I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 606 

To express United States foreign policy with respect to, and to strengthen 

United States advocacy on behalf of, individuals persecuted and denied 

their rights in foreign countries on account of gender, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 16, 2009 

Mrs. MALONEY (for herself and Mr. FATTAH) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 

to the Committees on Financial Services and the Judiciary, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To express United States foreign policy with respect to, 

and to strengthen United States advocacy on behalf of, 

individuals persecuted and denied their rights in foreign 

countries on account of gender, 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 TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘International Women’s Freedom Act of 2009’’. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
2 

•HR 606 IH

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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; policy. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 101. Office on International Women’s Rights; Ambassador at Large for 

International Women’s Rights. 

Sec. 102. Reports. 

Sec. 103. Establishment of a women’s rights internet site. 

Sec. 104. Training for foreign service officers. 

Sec. 105. High-level contacts with nongovernmental organizations. 

Sec. 106. Programs and allocations of funds by United States missions abroad. 

Sec. 107. Prisoner lists and issue briefs on women’s rights concerns. 

TITLE II—COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S RIGHTS 

Sec. 201. Establishment and composition. 

Sec. 202. Duties of the Commission. 

Sec. 203. Powers of the Commission. 

Sec. 204. Commission personnel matters. 

Sec. 205. Reports of the Commission. 

Sec. 206. Applicability of other laws. 

Sec. 207. Standards of conduct and disclosure. 

Sec. 208. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 209. Termination. 

TITLE III—NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL 

Sec. 301. Special Adviser on International Women’s Rights. 

TITLE IV—PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS 

Subtitle A—Targeted Responses to Violations of Women’s Rights Abroad 

Sec. 401. Presidential actions in response to violations of women’s rights. 

Sec. 402. Presidential actions in response to particularly severe violations of 

women’s rights. 

Sec. 403. Consultations. 

Sec. 404. Report to Congress. 

Sec. 405. Description of Presidential actions. 

Sec. 406. Effects on existing contracts. 

Sec. 407. Presidential waiver. 

Sec. 408. Publication in Federal Register. 

Sec. 409. Termination of Presidential actions. 

Sec. 410. Preclusion of judicial review. 

Subtitle B—Strengthening Existing Law 

Sec. 421. United States assistance. 

Sec. 422. Multilateral assistance. 

Sec. 423. Exports of certain items used in particularly severe violations of women’s rights. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
3 

•HR 606 IH

TITLE V—PROMOTION OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS 

Sec. 501. Assistance for promoting women’s rights. 

Sec. 502. International broadcasting. 

Sec. 503. International exchanges. 

Sec. 504. Foreign service awards. 

TITLE VI—REFUGEE, ASYLUM, AND CONSULAR MATTERS 

Sec. 601. Use of annual report. 

Sec. 602. Refugee training. 

Sec. 603. Reform of asylum policy. 

Sec. 604. Inadmissibility of foreign government officials who have engaged in 

particularly severe violations of women’s rights. 

Sec. 605. Study on the effect of expedited removal provisions on asylum claims. 

TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 701. Business codes of conduct. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) Support for human rights is the cornerstone 

5 of American foreign policy, and the advance of wom6 en’s rights and the advance of liberty are ultimately 

7 inseparable. 

8 (2) A number of international human rights in9 struments, as well as several international declara10 tions, have recognized the equal rights of men and 

11 women and articulated specific aspects of women’s 

12 human rights, including the Universal Declaration of 

13 Human Rights, the Charter of the United Nations, 

14 the International Covenant on Civil and Political 

15 Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, 

16 Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the 

17 Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
4 

•HR 606 IH

1 Women, the Inter-American Convention on the Pre2 vention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence 

3 Against Women, the Declaration on the Elimination 

4 of Violence against Women, and the Beijing Dec5 laration and Platform for Action. 

6 (3) Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of 

7 Human Rights recognizes that ‘‘[a]ll human beings 

8 are born free and equal in dignity and rights’’, and 

9 article 7 recognizes that ‘‘[a]ll are equal before the 

10 law and are entitled without any discrimination to 

11 equal protection of the law’’. Article 3 of the Inter12 national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights rec13 ognizes that the State Parties to the Covenant ‘‘un14 dertake to ensure the equal right of men and women 

15 to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set 

16 forth in the Covenant’’. Article 26 of the Covenant 

17 provides that ‘‘[a]ll persons are equal before the law 

18 and are entitled without any discrimination to the 

19 equal protection of the law. In this respect, the laws 

20 of each State Party shall prohibit any discrimination 

21 and guarantee to all persons equal and effective pro22 tection against discrimination on any ground such as 

23 race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other 

24 opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or 

25 other status’’. The Preamble of the Charter of the 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
5 

•HR 606 IH

1 United Nations affirms the equal rights of men and 

2 women. Governments have the responsibility to pro3 tect the fundamental rights of their citizens and to 

4 pursue justice for all. Women’s rights are funda5 mental rights, regardless of race, country, creed, or 

6 nationality, and should never be arbitrarily abridged 

7 by any government. 

8 (4) Barbaric treatment of women persists in 

9 many parts of the world. Women suffer both govern10 ment-sponsored and government-tolerated violations 

11 of their human rights. In countries where women are 

12 subject to particularly severe restrictions, women 

13 cannot work outside the home, cannot attend schools 

14 or universities, cannot drive, cannot leave the home 

15 without a male companion, may only use segregated 

16 transportation, cannot obtain a passport or travel 

17 without the permission of a male relative, must wear 

18 particular clothing, must black out house windows in 

19 public view, cannot obtain quality health education, 

20 and have limited access to health care because a 

21 male relative must be present or because male doc22 tors are not allowed to touch female patients. The 

23 ‘‘In-depth study on all forms of violence against 

24 women’’ conducted by the Secretary General of the 

25 United Nations found that in many countries, womVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
6 

•HR 606 IH

1 en’s economic opportunities are severely limited be2 cause of discrimination in employment, property 

3 rights, and access to resources. These inequalities 

4 work to limit women’s independence and make them 

5 more vulnerable to further discrimination, including 

6 violence. 

7 (5) Violence against women is a form of dis8 crimination which is pervasive throughout all parts 

9 of the world. In many countries, governments con10 done or perpetrate violence against women. Women 

11 are subject to various manifestations of brutal vio12 lence, including female genital mutilation, honor 

13 killings, domestic violence, gender-based murders, 

14 rape, trafficking, forced early marriage, and the mal15 treatment of widows. Perpetration of violence by the 

16 country can include custodial violence, forced steri17 lization, sexual violence during armed conflict, and 

18 policies on forced pregnancy and forced abortion. Vi19 olence against women has consequences for their 

20 health and well-being, their economic security, and 

21 the economic development of their communities and 

22 countries. 

23 (6) Though not confined to a particular region 

24 or regime, violations of women’s rights are often 

25 particularly widespread, systematic, and heinous 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
7 

•HR 606 IH

1 under totalitarian governments and in countries with 

2 militant, politicized religious majorities or with 

3 strong tribal traditions. 

4 (7) Congress has recognized and denounced 

5 international violations of women’s rights through 

6 the adoption of the following resolutions: 

7 (A) Senate Resolution 68 of the 106th 

8 Congress, expressing the sense of the Senate re9 garding the treatment of women and girls by 

10 the Taliban in Afghanistan. 

11 (B) Senate Concurrent Resolution 42 of 

12 the 107th Congress, condemning the Taliban 

13 for their discriminatory policies towards women. 

14 (C) Senate Concurrent Resolution 86 of 

15 the 107th Congress, expressing the sense of 

16 Congress that women from all ethnic groups in 

17 Afghanistan should participate in the economic 

18 and political reconstruction of Afghanistan. 

19 (D) House Resolution 393 of the 108th 

20 Congress, commending Afghan women for their 

21 participation in Afghan government and civil 

22 society, encouraging the inclusion of Afghan 

23 women in the political and economic life of Af24 ghanistan, and advocating the protection of the 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
8 

•HR 606 IH

1 human rights of all Afghans, particularly 

2 women, in the Afghanistan Constitution. 

3 (E) Senate Resolution 74 of the 109th 

4 Congress, designating March 8, 2005, as Inter5 national Women’s Day. 

6 (b) POLICY.—It shall be the policy of the United 

7 States to do the following: 

8 (1) To condemn violations of women’s rights, 

9 and to promote, and to assist other governments in 

10 promoting, the fundamental human rights of women. 

11 (2) To seek to channel United States security 

12 and development assistance to governments other 

13 than those found to be engaged in gross violations 

14 of the rights of women, as set forth in the Foreign 

15 Assistance Act of 1961, in the International Finan16 cial Institutions Act, and in other formulations of 

17 United States human rights policy. 

18 (3) To be vigorous and flexible, reflecting both 

19 the unwavering commitment of the United States to 

20 women’s rights and the desire of the United States 

21 for the most effective and principled response, in 

22 light of the range of violations of women’s rights by 

23 a variety of persecuting regimes, and the status of 

24 the relations of the United States with different na25 tions. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
9 

•HR 606 IH

1 (4) To work with foreign governments that af2 firm and protect women’s rights, in order to develop 

3 multilateral documents and initiatives to combat vio4 lations of women’s rights and promote the right of 

5 women to enjoy their human rights abroad. 

6 (5) Standing for liberty and standing with the 

7 disadvantaged, to use and implement appropriate 

8 tools in the United States foreign policy apparatus, 

9 including diplomatic, political, commercial, chari10 table, educational, and cultural channels, to promote 

11 respect for women’s rights by all governments and 

12 peoples. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) AMBASSADOR AT LARGE.—The term ‘‘Am16 bassador at Large’’ means the Ambassador at Large 

17 for International Women’s Rights appointed under 

18 section 101(b). 

19 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—The term ‘‘Annual Re20 port’’ means the Annual Report on International 

21 Women’s Rights described in section 102(b). 

22 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT23 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com24 mittees’’— 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
10 

•HR 606 IH

1 (A) means the Committee on Foreign Re2 lations of the Senate and the Committee on 

3 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa4 tives; and 

5 (B) includes, in the case of any determina6 tion made with respect to the taking of Presi7 dent action under paragraphs (9) through (15) 

8 of section 405(a), the committees described in 

9 subparagraph (A) and, where appropriate, the 

10 Committee on Financial Services of the House 

11 of Representatives and the Committee on Bank12 ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

13 (4) COMMENSURATE ACTION.—The term ‘‘com14 mensurate action’’ means action taken by the Presi15 dent under section 405(b). 

16 (5) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

17 means the United States Commission on Inter18 national Women’s Rights established in section 

19 201(a). 

20 (6) COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

21 PRACTICES.—The term ‘‘Country Reports on 

22 Human Rights Practices’’ means the annual report 

23 required to be submitted by the Secretary of State 

24 to Congress under sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of 

25 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
11 

•HR 606 IH

1 (7) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.—The term ‘‘Execu2 tive Summary’’ means the Executive Summary to 

3 the Annual Report, as described in section 

4 102(b)(1)(F). 

5 (8) GOVERNMENT OR FOREIGN GOVERN6 MENT.—The term ‘‘government’’ or ‘‘foreign govern7 ment’’ includes any agency or instrumentality of the 

8 government. 

9 (9) HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS.—The term 

10 ‘‘Human Rights Reports’’ means all reports sub11 mitted by the Secretary of State to Congress under 

12 sections 116 and 502B of the Foreign Assistance 

13 Act of 1961. 

14 (10) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

15 Office on International Women’s Rights established 

16 in section 101(a). 

17 (11) PARTICULARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF

18 WOMEN’S RIGHTS.—The term ‘‘particularly severe 

19 violations of women’s rights’’ means systematic, on20 going, egregious violations of women’s rights, includ21 ing violations such as— 

22 (A) denying women freedoms that are 

23 guaranteed for men; 

24 (B) torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrad25 ing treatment or punishment; 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
12 

•HR 606 IH

1 (C) government-sponsored or tolerated vio2 lence such as gender-based murder, rape, tradi3 tional practices such as honor killings and fe4 male genital mutilation, abduction, trafficking, 

5 forced sterilization or forced abortion, and cus6 todial violence; 

7 (D) limiting or denying access to health 

8 care and health education; or 

9 (E) other flagrant denials to women or 

10 girls of the right to life, liberty, or the security 

11 of persons. 

12 (12) SPECIAL ADVISER.—The term ‘‘Special 

13 Adviser’’ means the Special Adviser to the President 

14 on International Women’s Rights described in sec15 tion 101(m) of the National Security Act of 1947, 

16 as added by section 301 of this Act. 

17 (13) VIOLATIONS OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS.—The 

18 term ‘‘violations of women’s rights’’ means violations 

19 of the internationally recognized human rights of 

20 women, as set forth in the international instruments 

21 referred to in section 2(a)(2) and as described in 

22 section 2(a)(3), including violations such as— 

23 (A) arbitrary prohibitions on, restrictions 

24 on, or punishment for— 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
13 

•HR 606 IH

1 (i) women engaging in activities in 

2 which men are permitted to engage; 

3 (ii) travel, employment, or education 

4 for girls or women; 

5 (iii) clothing for girls or women; 

6 (iv) political participation and voting 

7 for women; and 

8 (v) possession and distribution of lit9 erature pertaining to women’s human 

10 rights; 

11 (B) discriminatory laws or customary prac12 tices that deprive women of equal rights, such 

13 as those pertaining to marriage and family rela14 tions, nationality and citizenship, legal capacity, 

15 and access to economic resources; or 

16 (C) any of the following acts if committed 

17 because an individual is a girl or woman: deten18 tion, forced labor or prostitution, imprisonment, 

19 forced mass resettlement, beating, torture, mu20 tilation, sexual assault and rape, enslavement, 

21 murder, and execution. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
14 

•HR 606 IH

1 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF 

2 STATE ACTIVITIES 

3 SEC. 101. OFFICE ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S RIGHTS; 

4 AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR INTER5 NATIONAL WOMEN’S RIGHTS. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab7 lished within the Department of State an Office on Inter8 national Women’s Rights that shall be headed by the Am9 bassador at Large for International Women’s Rights ap10 pointed under subsection (b). 

11 (b) APPOINTMENT.—The Ambassador at Large shall 

12 be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

13 consent of the Senate. 

14 (c) DUTIES.—The Ambassador at Large shall have 

15 the following responsibilities: 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The primary responsibility 

17 of the Ambassador at Large shall be to advance 

18 women’s rights abroad, to denounce the violation of 

19 those rights, and to recommend appropriate re20 sponses by the United States Government when 

21 those rights are violated. 

22 (2) ADVISORY ROLE.—The Ambassador at 

23 Large shall be a principal adviser to the President 

24 and the Secretary of State regarding matters affect25 ing women’s rights abroad and, with advice from the 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
15 

•HR 606 IH

1 Commission, shall make recommendations regard2 ing— 

3 (A) the policies of the United States Gov4 ernment toward governments that violate wom5 en’s rights or that fail to ensure the rights of 

6 individual women; and 

7 (B) policies to advance women’s rights 

8 abroad. 

9 (3) DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION.—Subject to 

10 the direction of the President and the Secretary of 

11 State, the Ambassador at Large is authorized to 

12 represent the United States in matters and cases 

13 relevant to women’s rights abroad in— 

14 (A) contacts with foreign governments, 

15 intergovernmental organizations, specialized 

16 agencies of the United Nations, the Organiza17 tion on Security and Cooperation in Europe, 

18 and other international organizations of which 

19 the United States is a member; and 

20 (B) multilateral conferences and meetings 

21 relevant to women’s rights abroad. 

22 (4) REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Am23 bassador at Large shall have the reporting respon24 sibilities described in section 102. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
16 

•HR 606 IH

1 (5) SENIOR COORDINATOR FOR INTERNATIONAL

2 WOMEN’S ISSUES.—The Ambassador at Large shall, 

3 in addition to his or her other duties, assume the 

4 duties of the Senior Coordinator for International 

5 Women’s Issues of the Department of State. 

6 (d) FUNDING.—The Secretary of State shall provide 

7 the Ambassador at Large with such funds as may be nec8 essary for the hiring of staff for the Office, for the conduct 

9 of investigations by the Office, and for necessary travel 

10 to carry out the provisions of this section. 

11 SEC. 102. REPORTS. 

12 (a) PORTIONS OF ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS RE13 PORTS.—The Ambassador at Large shall assist the Sec14 retary of State in preparing those portions of the Human 

15 Rights Reports that relate to women’s rights and freedom 

16 from discrimination based on gender and those portions 

17 of other information provided to the Congress under sec18 tions 116 and 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

19 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)(1)) that relate to the right to freedom 

20 from discrimination based on sex. 

21 (b) ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S

22 RIGHTS.— 

23 (1) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—On Sep24 tember 1 of each year or the first day thereafter on 

25 which the appropriate House of Congress is in sesVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
17 

•HR 606 IH

1 sion, the Secretary of State, with the assistance of 

2 the Ambassador at Large, and taking into consider3 ation the recommendations of the Commission, shall 

4 prepare and transmit to the Congress an Annual Re5 port on International Women’s Rights 

6 supplementing the most recent Human Rights Re7 ports by providing additional detailed information 

8 with respect to matters involving international wom9 en’s rights. Each Annual Report shall contain the 

10 following: 

11 (A) STATUS OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS.—A de12 scription of the status of women’s rights in 

13 each foreign country, including— 

14 (i) trends toward improvement in the 

15 respect and protection of women’s rights 

16 and trends toward deterioration of such 

17 rights; 

18 (ii) violations of women’s rights en19 gaged in or tolerated by the government of 

20 that country; and 

21 (iii) particularly severe violations of 

22 women’s rights engaged in or tolerated by 

23 the government of that country. 

24 (B) VIOLATIONS OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS.— 

25 An assessment and description of the nature 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
18 

•HR 606 IH

1 and extent of violations of women’s rights in 

2 each foreign country, including gender-based 

3 discrimination by governmental and nongovern4 mental entities, discrimination targeted at indi5 viduals or particular groups of women, and the 

6 existence of government policies violating wom7 en’s rights. 

8 (C) UNITED STATES POLICIES.—A descrip9 tion of United States actions and policies in 

10 support of women’s rights in each foreign coun11 try engaging in or tolerating violations of wom12 en’s rights, including a description of the meas13 ures and policies implemented during the pre14 ceding 12 months by the United States under 

15 this title and titles IV and V in opposition to 

16 violations of women’s rights and in support of 

17 international women’s rights. 

18 (D) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS IN EF19 FECT.—A description of any binding agreement 

20 with a foreign government entered into by the 

21 United States under section 401(b) or 402(c). 

22 (E) TRAINING AND GUIDELINES OF GOV23 ERNMENT PERSONNEL.—A description of— 

24 (i) the training described in the last 

25 sentence of section 708(a) of the Foreign 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
19 

•HR 606 IH

1 Service Act of 1980 (as amended by sec2 tion 104 of this Act), and sections 208(f) 

3 and 240(f) of the Immigration and Nation4 ality Act (as amended by section 603 of 

5 this Act), on violations of women’s rights 

6 that is provided to immigration judges and 

7 consular, refugee, immigration, and asylum 

8 officers; and 

9 (ii) the development and implementa10 tion of the guidelines described in sub11 sections (f)(3) and (g) of section 207 of 

12 the Immigration and Nationality Act (as 

13 amended by section 602 of this Act). 

14 (F) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.—An executive 

15 summary to the annual report highlighting the 

16 status of women’s rights in certain foreign 

17 countries and including the following: 

18 (i) COUNTRIES IN WHICH THE

19 UNITED STATES IS ACTIVELY PROMOTING

20 WOMEN’S RIGHTS.—An identification of 

21 foreign countries in which the United 

22 States is actively promoting women’s 

23 rights. This section of the report shall in24 clude a description of actions taken by the 

25 United States to promote the internationVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
20 

•HR 606 IH

1 ally recognized human rights of women 

2 and oppose violations of such rights under 

3 title IV and title V of this Act during the 

4 period covered by the Annual Report. Any 

5 country designated as a country of par6 ticular concern for women’s rights under 

7 section 402(b)(1) shall be included in this 

8 section of the report. 

9 (ii) COUNTRIES OF SIGNIFICANT IM10 PROVEMENT IN WOMEN’S RIGHTS.—An 

11 identification of foreign countries the gov12 ernments of which have demonstrated sig13 nificant improvement in the protection and 

14 promotion of the internationally recognized 

15 human rights of women during the period 

16 covered by the Annual Report. This section 

17 of the report shall include a description of 

18 the nature of the improvement and an 

19 analysis of the factors contributing to such 

20 improvement, including actions taken by 

21 the United States under this Act. 

22 (2) CLASSIFIED ADDENDUM.—If the Secretary 

23 of State determines that it is in the national security 

24 interests of the United States or is necessary for the 

25 safety of individuals to be identified in the Annual 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
21 

•HR 606 IH

1 Report or is necessary to further the purposes of 

2 this Act, any information required by paragraph (1), 

3 including measures or actions taken by the United 

4 States, may be summarized in the Annual Report or 

5 the Executive Summary and submitted in more de6 tail in a classified addendum to the Annual Report 

7 or the Executive Summary. 

8 (c) PREPARATION OF REPORTS REGARDING VIOLA9 TIONS OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS.— 

10 (1) STANDARDS AND INVESTIGATIONS.—The 

11 Secretary of State shall ensure that United States 

12 missions abroad maintain a consistent reporting 

13 standard and thoroughly investigate reports of viola14 tions of the internationally recognized human rights 

15 of women. 

16 (2) CONTACTS WITH NONGOVERNMENTAL OR17 GANIZATIONS.—In compiling data and assessing the 

18 respect of women’s rights for the Human Rights Re19 ports, the Annual Report, and the Executive Sum20 mary, United States mission personnel shall, as ap21 propriate, seek out and maintain contacts with wom22 en’s and human rights nongovernmental organiza23 tions, with the consent of those organizations, in24 cluding receiving reports and updates from such orVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
22 

•HR 606 IH

1 ganizations and, when appropriate, investigating 

2 such reports. 

3 (d) AMENDMENTS TO THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

4 ACT OF 1961.— 

5 (1) CONTENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS FOR

6 COUNTRIES RECEIVING ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.— 

7 Section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

8 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) is amended— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para10 graph (10); 

11 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

12 paragraph (11) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(12) wherever applicable, violations of women’s 

15 rights, including particularly severe violations of 

16 women’s rights (as defined in section 3 of the Inter17 national Women’s Freedom Act of 2009).’’. 

18 (2) CONTENTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS

19 FOR COUNTRIES RECEIVING SECURITY ASSIST20 ANCE.—Section 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance 

21 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(b)) is amended— 

22 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘and 

23 the Ambassador at Large for International 

24 Women’s Rights’’ after ‘‘Religious Freedom’’; 

25 and 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
23 

•HR 606 IH

1 (B) in the fourth sentence by inserting 

2 after ‘‘1998)’’ the following: ‘‘, and information 

3 on violations of women’s rights, including par4 ticularly severe violations of women’s rights (as 

5 defined in section 3 of the International Wom6 en’s Freedom Act of 2009)’’. 

7 SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF A WOMEN’S RIGHTS INTER8 NET SITE. 

9 In order to facilitate access by nongovernmental orga10 nizations and by the public around the world to inter11 national documents on the protection of women’s rights, 

12 the Secretary of State, with the assistance of the Ambas13 sador at Large, shall establish and maintain an Internet 

14 site containing major international documents relating to 

15 women’s rights, the Annual Report, the Executive Sum16 mary, and any other documentation or references to other 

17 sites as deemed appropriate or relevant by the Ambas18 sador at Large. 

19 SEC. 104. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS. 

20 Section 708(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 

21 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following flush sentence: 

23 ‘‘After January 1, 2008, such training shall include in24 struction on the internationally recognized rights of 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
24 

•HR 606 IH

1 women and the various aspects and manifestations of vio2 lations of women’s rights.’’. 

3 SEC. 105. HIGH-LEVEL CONTACTS WITH NONGOVERN4 MENTAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

5 United States chiefs of mission shall seek out and 

6 contact any women’s nongovernmental organizations to 

7 provide high-level meetings with such nongovernmental or8 ganizations where appropriate and beneficial. United 

9 States chiefs of mission and Foreign Service officers 

10 abroad shall seek to meet with imprisoned women’s rights 

11 advocates where appropriate and beneficial. 

12 SEC. 106. PROGRAMS AND ALLOCATIONS OF FUNDS BY 

13 UNITED STATES MISSIONS ABROAD. 

14 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

15 (1) United States diplomatic missions in coun16 tries the governments of which engage in or tolerate 

17 violations of the internationally recognized human 

18 rights of women should develop, as part of annual 

19 program planning, a strategy to promote respect for 

20 the internationally recognized human rights of 

21 women; and 

22 (2) in allocating or recommending the allocation 

23 of funds or recommending candidates for programs 

24 and grants funded by the United States Govern25 ment, United States diplomatic missions should give 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
25 

•HR 606 IH

1 particular consideration to those programs and can2 didates deemed to assist in the promotion of wom3 en’s rights. 

4 SEC. 107. PRISONER LISTS AND ISSUE BRIEFS ON WOMEN’S 

5 RIGHTS CONCERNS. 

6 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—To encourage in7 volvement with women’s rights concerns at every possible 

8 opportunity and by all appropriate representatives of the 

9 United States Government, it is the sense of the Congress 

10 that officials of the executive branch of the United States 

11 Government should promote increased advocacy on such 

12 issues during meetings between foreign dignitaries and ex13 ecutive branch officials or Members of Congress. 

14 (b) PRISONER LISTS AND ISSUE BRIEFS ON

15 WOMEN’S RIGHTS CONCERNS.—The Secretary of State, 

16 in consultation with the Ambassador at Large, the Under 

17 Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, the 

18 Assistant Secretaries of State for Democracy, Human 

19 Rights, and Labor, United States chiefs of mission 

20 abroad, regional experts, and nongovernmental human 

21 rights groups, shall prepare and maintain issue briefs on 

22 women’s rights, on a country-by-country basis, consisting 

23 of lists of persons believed to be imprisoned, detained, or 

24 placed under house arrest because of their gender, to25 gether with brief evaluations and critiques of the policies 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
26 

•HR 606 IH

1 of the respective country restricting women’s rights. In 

2 considering the inclusion of names of prisoners on such 

3 lists, the Secretary of State shall exercise appropriate dis4 cretion, including concerns regarding the safety, security, 

5 and benefit to such prisoners. 

6 (c) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

7 shall, as appropriate, provide women’s rights issue briefs 

8 under subsection (b) to executive branch officials and 

9 Members of Congress in anticipation of bilateral contacts 

10 with foreign leaders, both in the United States and 

11 abroad. 

12 TITLE II—COMMISSION ON 

13 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S 

14 RIGHTS 

15 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the United 

17 States Commission on International Women’s Rights. 

18 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be 

20 composed of— 

21 (A) the Ambassador at Large, who shall 

22 serve ex officio as a nonvoting member of the 

23 Commission; and 

24 (B) nine other members, who shall be 

25 United States citizens who are not being paid 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
27 

•HR 606 IH

1 as officers or employees of the United States, 

2 and who shall be appointed as follows: 

3 (i) Three members of the Commission 

4 shall be appointed by the President. 

5 (ii) Three members of the Commission 

6 shall be appointed by the President pro 

7 tempore of the Senate, of which two of the 

8 members shall be appointed upon the rec9 ommendation of the leader in the Senate of 

10 the political party that is not the political 

11 party of the President, and of which one of 

12 the members shall be appointed upon the 

13 recommendation of the leader in the Sen14 ate of the other political party. 

15 (iii) Three members of the Commis16 sion shall be appointed by the Speaker of 

17 the House of Representatives, of which two 

18 of the members shall be appointed upon 

19 the recommendation of the leader in the 

20 House of the political party that is not the 

21 political party of the President, and of 

22 which one of the members shall be ap23 pointed upon the recommendation of the 

24 leader in the House of the other political 

25 party. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
28 

•HR 606 IH

1 (2) SELECTION.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Com3 mission shall be selected from among distin4 guished individuals noted for their knowledge 

5 and experience in fields relevant to the issue of 

6 international women’s rights, including foreign 

7 affairs, direct experience abroad, human rights, 

8 and international law. 

9 (B) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—Each mem10 ber of the Commission shall be required to ob11 tain a security clearance. 

12 (3) TIME OF APPOINTMENT.—The appoint13 ments required by paragraph (1) shall be made not 

14 later than 120 days after the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act. 

16 (c) TERMS.—The term of office of each member of 

17 the Commission shall be 2 years, beginning on the date 

18 of the initial appointment of all of the members of the 

19 Commission. Members of the Commission shall be eligible 

20 for reappointment. 

21 (d) ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON.—At the first meet22 ing of the Commission in each calendar year, a majority 

23 of the members of the Commission present and voting 

24 shall elect the Chairperson of the Commission. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
29 

•HR 606 IH

1 (e) QUORUM.—Six voting members of the Commis2 sion shall constitute a quorum for purposes of transacting 

3 business. 

4 (f) MEETINGS.—Each year, within 15 days, or as 

5 soon as practicable, after the issuance of the Country Re6 ports on Human Rights Practices, the Commission shall 

7 convene. The Commission shall otherwise meet at the call 

8 of the Chairperson or, if no Chairperson has been elected 

9 for that calendar year, at the call of six voting members 

10 of the Commission. 

11 (g) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy of the Commission 

12 shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the manner 

13 in which the original appointment was made. 

14 (h) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Administrator 

15 of General Services shall provide to the Commission on 

16 a reimbursable basis (or, in the discretion of the Adminis17 trator, on a nonreimbursable basis) such administrative 

18 support services as the Commission may request to carry 

19 out the provisions of this title. 

20 (i) FUNDING.—Members of the Commission shall be 

21 allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of sub22 sistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies 

23 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 

24 Code, while away from their homes or regular places of 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
30 

•HR 606 IH

1 business in the performance of services for the Commis2 sion. 

3 SEC. 202. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall have as its 

5 primary responsibility— 

6 (1) the annual and ongoing review of the facts 

7 and circumstances of violations of women’s rights 

8 presented in the Country Reports on Human Rights 

9 Practices, the Annual Report, and the Executive 

10 Summary, as well as information from other sources 

11 as appropriate; and 

12 (2) the making of policy recommendations to 

13 the President, the Secretary of State, and the Con14 gress with respect to matters involving international 

15 women’s rights. 

16 (b) POLICY REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN RE17 SPONSE TO VIOLATIONS.—The Commission, in evaluating 

18 United States Government policies in response to viola19 tions of women’s rights, shall consider and recommend op20 tions for policies of the United States Government with 

21 respect to each foreign country the government of which 

22 has engaged in or tolerated violations of women’s rights, 

23 including particularly severe violations of women’s rights. 

24 Such options include diplomatic inquiry, diplomatic pro25 test, official public demarche, condemnation within multiVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
31 

•HR 606 IH

1 lateral fora, delay or cancellation of cultural or scientific 

2 exchanges, delay or cancellation of working, official, or 

3 state visits, reduction of certain assistance funds, termi4 nation of certain assistance funds, imposition of targeted 

5 trade sanctions, imposition of broad trade sanctions, and 

6 withdrawal of the chief of mission. 

7 (c) POLICY REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN RE8 SPONSE TO PROGRESS.—The Commission, in evaluating 

9 the United States Government policies with respect to 

10 countries found to be taking deliberate steps and making 

11 significant improvement with respect to women’s rights, 

12 shall consider and recommend policy options, including 

13 private commendation, diplomatic commendation, official 

14 public commendation, commendation within multilateral 

15 fora, an increase in cultural or scientific exchanges, or 

16 both, termination or reduction of existing Presidential ac17 tions, an increase in certain assistance funds, and invita18 tions for working, official, or state visits. 

19 (d) EFFECTS ON WOMEN.—Together with specific 

20 policy recommendations provided under subsections (b) 

21 and (c), the Commission shall also indicate its evaluation 

22 of the potential effects of those policies, if implemented, 

23 on women in the country in question. 

24 (e) MONITORING.—The Commission shall, on an on25 going basis, monitor facts and circumstances of violations 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
32 

•HR 606 IH

1 of women’s rights, in consultation with independent 

2 human rights groups and nongovernmental organizations, 

3 including churches and other religious communities, and 

4 make such recommendations as may be necessary to the 

5 appropriate officials and offices of the United States Gov6 ernment. 

7 SEC. 203. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

8 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 

9 may, for the purpose of carrying out its duties under this 

10 title, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places in the 

11 United States, take testimony, and receive evidence as the 

12 Commission considers advisable to carry out the purposes 

13 of this title. 

14 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

15 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart16 ment or agency such information as the Commission con17 siders necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. 

18 Upon request of the Chairperson of the Commission, the 

19 head of such department or agency shall furnish such in20 formation to the Commission, subject to applicable law. 

21 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

22 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

23 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of 

24 the Federal Government. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
33 

•HR 606 IH

1 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—The Commis2 sion may adopt such regulations relating to administrative 

3 procedure as may be reasonably necessary to enable it to 

4 carry out this title. 

5 (e) VIEWS OF THE COMMISSION.—The Members of 

6 the Commission may speak in their capacity as private 

7 citizens. Statements on behalf of the Commission shall be 

8 issued in writing over the names of the Members. The 

9 Commission shall in its written statements clearly describe 

10 its statutory authority, distinguishing that authority from 

11 that of appointed or elected officials of the United States 

12 Government. Oral statements, if practicable, shall include 

13 a similar description. 

14 (f) TRAVEL.—The Members of the Commission may, 

15 with the approval of the Commission, conduct such travel 

16 as is necessary to carry out the purposes of this title. Each 

17 trip must be approved by a majority of the Commission. 

18 This subsection shall not apply to the Ambassador at 

19 Large, whose travel shall not require approval by the Com20 mission. 

21 SEC. 204. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may, without re23 gard to the civil service laws and regulations, appoint and 

24 terminate an Executive Director and such other additional 

25 personnel as may be necessary to enable the Commission 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
34 

•HR 606 IH

1 to perform its duties. The decision to employ or terminate 

2 an Executive Director shall be made by an affirmative vote 

3 of at least 6 of the 9 members of the Commission. 

4 (b) COMPENSATION.—The Commission may fix the 

5 compensation of the Executive Director and other per6 sonnel without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and 

7 subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States 

8 Code, relating to classification of positions and General 

9 Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the 

10 Executive Director and other personnel may not exceed 

11 the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 

12 under section 5316 of such title. 

13 (c) PROFESSIONAL STAFF.—The Commission and 

14 the Executive Director shall hire Commission staff on the 

15 basis of professional and nonpartisan qualifications. Com16 missioners may not individually hire staff of the Commis17 sion. Staff shall serve the Commission as a whole and may 

18 not be assigned to the particular service of a single Com19 missioner or a specified group of Commissioners. This 

20 subsection does not prohibit staff personnel from assisting 

21 individual members of the Commission with particular 

22 needs related to their duties. 

23 (d) STAFF AND SERVICES OF OTHER FEDERAL

24 AGENCIES.— 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
35 

•HR 606 IH

1 (1) DEPARTMENT OF STATE.—The Secretary of 

2 State shall assist the Commission by providing on a 

3 reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis to the Com4 mission such staff and administrative services as 

5 may be necessary and appropriate to perform its 

6 functions. 

7 (2) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon the re8 quest of the Commission, the head of any Federal 

9 department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable 

10 or nonreimbursable basis, any of the personnel of 

11 that department or agency to the Commission to as12 sist it in carrying out its functions under this title. 

13 The detail of any such personnel shall be without 

14 interruption or loss of civil service or Foreign Serv15 ice status or privilege. 

16 (e) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—The Executive Direc17 tor shall be required to obtain a security clearance. The 

18 Executive Director may request, on a needs-only basis and 

19 in order to perform the duties of the Commission, that 

20 other personnel of the Commission be required to obtain 

21 a security clearance. The level of clearance shall be the 

22 lowest necessary to appropriately perform the duties of the 

23 Commission. 

24 (f) COST.—The Commission shall reimburse all ap25 propriate Government agencies for the cost of obtaining 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
36 

•HR 606 IH

1 clearances for members of the Commission, for the Execu2 tive Director, and for any other personnel. 

3 SEC. 205. REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than May 1 of each 

5 year, the Commission shall submit a report to the Presi6 dent, the Secretary of State, and the Congress setting 

7 forth its recommendations for United States policy options 

8 based on its evaluations under section 202. 

9 (b) CLASSIFIED FORM OF REPORT.—The report may 

10 be submitted in classified form, together with a public 

11 summary of recommendations, if the classification of in12 formation in the report would further the purposes of this 

13 Act. 

14 (c) INDIVIDUAL OR DISSENTING VIEWS.—Each 

15 member of the Commission may include the individual or 

16 dissenting views of the member. 

17 (d) FINANCIAL REPORT.—The Commission shall, not 

18 later than January 1 of each year, submit to the Com19 mittee on International Relations and the Committee on 

20 Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and to 

21 the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee 

22 on Appropriations of the Senate, a report detailing and 

23 identifying the expenditures of the Commission in the pre24 ceding fiscal year. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
37 

•HR 606 IH

1 SEC. 206. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS. 

2 The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

3 shall not apply to the Commission. 

4 SEC. 207. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND DISCLOSURE. 

5 (a) COOPERATION WITH NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGA6 NIZATIONS, THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, AND CON7 GRESS.—The Commission shall, in performing the Com8 mission’s duties under this title, seek to effectively and 

9 freely cooperate with all governmental and nongovern10 mental entities engaged in the promotion of women’s 

11 rights abroad. 

12 (b) CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND ANTINEPOTISM.— 

13 (1) MEMBER AFFILIATIONS.—Except as pro14 vided in paragraph (3), in order to ensure the inde15 pendence and integrity of the Commission, the Com16 mission may not compensate any nongovernmental 

17 agency, project, or person related to or affiliated 

18 with any member of the Commission, whether in 

19 that member’s direct employ or not. Staff employed 

20 by the Commission may not serve in the employ of 

21 any nongovernmental agency, project, or person re22 lated to or affiliated with any member of the Com23 mission while employed by the Commission. 

24 (2) STAFF COMPENSATION.—Staff of the Com25 mission may not receive compensation from any 

26 other source for work performed in carrying out the 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
38 

•HR 606 IH

1 duties of the Commission while employed by the 

2 Commission. 

3 (3) EXCEPTION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara5 graph (B), paragraph (1) shall not apply to 

6 payments made for items such as conference 

7 fees or the purchase of periodicals or other 

8 similar expenses, if such payments would not 

9 cause the aggregate value paid to any agency, 

10 project, or person for a fiscal year to exceed 

11 $250. 

12 (B) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding sub13 paragraph (A), the Commission shall not give 

14 special preference to any agency, project, or 

15 person related to or affiliated with any member 

16 of the Commission. 

17 (4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the term 

18 ‘‘affiliated’’ means the relationship between a mem19 ber of the Commission and— 

20 (A) an individual who holds the position of 

21 officer, trustee, partner, director, or employee 

22 of an agency, project, or person of which that 

23 member, or relative of that member of, the 

24 Commission is an officer, trustee, partner, di25 rector, or employee; or 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
39 

•HR 606 IH

1 (B) a nongovernmental agency or project 

2 of which that member, or a relative of that 

3 member, of the Commission is an officer, trust4 ee, partner, director, or employee. 

5 (c) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

7 appropriations, the Commission may contract with 

8 and compensate Government agencies or persons for 

9 the conduct of activities necessary to the discharge 

10 of its functions under this title. Any such person 

11 shall be hired without interruption or loss of civil 

12 service or Foreign Service status or privilege. The 

13 Commission may not procure temporary and inter14 mittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, 

15 United States Code, or under other contracting au16 thority other than that allowed under this title. 

17 (2) EXPERT STUDY.—In the case of a study re18 quested under section 605 of this Act, the Commis19 sion may, subject to the availability of appropria20 tions, contract with experts and shall provide the 

21 funds for such a study. The Commission shall not be 

22 required to provide the funds for that part of the 

23 study conducted by the Comptroller General of the 

24 United States. 

25 (d) GIFTS.— 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
40 

•HR 606 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to preserve its inde2 pendence, the Commission may not accept, use, or 

3 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

4 An individual Commissioner or employee of the 

5 Commission may not, in his or her capacity as a 

6 Commissioner or employee, knowingly accept, use, or 

7 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property, 

8 unless he or she in good faith believes such gifts or 

9 donations to have a value of less than $50 and a cu10 mulative value during a calendar year of less than 

11 $100. 

12 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—This subsection shall not 

13 apply to the following: 

14 (A) Gifts provided on the basis of a per15 sonal friendship with a Commissioner or em16 ployee, unless the Commissioner or employee 

17 has reason to believe that the gift was provided 

18 because of the Commissioner’s position and not 

19 because of the personal friendship. 

20 (B) Gifts provided on the basis of a family 

21 relationship. 

22 (C) The acceptance of training, invitations 

23 to attend or participate in conferences or such 

24 other events as are related to the conduct of the 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
41 

•HR 606 IH

1 duties of the Commission, or food or refresh2 ment associated with such activities. 

3 (D) Items of nominal value or gifts of esti4 mated value of $10 or less. 

5 (E) De minimis gifts provided by a foreign 

6 leader or state, not exceeding a value of $260. 

7 Gifts believed by Commissioners to be in excess 

8 of $260, but which would create offense or em9 barrassment to the United States Government 

10 if refused, shall be accepted and turned over to 

11 the United States Government in accordance 

12 with the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act of 

13 1966 and the rules and regulations governing 

14 such gifts provided to Members of Congress. 

15 (F) Informational materials such as docu16 ments, books, videotapes, periodicals, or other 

17 forms of communications. 

18 (G) Goods or services provided by any 

19 agency or component of the Government of the 

20 United States, including any commission estab21 lished under the authority of the Government. 

22 SEC. 208. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro24 priated to the Commission such sums as may be necessary 

25 to carry out this title. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
42 

•HR 606 IH

1 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts authorized 

2 to be appropriated under subsection (a) are authorized to 

3 remain available until expended, but not later than the 

4 date on which the Commission terminates. 

5 SEC. 209. TERMINATION. 

6 The Commission shall terminate 12 years after the 

7 date of the initial appointment of all of the members of 

8 the Commission. 

9 TITLE III—NATIONAL SECURITY 

10 COUNCIL 

11 SEC. 301. SPECIAL ADVISER ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S 

12 RIGHTS. 

13 Section 101 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 

14 U.S.C. 402) is amended by adding at the end the following 

15 new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(l) It is the sense of the Congress that there should 

17 be within the staff of the National Security Council a Spe18 cial Adviser to the President on International Women’s 

19 Rights, whose position should be comparable to that of 

20 a director within the Executive Office of the President. 

21 The Special Adviser should serve as a resource for execu22 tive branch officials, compiling and maintaining informa23 tion on the facts and circumstances of violations of wom24 en’s rights (as defined in section 3 of the International 

25 Women’s Freedom Act of 2009), and making policy recVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
43 

•HR 606 IH

1 ommendations. The Special Adviser should serve as liaison 

2 with the Ambassador at Large for International Women’s 

3 Rights, the United States Commission on International 

4 Women’s Rights, the Congress, and, as advisable, women’s 

5 nongovernmental organizations.’’. 

6 TITLE IV—PRESIDENTIAL 

7 ACTIONS 

8 Subtitle A—Targeted Responses to 

9 Violations of Women’s Rights 

10 Abroad 

11 SEC. 401. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO VIOLA12 TIONS OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS. 

13 (a) RESPONSE TO VIOLATIONS OF WOMEN’S

14 RIGHTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

16 (A) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It shall be 

17 the policy of the United States— 

18 (i) to oppose violations of women’s 

19 rights that are or have been engaged in or 

20 tolerated by the governments of foreign 

21 countries; and 

22 (ii) to promote women’s rights in 

23 those countries through the actions de24 scribed in subsection (b). 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
44 

•HR 606 IH

1 (B) REQUIREMENT OF PRESIDENTIAL AC2 TION.—For each foreign country the govern3 ment of which engages in or tolerates violations 

4 of women’s rights, the President shall oppose 

5 such violations and promote the human rights 

6 of women in that country through the actions 

7 described in subsection (b). 

8 (2) BASIS OF ACTIONS.—Each action taken 

9 under paragraph (1)(B) shall be based upon infor10 mation regarding violations of women’s rights, as de11 scribed in the latest Country Reports on Human 

12 Rights Practices, the Annual Report and Executive 

13 Summary, and on any other evidence available, and 

14 shall take into account any findings or recommenda15 tions by the Commission with respect to the foreign 

16 country. 

17 (b) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

19 and (3), the President, in consultation with the Sec20 retary of State, the Ambassador at Large, the Spe21 cial Adviser, and the Commission, shall, as expedi22 tiously as practicable in response to the violations 

23 described in subsection (a) by the government of a 

24 foreign country— 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
45 

•HR 606 IH

1 (A) take one or more of the actions de2 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (15) of sec3 tion 405(a) (or commensurate action in substi4 tution therefor) with respect to that country; or 

5 (B) negotiate and enter into a binding 

6 agreement with the government of that country, 

7 as described in section 405(c). 

8 (2) DEADLINE FOR ACTIONS.—Not later than 

9 September 1 of each year, the President shall take 

10 action under any of paragraphs (1) through (15) of 

11 section 405(a) (or commensurate action in substi12 tution therefor) with respect to each foreign country 

13 the government of which has engaged in or tolerated 

14 violations of women’s rights at any time since Sep15 tember 1 of the preceding year, except that in the 

16 case of action under any of paragraphs (9) through 

17 (15) of section 405(a) (or commensurate action in 

18 substitution therefor)— 

19 (A) the action may only be taken after the 

20 requirements of sections 403 and 404 have been 

21 satisfied; and 

22 (B) the September 1 limitation shall not 

23 apply. 

24 (3) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF PRESIDENTIAL

25 ACTIONS.—The President may delay action that is 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
46 

•HR 606 IH

1 described in any of paragraphs (9) through (15) of 

2 section 405(a) (or commensurate action in substi3 tution therefor)— 

4 (A) if the President determines and cer5 tifies to the Congress that a single, additional 

6 period of time, not to exceed 90 days, is nec7 essary for any of the purposes set forth in sec8 tion 402(c)(3); and 

9 (B) only until the expiration of that addi10 tional period. 

11 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

13 (b), the President shall— 

14 (A) take the action or actions that most 

15 appropriately respond to the nature and sever16 ity of the violations of women’s rights; 

17 (B) seek to the fullest extent possible to 

18 target action as narrowly as practicable with re19 spect to the agency or instrumentality of the 

20 foreign government, or specific officials thereof, 

21 that are responsible for such violations; and 

22 (C) when appropriate, make every reason23 able effort to conclude a binding agreement 

24 concerning the cessation of such violations in 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
47 

•HR 606 IH

1 countries with which the United States has dip2 lomatic relations. 

3 (2) GUIDELINES FOR PRESIDENTIAL AC4 TIONS.—In addition to the guidelines under para5 graph (1), the President, in determining whether to 

6 take a Presidential action under paragraphs (9) 

7 through (15) of section 405(a) (or commensurate ac8 tion in substitution therefor), shall seek to minimize 

9 any adverse effects on— 

10 (A) the population of the country whose 

11 government is targeted by the Presidential ac12 tion or actions; and 

13 (B) the humanitarian activities of United 

14 States and foreign nongovernmental organiza15 tions in that country. 

16 SEC. 402. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO PAR17 TICULARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF WOM18 EN’S RIGHTS. 

19 (a) RESPONSE TO PARTICULARLY SEVERE VIOLA20 TIONS OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS.— 

21 (1) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It shall be the 

22 policy of the United States— 

23 (A) to oppose particularly severe violations 

24 of women’s rights that are or have been enVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
48 

•HR 606 IH

1 gaged in or tolerated by the governments of for2 eign countries; and 

3 (B) to promote the rights of women in 

4 those countries through the actions described in 

5 subsection (c). 

6 (2) REQUIREMENT OF PRESIDENTIAL AC7 TION.—Whenever the President determines that the 

8 government of a foreign country has engaged in or 

9 tolerated particularly severe violations of women’s 

10 rights, the President shall oppose such violations 

11 and promote women’s rights through one or more of 

12 the actions described in subsection (c). 

13 (b) DESIGNATIONS OF COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR

14 CONCERN FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS.— 

15 (1) ANNUAL REVIEW.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Sep17 tember 1 of each year, the President shall re18 view the status of women’s rights in each for19 eign country to determine whether the govern20 ment of that country has engaged in or toler21 ated particularly severe violations of women’s 

22 rights in that country during the preceding 12 

23 months or since the date of the last review of 

24 that country under this subparagraph, which25 ever period is longer. The President shall desVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
49 

•HR 606 IH

1 ignate each country the government of which 

2 has engaged in or tolerated violations described 

3 in this subparagraph as a country of particular 

4 concern for women’s rights. 

5 (B) BASIS OF REVIEW.—Each review con6 ducted under subparagraph (A) shall be based 

7 upon information contained in the latest Coun8 try Reports on Human Rights Practices, the 

9 Annual Report, and on any other evidence 

10 available, and shall take into account any find11 ings or recommendations of the Commission 

12 with respect to the foreign country. 

13 (C) IMPLEMENTATION.—Any review under 

14 subparagraph (A) of a foreign country may 

15 take place singly or jointly with the review of 

16 one or more countries and may take place at 

17 any time before September 1 of the respective 

18 year. 

19 (2) DETERMINATIONS OF RESPONSIBLE PAR20 TIES.—For the government of each country des21 ignated as a country of particular concern for wom22 en’s rights under paragraph (1)(A), the President 

23 shall seek to determine the agency or instrumen24 tality and specific officials of the government that 

25 are responsible for the particularly severe violations 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
50 

•HR 606 IH

1 of women’s rights engaged in or tolerated by that 

2 government in order to appropriately target Presi3 dential actions under this section in response to the 

4 violations. 

5 (3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Whenever 

6 the President designates a country as a country of 

7 particular concern for women’s rights under para8 graph (1)(A), the President shall, as soon as prac9 ticable after the designation is made, transmit to the 

10 appropriate congressional committees— 

11 (A) the designation of the country, signed 

12 by the President; and 

13 (B) the identification, if any, of responsible 

14 parties determined under paragraph (2). 

15 (c) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO

16 COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN FOR WOMEN’S

17 RIGHTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2), 

19 (3), (4), and (5), with respect to each country of 

20 particular concern for women’s rights designated 

21 under subsection (b)(1)(A), the President shall, after 

22 the requirements of sections 403 and 404 have been 

23 satisfied, but not later than 90 days after the date 

24 of designation of the country under that subsection, 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
51 

•HR 606 IH

1 carry out one or more of the following actions under 

2 subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B): 

3 (A) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—One or 

4 more of the Presidential actions described in 

5 paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 405(a), 

6 as determined by the President. 

7 (B) COMMENSURATE ACTIONS.—Commen8 surate action in substitution for any action de9 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

10 (2) SUBSTITUTION OF BINDING AGREE11 MENTS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—In lieu of carrying out 

13 action under paragraph (1), the President may 

14 conclude a binding agreement with the respec15 tive foreign government as described in section 

16 405(c). The existence of a binding agreement 

17 under this paragraph with a foreign government 

18 may be considered by the President before mak19 ing any determination or taking any action 

20 under this title. 

21 (B) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

22 in this paragraph may be construed to author23 ize the entry of the United States into an 

24 agreement covering matters outside the scope of 

25 violations of women’s rights. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
52 

•HR 606 IH

1 (3) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF PRESIDENTIAL

2 ACTIONS.—If, on or before the date that the Presi3 dent is required (but for this paragraph) to take ac4 tion under paragraph (1), the President determines 

5 and certifies to the Congress that a single, addi6 tional period of time not to exceed 90 days is nec7 essary— 

8 (A) for a continuation of negotiations that 

9 have been commenced with the government of 

10 that country to bring about a cessation of the 

11 violations by the foreign country, 

12 (B) for a continuation of multilateral nego13 tiations into which the United States has en14 tered to bring about a cessation of the viola15 tions by the foreign country, or 

16 (C)(i) for a review of corrective action 

17 taken by the foreign country after designation 

18 of that country as a country of particular con19 cern, or 

20 (ii) in anticipation that corrective action 

21 will be taken by the foreign country during that 

22 additional period of time, 

23 then the President shall not be required to take 

24 action until the expiration of that additional pe25 riod of time. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
53 

•HR 606 IH

1 (4) EXCEPTION FOR ONGOING PRESIDENTIAL

2 ACTION UNDER THIS ACT.—The President shall not 

3 be required to take action under this subsection in 

4 the case of a country of particular concern for wom5 en’s rights, if, with respect to that country— 

6 (A) the President has taken action pursu7 ant to this Act in a preceding year; 

8 (B) such action is in effect at the time the 

9 country is designated as a country of particular 

10 concern for women’s rights under this section; 

11 and 

12 (C) the President reports to the Congress 

13 the information described in paragraphs (1), 

14 (2), (3), and (4) of section 404(a) regarding the 

15 actions in effect with respect to that country. 

16 (5) EXCEPTION FOR ONGOING MULTIPLE

17 BROAD-BASED SANCTIONS IN RESPONSE TO HUMAN

18 RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.—If, at the time the President 

19 determines a country to be a country of particular 

20 concern for women’s rights, that country is already 

21 subject to multiple, broad-based sanctions imposed 

22 in significant part in response to human rights 

23 abuses, and such sanctions are ongoing, the Presi24 dent may determine that one or more of these sanc25 tions also satisfies the requirements of this subVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
54 

•HR 606 IH

1 section. In the report to the Congress under section 

2 404(a), and, as applicable, in the information pub3 lished under section 408, the President shall des4 ignate the specific sanction or sanctions which the 

5 President determines satisfy the requirements of this 

6 subsection. The sanctions so designated shall remain 

7 in effect as provided in section 409. 

8 (d) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—A determination 

9 under this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, that 

10 a foreign country has engaged in or tolerated particularly 

11 severe violations of women’s rights shall not be construed 

12 to require the termination of assistance or other activities 

13 with respect to that country under any other provision of 

14 law, including section 116 or 502B of the Foreign Assist15 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n, 2304). 

16 SEC. 403. CONSULTATIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 

18 President decides under section 401 to take an action 

19 under any of paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 

20 405(a) (or commensurate action in substitution therefor) 

21 with respect to a country in response to violations of wom22 en’s rights, or not later than 90 days after the President 

23 designates a country as a country of particular concern 

24 for women’s rights under section 402, as the case may 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
55 

•HR 606 IH

1 be, the President shall carry out the consultations required 

2 in this section. 

3 (b) DUTY TO CONSULT WITH FOREIGN GOVERN4 MENTS BEFORE TAKING PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall— 

6 (A) request consultation with the govern7 ment of the country concerned regarding the 

8 violations giving rise to the designation of that 

9 country as a country of particular concern for 

10 women’s rights, or to Presidential action under 

11 section 401, as the case may be; and 

12 (B) if agreed to, enter into such consulta13 tions, privately or publicly. 

14 (2) USE OF MULTILATERAL FORA.—If the 

15 President determines it to be appropriate, consulta16 tions under paragraph (1) may be sought and may 

17 occur in a multilateral forum, but, in any event, the 

18 President shall consult with appropriate foreign gov19 ernments for the purposes of achieving a coordinated 

20 international policy on actions that may be taken 

21 with respect to a country described in subsection (a), 

22 before implementing any such action. 

23 (3) ELECTION OF NONDISCLOSURE OF NEGO24 TIATIONS TO PUBLIC.—If negotiations are under25 taken or an agreement is concluded with a foreign 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
56 

•HR 606 IH

1 government regarding steps to cease the pattern of 

2 violations by that government, and if public disclo3 sure of such negotiations or agreement would jeop4 ardize the negotiations or the implementation of 

5 such agreement, as the case may be, the President 

6 may refrain from disclosing such negotiations and 

7 such agreement to the public, except that the Presi8 dent shall inform the appropriate congressional com9 mittees of the nature and extent of such negotiations 

10 and any agreement reached. 

11 (c) DUTY TO CONSULT WITH HUMANITARIAN ORGA12 NIZATIONS.—The President should consult with appro13 priate humanitarian and human rights organizations con14 cerning the potential impact of United States policies to 

15 promote women’s rights in countries described in sub16 section (a). 

17 (d) DUTY TO CONSULT WITH UNITED STATES IN18 TERESTED PARTIES.—The President shall, as appro19 priate, consult with interested parties in the United 

20 States, including the Commission on International Wom21 en’s Rights, with respect to the potential impact of in22 tended Presidential action or actions in countries de23 scribed in subsection (a) on economic or other interests 

24 of the United States. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
57 

•HR 606 IH

1 SEC. 404. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), not 

3 later than 90 days after the President decides under sec4 tion 401 to take action under paragraphs (9) through (15) 

5 of section 405(a) (or commensurate action in substitution 

6 therefor) with respect to a country, in response to viola7 tions of women’s rights by that country, or not later than 

8 90 days after the President designates a country as a 

9 country of particular concern for women’s rights under 

10 section 402, as the case may be, the President shall submit 

11 a report to the Congress containing the following: 

12 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF PRESIDENTIAL AC13 TIONS.—An identification of the action or actions 

14 described in paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 

15 405(a) (or commensurate action in substitution 

16 therefor) to be taken with respect to the foreign 

17 country. 

18 (2) DESCRIPTION OF VIOLATIONS.—A descrip19 tion of the violations giving rise to the action or ac20 tions to be taken. 

21 (3) PURPOSE OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—A 

22 description of the purpose of the action or actions. 

23 (4) EVALUATION.— 

24 (A) DESCRIPTION.—An evaluation, in con25 sultation with the Secretary of State, the Am26 bassador at Large, the Commission, the Special 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
58 

•HR 606 IH

1 Adviser, the parties described in subsections (c) 

2 and (d) of section 403, and whomever else the 

3 President deems appropriate, of the effects of 

4 the action or actions on— 

5 (i) the government of the foreign 

6 country; 

7 (ii) the population of the country; and 

8 (iii) the United States economy and 

9 other interested parties. 

10 (B) AUTHORITY TO WITHHOLD DISCLO11 SURE.—The President may withhold part or all 

12 of such evaluation from the public but shall 

13 provide the evaluation to the Congress in its en14 tirety. 

15 (5) STATEMENT OF POLICY OPTIONS.—A state16 ment that noneconomic policy options designed to 

17 bring about cessation of the violations of women’s 

18 rights have reasonably been exhausted, including the 

19 consultations required in section 403. 

20 (6) DESCRIPTION OF MULTILATERAL NEGOTIA21 TIONS.—A description of multilateral negotiations 

22 sought or carried out, if appropriate and applicable. 

23 (b) DELAY IN TRANSMITTAL OF REPORT.—If, on or 

24 before the date that the President is required (but for this 

25 subsection) to submit a report under subsection (a) to the 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
59 

•HR 606 IH

1 Congress, the President determines and certifies to the 

2 Congress, under section 401(b)(3) or 402(c)(3), that a 

3 single, additional period of time not to exceed 90 days is 

4 necessary, then the President shall not be required to sub5 mit the report to the Congress until the expiration of that 

6 additional period of time. 

7 SEC. 405. DESCRIPTION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS. 

8 (a) DESCRIPTION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—Ex9 cept as provided in subsection (d), the Presidential actions 

10 referred to in this subsection are the following: 

11 (1) A private demarche. 

12 (2) An official public demarche. 

13 (3) A public condemnation. 

14 (4) A public condemnation within one or more 

15 multilateral fora. 

16 (5) The delay or cancellation of one or more 

17 scientific exchanges. 

18 (6) The delay or cancellation of one or more 

19 cultural exchanges. 

20 (7) The denial of one or more working, official, 

21 or state visits. 

22 (8) The delay or cancellation of one or more 

23 working, official, or state visits. 

24 (9) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of 

25 United States development assistance in accordance 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
60 

•HR 606 IH

1 with section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

2 1961. 

3 (10) Directing the Export-Import Bank of the 

4 United States, the Overseas Private Investment Cor5 poration, or the Trade and Development Agency not 

6 to approve the issuance of any (or a specified num7 ber of) guarantees, insurance, extensions of credit, 

8 or participations in the extension of credit with re9 spect to the specific government, agency, instrumen10 tality, or official found or determined by the Presi11 dent to be responsible for the violations under sec12 tion 401 or 402. 

13 (11) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension 

14 of United States security assistance in accordance 

15 with section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

16 1961. 

17 (12) Consistent with section 701 of the Inter18 national Financial Institutions Act, directing the 

19 United States executive directors of international fi20 nancial institutions to oppose and vote against loans 

21 primarily benefitting the specific foreign govern22 ment, agency, instrumentality, or official found or 

23 determined by the President to be responsible for 

24 the violations under section 401 or 402. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
61 

•HR 606 IH

1 (13) Ordering the heads of the appropriate 

2 United States agencies not to issue any (or a speci3 fied number of) specific licenses, and not to grant 

4 any other specific authority (or a specified number 

5 of authorities), to export any goods or technology to 

6 the specific foreign government, agency, instrumen7 tality, or official found or determined by the Presi8 dent to be responsible for the violations under sec9 tion 401 or 402, under— 

10 (A) the Export Administration Act of 1979 

11 (as continued in effect under the International 

12 Emergency Economic Powers Act); 

13 (B) the Arms Export Control Act; 

14 (C) the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; or 

15 (D) any other statute that requires the 

16 prior review and approval of the United States 

17 Government as a condition for the export or re18 export of goods or services. 

19 (14) Prohibiting any United States financial in20 stitution from making loans or providing credits to21 taling more than $10,000,000 in any 12-month pe22 riod to the specific foreign government, agency, in23 strumentality, or official found or determined by the 

24 President to be responsible for the violations under 

25 section 401 or 402. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
62 

•HR 606 IH

1 (15) Prohibiting the United States Government 

2 from procuring, or entering into any contract for the 

3 procurement of, any goods or services from the for4 eign government, agency, instrumentality, or official 

5 found or determined by the President to be respon6 sible for the violations under section 401 or 402. 

7 (b) COMMENSURATE ACTION.—Except as provided in 

8 subsection (d), the President may substitute any other ac9 tion authorized by law for any action described in para10 graphs (1) through (15) of subsection (a) if such action 

11 is commensurate in effect to the action substituted and 

12 if the action would further the policy of the United States 

13 set forth in section 2(b) of this Act. The President shall 

14 seek to take all appropriate and feasible actions authorized 

15 by law to obtain the cessation of the violations. If commen16 surate action is taken, the President shall report such ac17 tion, together with an explanation for taking such action, 

18 to the appropriate congressional committees. 

19 (c) BINDING AGREEMENTS.—The President may ne20 gotiate and enter into a binding agreement with a foreign 

21 government against which sanctions would otherwise be 

22 imposed that obligates that government to cease, or take 

23 substantial steps to address and phase out, the act, policy, 

24 or practice constituting the violation or violations of wom25 en’s rights. The entry into force of a binding agreement 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
63 

•HR 606 IH

1 for the cessation of the violations shall be a primary objec2 tive for the President in responding to a foreign govern3 ment that has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe 

4 violations of women’s rights. 

5 (d) EXCEPTIONS.—Any action taken pursuant to 

6 subsection (a) or (b) may not prohibit or restrict the provi7 sion of medicine, medical equipment or supplies, food, or 

8 other humanitarian assistance. 

9 SEC. 406. EFFECTS ON EXISTING CONTRACTS. 

10 The President shall not be required to apply or main11 tain any Presidential action under this subtitle— 

12 (1) in the case of procurement of defense arti13 cles or defense services— 

14 (A) under existing contracts or sub15 contracts, including the exercise of options for 

16 production quantities, to satisfy requirements 

17 essential to the national security of the United 

18 States; 

19 (B) if the President determines in writing 

20 and so reports to the Congress that the person 

21 or other entity to which the Presidential action 

22 would otherwise be applied is a sole source sup23 plier of the defense articles or services, that the 

24 defense articles or services are essential, and 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
64 

•HR 606 IH

1 that alternative sources are not readily or rea2 sonably available; or 

3 (C) if the President determines in writing 

4 and so reports to the Congress that such arti5 cles or services are essential to the national se6 curity under defense coproduction agreements; 

7 or 

8 (2) to products or services provided under con9 tracts entered into before the date on which the 

10 President publishes his intention to take the Presi11 dential action. 

12 SEC. 407. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

14 President may waive the application of any of the actions 

15 described in paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 405(a) 

16 (or commensurate action in substitution therefor) with re17 spect to a country, if the President determines and so re18 ports to the appropriate congressional committees that— 

19 (1) the government of that country has ceased 

20 the violations giving rise to the Presidential action; 

21 (2) the exercise of such waiver authority would 

22 further the purposes of this Act; or 

23 (3) the important national interest of the 

24 United States requires the exercise of such waiver 

25 authority. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
65 

•HR 606 IH

1 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 

2 the date of the exercise of a waiver under subsection (a), 

3 the President shall notify the appropriate congressional 

4 committees of the waiver or the intention to exercise the 

5 waiver, together with a detailed justification therefor. 

6 SEC. 408. PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

8 President shall cause to be published in the Federal Reg9 ister the following: 

10 (1) DETERMINATIONS OF GOVERNMENTS, OFFI11 CIALS, AND ENTITIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN.— 

12 Any designation of a country of particular concern 

13 for women’s rights under section 402(b)(1), together 

14 with, when applicable and to the extent practicable, 

15 the identities of the officials or entities determined 

16 to be responsible for the violations under section 

17 402(b)(2). 

18 (2) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—A description of 

19 any Presidential action under paragraphs (9) 

20 through (15) of section 405(a) (or commensurate ac21 tion in substitution therefor) and the effective date 

22 of the Presidential action. 

23 (3) DELAYS IN TRANSMITTAL OF PRESI24 DENTIAL ACTION REPORTS.—Any delay in transVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
66 

•HR 606 IH

1 mittal of a Presidential action report, as described 

2 in section 404(b). 

3 (4) WAIVERS.—Any waiver under section 407. 

4 (b) LIMITED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—The 

5 President may limit publication of information under this 

6 section in the same manner and to the same extent as 

7 the President may limit the publication of findings and 

8 determinations described in section 654(c) of the Foreign 

9 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2414(c)), if the Presi10 dent determines that the publication of information under 

11 this section— 

12 (1) would be harmful to the national security of 

13 the United States; or 

14 (2) would not further the purposes of this Act. 

15 SEC. 409. TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS. 

16 Any Presidential action taken under this Act with re17 spect to a foreign country shall terminate on the earlier 

18 of the following dates: 

19 (1) TERMINATION DATE.—The date that is 2 

20 years after the effective date of the Presidential ac21 tion, unless expressly reauthorized by law. 

22 (2) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT ACTIONS.—The 

23 date on which the President determines, in consulta24 tion with the Commission, and certifies to the Con25 gress that the government of the foreign country has 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
67 

•HR 606 IH

1 ceased or taken substantial and verifiable steps to 

2 cease the particularly severe violations of women’s 

3 rights. 

4 SEC. 410. PRECLUSION OF JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

5 No court shall have jurisdiction to review any Presi6 dential determination or agency action under this Act or 

7 any amendment made by this Act. 

8 Subtitle B—Strengthening Existing 

9 Law 

10 SEC. 421. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE. 

11 (a) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROHIBITION ON ECO12 NOMIC ASSISTANCE.—Section 116(c) of the Foreign As13 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(c)) is amended— 

14 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

15 inserting ‘‘and the Ambassador at Large for Inter16 national Women’s Rights’’ after ‘‘Religious Free17 dom’’; 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

19 (2); 

20 (3) by striking the period at the end of para21 graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

23 paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(4) whether the government— 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
68 

•HR 606 IH

1 ‘‘(A) has engaged in or tolerated particu2 larly severe violations of women’s rights, as de3 fined in section 3 of the International Women’s 

4 Freedom Act of 2009; or 

5 ‘‘(B) has failed to undertake serious and 

6 sustained efforts to combat particularly severe 

7 violations of women’s rights (as defined in sec8 tion 3 of the International Women’s Freedom 

9 Act of 2009), when such efforts could have been 

10 reasonably undertaken.’’. 

11 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROHIBITION ON MILITARY

12 ASSISTANCE.—Section 502B(a)(4) of the Foreign Assist13 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)(4)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(A)(i)’’; 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘(ii)’’; 

16 (3) by striking the period at the end and insert17 ing ‘‘; or’’; and 

18 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(B)(i) has engaged in or tolerated particularly 

20 severe violations of women’s rights, as defined in 

21 section 3 of the International Women’s Freedom Act 

22 of 2009; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) has failed to undertake serious and sus24 tained efforts to combat particularly severe violaVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
69 

•HR 606 IH

1 tions of women’s rights when such efforts could have 

2 been reasonably undertaken.’’. 

3 SEC. 422. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE. 

4 Section 701 of the International Financial Institu5 tions Act (22 U.S.C. 262d) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating the second subsection (g) 

7 as subsection (h); and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub9 section: 

10 ‘‘(i) In determining whether the government of a 

11 country engages in a pattern of gross violations of inter12 nationally recognized human rights, as described in sub13 section (a), the President shall give particular consider14 ation to whether a foreign government— 

15 ‘‘(1) has engaged in or tolerated particularly se16 vere violations of women’s rights, as defined in sec17 tion 3 of the International Women’s Freedom Act of 

18 2009; or 

19 ‘‘(2) has failed to undertake serious and sus20 tained efforts to combat particularly severe viola21 tions of women’s rights when such efforts could have 

22 been reasonably undertaken.’’. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
70 

•HR 606 IH

1 SEC. 423. EXPORTS OF CERTAIN ITEMS USED IN PARTICU2 LARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF WOMEN’S 

3 RIGHTS. 

4 (a) MANDATORY LICENSING.—Notwithstanding any 

5 other provision of law, the Secretary of Commerce, with 

6 the concurrence of the Secretary of State, shall include 

7 on the list of crime control and detection instruments or 

8 equipment controlled for export and reexport under sec9 tion 6(n) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 

10 U.S.C. App. 2405(n)) (as continued in effect under the 

11 International Emergency Economic Powers Act), or under 

12 any other provision of law, items being exported or reex13 ported to countries of particular concern for women’s 

14 rights that the Secretary of Commerce, with the concur15 rence of the Secretary of State, and in consultation with 

16 appropriate officials including the Under Secretary of 

17 State for Democracy and Global Affairs, the Assistant 

18 Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and 

19 Labor, and the Ambassador at Large, determines are 

20 being used or are intended for use directly and in signifi21 cant measure to carry out particularly severe violations of 

22 women’s rights. 

23 (b) LICENSING BAN.—The prohibition on the 

24 issuance of a license for export of crime control and detec25 tion instruments or equipment under section 502B(a)(2) 

26 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
71 

•HR 606 IH

1 2304(a)(2)) shall apply to the export and reexport of any 

2 item included under subsection (a) on the list of crime con3 trol instruments. 

4 TITLE V—PROMOTION OF 

5 WOMEN’S RIGHTS 

6 SEC. 501. ASSISTANCE FOR PROMOTING WOMEN’S RIGHTS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) In many countries where severe violations of 

10 women’s rights occur, there is insufficient statutory 

11 legal protection for women, a lack of enforcement of 

12 the law, or insufficient cultural and social under13 standing of international norms of women’s rights. 

14 (2) Accordingly, in the provision of foreign as15 sistance, the United States should make a priority of 

16 promoting and developing legal protections and en17 forcement, as well as cultural respect for women’s 

18 rights. 

19 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR INCREASED PRO20 MOTION OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS.—Section 116(e) of the 

21 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(e)) is 

22 amended by inserting ‘‘and the rights of women’’ after 

23 ‘‘free religious belief and practice’’. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
72 

•HR 606 IH

1 SEC. 502. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING. 

2 Section 303(a)(8) of the United States International 

3 Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6202(a)(8)) is 

4 amended by inserting ‘‘and women’s rights’’ after ‘‘reli5 gion’’. 

6 SEC. 503. INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES. 

7 Section 102(b) of the Mutual Educational and Cul8 tural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2452(b)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after paragraph (11); 

11 (2) by striking the period at the end of para12 graph (12) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(13) promoting respect for and guarantees of 

15 women’s rights abroad by interchanges and visits be16 tween the United States and other nations of lead17 ers, scholars, and legal experts in the field of wom18 en’s rights.’’. 

19 SEC. 504. FOREIGN SERVICE AWARDS. 

20 (a) PERFORMANCE PAY.—Section 405(d) of the For21 eign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3965(d)) is amended 

22 in the second sentence by inserting ‘‘and women’s rights’’ 

23 after ‘‘freedom of religion’’. 

24 (b) FOREIGN SERVICE AWARDS.—Section 614 of the 

25 Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4013) is amended 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
73 

•HR 606 IH

1 in the last sentence by inserting ‘‘and women’s rights,’’ 

2 after ‘‘freedom of religion’’. 

3 TITLE VI—REFUGEE, ASYLUM, 

4 AND CONSULAR MATTERS 

5 SEC. 601. USE OF ANNUAL REPORT. 

6 The Annual Report, together with other relevant doc7 umentation, shall serve as a resource for immigration 

8 judges and consular, refugee, and asylum officers in cases 

9 involving claims of mistreatment on the grounds of gender. 

10 Absence of reference by the Annual Report to conditions 

11 described by the alien shall not constitute the sole grounds 

12 for a denial of the alien’s claim. 

13 SEC. 602. REFUGEE TRAINING. 

14 (a) TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.— 

15 Section 708(b) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 

16 U.S.C. 4028(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘and on religious 

17 persecution’’ and inserting ‘‘, on religious persecution, and 

18 on gender-based discrimination’’. 

19 (b) CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS CONCERNING

20 ADMISSIONS OF REFUGEES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 207 of the Immigra22 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) is amend23 ed— 

24 (A) in subsection (d)(1), in the first sen25 tence, by inserting ‘‘, information relating to 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
74 

•HR 606 IH

1 gender-based discrimination against such refu2 gees in their countries of nationality or last ha3 bitual residence,’’ after ‘‘resettlement during 

4 the fiscal year’’; 

5 (B) in subsection (e)— 

6 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

7 (1), by inserting ‘‘the Secretary of State 

8 and’’ before ‘‘designated’’; 

9 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (7) as 

10 paragraph (8); and 

11 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (6) 

12 the following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(7) A description of any gender-based dis14 crimination experienced by such refugees in their 

15 countries of nationality or last habitual residence.’’. 

16 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

17 by paragraph (1) shall take effect beginning with the 

18 first fiscal year that begins after the date of the en19 actment of this Act. 

20 (c) GUIDELINES AND TRAINING FOR OFFICIALS AD21 JUDICATING REFUGEE CASES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Such section is further 

23 amended— 

24 (A) in subsection (f), by adding at the end 

25 the following new paragraph: 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
75 

•HR 606 IH

1 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in con2 sultation with the Secretary of State, shall develop and 

3 implement training guidelines related to nondiscrimination 

4 in the adjudication of such cases as a result of the gender, 

5 race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular so6 cial group, or political opinion of the alien applying to be 

7 admitted as a refugee under this section. Such training 

8 guidelines shall be culturally sensitive and shall provide 

9 the officials subject to such training with the tools to pro10 vide a nonbiased and nonadversarial atmosphere for the 

11 purpose of adjudicating such cases.’’; and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

13 subsection: 

14 ‘‘(g)(1) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in con15 sultation with the Secretary of State, shall promulgate 

16 regulations to ensure— 

17 ‘‘(A) uniform procedures for the establishment 

18 of agreements between the United States Govern19 ment and designated entities and personnel respon20 sible for the preparation of refugee case files for use 

21 in refugee adjudications; and 

22 ‘‘(B) uniform procedures regarding the prepara23 tion of such files by such entities and personnel. 

24 ‘‘(2) Such regulations shall ensure that— 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
76 

•HR 606 IH

1 ‘‘(A) such files accurately reflect the informa2 tion provided by the alien seeking admission as a 

3 refugee under this section; and 

4 ‘‘(B) such aliens are not disadvantaged or de5 nied such admission as a result of faulty case file 

6 preparation.’’. 

7 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

8 by paragraph (1) shall take effect and apply with re9 spect to aliens seeking admission as refugees under 

10 section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

11 (8 U.S.C. 1157) beginning with the first fiscal year 

12 that begins after the date of the enactment of this 

13 Act. 

14 SEC. 603. REFORM OF ASYLUM POLICY. 

15 (a) LANGUAGE TRANSLATION SERVICES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(d) of the Immi17 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following new 

19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(8) LANGUAGE TRANSLATION SERVICES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

22 Homeland Security, in consultation with the 

23 Secretary of State, shall promulgate regulations 

24 that provide that the United States does not 

25 use the language translation services of an indiVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
77 

•HR 606 IH

1 vidual who demonstrates a bias or potential 

2 bias on the grounds of gender, race, religion, 

3 nationality, membership in a particular social 

4 group, or political opinion in connection with 

5 the giving of testimony by an alien before the 

6 trier of fact under subsection (b)(1)(B) or an 

7 asylum officer under section 235(b)(1)(B). 

8 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE BY

9 CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.—The Secretary of 

10 Homeland Security, in consultation with the 

11 Secretary of State, shall promulgate regulations 

12 to provide that the United States does not use 

13 the language translation services of an indi14 vidual who is an interpreter for or other em15 ployee of an airline owned by a country the gov16 ernment of which the Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 

18 State, has determined has engaged in persecu19 tion on the grounds of gender, race, religion, 

20 nationality, membership in a particular social 

21 group, or political opinion in connection with 

22 the giving of testimony by an alien before the 

23 trier of fact under subsection (b)(1)(B) or an 

24 asylum officer under section 235(b)(1)(B).’’. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
78 

•HR 606 IH

1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

2 by paragraph (1) shall apply to the use of language 

3 translation services after the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act. 

5 (b) TRAINING FOR OFFICIALS.—Section 208 of the 

6 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following new sub8 section: 

9 ‘‘(f) TRAINING FOR OFFICIALS.—In addition to the 

10 training that is provided to officers adjudicating asylum 

11 cases under this section and asylum officers under section 

12 235(b)(1)(E), the Secretary of Homeland Security, in con13 sultation with the Secretary of State, the Ambassador at 

14 Large for International Women’s Rights of the Depart15 ment of State, the Director of the George P. Shultz Na16 tional Foreign Affairs Training Center (commonly re17 ferred to as the ‘Foreign Service Institute’), and other ap18 propriate officials, shall provide to such officers training 

19 relating to the nature of gender-based discrimination in 

20 foreign countries (including country-specific conditions), 

21 instruction concerning internationally recognized women’s 

22 rights, and information regarding state sponsored and 

23 non-state sponsored applicable distinctions in a foreign 

24 country between the treatment of men and women.’’. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
79 

•HR 606 IH

1 (c) TRAINING FOR IMMIGRATION JUDGES CON2 DUCTING PROCEEDINGS FOR DECIDING THE INADMIS3 SIBILITY OR DEPORTABILITY OF AN ALIEN.—Section 240 

4 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a) 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub6 section: 

7 ‘‘(f) TRAINING FOR IMMIGRATION JUDGES CON8 DUCTING PROCEEDINGS FOR DECIDING THE INADMIS9 SIBILITY OR DEPORTABILITY OF AN ALIEN.—The Attor10 ney General shall provide to immigration judges training 

11 related to the nature of gender-based discrimination in 

12 foreign countries (including country-specific conditions), 

13 instruction concerning internationally recognized women’s 

14 rights, and information regarding state sponsored and 

15 non-state sponsored distinctions in a foreign country be16 tween the treatment of men and women.’’. 

17 SEC. 604. INADMISSIBILITY OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OF18 FICIALS WHO HAVE ENGAGED IN PARTICU19 LARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF WOMEN’S 

20 RIGHTS. 

21 (a) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS AND ADMISSION TO

22 THE UNITED STATES.—Section 212(a)(2) of the Immi23 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following new subpara25 graph: 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
80 

•HR 606 IH

1 ‘‘(J) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

2 WHO HAVE ENGAGED IN PARTICULARLY SE3 VERE VIOLATIONS OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS.—Any 

4 alien who, while serving as a foreign govern5 ment official, was responsible for or directly 

6 carried out, at any time during the preceding 

7 24-month period, particularly severe violations 

8 of women’s rights, as defined in section 3 of the 

9 International Women’s Freedom Act of 2009, 

10 and the spouse, son, or daughter, if any, of 

11 such official, is inadmissible.’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

13 subsection (a) shall apply to determinations of admissi14 bility made on or after the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act. 

16 SEC. 605. STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF EXPEDITED REMOVAL 

17 PROVISIONS ON ASYLUM CLAIMS. 

18 (a) STUDY.— 

19 (1) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Comp20 troller General of the United States shall conduct a 

21 study alone or, upon request by the Commission 

22 under paragraph (2), in cooperation with experts in23 vited by the Commission, to determine whether im24 migration officers (including asylum officers (as de25 fined in section 235(b)(1)(E) of the Immigration 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
81 

•HR 606 IH

1 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(E))) per2 forming duties under section 235(b) of such Act 

3 with respect to aliens who may be eligible for asylum 

4 are engaging in any of the following conduct: 

5 (A) Failing to inform an alien of the right 

6 to seek protection in the United States if (s)he 

7 has any reason to fear persecution in his or her 

8 home country. 

9 (B) Encouraging aliens expressing a fear 

10 of gender-based persecution to withdraw their 

11 applications for admission. 

12 (C) Determining aliens are ineligible for 

13 asylum before referring such aliens for an inter14 view by an asylum officer for a determination of 

15 whether they have a credible fear of persecution 

16 (within the meaning of section 235(b)(1)(B)(v) 

17 of such Act). 

18 (D) Incorrectly failing to keep complete 

19 records of a decision to enforce expedited re20 moval and an alien’s reasons for the withdrawal 

21 of an asylum application. 

22 (E) Improperly using detention as a deter23 rent to an alien’s pursuing an asylum claim. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
82 

•HR 606 IH

1 (F) Improperly detaining asylum seekers 

2 who establish a credible fear, identity, commu3 nity ties, and who do not pose a security risk. 

4 (G) Improperly detaining asylum seekers 

5 in jail-like facilities where staff is not given spe6 cific training on the special needs of asylum 

7 seekers. 

8 (2) COMMISSION REQUEST FOR PARTICIPATION

9 BY EXPERTS ON REFUGEE AND ASYLUM ISSUES.— 

10 The Commission may invite experts who are recog11 nized for their expertise and knowledge of refugee 

12 and asylum issues to cooperate with the Comptroller 

13 General in carrying out paragraph (1). 

14 (b) REPORTS.— 

15 (1) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Not later than 

16 one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

17 the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

18 submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

19 House of Representatives, the Committee on the Ju20 diciary of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Af21 fairs of the House of Representatives, and the Com22 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report 

23 containing the findings of the study conducted under 

24 subsection (a). If the experts referred to in such 

25 subsection were involved in conducting such study, 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
83 

•HR 606 IH

1 the Comptroller General shall allow such experts to 

2 include in the report a section setting forth their 

3 views and conclusions. 

4 (2) EXPERTS.—In the case of a Commission re5 quest under subsection (a)(2), the experts invited by 

6 the Commission under such subsection may submit 

7 a report to the committees described in paragraph 

8 (1). Such report may be submitted with the Comp9 troller General’s report under paragraph (1) or inde10 pendently. 

11 (c) ACCESS TO PROCEEDINGS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (2), to facilitate the completion of the duties 

14 described in this section, the Comptroller General 

15 and the experts, if any, referred to in subsection 

16 (a)(2) shall have unrestricted access to all stages of 

17 all inspections of aliens for admission under section 

18 235(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

19 U.S.C. 1225(b)). 

20 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

21 apply with respect to the inspection if— 

22 (A) the alien concerned objects to such ac23 cess; or 

24 (B) the Secretary of Homeland Security 

25 determines that the security of a particular proVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:36 Jan 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00083 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H606.IH H606

smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
84 

•HR 606 IH

1 ceeding would be threatened by such access, so 

2 long as any restrictions on the access of experts 

3 invited by the Commission under subsection 

4 (a)(2) do not contravene international law. 

5 TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 

6 PROVISIONS 

7 SEC. 701. BUSINESS CODES OF CONDUCT. 

8 (a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDING.—The Congress recog9 nizes the increasing importance of transnational corpora10 tions as global actors, and their potential for providing 

11 positive leadership in their host countries in the area of 

12 human rights. 

13 (b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

14 the Congress that transnational corporations operating 

15 overseas, particularly those corporations operating in 

16 countries the governments of which have engaged in or 

17 tolerated violations of women’s rights, as identified in the 

18 Annual Report, should adopt codes of conduct— 

19 (1) upholding the rights of their female employ20 ees; and 

21 (2) ensuring that a worker’s gender shall in no 

22 way affect, or be allowed to affect, the status or 

23 terms of his or her employment. 

Æ 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with BILLS