105th Congress > Senate > Vote 552
Clerk session vote number: 254
Description: To provide funding for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Preparatory Commission.
Bill summary: TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Title I: Export and Investment Assistance
Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance
Title III: Military Assistance
Title IV: Multilateral Economic Assistance
Title V: General Provisions
Title VI: Multilateral Economic Assistance
Title VII: Assistance for Sub-Saharan Africa
Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1999 -
Title I: Export and Investment Assistance
- Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for: (1) direct loans, loan
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guarantees, tied-aid grants, insurance, and administrative expenses under Export-Import Bank programs; (2) Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) direct and guaranteed loans and administrative expenses (limiting the availability of certain funds until OPIC reports to the Committees on Appropriations on measures taken to establish sector specific investment funds, including regional investment initiatives in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan through the Caucasus Fund); and (3) the Trade and Development Agency.
Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance
- Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for: (1) expenses of the President in carrying out certain programs under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) the Agency for International Development (AID) for specified development assistance (earmarking up to certain amounts for the Inter-American Foundation and the African Development Foundation, and for alternative-to-drug-production development programs in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia); (3) specified projects aimed at reunification of Cyprus; (4) democracy and humanitarian activities in Burma; (5) economic assistance and development assistance for Indonesia; (6) economic assistance and development assistance for research, conservation, training and related activities for the Province of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Mitch McConnell Conservation Fund); (7) international disaster assistance; (8) Department of the Treasury international affairs technical assistance activities; (9) debt restructuring; (10) micro and small enterprise development programs; (11) the urban and environmental credit program account; (12) private and voluntary organizations that receive 20 percent or more of their funding from non-Federal sources; (13) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (14) operating expenses of AID and the AID Office of Inspector General; (15) Economic Support Fund (ESF) assistance (earmarking amounts for Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, and victims of and programs related to the Holocaust); (16) economic assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States (earmarking amounts for Bosnia and Herzegovina, subject to specified conditions); (17) assistance for the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union (earmarking amounts for the Ukraine, with certain conditions, Georgia, Armenia, and Mongolia); (18) the Peace Corps (but no funds for abortions); (19) international narcotics control (earmarking amounts for Law Enforcement Training and Demand Reduction and for the operation of the International Law Enforcement Academy for the Western Hemisphere at the deBremmond Training Center in Roswell, New Mexico); (20) migration and refugee assistance (earmarking amounts for refugees from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and other refugees resettling in Israel); (21) the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund; and (22) nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining and related programs and activities (specifying conditions on funds for the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), and requiring the Director of Central Intelligence to provide specified congressional committees with all relevant intelligence bearing on North Korea's compliance with such conditions).
Makes certain AID funds available only for assistance to the Iraqi democratic opposition for activities inside Iraq, including grants to the Iraqi National Congress and to INDICT (International Campaign to Indict Iraqi War Criminals).
Bars the use of development assistance funds for: (1) coercive abortions or involuntary sterilizations; and (2) U.S. private and voluntary organizations which obtain less than 20 percent of annual funding from sources other than the U.S. Government.
Bars the use of funds for activities and programs for Cambodia until the Secretary of State determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that Cambodia has held free and fair elections.
Prohibits the availability of funds to: (1) Azerbaijan until the President reports to the Congress that it is taking steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh; and (2) Russia unless the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that it has terminated arrangements to provide Iran with technology to develop a nuclear program, or ballistic missiles.
Title III: Military Assistance
- Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for: (1) international military education and training assistance (IMET) (with conditions on the use of funds by Guatemala); (2) foreign military financing and direct loans (earmarking amounts for Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Tunisia, and (for integration into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)) Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic); and (3) international peacekeeping operations (subject to obligation only through the notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations).
Prohibits foreign military financing for Sudan, Liberia, and Guatemala.
Title IV: Multilateral Economic Assistance
- Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for the U.S. contribution to the: (1) International Development Association; (2) Inter-American Development Bank; (3) Asian Development Bank; and (4) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Makes appropriations for FY 1999 for international programs and organizations.
Sets certain restrictions on international organization funding, including prohibiting the use of funds for the United Nations Fund for Science and Technology. Prohibits the use of funds for the KEDO or the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Title V: General Provisions
- Sets forth limits on the use of appropriations, including no more than specified maximums for official residence expenses, entertainment expenses, and representation allowances for AID, and for entertainment and representation allowances for the Inter-American Foundation and the Trade and Development Agency. Limits the use of funds for entertainment expenses of the Peace Corps, or under IMET.
(Sec. 502) Prohibits the use of funds for: (1) bilateral funding of international financial institutions; (2) the export of nuclear equipment, fuel, or technology (except for nuclear safety purposes); (3) direct assistance or reparations to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Iran, Sudan, or Syria; (4) assistance to any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree; (5) certain transfers between appropriations accounts without presidential consultation with the Congress; (6) assistance to any country in default in excess of a year on payments on a U.S. loan (except for Nicaragua and narcotics-related assistance for Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru); and (7) assistance (except in certain circumstances by the Export-Import Bank) for certain commodities likely to be in surplus on world markets if it will cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of a similar commodity.
(Sec. 514) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of specified international financial institutions to: (1) oppose any assistance for the production or extraction of any commodity or mineral for export if it is in surplus on world markets and such assistance will cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of a similar commodity; and (2) support the purchase of American-produced agricultural commodities with funds under this Act.
(Sec. 516) Prohibits the availability of international organization funds, at the President's discretion, for certain Communist countries.
(Sec. 517) Declares it is U.S. policy that appropriations for ESF funds allocated to Israel shall not be less than the annual debt repayment from Israel to the United States.
(Sec. 518) Prohibits the use of development assistance funds for abortions or involuntary sterilizations as methods of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions, or provide any financial incentive to undergo sterilization.
(Sec. 519) Declares that nongovernmental and multilateral organizations shall not be subjected to requirements more restrictive than requirements for foreign governments in determining eligibility for population planning assistance.
(Sec. 520) Directs the President to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the cultivation, production, and transshipment of opium by North Korea (and annually thereafter as part of the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961).
(Sec. 521) Prohibits the use of funds for Colombia, India, Haiti, Liberia, Pakistan, Serbia, Sudan, or the Democratic Republic of Congo, except through the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations.
(Sec. 523) Makes funds available to AID for family planning, health, child survival, and basic education and AIDS research and control in developing countries.
(Sec. 524) Bars funding for indirect assistance to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Iran, Syria, North Korea, or China unless the President certifies that the withholding of such funds is contrary to U.S. national security interests.
(Sec. 525) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to extend the President's waiver authority with respect to reciprocal leasing through the current year.
(Sec. 526) Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to notify the Committees on Appropriations before providing excess DOD articles to certain NATO and major non-NATO countries.
(Sec. 528) Prohibits bilateral assistance funds to any country which the President determines grants sanctuary from prosecution to any individual or group which has committed an act of international terrorism or otherwise supports such activities. Authorizes a waiver by the President for national security and humanitarian reasons, requiring notification to the Committees on Appropriations.
(Sec. 529) Authorizes the commercial leasing of defense articles (instead of government-to-government sale) to Israel, Egypt, NATO, and major non-NATO allies if the President determines that there are compelling foreign policy or national security reasons.
(Sec. 530) Requires all AID contracts and subcontracts to include a clause requiring that U.S. insurance companies have a fair opportunity to bid when insurance is necessary or appropriate.
(Sec. 531) Prohibits U.S. sale of Stinger missiles in the Persian Gulf region, with certain exceptions.
(Sec. 532) Authorizes nongovernmental organizations which are AID grantees or contractors to place funds made available to them under this Act in interest bearing accounts in order to enhance their participation in economic activities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, including endowments and debt-for-development and debt-for-nature exchanges.
(Sec. 535) Bars assistance to any country that is not in compliance with the United Nations (UN) sanctions against Iraq, unless the President certifies to the Congress that such assistance: (1) is in the national interest; (2) will directly benefit the needy people in that country; or (3) will be humanitarian assistance for foreign nationals who have fled Iraq and Kuwait.
(Sec. 537) Declares that provisions under this or any other Act authorizing appropriations for foreign operations or export financing shall not be construed to prohibit activities authorized by the Peace Corps Act, the Inter-American Foundation Act, or the African Development Foundation Act.
(Sec. 538) Prohibits the use of funds to provide: (1) any financial incentive to induce a business to relocate outside the United States if it will reduce the number of employees in the United States; (2) assistance for establishing or developing in a foreign country an export processing zone or other designated area in which a country's tax, tariff, labor, environment, and safety laws do not apply to activities in the area, unless the President certifies that such assistance is not likely to cause a loss of U.S. jobs; or (3) assistance for any project that contributes to the violation of internationally recognized workers rights in the recipient country.
(Sec. 539) Declares that no sanction, prohibition, or restriction against Serbia or Montenegro shall cease to be effective, unless the President certifies to the Congress there is substantial progress toward self-determination in Kosova and substantial improvement in the human rights situation there.
(Sec. 540) Declares that funds appropriated under this Act for Afghanistan, Lebanon, and for victims of war, displaced children, displaced Burmese, humanitarian assistance for Romania, and humanitarian assistance for the peoples of Kosova, may be made available notwithstanding any other provision of law.
Authorizes the use of foreign assistance funds to support tropical forestry and biodiversity conservation activities, as well as energy programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Authorizes AID to employ personal services contractors to administer programs for the West Bank and Gaza.
(Sec. 541) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to: (1) immediate public renunciation by Arab League countries of the boycott of Israel and American firms having commercial ties with Israel; and (2) steps the President should take to encourage such renunciation.
(Sec. 542) Authorizes the use of ESF funds to strengthen the administration of justice in countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in other regions.
(Sec. 543) Declares that restrictions on assistance to foreign countries contained in this Act or any other Act (except those relating to international terrorism or human rights violations) shall not be construed to restrict assistance: (1) in support of certain programs of nongovernmental organizations; or (2) under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954.
(Sec. 544) Authorizes the reprogramming of earmarked appropriations for other programs within the same account, provided certain requirements are met.
(Sec. 546) Prohibits the use of funds for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States that were not authorized before the enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 547) Declares that, to the maximum extent possible, assistance provided under this Act should make full use of American resources, including commodities, products, and services. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products purchased with funds under this Act should be American-made. Requires Federal agency heads, in providing financial assistance to or entering into any contract with any entity using funds made available in this Act, to notify such entity of this intention. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to the Congress on the efforts of Federal agency heads and the U.S. directors of international financial institutions in complying with this sense of the Congress.
(Sec. 548) Prohibits the use of funds to pay any assessments, arrearages, or dues of any UN member.
(Sec. 550) Prohibits the provision of funds to a private voluntary organization that fails to provide any document, file, or record necessary to the auditing requirements of AID.
(Sec. 551) Prohibits the provision of funds to any foreign government that provides lethal military equipment to a country determined to have a terrorist government, unless it is in the U.S. national interest.
(Sec. 552) Withholds assistance to a foreign country in an amount equal to 110 percent of the total unpaid parking fines and penalties owed by the country to the District of Columbia.
(Sec. 553) Prohibits the obligation of any appropriations for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the West Bank and Gaza unless the President has exercised certain authorities to suspend prohibitions on assistance to the PLO.
(Sec. 554) Permits the President to provide up to a specified amount of commodities and services to the UN War Crimes Tribunal if doing so will contribute to a just resolution of charges regarding genocide or other violations of international law in the former Yugoslavia.
(Sec. 555) Declares that: (1) it is the policy of the U.S.Government to sign the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction as soon as practicable; but (2) this policy shall not apply unless the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the unified combatant commanders certify to specified congressional committees that the signing of the Convention is consistent with the combat requirements and safety of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Authorizes disposal on a grant basis in foreign countries of demining equipment used in support of the clearing of land mines and unexploded ordnance for humanitarian purposes.
(Sec. 556) Prohibits the obligation of appropriations to create in Jerusalem a new U.S. agency office for the purpose of conducting U.S. business with the Palestinian Authority over Gaza and Jericho (or any successor Palestinian governing entity) provided for in the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles.
(Sec. 557) Prohibits the obligation of certain funds appropriated for Informational Program activities to pay for: (1) alcoholic beverages; (2) food (other than food provided at a military installation) not provided in conjunction with Informational Program trips where students do not stay at a military installation; or (3) entertainment expenses for recreational activities.
(Sec. 558) Authorizes the President to reduce amounts owed to the United States by eligible countries as a result of: (1) housing guarantees made under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) credits extended or guarantees issued under the Arms Export Control Act; or (3) any obligation for a Latin American country to pay for purchases of U.S. agricultural commodities guaranteed by the Commodity Credit Corporation under export credit guarantee programs. Allows exercise of such debt reduction authority only with respect to countries with heavy debt burdens that are eligible to borrow from the International Development Association but not from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IDA-only countries). Specifies further conditions on the exercise of such authority.
(Sec. 559) Authorizes the President to engage in certain debt buybacks or sales. Authorizes sale, reduction, or cancellation of certain loans to foreign governments, upon receipt of payment from an eligible purchaser that plans to use such loans only for the purposes of engaging in debt-for-equity swaps, debt-for-development swaps, or debt-for-nature swaps. Limits such authority to funds appropriated by this Act under the heading of debt restructuring.
(Sec. 560) Prohibits provision to the Government of Haiti of any funds appropriated by this Act until the President reports to specified congressional committees that such Government: (1) has completed privatization of (or placed under long-term private management or concession) three major public entities; (2) has re- signed the bilateral Repatriation Agreement with the United States (and that in the six months preceding such report it has been cooperating with the United States in halting illegal emigration from Haiti); (3) is conducting thorough investigations of extrajudicial and political killings; (4) is cooperating with U.S. authorities in such investigations; (5) has taken action to remove from the Haitian National Police, national palace and residential guard, ministerial guard, and any other public security entity individuals who have committed human rights violations; and (6) has ratified in the Haitian National Assembly the counter-narcotics agreements signed in October 1997. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to humanitarian or counter narcotics assistance, or support for the Haitian National Police's Special Investigations Unit, the International Criminal Investigative Assistance Program (ICITAP), or anti-corruption programs for the Haitian National Police.
Authorizes the availability of appropriations to support elections in Haiti when the President reports to the Congress that the Government of Haiti: (1) has achieved a transparent settlement of the contested April 1997 elections; and (2) has made progress on the constitution of a provisional election council with the agreement of a broad spectrum of political parties, alliances and party conferences, not to be limited to factions of the Lavalas movement.
Authorizes appropriations for the development and support of political parties and grass roots civic organizations in Haiti.
Conditions the provision of appropriated funds to Haiti's Ministry of Justice (except to support the training of prosecutors, judicial mentoring, and case management) upon certification to specified congressional committees that the Ministry: (1) has by certain steps demonstrated a commitment to the professionalization of judicial personnel; (2) is making progress in making the judicial branch independent from the executive branch; and (3) has re-instituted judicial training with the Office of Prosecutorial Development and Training (OPDAT).
Authorizes the President to waive the requirements under this section on a semiannual basis upon determination and certification to the appropriate congressional committees that it is in the U.S. national interest.
(Sec. 561) Requires a specified annual report of the Secretary of State containing the voting record of each foreign member country of the UN to include a side-by-side comparison of each country's overall support for the United States at the UN and the amount of U.S. assistance provided to it in FY 1998.
(Sec. 562) Requires the Secretary of Labor to report to the Committees on Appropriations on labor practices in Burma.
(Sec. 563) Makes the Government of Haiti eligible to purchase U.S. defense articles and services for the civilian-led Haitian National Police and Coast Guard.
(Sec. 564) Prohibits the use of funds to the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State believes they have committed gross violations of human rights, unless the Secretary reports to the Committees on Appropriations that such country is taking effective measures to bring the responsible persons to justice.
(Sec. 565) Requires U.S. opposition to loans to the Government of Cambodia by international financial institutions unless: (1) Cambodia has held free and fair elections; (2) during the 12 months before such elections, no candidate of any opposition party was murdered; (3) all political candidates were permitted freedom of speech, assembly, and equal access to the media; (4) voter registration and participation rates did not exceed the eligible population in any region; (5) refugees and overseas Cambodians were permitted to vote; (6) the Central Election Commission was composed of representatives from all parties; and (7) international monitors were accorded appropriate access to polling sites.
(Sec. 566) Requires that any agreement between the United States and the Government of Indonesia for the sale of lethal weapons shall state that such items will not be used in East Timor.
(Sec. 567) Prohibits the United States from paying any voluntary or assessed contributions to the UN, including the UN Development Program, unless the President certifies to the Congress 15 days in advance of such payment that the UN is not engaged in any efforts to implement or impose any taxation on U.S. persons in order to raise revenue.
(Sec. 568) Requires bilateral and multilateral assistance sanctions (except with respect to certain humanitarian, democratization, and related assistance) against countries harboring war criminals indicted with respect to the former Yugoslavia. Prohibits assistance for any project in which an indicted war criminal is known to have any financial or material interest. Provides a waiver of such prohibitions if the Secretary of State provides a determination to specified congressional committees that such assistance directly supports the implementation of the Dayton Agreement and its Annexes, which include the obligation to apprehend and transfer indicted war criminals to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Provides a limited waiver of such prohibitions with respect to any project of assistance for Brcko and Banja Luka if certain conditions are met.
(Sec. 569) Authorizes for FY 1998 and 1999 the use of DOD funds for crating, packing, handling, and transportation of excess defense articles to countries that are eligible to participate in the Partnership for Peace and that are eligible for assistance under the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989.
(Sec. 570) Makes funds available for FY 1999 for defense article stockpiles in foreign countries, including the Republic of Korea and Thailand.
(Sec. 571) Prohibits the use of funds for the Government of the Russian Federation unless the President certifies to specified congressional committees that the Federation has not enacted laws or promulgated executive orders that discriminate against religious minorities in violation of international agreements on human rights and religious freedoms to which it is a party.
(Sec. 572) Directs the President to provide: (1) to the Congress an account of all Federal agency obligations and expenditures for climate change programs and activities (domestic and international) for FY 1998 and 1999; and (2) any plan for programs thereafter in the context of negotiations to amend the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) in conjunction with the submission of the Budget of the U.S. Government for FY 2000.
(Sec. 573) Directs the President to withhold a specified amount of foreign assistance funds (except development or humanitarian assistance) from countries that violate any UN sanction against Libya.
(Sec. 574) Bars funds to the central Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo until the President reports to specified congressional leaders and committees that it is: (1) investigating and prosecuting those responsible for civilian massacres, serious human rights violations, or other atrocities; and (2) implementing a credible democratic transition program including specified elements.
Authorizes the President to provide electoral assistance to such Government for any fiscal year upon certifying to specified congressional committees that it has taken steps to ensure that such conditions have been met.
(Sec. 576) Prohibits assistance for a Government of the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union unless it is making progress in implementing comprehensive economic reforms based on market principles, private ownership, respect for commercial contracts, and equitable treatment of foreign private investment. Prohibits assistance to such a Government, furthermore, if it: (1) applies or transfers U.S. assistance to any entity for the purpose of expropriating or seizing ownership or control of assets, investments, or ventures; or (2) directs any action in violation of the sovereignty of any other new independent state. Prohibits any assistance to enhance such a Government's military capability.
Prohibits assistance to Russia until the Secretary of State certifies that agreement has been reached with it that such assistance is not taxed nor is subject to taxation.
(Sec. 577) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the publication in the Federal Register of each required notice to the Congress of the transfer of certain excess defense articles to a foreign country. Requires the publication of only a statement that the Congress has been so notified in cases where the President concludes publication would be harmful to the national security of the United States.
(Sec. 578) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, to direct the Attorney General to waive the requirement that an alien seeking to pursue a course of study in a school reimburse the school's local educational agency (LEA), if the LEA certifies to the Attorney General that such waiver will promote the LEA's educational interest and will not impose on it an undue financial burden.
(Sec. 579) Requires the inclusion of specified additional information in a mandatory annual report by the Chairman of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies regarding U.S. participation in international financial institutions.
(Sec. 580) Prohibits the obligation of funds to the Palestinian Authority, subject to waiver on the grounds of U.S. national security interests.
(Sec. 581) Declares that it is the sense of the Senate that the Government of Peru should: (1) respect the rights of prisoners under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to timely legal procedures, including the rights of all U.S. citizens held in prisons in that country; and (2) take all necessary steps to ensure that any U.S. citizen charged with committing a crime is accorded open and fair proceedings in a civilian court.
(Sec. 582) Directs the Inspector General of the Department of Defense and the Inspector General of the Department of State to report jointly to Congress on the training provided, and proposed to be provided, to foreign military personnel within the United States under any programs administered by the Department of Defense or the Department of State during FY 1998 and 1999.
(Sec. 583) Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the U.S. Government should promote international cooperation in working to resolve those cases in which children in the United States are abducted by family members who are foreign nationals and taken to foreign countries, and in seeing that justice is served by holding abductors accountable for criminal violations.
(Sec. 584) Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that, among other things, the Clinton Administration should actively support democratic institutions and processes in Indonesia and provide assistance for continued economic and political development in that country, including specified measures. Requires the Secretary of State to report to the Congress an assessment of U.S. Government actions taken to work with the Government of Indonesia to further such objectives.
(Sec. 585) Declares the sense of the Congress: (1) condemning the mistreatment of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia and the criminal acts carried out against them during the May 1998 riots; (2) commending the Indonesian Government's investigation of armed forces members suspected of involvement in the riots and related criminal acts; and (3) urging the Indonesian Government to take certain actions to assure the human rights of ethnic Chinese, and to ratify the UN Convention of Racial Discrimination, Torture, and Human Rights.
Directs the Secretary of State to make funds available to provide support and technical assistance to the Indonesian Government, and to independent non-governmental organizations, for full, fair, and impartial investigations into the allegations surrounding the riots, violence, and rape of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia in May 1998.
(Sec. 586) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to provide equipment, technical support, training, consulting services, or any other form of assistance to the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation or any similar organization.
(Sec. 587) Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) develop curricula and conduct training for U.S. consular officers on the prevalence and risks of trafficking in women and children, and the rights of victims of such trafficking; and (2) develop and disseminate to aliens seeking to obtain visas written materials describing the potential risks of trafficking, as well as the rights of victims in the United States under the Violence Against Women Act, and the names of support and advocacy organizations.
(Sec. 588) Declares the sense of the Congress urging public release of information in Federal agencies about the murder of four American churchwomen in El Salvador on December 2, 1980. Urges the President to direct the Attorney General to review and report to the Congress on the circumstances under which individuals involved in either the murders or their cover-up obtained residence in the United States.
(Sec. 589) Directs the Secretaries of Defense and of State to report jointly to the Congress on all overseas military training provided to, and proposed to be provided to, foreign military personnel under programs administered by the Defense and State Departments during FY 1998 and 1999.
(Sec. 590) Declares the sense of Congress regarding the trial in the Netherlands of the suspects indicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988. Urges Colonel Qadaffi promptly to transfer the indicted suspects to the Netherlands to stand trial before the Scottish court. Urges U.S. Government: (1) to remain firm in its commitment not to negotiate with Colonel Qadaffi on any of the details of the proposal approved by the United Nations in UN Security Council Resolution 1192; and (2), if Colonel Qadaffi does not transfer the suspects to the Netherlands, to promote adoption of a resolution in the UN Security Council to impose a multilateral oil embargo against Libya.
(Sec. 591) Declares the sense of the Congress that the President, acting through USAID, should: (1) develop a new strategy for U.S. bilateral assistance for Nigeria that is focused on the development of civil society and the rule of law and that involves a broad cross-section of Nigerian society but does not provide for any direct assistance (other than humanitarian) to the Government of Nigeria, unless and until that country successfully completes a transition to civilian, democratic rule; (2) increase the number of U.S personnel at the USAID office in Lagos, Nigeria; and (3) consider the placement of USAID personnel elsewhere in Nigeria.
(Sec. 592) Amends the Arms Export Control Act to revise the current prohibition against the sale or licensing of defense articles or services to countries not cooperating fully with U.S. antiterrorism efforts. Requires the President to certify to the Congress the country's full cooperation with U.S. efforts, or its taking of adequate actions on its own. Allows the prohibition to apply once again to any country so certified if during the same fiscal year the President certifies to the Congress that such cooperation or actions are not continuing.
(Sec. 593) Equality for Israel at the United Nations Act of 1998 - Declares it is the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States must promote an end to the exclusion of Israel from any of the UN regional blocs, including rotating membership on the UN Security Council; and (2) the U.S. Ambassador to the UN should take all steps necessary to ensure Israel's acceptance in the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG) regional bloc (membership which includes the non-European countries of Canada, Australia, and the United States). Directs the Secretary of State to report to appropriate congressional committees on efforts taken to achieve such goals.
(Sec. 594) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors of the international financial institutions to oppose any extension of financial or technical assistance or grants of any kind to the government of Serbia.
Urges the Secretary of State to take certain steps to deny Serbia- Montenegro participation in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the United Nations, the Partnership for Peace program or any other affiliate of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), or the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI).
Holds these sanctions in effect until January 1, 2000, unless the President certifies to specified congressional committees that the government of Serbia-Montenegro has fully complied with certain requirements.
Declares the sense of the Congress that the United States should not restore full diplomatic relations with Serbia-Montenegro until the President makes such certification.
Authorizes a presidential waiver of such sanctions to meet emergency humanitarian needs or to achieve a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Kosova acceptable to the parties.
(Sec. 595) Earmarks certain funds for expenses related to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Preparatory Commission.
(Sec. 596) Declares the sense of the Congress with respect to vigorous, including surprise, inspections within Iraq by the IAEA and the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM). Urges the United States to oppose any efforts to ease the inspections regimes on Iraq until there is clear, credible evidence that the Government of Iraq is no longer seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. Requires an assessment for the Congress of Iraq's nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction programs and its efforts to procure them and their means of delivery.
(Sec. 597) Declares the sense of the Senate that there should be no change in U.S. policy toward Iran until there is credible and sustained evidence of a change in Iranian policies, including steps to end its: (1) support of international terrorism; (2) opposition to the Middle East peace process; and (3) development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.
(Sec. 598) Establishes a Joint United States-Canada Commission on Cattle, Beef, and Dairy Products to identify, and recommend means of resolving, national, regional, and provincial trade-distorting differences between the United States and Canada with respect to the production, processing, and sale of cattle, beef, and dairy products.
(Sec. 599) Declares the sense of the Senate that the U.S. Department of Agriculture should: (1) use the GSM-102 credit guarantee program to provide 100 percent coverage, including shipping costs, in some markets where it may be temporarily necessary to encourage the export of U.S. agricultural products; (2) increase the amount of GSM export credit available above the $5.5 billion minimum required by the 1996 Farm Bill, with specified extra allocations going to Pakistan, Algeria, Bulgaria, and Romania; (3) use the PL-480 food assistance programs to the fullest extent possible, including the allocation of assistance to Indonesia and other Asian nations facing economic hardship; and (4) consider Vietnam for PL-480 assistance and increased GSM.
(Sec. 599A) Earmarks certain funds for the Claiborne Pell Institute for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina University.
(Sec. 599B) Establishes an Office of Security within the Office of the Administrator of AID, to which shall be transferred all security functions currently exercised by the AID Office of Inspector General (IG), along with IG personnel, assets, and property.
(Sec. 599C) Declares the sense of the Congress that: (1) North Korea should be forcefully condemned for its August 31, 1998, firing of a Taepo Dong I intermediate-range ballistic missile over the sovereign territory of Japan; (2) the United States should reassess its cooperative space launch programs with countries that continue to assist North Korea and Iran in their ballistic missile and cruise missile programs; (3) any financial or technical assistance provided to North Korea should take into account its continuing activities destabilizing the region, including the missile firing, continued submarine incursions into South Korea territorial waters, and violations of the demilitarized zone separating North Korea and South Korea; (4) the recommendations of the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States should be quickly incorporated into the analytical processes of the U.S. intelligence community; and (5) the United States should accelerate cooperative theater missile defense programs with Japan.
(Sec. 599D) Declares the sense of the Senate that the Federal Communications Commission and appropriate executive branch agencies take all appropriate actions to promote development, by the International Telecommunication Union (a UN agency), of recommendations for digital wireless telecommunications services based on a family of open and inclusive multiple standards, including all four standards submitted by the Department of State, so as to allow operation of existing systems with the next generation of wireless standards.
Title VI: Multilateral Economic Assistance
- International Monetary Fund Appropriations Act of 1998 - Makes supplemental appropriations for FY 1998 for the U.S. contribution to: (1) the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank); (2) the Inter-American Development Bank; (3) the Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund; and (4) the Asian Development Fund.
Makes supplemental appropriations for FY 1998 for: (1) loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the New Arrangements to Borrow (equivalent to a specified amount of Special Drawing Rights); and (2) an increase in the U.S. IMF quota of Special Drawing Rights. Authorizes the use for the New Arrangements to Borrow of a specified amount of previously appropriated IMF Special Drawing Rights for the General Arrangements to Borrow.
(Sec. 601) Prohibits funds appropriated for the U.S. IMF quota from being obligated, transferred, or made available to the IMF until 30 days after the Secretary of the Treasury certifies, to the appropriate congressional committees, that the major IMF shareholders, including the United States, Japan, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Canada have agreed to, and will seek to implement in the IMF, policies that provide for conditions in stand-by agreements or other arrangements regarding the use of IMF resources, requiring that the recipient country: (1) liberalize restrictions on trade in goods and services and on investment, at a minimum consistent with the terms of all international trade obligations and agreements; and (2) eliminate the practice or policy of government directed lending on non-commercial terms or provision of market distorting subsidies to favored industries, enterprises, parties, or institutions.
Directs the United States to exert its influence with the IMF and its members to encourage it to include as part of its conditions of stand-by agreements or other uses of the IMF's resources that the recipient country take action to remove discriminatory treatment between foreign and domestic creditors in its debt resolution proceedings.
Directs the United States to exert its influence with the IMF and its members to encourage it to include as part of its conditions of assistance that the recipient country take action to adopt modern insolvency (bankruptcy) laws that meet specified goals.
(Sec. 602) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to certify to the appropriate congressional committees that the IMF Board has agreed to provide timely access (transparency) by the Comptroller General to information and documents relating to IMF operations, program and policy reviews, and decisions regarding stand-by agreements and other uses of its resources.
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to direct, and the IMF U.S. Executive Director to agree, to provide access by the Comptroller General to IMF documents, information, and operations.
(Sec. 603) Directs the President to establish an International Financial Institution Advisory Commission, which shall report to the appropriate congressional committees on the future role and responsibilities, if any, of the IMF and the merit, costs and related implications of consolidation of the organization, management, and activities of the IMF, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
(Sec. 604) Directs the President to call for a Bretton Woods Conference of representatives of the member countries of the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO to consider their structure, management and activities, their possible merger, and their capacity to contribute to exchange rate stability and economic growth and to respond effectively to financial crises.
(Sec. 605) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, following extension of a stand-by agreement or other uses of resources by the IMF, to report to the appropriate congressional committees specified information about: (1) borrower's rules and regulations; (2) the burden shared by private sector investors and creditors, including commercial banks in the Group of Seven Nations, in the losses which have prompted the use of IMF resources; (3) IMF strategy, plan and timetable for completing the borrower's payback of IMF resources; and (4) the status of efforts to upgrade the borrower's national standards to meet the Basle Committee's Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision.
(Sec. 606) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, before the release of IMF funds to a borrower country, to certify to the appropriate congressional committees that certain conditions have been met, including: (1) no IMF resources have resulted in support to the semiconductor, steel, automobile, or textile and apparel industries; (2) the IMF has not guaranteed or underwritten the private loans of such industries; and (3) IMF and Department of the Treasury officials have monitored the implementation of stabilization programs in effect after July 1, 1997, and all of the conditions have either been met, or the recipient government has committed itself to fulfill these conditions according to an approved timetable for completion. Requires that such certifications be made 14 days before any IMF resources are disbursed to the borrower. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF to use his or her voice to oppose disbursement of further funds if such certification is not given.
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a team of Department of Commerce employees to: (1) collect data on import volumes and prices, and statistics in certain industries; (2) monitor the effect of the Asian economic crisis on such industries; (3) collect accounting data from Asian producers; and (4) work to prevent import surges in such industries or to assist U.S. industries affected by such surges in their efforts to protect themselves under U.S. trade laws.
(Sec. 607) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF to use the U.S. vote to: (1) prevent the extension of IMF resources directly to or for the direct benefit of the President of Indonesia or any member of the President's family; and (2) oppose further disbursement of funds to Indonesia on any IMF terms or conditions less stringent than those imposed on the Republic of Korea and the Philippines Republic.
(Sec. 608) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF to use the U.S. vote to vigorously promote policies to encourage the opening of markets for agricultural commodities and products by requiring recipient countries to make efforts to reduce trade barriers.
(Sec. 609) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish an IMF Advisory Committee to meet with him or her to review and provide advice on the extent to which individual IMF country programs meet certain requisite policy goals.
(Sec. 610) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to consult with the office of the U.S. Trade Representative before instructing the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF on the U.S. position regarding loans or credits to prospective IMF borrower countries.
(Sec. 613) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make annual progress reports to specified congressional committees on efforts to reform the architecture of the international monetary system.
(Sec. 614) Declares the sense of the Congress that the International Monetary Fund should not provide funding to a Russian government whose economic policies are significantly affected by the Russian Communist Party, or under significantly less free market conditions than those imposed on the Republic of Korea and other democratic, free market nations in Southeast Asia.
Title VII: Assistance for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Directs the Administrator of AID, in providing development assistance under the Africa Food Security Initiative, or any comparable or successor program, to: (1) emphasize programs and projects that improve the food security of children, women, and food-insecure households, or that improve the agricultural productivity, incomes, and marketing of the rural poor in Africa; (2) take into consideration the views and needs of intended beneficiaries and program participants during all phases of projects; and (3) ensure that programs are designed and conducted in cooperation with African and U.S. organizations and institutions with expertise in addressing the needs of the poor, small-scale farmers, entrepreneurs, and rural workers, including women.
(Sec. 702) Directs the Administrator to use credit and microcredit assistance to improve the capacity and efficiency of agricultural production in sub-Saharan Africa of small-scale farmers and small rural entrepreneurs.
(Sec. 703) Authorizes the Administrator to utilize foreign assistance programs and initiatives for sub-Saharan Africa to support private producer-owned cooperative marketing associations there, including rural business associations owned by farmer shareholders.
(Sec. 704) Directs the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to issue loans, guarantees, and insurance, and utilize existing equity funds and loan and insurance funds, to support private agricultural and rural development in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly intermediary organizations that directly serve the needs of small-scale farmers, small rural entrepreneurs, and rural producer-owned cooperative purchasing and marketing associations.
(Sec. 705) Directs the Administrator to develop a comprehensive plan to coordinate and build on the research and extension activities of U.S. land-grant universities, international agricultural research centers, and national agricultural research and extension centers in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Bill titles: An original bill making appropriations for foreign operations, export financing, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999, and for other purposes.
Links for more info on the vote: congress.gov
