Sanctions Policy Reform Act

Bill: 108-s-1861
Sponsor: Sen. Lugar, Richard G. [R-IN]
Introduced: 2003-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Agricultural economics
Agriculture and Food
Agriculture in foreign trade
American investments
Armed Forces and National Security
Arms control agreements
Aviation agreements
Biological warfare
Chemical warfare
Citizen participation
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Commerce
Congress
Congress and foreign policy
Congressional Record
Congressional oversight
Congressional reporting requirements
Contracts
Copyright
Cost effectiveness
Crime and Law Enforcement
Democracy
Developing countries
Development credit institutions
Diplomacy
Drug abuse
Drug law enforcement
Drug traffic
Economic growth
Economic impact statements
Economics and Public Finance
Environmental Protection
Executive orders
Executive reorganization
Export controls
Export finance
Farm income
Federal mandates
Finance and Financial Sector
Food relief
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Foreign investments
Foreign loans
Foreign trade promotion
Government Operations and Politics
Health
House rules and procedure
Human rights
Import restrictions
Intellectual property
International competitiveness
International cooperation
International environmental cooperation
International relief
Investment guaranty insurance
Job creation
Labor and Employment
Law
Legislation
Legislative resolutions
Medical supplies
Most favored nation principle
Negotiations
Nongovernmental organizations
Normal trade relations
Nuclear nonproliferation
Patents
President and foreign policy
Presidential powers
Reinsurance
Right to travel
Sanctions (International law)
Science, Technology, Communications
Senate rules and procedure
Tariff
Technology transfer
Terrorism
Trade agreements
Trademarks
Transportation and Public Works
Treaties
United Nations
Weapons of mass destruction

Summary:
action_date: 2003-11-14
text: 
Sanctions Policy Reform Act - Prescribes procedural guidelines and informational requirements for legislation and executive actions that must be met before imposition of unilateral economic sanctions intended to achieve foreign policy goals. (Excludes from this Act any trade remedies or trade sanctions imposed because of market access restrictions, unfair trade practices, or violations of U.S. commercial or trade laws.)
 
 
Requires both legislation and executive actions to: (1) terminate within two years; (2) provide contract sanctity; (3) target a sanction as narrowly as possible on foreign governments, entities, and officials responsible for the conduct being targeted; (4) exclude restrictions on the provision of medicine, medical equipment, or food; (5) seek to minimize any adverse impact on the humanitarian activities of U.S. and foreign nongovernmental organizations in any country against which the sanction may be imposed; and (6) direct the Secretary of Agriculture to expand agricultural export assistance under U.S. market development, food assistance, or export promotion programs to offset any potential damage to incomes of producers of any affected agricultural commodity.
 
Requires any such legislation to provide authority for the President both to adjust the timing and scope of the sanction and to waive the sanction, if the President determines it is in the national interest to do so.
 
Requires Congress to consider findings by executive branch officials that evaluate the impact of proposed sanctions on American agriculture, energy requirements, and capital markets.
 
Requires the President, before imposing any new unilateral economic sanction, to report to specified congressional committees certain explanations, including an assessment of the sanction's likelihood to achieve specific foreign policy or national security objectives within a stated period of time.
 
Establishes an executive branch Sanctions Review Committee to coordinate U.S. policy regarding unilateral economic sanctions, evaluate the effect of any proposed sanctions, and provide appropriate recommendations to the President before their imposition.
 
Authorizes the President to waive the application of any sanction or prohibition under the Arms Export Control Act, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, or the Export Import Bank Act of 1945 if the President determines that such a waiver would advance the purposes of such Acts or U.S. national security interests. Requires the President to consult with the appropriate congressional committees before exercising such waiver authority.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2003-11-14
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S14815-14816)
action_date: 2003-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate