July 13, 1999 (7:30 p.m.)
Amendments Submitted to H.R. 2415, The American Embassy Security Act of 1999
(in alphabetical order) 18. Andrews Allows the Secretary of State to deny passports to non-custodial parents (U.S. citizens) who owe more than $2,500 in child support payments.
19. Andrews Expresses the sense of Congress that the water boundaries established in the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and the 1932 Convention between Italy and Turkey, are the borders between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea and any party, including Turkey, objecting to these boundaries should seek redress in the International Court of Justice at the Hague.
29. Andrews Gives the Secretary of State the tools to address the international need to protect highly migratory fish which are currently being decimated.
20. Andrews/Rohrabacher/ Deutsch/McNulty/Calvert/ Wu/Bilirakis Expresses the sense of Congress that Taiwan should be congratulated for its democratic tradition and that the President should publicly urge China to refrain from using military force against Taiwan, especially to influence Taiwan's upcoming presidential elections. Also expresses that the U.S. should help defend Taiwan in the event of a military attack from China.
6. Bereuter Expresses support of the Congress for the upcoming plebiscite on independence or autonomy in East Timor and calls upon the Indonesian government to disarm anti-independence paramilitary groups and prevent them from preventing a free and fair vote.
7. Bereuter Changes current law to permit budgetary scoring of leased properties on an annual basis thereby permitting the speedy construction of more secure diplomatic facilities.
43. Bilbray/Filner Encourages the U.S. and Mexico to enter into an agreement which will provide for a long-term and comprehensive solution to eliminate sewage pollution of the San Diego and Tijuana border region.
50. Bilirakis/Maloney(NY) Calls for all parties involved to negotiate a solution to the Cyprus problem in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 1217, 1218, 1250, and 1251, which call for a state of Cyprus with a single sovereignty, comprising of two politically equal communities in a bi-communal bi-federation. LATE
1. Burton Places Cuba, for twelve years, on the "majors list" of countries who transit substantial quantities of illegal drugs to the United States, unless the President can provide, in a report to Congress, conclusive evidence that no substantial portion of the amount of cocaine seized in Columbia by the Columbian National Police last December, was destined, for the U.S., and that no Cuban official was involved in the proposed shipment. WITHDRAWN
53. Campbell/Gilman Amendment to Smith (NJ) amendment which restores funding to the UNFPA and ensures that no U.S. funds are spent on the UNFPA program in China. This would be accomplished by withholding 101 percent of the amount UNFPA plans to spend in China from the U.S. contribution. For example, if UNFPA spends $5 million, then the U.S. contribution would be deducted by the amount of $5.05 million. LATE
11. Capps Adds language to the Tibetan Education and Exchange Program which authorizes funds for at least 30 scholarships to Tibetan students and 15 scholarships to Burmese students.
9. Capps/Houghton Sense of Congress commending the people of Israel for reaffirming their dedication to democratic ideals, congratulating Prime Minister Barak on his election, and pledging to work with the President and Israeli government to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East.
8. Capuano Directs $5 million in the Migration and Refugee Assistance account for a rape counseling program to assist women in war torn countries who have been victimized by rape.
15. Condit Requires all recipients of U.S. foreign aid to certify annually the exact need and intended use for the U.S. assistance and provide a detailed accounting of how the assistance has been used.
16. Delahunt Augments the requirements for the annual State Dept. country human rights reports to ensure that the reports include, wherever applicable, instances of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and evidence of acts that may constitute genocide.
52. Doggett Authorizes the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to receive and determine the validity of claims on assets of the government of Iraq; ensures that the Commission will rule on the claims of active, retired or reserve members of the United States Armed Forces before deciding any other claim. LATE
46. Engel/Weiner Expresses the sense of Congress that the Magen David Adom Society should be recognized as a full member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. LATE
47. Engel Adds exports of crime control equipment to Section 408 as an additional requirement under items held on the condition of fair and independent investigations of the Rosemary Nelson and Patrick Finucane cases. LATE
48. Engel Expresses concern with large, but undetermined number of Kosovar Albanians held in Serbian prisons in Kosovo who were taken to Serbia before and during the withdrawal of Serbian forces and calls for immediate access to the prisoners by the Red Cross, their treatment in accordance with international standards, and their release from prison. LATE
34. Gejdenson Authorizes the Department of State to appropriate the necessary funds to fulfill its portion in FY2000 of the U.S. assessment for the civil budget of NATO.
35. Gejdenson Directs the Department of State to prepare a report on the global trade in small arms and light weapons, to assess the degree to which small arms represent a proliferation problem and the threats, if any, to U.S. interests.
49. Gejdenson Sense of Congress calling on the U.S. to support the nascent peace process in Colombia and calls on extragovernmental groups to demonstrate their commitment to the peace process by ceasing to engage in violence and kidnapping. LATE
30. Gibbons Intends to stop the abduction of children out of the U.S. by applying safeguards during the issuance of passports for the first time to children under the age of 14.
40. Gilman Seeks a sense of the Congress in support of the Iraqi democratic opposition.
41. Gilman/Markey Restricts all nuclear cooperation with North Korea until the President determines and certifies to appropriate Congressional committees that: North Korea is in compliance with all international agreements regarding nuclear proliferation; North Korea has terminated its nuclear weapons program, including all efforts to acquire, develop, test, produce, or deploy such weapons; and, such cooperation is in the national interest of the United States.
42. Gilman Manager's amendment making a number of changes to the bill.
17. Goodling Prohibit foreign military assistance to countries which fail to support the U.S. at least 25% of the time in the UN General Assembly. Would leave humanitarian aid and developmental assistance intact.
5. Hall (OH) Strikes provisions in the bill which restrict U.S. contributions to the United Nations Development Program for humanitarian projects in Burma unless the Administration certifies certain conditions are met.
36. Hastings (FL) Expresses a sense of the House in support of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Haiti, and urges the State Department to review embassy operations in Port-au-Prince to ensure it has sufficient personnel and resources to carry out important functions in the months leading up tot he fall elections.
14. Jackson Prohibits the use of State Dept. funds for the purpose of seeking the revocation or revision of the laws of any sub-Saharan African country designed to promote the availability and affordability of pharmaceuticals, provided that these laws comply with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights referred to in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
23. Kennedy Expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. should immediately intensify their efforts to encourage Indonesia to disarm and disband anti-independence paramilitaries in East Timor, grant access to human rights monitors, and investigate the massacre at Liquica. Also provides a sense of Congress that the U.S. should not give military assistance or training to Indonesia until troop presence by the Indonesian military has decreased in East Timor and safe access for human rights monitors has been granted.
24. Kennedy Expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. should immediately intensify efforts to encourage Indonesia to disarm and disband anti-independence paramilitaries in East Timor, grant access to human rights monitors, and investigate the massacre at Liquica.
39. Kucinich Requires the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress, written by an independent panel of experts, evaluating the role of diplomacy in ending the conflict in Kosovo.
12. Paul Eliminates authorization for United Nations programs including International Peacekeeping Activities and the United Nations' Population Fund.
13. Paul Removes the trade embargo with Cuba and, at the same time, prohibits foreign aid to Cuba.
31. Rohrabacher Ensures that section 210 of the bill, which pertains to expediting the satellite export process, does not apply to the People's Republic of China.
32. Rohrabacher Directs the Secretary of State to establish a streamlined commercial satellite export control regime which shall only be available for proposed exports to allies and friendly nations, but not to exports to the People's Republic of China. Allocates $11 million to the Office of Defense Trade Controls to administer this and related export control duties.
33. Rohrabacher Directs the Secretary of State to make available to appropriate congressional committees a report, in classified and unclassified form, on the March 30, 1997 grenade attack in Cambodia.
10. Salmon/Andrews/Saxton Directs the Secretary of State to submit semi-annual reports on the status of the investigations of terrorist attacks that have killed American citizens in Israel and territory administered by the Palestinian Authority.
25. Sanders Provides $1.5 million from funds authorized in the bill for education and cultural exchange programs, for the establishment of the Israel-Arab Peace Partners Program, which would provide people-to-people activities, for participants from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Arab Countries and the U.S.
26. Sanders Directs the Secretary of State to establish a task force, with other federal agencies, to determine asylum eligibility guidelines for women seeking asylum due to gender-related persecution.
27. Sanders Prevents the U.S. government (State Dept. employees) from imposing restrictions on any Asian or African country or Israel if that country imports prescription medications from other nations, instead of directly from a pharmaceutical company, in order to benefit from the lowest price available in the world.
2. Sanford Reduces funding for the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange between East and West by $5.5 million to its FY 1998 level of $12 million.
3. Sanford Authorizes funding for the Dante B. Fascell North-South Center at its FY 1998 level of $1.5 million.
4. Sanford Authorizes funding for the Asia Foundation at its FY 1998 level of $8 million.
28. Smith(NJ)/Barcia Prohibits a contribution to the UNFPA unless either the UNFPA ceases all its activities in China (PRC), or the President certifies that there are no forced abortions associated with the PRC population control program.
37. Stearns Seeks a sense of the Congress that employees of the State Department who, in the course of their duties, offer facts to the Congress concerning their responsibilities, should not as a result be demoted from their position or removed from Federal employment. This would address the case of Ms. Linda Shenwick, a State Department employee who was unfairly demoted from her position after reporting waste and mismanagement to Members of Congress in effort to carry out her duties to implement budgetary reform. The amendment includes an authorization for the compensation of Ms. Shenwick's personal expenses.
38. Stearns Seeks a sense of the Congress that employees of the State Department who, in the course of their duties, offer facts to the Congress concerning their responsibilities, should not as a result be demoted from their position or removed from Federal employment. This would address the case of Ms. Linda Shenwick, a State Department employee who was unfairly demoted from her position after reporting waste and mismanagement to Members of Congress in effort to carry out her duties to implement budgetary reform. This version contains no authorization for compensation.
51. Tierney Establishes a non-partisan National Commission on the Use of Offsets in Defense Trade, to sunset no later than three years after enactment. The Commission would be responsible for producing a report to the appropriate Congressional committees with an analysis of offsets in several instances (employment, national security, etc.) and make appropriate recommendations for offset proposals to address offset impacts. LATE
21. Traficant Limits U.S. assistance for reconstruction efforts in Kosovo to American made goods and services. Does not cover private relief efforts.
22. Traficant Requires that all authorization of appropriations under the bill must be used for procurement inside the U.S. or developed countries unless: 1) the goods and services can be produced in the country in which the assistance is provided, at lesser cost, 2) the goods and services are not typically produced in the U.S. or a developing country, 3) the Congress has specifically authorized procurement outside the U.S. or a developing country, or 4) the President determines on a case-by-case basis that procurement outside the U.S. or a developing country would be a more cost efficient use of such assistance.
45. Waters Sense of Congress to seek the protection of liberties and human rights in Peru and to seek the release of Lori Berenson.
44. Weiner Authorizes $50 million for the construction of a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem; prohibits the use of funds for the operation of the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem unless it is under the supervision of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel; prohibits the use of funds for the publication of any official government document which lists countries and their capitals unless the document identifies Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; and, allows a U.S. citizen born in the city of Jerusalem to request that their place of birth on a passport, registration of birth, or certification of nationality record their place of birth as Israel.
* Summaries derived from information submitted by the amendment sponsors.
