referred to in this section as ‘‘GAO’’) report 

12 published by the Comptroller General of the United 

13 States titled ‘‘Firearms Trafficking: U.S. Efforts to 

14 Disrupt Gun Smuggling into Mexico Would Benefit 

15 from Additional Data and Analysis’’. 

16 (3) United States-origin firearm flows con17 tribute to human rights violations, organized crime 

18 and gang violence, extrajudicial killings, high homi19 cide rates, domestic violence, and femicides in Mex20 ico, Central America, and the Caribbean. 


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1 (4) Firearms trafficking from the United States 

2 and firearm violence are key drivers of immigration 

3 and asylum claims from Central America. 

4 (5) According to the United Nations Regional 

5 Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in 

6 Latin America and the Caribbean, firearms are used 

7 in 70 percent of homicides in the Caribbean com8 pared to 30 percent globally, and while the Carib9 bean constitutes less than 1 percent of the global 

10 population, 23 percent of all recorded homicides 

11 worldwide take place in the Caribbean. 

12 (6) In an August 2022 press conference, Home13 land Security Investigations officials reported a 

14 ‘‘marked uptick in the number of weapons’’, and an 

15 increase in the caliber and type of weapons, being il16 legally trafficked to Haiti and the rest of the Carib17 bean. 

18 (7) The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative of 

19 the Department of State, which commenced in 

20 2009— 

21 (A) is the regional foreign assistance pro22 gram of the United States that seeks to reduce 

23 illicit trafficking in the Caribbean region and 

24 advance public safety and security; 


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1 (B) seeks to improve the capacity of Carib2 bean countries to intercept smuggled weapons 

3 at airports and seaports; 

4 (C) provides support for forensic ballistics 

5 and firearms destruction and stockpile manage6 ment; and 

7 (D) has also included support for regional 

8 organizations, including— 

9 (i) the Caribbean Community Imple10 mentation Agency for Crime and Security 

11 (CARICOM IMPACS), which based in 

12 Trinidad and Tobago, and is the lead 

13 agency involved in the issue of illicit fire14 arms trafficking and increasing the capac15 ity of member states to detect and prevent 

16 firearms trafficking; and 

17 (ii) the Eastern Caribbean’s Regional 

18 Security System, which is based in Bar19 bados. 

20 (8) The Central America Regional Security Ini21 tiative of the Department of State has been working 

22 since 2010 to promote long-term investments in 

23 Central America— 

24 (A) to increase citizen security; 

25 (B) to disrupt illicit trafficking; and 


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1 (C) to enhance the capacity and account2 ability of governments in the region to establish 

3 effective state-presence and security in violent 

4 communities. 

5 (9) Two GAO reports on firearms trafficking, 

6 which were published in 2021 and 2022, respec7 tively, have affirmed that firearms trafficking to 

8 Mexico and Central America continues to represent 

9 a security concern to the United States, as United 

10 States-origin firearms are diverted from legitimate 

11 owners and end up in the hands of violent criminals, 

12 including drug traffickers and other transnational 

13 criminal organizations. A GAO report on the effect 

14 of firearms trafficking in the Caribbean has not yet 

15 been compiled. 

16 (10) In the reports referred to in paragraph 

17 (9), the Comptroller General of the United States 

18 found that— 

19 (A) Federal departments and agencies 

20 lacked information and analysis of the firearms 

21 trafficking networks in Mexico and Central 

22 America; 

23 (B) few efforts by the United States Gov24 ernment in the region focused on firearms traf25 ficking; and 


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1 (C) as a result, Federal departments and 

2 agencies lack a detailed understanding of the 

3 firearms trafficking that fuels violence and en4 ables criminals in Belize, El Salvador, Guate5 mala, Honduras, and Mexico. 

6 (11) Firearms used to kidnap and kill a group 

7 of United States citizens traveling in Matamoros, 

8 Mexico were illegally smuggled from the United 

9 States into Mexico. The suspect in these killings ad10 mitted to Federal agents that he purchased firearms 

11 in the United States, smuggled them across the bor12 der, and knowingly provided them to members of the 

13 Gulf Cartel. 

14 (12) As the incident described in paragraph 

15 (11) demonstrates, United States-sourced firearms 

16 are being smuggled and diverted to cartels impli17 cated in the supply and flow of illegal fentanyl and 

18 other dangerous drugs, which threatens the public 

19 health and safety of United States citizens. 

20 (13) In the 2022 GAO report ‘‘Firearms Traf21 ficking: More Information Needed to Inform U.S. 

22 Efforts in Central America’’, the Comptroller Gen23 eral of the United States reported that efforts of the 

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1 duras lacked information about relevant country 

2 conditions and performance measures to ensure such 

3 efforts were designed and implemented to achieve 

4 the intended objectives and, as a result, the Comp5 troller General recommended that the Secretary of 

6 State obtain information about the conditions in 

7 such countries to support the development of effec8 tive programs to reduce the availability of illicit fire9 arms. 

10 (14) Data on firearms trafficking is limited. 

11 Data compilation is crucial to understanding the 

12 problem. 

13 (15) As of the date of the publication of the re14 port referred to in paragraph (13), the Secretary of 

15 Commerce had not assigned any agents to Central 

16 America on permanent assignment. 

17 (16) In 2021 and 2022, the annual Country 

18 Reports on Human Rights Practices of the Depart19 ment of State included ‘‘unlawful and arbitrary 

20 killings’’ as a significant human rights issue in Gua21 temala. Despite such inclusion, the Under Secretary 

22 of Commerce for Industry and Security has author23 ized approximately 99,270 firearms exports to Gua24 temala since assuming responsibility for firearms li25 censing in 2020. 


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1 (17) When firearms were controlled under the 

2 United States Munitions List and the licensing of 

3 firearms was the responsibility of the Secretary of 

4 State, the average number of firearms licensed for 

5 export to Guatemala was approximately 4,000 per 

6 year. 

7 (18) The number of exports specified in para8 graph (16) represents an extraordinary increase 

9 from the number specified in paragraph (17). The 

10 Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Se11 curity has only been able to conduct a very limited 

12 number of end-use checks, according to the 2022 

13 GAO report ‘‘Firearms Trafficking: More Informa14 tion Needed to Inform U.S. Efforts in Central 

15 America’’. 

16 (19) Since the Department of Commerce gained 

17 jurisdiction over the control of firearm export licens18 ing— 

19 (A) there has been a 42 percent increase 

20 in firearm exports compared to averages for 

21 such exports when the control of such exports 

22 was under the jurisdiction of the Department of 

23 State; 


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1 (B) the total value of export licenses ap2 proved annually has increased by an estimated 

3 $4,450,000,000; and 

4 (C) the Secretary of Commerce has also 

5 approved 95 percent of license applications for 

6 such exports. 

7 (20) According to the Census Bureau, Mexico, 

8 Guatemala, and Brazil have been among the top 10 

9 destinations for United States-manufactured semi10 automatic firearm exports. 

11 (21) The 2021 security cooperation plan, titled 

12 ‘‘U.S.-Mexico Bicentennial Framework for Security, 

13 Public Heath, and Safe Communities’’, explicitly 

14 identifies reducing illicit arms trafficking as a ‘‘Co15 operation Area’’ with specific objectives— 

16 (A) to increase efforts to reduce the illicit 

17 trafficking of firearms, ammunition, and explo18 sive devices; 

19 (B) to increase bilateral information shar20 ing on illicit firearms trafficking; and 

21 (C) to increase investigative and prosecu22 torial capacity to address illicit firearms traf23 ficking. 


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1 (22) As of March 2023, during the second 

2 phase of the Bicentennial Framework referred to in 

3 paragraph (21)— 

4 (A) the United States and Mexico were fo5 cusing specifically on stemming firearms traf6 ficking to Mexico; and 

7 (B) the Department of Justice’s Operation 

8 Southbound had deployed 9 interagency Fire9 arms Trafficking Task Forces to 8 cities along 

10 the southwest border to focus on such firearms 

11 trafficking, which resulted in the seizure of 

12 nearly 2,000 firearms during the first 6 months 

13 of fiscal year 2023, and represents a 65.8 per14 cent increase in firearms seizures compared to 

15 the same period during fiscal year 2022. 

16 (23) Homeland Security Investigations has re17 ported a surge in firearms trafficking from the 

18 United States to Haiti since 2021, and the recovery 

19 of increasingly sophisticated arms destined for ports 

20 in Haiti, including— 

21 (A) .50 caliber sniper rifles; 

22 (B) .308 caliber rifles; and 

23 (C) belt-fed machine guns. 

24 (24) The 2023 Assessment by the United Na25 tions Office on Drugs and Crime, titled ‘‘Haiti’s 


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1 Criminal Markets: Mapping Trends in Firearms and 

2 Drug Trafficking’’, outlines the use of increasingly 

3 sophisticated methods, including a 2022 seizure of 

4 containers filled with semi-automatic weapons and 

5 handguns addressed to the Episcopal Church and la6 beled as relief supplies. 

7 (25) The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act 

8 (Public Law 117–159), which was enacted into law 

9 on June 25, 2022, implemented key efforts to ad10 dress firearm trafficking, including— 

11 (A) establishing a Federal criminal offense 

12 for firearm trafficking; and 

13 (B) strengthening the capability of the Bu14 reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explo15 sives to interdict firearms. 

16 (26) A growing number of firearms exported by 

17 United States manufacturers are found involved in 

18 violent crimes worldwide, including the pistol used in 

19 a mass shooting of 23 children and two teachers in 

20 Thailand in October 2022, which was linked to a 

21 United States factory. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

7 and Transportation of the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

9 the House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com11 merce of the House of Representatives. 

12 (2) COVERED COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘covered 

13 country’’ means any country designated by the Sec14 retary of State pursuant to section 6 as a covered 

15 country. 

16 (3) COVERED MUNITION.—The term ‘‘covered 

17 munition’’ means— 

18 (A) any previously covered item; or 

19 (B) any item that, on or after the date of 

20 the enactment of this Act, is designated for 

21 control under Category I, II, or III of the 

22 United States Munitions List pursuant to sec23 tion 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 

24 U.S.C. 2778) or otherwise subject to control 

25 under any such category. 


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1 (4) FIREARM.—The term ‘‘firearm’’ includes 

2 covered munitions. 

3 (5) GROSS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY

4 RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS.—The term ‘‘gross vio5 lations of internationally recognized human rights’’ 

6 has the meaning given such term in section 

7 502B(d)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

8 (22 U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)). 

9 (6) PREVIOUSLY COVERED ITEM.—The term 

10 ‘‘previously covered item’’ means any item that— 

11 (A) as of March 8, 2020, was included in 

12 Category I, II, or III of the United States Mu13 nitions List; and 

14 (B) as of the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act, is included on the Commerce Control List. 

16 (7) SECURITY ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘secu17 rity assistance’’ includes— 

18 (A) any type of assistance specified in sec19 tion 502B(d)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act 

20 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304); and 

21 (B) assistance furnished under an inter22 national security assistance program of the 

23 United States conducted under any other provi24 sion of law, including the authorities under 

25 chapter 16 of title 10, United States Code. 


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1 (8) UNITED STATES MUNITIONS LIST.—The 

2 term ‘‘United States Munitions List’’ means the list 

3 maintained pursuant to part 121 of title 22, Code 

4 of Federal Regulations. 

5 SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF REGULATORY CONTROL OF CERTAIN 

6 MUNITIONS EXPORTS FROM DEPARTMENT 

7 OF COMMERCE TO DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

8 (a) TRANSFER.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act— 

10 (1) the Secretary of Commerce shall transfer 

11 the control over the export of each previously cov12 ered item to the jurisdiction of the Department of 

13 State; and 

14 (2) following such transfer, control over the ex15 port of any covered munition may not be transferred 

16 to the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce. 

17 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of State and the 

18 Secretary of Commerce shall prescribe such regulations as 

19 may be necessary to implement this section by the date 

20 specified in subsection (a). 

21 (c) PROHIBITION ON PROMOTION OF CERTAIN MUNI22 TIONS EXPORTS BY DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.—The 

23 Secretary of Commerce may not take any actions to pro24 mote the export of any previously covered item, including 

25 actions before, on, or after the date on which the Secretary 


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1 transfers the control over the export of the previously cov2 ered item to the jurisdiction of the Department State 

3 under subsection (a). 

4 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec5 tion may be construed as limiting any authority relating 

6 to the designation, control, or removal of items under the 

7 United States Munitions List or the Commerce Control 

8 List, other than the specific authority to transfer the con9 trol of an item as specified in subsection (a). 

10 SEC. 5. REPORTS AND STRATEGY ON DISRUPTION OF ILLE11 GAL EXPORT AND TRAFFICKING OF FIRE12 ARMS TO MEXICO AND CERTAIN CENTRAL 

13 AMERICAN, CARIBBEAN, AND SOUTH AMER14 ICAN COUNTRIES. 

15 (a) REPORT.— 

16 (1) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 180 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 

19 Commerce, the Attorney General, the Director of the 

20 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explo21 sives, and the heads of such other Federal depart22 ments or agencies as the Secretary of State may de23 termine relevant, shall submit a report to the appro24 priate congressional committees that describes the 

25 efforts of the Secretary of State and the heads of 


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1 other relevant Federal departments and agencies to 

2 disrupt— 

3 (A) the illegal export or diversion of fire4 arms from the United States to unauthorized 

5 recipients in covered countries, including 

6 through unauthorized third-party transfers; and 

7 (B) the illegal trafficking of firearms ob8 tained in the United States to recipients in such 

9 countries. 

10 (2) MATTERS.—The report required under 

11 paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to the ef12 forts specified in such paragraph— 

13 (A) the identification of any such efforts, 

14 including efforts— 

15 (i) to track and verify information re16 garding the end-users of firearms so ex17 ported, including by entering into data18 sharing agreements— 

19 (I) with appropriate counterparts 

20 from the governments of such covered 

21 countries; and 

22 (II) between the relevant depart23 ments and agencies of the United 

24 States Government; 


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1 (ii) to ensure the destruction of sur2 plus firearms so exported; 

3 (iii) to ensure that firearms so ex4 ported are not used to commit extrajudicial 

5 killings or other gross violations of inter6 nationally recognized human rights; 

7 (iv) to build the capacity of such cov8 ered countries to prevent the trafficking of 

9 firearms so exported, including through 

10 current programs supported or imple11 mented by the United States Government; 

12 (v) to track and verify information re13 garding the end-users of firearms obtained 

14 in the United States and illegally traf15 ficked to such covered countries; 

16 (vi) to combat all forms of cross-bor17 der smuggling of firearms from the United 

18 States, including via maritime vessels and 

19 aircraft; 

20 (vii) to engage with subnational gov21 ernment officials in such covered countries 

22 to effectively implement and enforce agree23 ments relating to the trafficking of fire24 arms that have been concluded between the 

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1 tional government of the respective covered 

2 country; 

3 (viii) to identify the origin of traf4 ficked firearms, including through the se5 rial numbers of trafficked firearms, and 

6 sharing such information with relevant law 

7 enforcement agencies of— 

8 (I) the United States; 

9 (II) the respective covered coun10 try; and 

11 (III) any other country deter12 mined relevant for purposes of such 

13 information sharing; 

14 (ix) to implement— 

15 (I) the ‘‘U.S.-Mexico Bicenten16 nial Framework for Security, Public 

17 Heath, and Safe Communities’’; 

18 (II) any successor or subsequent 

19 bilateral agreements with Mexico; or 

20 (III) similar bilateral agreements 

21 with any other covered country on 

22 combating firearm trafficking, 

23 transnational organizations, or 

24 fentanyl; 


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1 (x) to implement the recommendations 

2 made in— 

3 (I) the 2021 GAO report titled 

4 ‘‘Firearms Trafficking: U.S. Efforts 

5 to Disrupt Gun Smuggling into Mex6 ico Would Benefit from Additional 

7 Data and Analysis’’; 

8 (II) the 2022 GAO report titled 

9 ‘‘Firearms Trafficking: More Informa10 tion Needed to Inform U.S. Efforts in 

11 Central America’’; and 

12 (III) the forthcoming GAO report 

13 that focuses on a similar topic for the 

14 Caribbean; and 

15 (xi) to enhance cooperation among rel16 evant Federal departments and agencies to 

17 combat firearms trafficking and prosecute 

18 illegal firearm smugglers; 

19 (B) an assessment of the results of the ef20 forts described in subparagraph (A); 

21 (C) an assessment of the impact that the 

22 March 2020 decision to transfer jurisdiction 

23 over the export of semiautomatic weapons, in24 cluding assault-style rifles and sniper rifles, 

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1 ment of Commerce has had on the number of 

2 and types of firearms manufactured in the 

3 United States being sent to covered countries; 

4 and 

5 (D) a description of how homicides, 

6 extrajudicial killings, and other gross violations 

7 of internationally recognized human rights com8 mitted in such covered countries using firearms 

9 exported from or obtained in the United States 

10 have been investigated. 

11 (b) INTERAGENCY STRATEGY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in 

13 consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, taking 

14 into account the findings of the report required 

15 under subsection (a), shall jointly develop an inter16 agency strategy for the disruption of the trafficking 

17 of firearms exported from the United States to re18 cipients in covered countries. 

19 (2) ELEMENTS.—The strategy under paragraph 

20 (1) shall include— 

21 (A) a plan for the United States to accom22 plish each of the objectives specified in sub23 section (a)(2)(A); 

24 (B) the identification of specific perform25 ance measures, targets (including the baselines 


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1 for such targets), and timelines with respect to 

2 such objectives; 

3 (C) an estimate of the resources and per4 sonnel necessary to carry out the strategy; 

5 (D) a plan for cooperation between the 

6 Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, 

7 and the heads of any other Federal depart8 ments or agencies involved in anti-firearm traf9 ficking efforts, including the Attorney General, 

10 the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the 

11 Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 

12 Firearms and Explosives; and 

13 (E) a plan for coordination between the 

14 Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, 

15 and such heads regarding efforts in countries 

16 designated as covered countries under section 5 

17 to combat the trafficking of United States18 sourced firearms— 

19 (i) from the United States to such 

20 designated countries; and 

21 (ii) from such designated countries to 

22 other countries in the surrounding region. 

23 (3) REQUIRED CONSIDERATIONS; CONSULTA24 TIONS.—In developing the strategy required under 

25 paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall— 


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1 (A) consider how the strategy may support 

2 or otherwise align with broader efforts of the 

3 Secretary of State relating to security assist4 ance, anti-corruption, and the prevention of or5 ganized crime and drug and gang violence; 

6 (B) consider whether the placement in the 

7 Western Hemisphere of an export control offi8 cer of the Bureau of Industry and Security of 

9 the Department of Commerce, or other per10 sonnel of the Department of Commerce or the 

11 Department of State, would support the strat12 egy; 

13 (C) consult with the appropriate congres14 sional committees; and 

15 (D) seek to consult with appropriate coun16 terparts from the government of each covered 

17 country. 

18 (4) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

19 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

20 the Secretary of State shall submit the strategy re21 quired under paragraph (1) to the appropriate con22 gressional committees. 

23 (c) IMPROVED TRACKING OF TRAFFICKED FIRE24 ARMS.— 


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1 (1) ASSESSMENT OF DATA AVAILABILITY.—Not 

2 later than 180 days after the date on which a coun3 try is designated (or deemed to be designated, as the 

4 case may be) as a covered country pursuant to sec5 tion 6, the Secretary of State, in consultation with 

6 the Secretary of Commerce, the Attorney General, 

7 the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 

8 Firearms and Explosives, and the heads of such 

9 other Federal departments or agencies as the Sec10 retary of State may determine relevant, shall con11 duct and submit to the Committee on Foreign Rela12 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 

13 Affairs of the House of Representatives an assess14 ment of the extent to which the law enforcement 

15 agencies of such covered country make available to 

16 the United States Government forensic information 

17 of trafficked firearms. 

18 (2) ADDRESSING GAPS IN DATA.—For the dura19 tion of the period during which a country is des20 ignated as a covered country pursuant to section 6, 

21 the Secretary of State shall— 

22 (A) seek to engage with the foreign coun23 terparts of the government of such covered 

24 country to improve the collection and sharing of 

25 the forensic information of trafficked firearms 


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1 confiscated by the law enforcement agencies of 

2 such covered country; and 

3 (B) promptly provide any such forensic in4 formation shared pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

5 to the relevant Federal, State, and local law en6 forcement agencies for purposes of use in crimi7 nal or civil investigations into violations of rel8 evant United States Federal laws, including the 

9 Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et 

10 seq.). 

11 (3) FORENSIC INFORMATION DEFINED.—In this 

12 subsection, the term ‘‘forensic information’’, with re13 spect to a trafficked firearm, includes— 

14 (A) the serial number of the firearm; and 

15 (B) any other information that may be 

16 used to identify the origin of the firearm or any 

17 person or organization involved in the traf18 ficking of the firearm. 

19 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

20 (1) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 1 year after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

22 thereafter, the Secretary or Secretaries concerned 

23 (in consultation with the heads of such other Fed24 eral departments or agencies as the Secretary or 

25 Secretaries concerned may determine relevant) shall 


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1 submit a report to the appropriate congressional 

2 committees that describes the export of covered mu3 nitions to covered countries. 

4 (2) MATTERS.—Each report under paragraph 

5 (1) shall include, with respect to the year for which 

6 the report is submitted, disaggregated by country— 

7 (A) information regarding license applica8 tions approved or denied by the Department of 

9 State or the Department of Commerce, and 

10 previously issued licenses for the export of cov11 ered munitions to proposed recipients in covered 

12 countries that have been modified or revoked; 

13 (B) information regarding how evolving 

14 country contexts, including with respect to de15 velopments in human rights, affected the ap16 proval of license applications for such exports; 

17 (C) the number of licenses issued for the 

18 export of covered munitions to proposed recipi19 ents in covered countries; 

20 (D) the number of covered munitions ex21 ported to recipients in covered countries; 

22 (E) with respect to end-user checks for 

23 covered munitions exported to recipients in cov24 ered countries conducted pursuant to section 

25 38(g)(7) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 


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1 U.S.C. 2778(g)(7)) (commonly referred to as 

2 the ‘‘Blue Lantern’’ program), the monitoring 

3 program established under the second section 

4 40A of the Arms Export Control Act (22 

5 U.S.C. 2785) (as added by section 150(a) of 

6 Public Law 104–164), or any other applicable 

7 program of the Department of Commerce or the 

8 Department of State— 

9 (i) the number of such end-user 

10 checks requested; 

11 (ii) the number of such end-user 

12 checks conducted; 

13 (iii) the type of such end-user checks 

14 conducted; and 

15 (iv) the results of such end-user 

16 checks conducted; 

17 (F) information on the extent to which the 

18 heads of the governments of covered countries 

19 shared with the Secretary or Secretaries con20 cerned and the heads of other relevant Federal 

21 departments and agencies (such as the Bureau 

22 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) 

23 data relating to the receipt and end-use of cov24 ered munitions exported from the United 

25 States, and the type of data so shared; and 


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1 (G) for each covered country, a description 

2 of the United States funding and resources allo3 cated for the purpose of disrupting trafficking 

4 of covered munitions. 

5 (3) SECRETARY OR SECRETARIES CONCERNED

6 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘Secretary 

7 or Secretaries concerned’’ means— 

8 (A) if a single Federal department or 

9 agency has jurisdiction over the export control 

10 of covered munitions, the head of such Federal 

11 department or agency; or 

12 (B) if multiple Federal departments or 

13 agencies have jurisdiction over the export con14 trol of covered munitions, the head of each such 

15 Federal department or agency. 

16 SEC. 6. DESIGNATION OF COVERED COUNTRIES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Bahamas, Belize, 

19 Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hon20 duras, Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago 

21 shall be designated by the Secretary of State as covered 

22 countries for purposes of this Act. 

23 (b) TERMINATION OF DESIGNATION.—The countries 

24 designated pursuant to subsection (a) shall continue to be 

25 so designated during the 5-year period beginning on the 


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1 date of enactment of this Act, after which period the Sec2 retary of State may terminate the designation with respect 

3 to any such country if, at least 180 days before such ter4 mination, the Secretary submits a notification of such ter5 mination to the appropriate congressional committees. 

6 SEC. 7. CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO 

7 CERTAIN MUNITIONS EXPORTS. 

8 (a) INITIAL CERTIFICATION; PROHIBITION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), no covered munition may be transferred 

11 to the government of a covered country, or any other 

12 organization, citizen, or resident of such covered 

13 country, until the Secretary of State submits to the 

14 appropriate congressional committees a certification 

15 that the program required under subsection (c) has 

16 been established. 

17 (2) WAIVER.—During the 1-year period begin18 ning on the effective date described in subsection 

19 (d), the Secretary of State may waive the certifi20 cation requirement under paragraph (1) with respect 

21 to the transfer of a covered munition to the govern22 ment of a country described in paragraph (1) if the 

23 Secretary— 

24 (A) certifies to the appropriate congres25 sional committees that such waiver is in the naVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Aug 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4647.IS S4647

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1 tional security interest of the United States; 

2 and 

3 (B) includes a written justification with 

4 such certification. 

5 (b) REVIEW AND RECERTIFICATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

7 the date of the submission of the certification pursu8 ant to subsection (a) for a covered country, and an9 nually thereafter until such time as the designation 

10 of such country is terminated pursuant to section 

11 6(d), the Secretary of State shall review, and submit 

12 to the appropriate congressional committees a recer13 tification of, such certification. 

14 (2) PROHIBITION.—If the Secretary of State is 

15 unable to recertify a covered country as required 

16 under paragraph (1), no covered munition may be 

17 transferred to the government of the covered coun18 try, or any other organization, citizen, or resident of 

19 such covered country, until the date on which the 

20 Secretary is able to so recertify. 

21 (c) PROGRAM.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State 

23 shall establish and carry out a program under which 

24 the Secretary shall prohibit the retransfer of covered 

25 munitions transferred to covered countries without 


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1 the consent of the United States and provide for the 

2 registration and end-use monitoring of such covered 

3 munitions in accordance with the requirements de4 scribed in paragraph (2). 

5 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 (A) DETAILED RECORD.—The Secretary 

7 shall maintain a detailed record of the origin, 

8 shipping, and distribution of covered munitions 

9 transferred to covered countries. 

10 (B) REGISTRATION.—The Secretary shall 

11 register the serial numbers of all covered muni12 tions, which shall be provided to the govern13 ments of covered countries and other organiza14 tions, citizens, and residents within such cov15 ered countries. 

16 (C) END-USE MONITORING.—The Sec17 retary shall carry out a program for the end-use 

18 monitoring of covered munitions transferred to 

19 the entities and individuals described in sub20 paragraph (B). 

21 (3) REVIEW OF DATABASE.—In prohibiting the 

22 retransfer of covered munitions without the consent 

23 of the United States pursuant to the program estab24 lished pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary of 


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1 State, in consultation with the Secretary of Com2 merce, shall— 

3 (A) review the database of the Department 

4 of State that stores records relating to vetting 

5 conducted pursuant to section 620M of the 

6 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

7 2378d) or section 362 of title 10, United States 

8 Code, known as the ‘‘International Vetting and 

9 Security Tracking-cloud system’’ or ‘‘INVEST 

10 system’’ (or any successor database), for any 

11 such records relating to the prospective recipi12 ents of such retransfer; and 

13 (B) ensure that such consent is not grant14 ed for any such prospective recipient who the 

15 Secretary of State determines, taking into ac16 count the review under subparagraph (A), is 

17 credibly implicated in a gross violation of inter18 nationally recognized human rights. 

19 (4) DATA STORAGE AND SHARING.—In carrying 

20 out the program established pursuant to paragraph 

21 (1), the Secretary of State shall— 

22 (A) ensure that any data received pursuant 

23 to such program is stored and maintained in a 

24 database of the Department of State; and 


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1 (B) to the extent practicable, provide for 

2 the sharing of such data with the Secretary of 

3 Commerce and the heads of such other Federal 

4 departments or agencies as the Secretary of 

5 State may determine relevant. 

6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

7 on the date that is 1 year after the date on which the 

8 Secretary of Commerce completes the transfer of the con9 trol over the export of previously covered items to the ju10 risdiction of the Department of State pursuant to section 

11 4(a). 

12 SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON LICENSES AND OTHER AUTHORIZA13 TIONS FOR EXPORT OF CERTAIN ITEMS RE14 MOVED FROM THE COMMERCE CONTROL 

15 LIST AND INCLUDED ON THE UNITED STATES 

16 MUNITIONS LIST. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State may not 

18 grant an export license or other authorization for the ex19 port of a previously covered item unless, before granting 

20 such license or other authorization, the Secretary submits 

21 to the appropriate congressional committees a written cer22 tification with respect to such proposed export license or 

23 other authorization containing— 

24 (1) the name of the person applying for the li25 cense or other authorization; 


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1 (2) the name of the person who is the proposed 

2 recipient of the export; 

3 (3) the name of the country or international or4 ganization to which the export will be made; 

5 (4) a description of the items proposed to be ex6 ported; and 

7 (5) the value of the items proposed to be ex8 ported. 

9 (b) FORM.—Each certification required under sub10 section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, except 

11 that information regarding the dollar value and number 

12 of items proposed to be exported may be restricted from 

13 public disclosure if such disclosure would be detrimental 

14 to the security of the United States. 

15 (c) DEADLINES.—Each certification required under 

16 subsection (a) shall be submitted— 

17 (1) not later than 15 days before a proposed ex18 port license or other authorization is granted in the 

19 case of a transfer of items to a country which is a 

20 member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

21 or Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Israel, 

22 or New Zealand, and 

23 (2) not later than 30 days before a proposed ex24 port license or other authorization is granted in the 

25 case of a transfer of items to any other country. 


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1 (d) CONGRESSIONAL RESOLUTION OF DIS2 APPROVAL.—A proposed export license or other authoriza3 tion described in subsection (c)(1) shall become effective 

4 after the end of the 15-day period described in such sub5 section, and a proposed export license or other authoriza6 tion described in subsection (c)(2) shall become effective 

7 after the end of the 30-day period specified in such sub8 section if Congress does not enact, within the applicable 

9 time period, a joint resolution prohibiting the export of 

10 the covered item for which the export license or other au11 thorization was proposed. 

Æ 


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