II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 425

To require the approval of Congress for the imposition of any new unilateral

agricultural sanction, or any new unilateral sanction with respect to

medicine, medical supplies, or medical equipment, against a foreign country.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 11, 1999

Mr. ASHCROFT (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. BAUCUS, and Mr.

KERREY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To require the approval of Congress for the imposition of

any new unilateral agricultural sanction, or any new

unilateral sanction with respect to medicine, medical supplies, or medical equipment, against a foreign country.

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 TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food and Medicine

5 for the World Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF

2 ANY NEW UNILATERAL AGRICULTURAL SANC3 TION.

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—

5 (1) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.—The term

6 ‘‘agricultural commodity’’ has the meaning given the

7 term in section 402 of the Agricultural Trade Devel8 opment and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C.

9 1732).

10 (2) AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘ag11 ricultural program’’ means—

12 (A) any program administered through the

13 Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance

14 Act of 1954 (Public Law 480; 7 U.S.C. 1701

15 et seq.);

16 (B) any program administered through

17 section 416 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7

18 U.S.C. 1431);

19 (C) any commercial sale of agricultural

20 commodities or agricultural products, including

21 plant nutrient materials; or

22 (D) any export financing (including credits

23 or credit guarantees) for agricultural commod24 ities or agricultural products.

25 (3) NEW UNILATERAL AGRICULTURAL SANC26 TION.—The term ‘‘new unilateral agricultural sanc-
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1 tion’’ means any prohibition, restriction, or condition

2 on carrying out an agricultural program with respect

3 to a foreign country or foreign entity that is imposed

4 by the United States on or after the date of enact5 ment of this Act for reasons of foreign policy or na6 tional security, except in a case in which the United

7 States imposes the measure pursuant to a multilat8 eral regime and the other member countries of that

9 regime have agreed to impose substantially equiva10 lent measures.

11 (4) NEW UNILATERAL SANCTION WITH RE12 SPECT TO MEDICINE, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, OR MEDI13 CAL EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘‘new unilateral sanc14 tion with respect to medicine, medical supplies, or

15 medical equipment’’ means any prohibition, restric16 tion, or condition on trade in, or the provision of as17 sistance consisting of, medicine, medical supplies, or

18 medical equipment with respect to a foreign country

19 or foreign entity that is imposed by the United

20 States on or after the date of enactment of this Act

21 for reasons of foreign policy or national security, ex22 cept in a case in which the United States imposes

23 the measure pursuant to a multilateral regime and

24 the other member countries of that regime have

25 agreed to impose substantially equivalent measures.
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1 (5) SESSION DAY OF CONGRESS.—The term

2 ‘‘session day of Congress’’ means any day on which

3 a House of Congress is in session.

4 (b) RESTRICTION.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law and subject to subsection (c), the President

6 may not impose a new unilateral agricultural sanction

7 against a foreign country, or a new unilateral sanction

8 with respect to medicine, medical supplies, or medical

9 equipment against a foreign country, unless—

10 (1) not less than 60 days before the sanction is

11 proposed to be imposed, the President submits a re12 port to Congress that—

13 (A) describes the activity proposed to be

14 prohibited, restricted, or conditioned; and

15 (B) describes the actions by the foreign

16 country that justify the sanction; and

17 (2) Congress enacts a joint resolution stating

18 the approval of Congress for the report submitted

19 under paragraph (1).

20 (c) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (b),

21 the President may impose a sanction described in that

22 subsection—

23 (1) against a foreign country with respect to

24 which—
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1 (A) Congress has enacted a declaration of

2 war; or

3 (B) the President has proclaimed a state

4 of national emergency; or

5 (2) to the extent that the sanction would pro6 hibit, restrict, or condition the provision or use of

7 any commodity, product, medicine, supply, or equip8 ment that is controlled on the United States Muni9 tions List under section 38 of the Arms Export Con10 trol Act or the Commerce Control List under the

11 Export Administration Act of 1979.

12 (d) CONGRESSIONAL PRIORITY PROCEDURES.—

13 (1) JOINT RESOLUTION DEFINED.—For the

14 purpose of subsection (b)(2), ‘‘joint resolution’’

15 means only a joint resolution introduced within 10

16 session days of Congress after the date on which the

17 report of the President under subsection (b)(1) is re18 ceived by Congress, the matter after the resolving

19 clause of which is as follows: ‘‘That Congress ap20 proves the report of the President pursuant to sec21 tion 2(b)(1) of the Food and Medicine for the World

22 Act of 1999, transmitted on lllllll.’’,

23 with the blank completed with the appropriate date.

24 (2) REFERRAL OF REPORT.—The report de25 scribed in subsection (b)(1) shall be referred to the
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1 appropriate committee or committees of the House

2 of Representatives and to the appropriate committee

3 or committees of the Senate.

4 (3) REFERRAL OF JOINT RESOLUTION TO COM5 MITTEE.—A joint resolution introduced in the House

6 of Representatives shall be referred to the Commit7 tee on International Relations of the House of Rep8 resentatives. A joint resolution introduced in the

9 Senate shall be referred to the Committee on For10 eign Relations of the Senate. Such a joint resolution

11 may not be reported before the eighth session day of

12 Congress after its introduction.

13 (4) DISCHARGE FROM COMMITTEE.—If the

14 committee of either House to which a joint resolu15 tion is referred has not reported the joint resolution

16 (or an identical joint resolution) at the end of 30

17 session days of Congress after its introduction, the

18 committee shall be discharged from further consider19 ation of the joint resolution and the joint resolution

20 shall be placed on the appropriate calendar of the

21 House in which it was introduced.

22 (5) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—

23 (A) MOTION TO PROCEED.—When the

24 committee to which a joint resolution is referred

25 has reported, or has been deemed to be dis-
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1 charged (under paragraph (4)) from further

2 consideration of, a joint resolution, notwith3 standing any rule or precedent of the Senate,

4 including Rule 22, it is at any time thereafter

5 in order (even though a previous motion to the

6 same effect has been disagreed to) for any

7 Member of the respective House to move to pro8 ceed to the consideration of the joint resolution,

9 and all points of order against the joint resolu10 tion (and against consideration of the joint res11 olution) are waived. The motion is highly privi12 leged in the House of Representatives and is

13 privileged in the Senate and is not debatable.

14 The motion is not subject to amendment, or to

15 a motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed

16 to the consideration of other business. A motion

17 to reconsider the vote by which the motion is

18 agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order.

19 If a motion to proceed to the consideration of

20 the joint resolution is agreed to, the joint reso21 lution shall remain the unfinished business of

22 the respective House until disposed of.

23 (B) DEBATE ON THE JOINT RESOLU24 TION.—Debate on the joint resolution, and on

25 all debatable motions and appeals in connection
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1 therewith, shall be limited to not more than ten

2 hours, which shall be divided equally between

3 those favoring and those opposing the joint res4 olution. A motion further to limit debate is in

5 order and not debatable. An amendment to, or

6 a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to

7 the consideration of other business, or a motion

8 to recommit the joint resolution is not in order.

9 A motion to reconsider the vote by which the

10 joint resolution is agreed to or disagreed to is

11 not in order.

12 (C) VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE.—Imme13 diately following the conclusion of the debate on

14 a joint resolution, and a single quorum call at

15 the conclusion of the debate if requested in ac16 cordance with the rules of the appropriate

17 House, the vote on final passage of the joint

18 resolution shall occur.

19 (D) APPEALS OF RULINGS.—Appeals from

20 the decisions of the Chair relating to the appli21 cation of the rules of the Senate or the House

22 of Representatives, as the case may be, to the

23 procedure relating to a joint resolution de24 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be decided with25 out debate.
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1 (6) TREATMENT OF OTHER HOUSE’S JOINT

2 RESOLUTION.—If, before the passage by one House

3 of Congress of a joint resolution of that House, that

4 House receives from the other House a joint resolu5 tion, then the following procedures shall apply:

6 (A) REFERRAL OF JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF

7 SENDING HOUSE.—The joint resolution of the

8 sending House shall not be referred to a com9 mittee in the receiving House.

10 (B) PROCEDURES IN RECEIVING HOUSE.—

11 With respect to a joint resolution of the House

12 receiving the joint resolution—

13 (i) the procedure in that House shall

14 be the same as if no joint resolution had

15 been received from the sending House; but

16 (ii) the vote on final passage shall be

17 on the joint resolution of the sending

18 House.

19 (C) DISPOSITION OF JOINT RESOLUTIONS

20 OF RECEIVING HOUSE.—Upon disposition of the

21 joint resolution received from the other House,

22 it shall no longer be in order to consider the

23 joint resolution originated in the receiving

24 House.
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1 (7) PROCEDURES AFTER ACTION BY BOTH THE

2 HOUSE AND SENATE.—If the House receiving a joint

3 resolution from the other House after the receiving

4 House has disposed of a joint resolution originated

5 in that House, the action of the receiving House

6 with regard to the disposition of the joint resolution

7 originated in that House shall be deemed to be the

8 action of the receiving House with regard to the

9 joint resolution originated in the other House.

10 (8) STATUS OF PROCEDURES.—This subsection

11 is enacted by Congress—

12 (A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power

13 of the Senate and House of Representatives, re14 spectively, and as such it is deemed a part of

15 the rules of each House, respectively, but appli16 cable only with respect to the procedure to be

17 followed in that House in the case of a joint

18 resolution described in paragraph (1), and it

19 supersedes other rules only to the extent that it

20 is inconsistent with such rules; and

21 (B) with full recognition of the constitu22 tional right of either House to change the rules

23 (so far as relating to the procedure of that

24 House) at any time, in the same manner and
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1 to the same extent as in the case of any other

2 rule of that House.

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