House Foreign Affairs Committee Calls for Sanctions With Three Bipartisan Measures

The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced three bipartisan measures calling for sanctions against countries it said are involved in corruption, human rights abuses and trade that harms U.S. national security. The measures, advanced on May 22, called for sanctions on countries in the Northern Triangle, Georgia and Turkey.

One of the bills, H.R. 2615, the United States-Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act, draws attention to the “corruption,” “narcotics trafficking” and “illicit campaign financing” taking place by “private citizens” and “select officials” in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The bill calls for President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on any person who “engaged in an act of significant corruption that impacts a Northern Triangle country,” including bribery, extortion, corruption and money laundering. “Imposing targeted sanctions on individuals from throughout the world and particularly in the Western Hemisphere who are engaged in acts of significant corruption that impact the Northern Triangle countries will benefit the citizens and governments of such countries,” the bill says.

The sanctions would place travel bans and freeze all U.S. assets of anyone targeted with the sanctions, according to the bill, which does “not include the authority to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.” The authority to impose sanctions expires three years after the enactment date of the bill. In April, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., that he planned to speak with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about imposing sanctions within the Northern Triangle countries (see 1904090037).

The second bill, H.R. 598, the Georgia Support Act, calls on the president to impose sanctions on any person associated with “the commission of serious human rights abuses in Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia forcibly occupied by the Russian Federation.” The bill condemns the “illegal invasions” of Georgia territory by Russia and vows to support Georgian citizens’ rights “to freely determine their future and make independent and sovereign choices on foreign and security policy, including regarding their country’s relationship with other nations and international organizations.” The sanctions would include U.S. travel bans and the freezing of U.S. assets of anyone targeted. Violators of the sanctions would be subject to penalties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the bill said. The president and Treasury secretary would be required to submit a report 60 days after the enactment of the bill and at least once every 180 days for two years “with respect to persons that have been determined to have engaged in activities” described in the bill.

In the final measure, a resolution, H.Res. 372, expresses “concern for the United States-Turkey alliance,” saying the country is cooperating with Russia and Iran to roll back “democratic norms and institutions, including attacks on the free press, and its continued unjust detention of United States citizens.” Specifically, Turkey’s “planned acquisition” of a Russian-made “S-400 air and defense missile system,” as soon as July 2019, would count as a “significant transaction” under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, requiring the president to impose sanctions on Turkey. The resolution calls for sanctions against Turkey if it buys the missile system from Russia.