S.Amdt. 2787

SA 2787. Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. Nelson)
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 CUBA.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Government of Cuba continues to carry out arbitrary
detentions of peaceful dissidents, most of whom are kept
under degrading and inhumane conditions, and according to the
Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation,
as of May 2018, there have been more than 1,400 of those
detentions.
(2) The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017
in Cuba set forth by the Department of State notes that the
principal human rights abuses in Cuba included--

[[Page S3769]]

(A) the abridgement of the ability of citizens to choose
their government;
(B) the use of government threats, physical assault,
intimidation, and violent government-organized counter
protests against peaceful dissent; and
(C) harassment and detentions to prevent free expression an
peaceful assembly.
(3) That report stated that additional human rights abuses
included--
(A) harsh prison conditions;
(B) arbitrary short-term, politically motivated detentions
and arrests;
(C) selective prosecution;
(D) denial of fair trial; and
(E) travel restrictions.
(4) Significant support by the Government of Cuba for the
authoritarian regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela that
includes sending tens of thousands of Cuban trainers,
advisers, security personnel, militias, paramilitary groups,
and intelligence officers, and was described by the Secretary
General of the Organization of American States as an
``occupation army'' during a hearing before the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate on July 19, 2017, has
directly contributed to worsening conditions in Venezuela and
the destabilization of the region.
(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 Cuba 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 Cuba;
(2) has been responsible for or is responsible for or
complicit in ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing
significant actions or policies that undermine democratic
processes or institutions in Cuba;
(3) is an official of the Government of Cuba, 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--
(A) the expropriation of private or public assets for
personal gain;
(B) corruption related to government contracts;
(C) bribery; or
(D) the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of
corruption to foreign jurisdictions; or
(4) is an official of the Government of Cuba, or a senior
associate of such an official, that has been responsible for
or is responsible for or complicit in ordering, controlling,
or otherwise directing significant actions or policies that
undermine democratic processes or institutions in Venezuela.
(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 or other international obligations.--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 Cuba is taking effective steps to--
(1) strengthen the rule of law and democratic governance in
Cuba, including by strengthening the independence of the
judicial system and electoral council;
(2) combat corruption in Cuba, including by investigating
and prosecuting officials of that Government that are
credibly alleged to be corrupt;
(3) protect the right of political opposition parties,
journalists, trade unionists, human rights defenders, and
other civil society activists to operate without interference
in Cuba; and
(4) end destabilizing activities that undermine democratic
governance and constitutional order in Venezuela.
(e) Waiver.--
(1) Temporary general waiver.--If the Secretary of State
certifies under subsection (d) that the Government of Cuba is
taking effective steps as described in that subsection, the
President may waive the imposition of 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) Regulatory Authority.--The President shall issue such
regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary to carry
out this section.
(g) Termination.--This section shall terminate on December
31, 2023.
(h) 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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