I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1679 

To protect the environmental integrity of coral reefs and other coastal marine 

resources from exploration, development, and production activities for 

petroleum resources located in a maritime exclusive economic zone of 

the United States that is contiguous to a foreign exclusive economic 

zone. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 26, 2007 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. 

MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. MAHONEY

of Florida, Mr. SIRES, Mr. MACK, Mr. PENCE, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. BUCHANAN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. FORTUN ̃O, Mr. MCCOTTER, 

and Mr. HASTINGS of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, and Oversight and Government Reform, 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 protect the environmental integrity of coral reefs and 

other coastal marine resources from exploration, development, and production activities for petroleum resources 

located in a maritime exclusive economic zone of the 

United States that is contiguous to a foreign exclusive 

economic zone. 

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

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Caribbean Coral Reef 

3 Protection Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

5 It shall be the policy of the United States to— 

6 (1) undertake the necessary measures to deny 

7 the Government of Cuba, the Cuban Communist 

8 Party, or any agent or instrumentality of either, the 

9 financial resources to engage in activities that 

10 threaten— 

11 (A) United States national security, its in12 terests, and its allies; 

13 (B) Florida’s marine environment, includ14 ing the third largest coral reef tract in the 

15 world; 

16 (C) the environment and natural resources 

17 of the submerged lands located off Cuba’s 

18 coast; and 

19 (D) to prolong the dictatorship that op20 presses the Cuban people; and 

21 (2) deter foreign investments that would en22 hance the ability of the Government of Cuba, or any 

23 agent or instrumentality thereof, to develop its pe24 troleum resources. 

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1 SEC. 3. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ALIENS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Cuban Liberty and Demo3 cratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 

4 6021 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 401 

5 the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 402. EXCLUSION FROM THE UNITED STATES OF 

7 ALIENS WHO CONTRIBUTE TO THE ABILITY 

8 OF CUBA TO DEVELOP PETROLEUM RE9 SOURCES LOCATED OFF CUBA’S COAST. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

11 deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

12 shall exclude from the United States, any alien who the 

13 Secretary of State determines is a person who— 

14 ‘‘(1) is an officer or principal of an entity, or 

15 a shareholder who owns a controlling interest in an 

16 entity, that, on or after January 10, 2005, has made 

17 or makes an investment that equals or exceeds 

18 $1,000,000 (or any combination of investments that 

19 in the aggregate equals or exceeds $1,000,000 in 

20 any 12-month period), that contributes to the en21 hancement of the ability of the Government of Cuba, 

22 or any agent or instrumentality thereof, to develop 

23 petroleum resources of the submerged lands located 

24 off Cuba’s coast; or 

25 ‘‘(2) is a spouse, minor child, or agent of a per26 son described in paragraph (1). 

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1 ‘‘(b) WAIVER.—The Secretary of State may waive the 

2 application of subsection (a) if the Secretary certifies and 

3 reports to the appropriate congressional committees, on a 

4 case-by-case basis, that the admission to the United States 

5 of a person described in subsection (a)— 

6 ‘‘(1) is necessary for critical medical reasons or 

7 for purposes of litigation of an action under title III 

8 of this Act; or 

9 ‘‘(2) is appropriate if the requirements of sec10 tions 204, 205, and 206 of this Act have been satis11 fied. 

12 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) AGENT AND INSTRUMENTALITY.—The 

14 terms ‘agent’ and ‘instrumentality’ shall include the 

15 Cuban Communist Party. 

16 ‘‘(2) DEVELOP.—The term ‘develop’, with re17 spect to petroleum resources, means the exploration 

18 for, or the extraction, refining, or transportation by 

19 pipeline or other means of, petroleum resources. 

20 ‘‘(3) INVESTMENT.—The term ‘investment’ 

21 means any of the following activities if such activity 

22 is undertaken pursuant to an agreement, or pursu23 ant to the exercise of rights under such an agree24 ment, that was or is entered into with the Govern25 ment of Cuba (or any agency or instrumentality 

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1 thereof) or a nongovernmental entity in Cuba, on or 

2 after January 10, 2005: 

3 ‘‘(A) The entry into a contract that in4 cludes responsibility for the development of pe5 troleum resources of the submerged lands lo6 cated off Cuba’s coast, or the entry into a con7 tract providing for the general supervision and 

8 guarantee of another person’s performance of 

9 such a contract. 

10 ‘‘(B) The purchase of a share of owner11 ship, including an equity interest, in such devel12 opment. 

13 ‘‘(C) The entry into a contract providing 

14 for the participation in royalties, earnings, or 

15 profits in such development, without regard to 

16 the form of the participation. 

17 ‘‘(D) The entry into, performance, or fi18 nancing of a contract to sell or purchase goods, 

19 services, or technology related to such develop20 ment. 

21 ‘‘(4) PETROLEUM RESOURCES.—The term ‘pe22 troleum resources’ includes petroleum and natural 

23 gas resources, petroleum by products, and liquified 

24 natural gas.’’. 

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

2 this section shall apply to aliens seeking admission to the 

3 United States on or after the date of the enactment of 

4 this Act. 

5 SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS AND PROHIBITION ON 

6 FACILITATION OF DEVELOPMENT OF CUBA’S 

7 PETROLEUM RESOURCES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the President determines that 

9 a person has, on or after January 10, 2005, made an in10 vestment that equals or exceeds $1,000,000 (or any com11 bination of investments that in the aggregate equals or 

12 exceeds $1,000,000 in any 12-month period) that contrib13 utes to the enhancement of the ability of the Government 

14 of Cuba, or any agent or instrumentality thereof, to de15 velop petroleum resources of the submerged lands located 

16 off Cuba’s coast, or has made an investment of any 

17 amount of money that contributes to such an enhancement 

18 and has trafficked in confiscated United States property, 

19 the President shall impose two or more of the following 

20 sanctions: 

21 (1) PROHIBITION ON LOANS AND GUARAN22 TEES.—Prohibit the issuance by the Overseas Pri23 vate Investment Corporation, the Export-Import 

24 Bank, or any other United States instrument of any 

25 loan, guarantee, insurance, extension of credit, or 

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1 participation in the extension of credit in connection 

2 with the export of any goods or services to any sanc3 tioned person. 

4 (2) EXPORT SANCTION.—Prohibit the issuance 

5 by the United States Government of any specific li6 cense and or other specific permission or authority 

7 to export any goods or technology to a sanctioned 

8 person under— 

9 (A) the Export Administration Act of 

10 1979; 

11 (B) the Arms Export Control Act; 

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

13 (D) any other statute that requires the 

14 prior review and approval of the United States 

15 Government as a condition for the export or re16 export of goods or services. 

17 (3) PROHIBITIONS ON FINANCIAL INSTITU18 TIONS.—The following prohibitions may be imposed 

19 against a sanctioned person that is a financial insti20 tution: 

21 (A) PROHIBITION ON DESIGNATION AS

22 PRIMARY DEALER.—Prohibit the Board of Gov23 ernors of the Federal Reserve System and the 

24 Federal Reserve Bank of New York from desig25 nating, or permitting the continuation of any 

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1 prior designation of, such financial institution 

2 as a primary dealer in United States Govern3 ment debt instruments. 

4 (B) PROHIBITION ON SERVICE AS A RE5 POSITORY OF GOVERNMENT FUNDS.—Prohibit 

6 such financial institution from serving as agent 

7 of the United States Government or serving as 

8 repository for United States Government funds. 

9 The imposition of either sanction under subpara10 graph (A) or (B) shall be treated as one sanction for 

11 purposes of this section, and the imposition of both 

12 such sanctions shall be treated as two sanctions for 

13 purposes of this section. 

14 (5) PROCUREMENT SANCTION.—Prohibit the 

15 United States Government from procuring, or enter16 ing into any contract for the procurement of, any 

17 goods or services from a sanctioned person. 

18 (b) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—Sanctions im19 posed pursuant to subsection (a) shall terminate if the 

20 President determines and certifies to the appropriate con21 gressional committees that the requirements of sections 

22 204, 205, and 206 of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic 

23 Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6064, 

24 6065, and 6066) have been satisfied. 

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1 (c) PROHIBITION ON FACILITATION BY UNITED

2 STATES PERSONS OF CUBA’S ABILITY TO DEVELOP PE3 TROLEUM RESOURCES.—It shall be unlawful for any 

4 United States person to provide materials, technical equip5 ment, or other assistance that contributes to the enhance6 ment of Cuba’s ability to develop petroleum resources of 

7 the submerged lands located off Cuba’s coast. 

8 (d) REPORTS BY SECRETARY OF STATE.—Not later 

9 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 

10 and every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of State shall 

11 submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Com12 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

13 and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Com14 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate a report relating 

15 to— 

16 (1) investments that equal or exceed 

17 $1,000,000 (or any combination of investments that 

18 in the aggregate equals or exceeds $1,000,000 in 

19 any 12-month period) that contribute to the en20 hancement of the ability of the Government of Cuba, 

21 or any agent or instrumentality thereof, to develop 

22 petroleum resources of the submerged lands located 

23 off Cuba’s coast, including information relating to 

24 the values of such investments, the identity of the 

25 persons making such investments, and proposed inmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 vestments that would satisfy such criteria, and infor2 mation relating to any sanctions that have been im3 posed pursuant to subsection (a) as a result of such 

4 investments; and 

5 (2) investments of any amount of money, in 

6 conjunction with trafficking in confiscated United 

7 States property, that contribute to such an enhance8 ment, including information relating to the values of 

9 such investments, the identity of the persons making 

10 such investments, and the identity of such con11 fiscated property, and information relating to any 

12 sanctions that have been imposed pursuant to sub13 section (a) as a result of such investments. 

14 (e) ASSESSMENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF

15 DEVELOPMENT OF CUBA’S PETROLEUM RESOURCES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act and an18 nually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in consulta19 tion with the Secretary of the Interior and the Ad20 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, 

21 shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

22 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

24 Foreign Relations and the Committee on Energy 

25 and Natural Resources of the Senate a report conmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 taining an assessment of the impact that the devel2 opment of Cuba’s petroleum resources has had on 

3 the environment and natural resources of the sub4 merged lands located off Cuba’s coast and Florida’s 

5 marine environment. 

6 (2) USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE7 MENTS.—In preparing the assessment, the Secretary 

8 of State shall use as a model environmental impact 

9 statements prepared pursuant to the National Envi10 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

11 seq.). 

12 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act— 

14 (1) the terms ‘‘appropriate congressional com15 mittees’’, ‘‘confiscated’’, ‘‘person’’, ‘‘property’’, and 

16 ‘‘traffics’’ have the meaning given such terms in sec17 tion 4 of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Soli18 darity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 (22 U.S.C. 6023), 

19 except that the term ‘‘person’’ shall also include, for 

20 purposes of this section, a foreign subsidiary of a 

21 person; 

22 (2) the terms ‘‘develop’’, ‘‘investment’’, and 

23 ‘‘petroleum resources’’ have the meaning given such 

24 terms in section 402(c) of such Act, as added by sec25 tion 3 of this Act; and 

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1 (3) the terms ‘‘agent’’ and ‘‘instrumentality’’ 

2 shall include the Cuban Communist Party. 

Æ 

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