S.Amdt. 2786

SA 2786. Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Rubio,
and Mr. Durbin) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2282 proposed by Mr. Inhofe (for himself and Mr. McCain)
to the bill H.R. 5515, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle G of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1271. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PERSONS
RESPONSIBLE FOR VIOLENCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS
ABUSES IN NICARAGUA.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Beginning on April 18, 2018, the Government of
Nicaragua responded to antigovernment protests with excessive
force and killings perpetrated by its public security forces
and, as of June 11, 2018, more than 130 people have been
killed in the context of those protests.
(2) The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017
of the Department of State notes, with respect to Nicaragua,
that actions by the ruling Sandinista National Liberation
Front party have resulted in the de facto concentration of
power in a single party, with an authoritarian executive
branch exercising significant control over the legislative,
judicial, and electoral functions of the Government of
Nicaragua.
(3) That report also stated with respect to Nicaragua that
``the most significant human rights abuses included reports
of arbitrary or unlawful killings; almost complete lack of
judicial independence; unlawful interference with privacy;
multiple obstacles to freedom of speech and the press,
including government intimidation, and harassment of and
threats against journalists and independent media; and
partisan restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly''.
(b) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President shall impose
the sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to any
foreign person, including any current or former official of
the Government of Nicaragua or any person acting on behalf of
that Government, that the President determines--
(1) has perpetrated, or is responsible for ordering or
otherwise directing, significant acts of violence or serious
human rights abuses in Nicaragua against persons associated
with the antigovernment protests in Nicaragua that began on
April 18, 2018;
(2) is responsible for or complicit in ordering,
controlling, or otherwise directing significant actions or
policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions
in Nicaragua; or
(3) is an official of the Government of Nicaragua, or a
senior associate of such an official, that is responsible for
or complicit in ordering, controlling, or otherwise
directing, acts of significant corruption, including the
expropriation of private or public assets for personal gain,
corruption related to government contracts, bribery, or the
facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption to
foreign jurisdictions.
(c) Sanctions Described.--
(1) In general.--The sanctions described in this subsection
are the following:
(A) Asset blocking.--The exercise of all powers granted to
the President by the International Emergency Economic Powers
Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block
and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests
in property of a person determined by the President to be
subject to subsection (b) if such property and interests in
property are in the United States, come within the United
States, or are or come within the possession or control of a
United States person.
(B) Exclusion from the united states and revocation of visa
or other documentation.--In the case of an alien determined
by the President to be subject to subsection (b), denial of a
visa to, and exclusion from the United States of, the alien,
and revocation in accordance with section 221(i) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), of any
visa or other documentation of the alien.
(2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to
violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of
paragraph (1)(A) or any regulation, license, or order issued
to carry out paragraph (1)(A) shall be subject to the
penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206
of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C.
1705) to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful
act described in subsection (a) of that section.
(3) Exception relating to importation of goods.--The
requirement to block and prohibit all transactions in all
property and interests in property under paragraph (1)(A)
shall not include the authority to impose sanctions on the
importation of goods (as that term is defined in section 16
of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4618) (as
continued in effect pursuant to the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.))).
(4) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters
agreement.--Sanctions under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply
to an alien if admitting the alien into the United States is
necessary to permit the United States to comply with the
Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations,
signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force
November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United
States, or other applicable international obligations.
(d) Certification.--Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report certifying whether the
Government of Nicaragua is taking effective steps--
(1) to strengthen the rule of law and democratic
governance, including the independence of the judicial system
and electoral council;
(2) to combat corruption, including by investigating and
prosecuting officials of that Government who are credibly
alleged to be corrupt; and
(3) to protect the right of political opposition parties,
journalists, trade unionists, human rights defenders, and
other civil society activists to operate without
interference.
(e) Waiver.--
(1) Temporary general waiver.--If the Secretary of State
certifies to the appropriate congressional committees under
subsection (d) that the Government of Nicaragua is taking
effective steps as described in that subsection, the
President may waive the imposition of additional sanctions
under subsection (b) for a period of not more than one year
beginning on the date of the certification.
(2) Case-by-case waiver.--The President may waive the
application of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to
a person if the President--
(A) determines that such a waiver is in the national
interest of the United States; and
(B) not later than the date on which the waiver takes
effect, submits to the appropriate congressional committees a
notice of and justification for the waiver.
(f) Reporting Requirement.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, acting
through the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and
Research, and in coordination with the Director of National
Intelligence, shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report on the involvement of senior officials of
the Government of Nicaragua, including members of the Supreme
Electoral Council, the National Assembly, and the judicial
system, in acts of public corruption or human rights
violations in Nicaragua.
(2) Form.--
(A) In general.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall
be submitted in unclassified form but may include a
classified annex.
(B) Public availability.--The unclassified portion of the
report required by paragraph (1) shall be made available to
the public.
(g) Regulatory Authority.--The President shall issue such
regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary to carry
out this section.
(h) Termination.--This section shall terminate on December
31, 2023.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
(2) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted
for permanent residence to the United States; or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States
or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a
foreign branch of such an entity.
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