COMMITTEE ON RULES - Summary of Amendments Submitted to the Rules Committee for H.R. 2410 - Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011

Jun 08, 2009
1:51PM

Summary of Amendments Submitted to the Rules Committee for H.R. 2410 - Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 Summaries derived from information provided by sponsors Listed in Alphabetical Order June 09, 2009 6:09 PM
Berman (CA)	#51	Revised Would (1) make a number of minor, technical and conforming changes, including changes to address concerns of other Committees that have jurisdiction over certain provisions of H.R. 2410 and making changes to certain authorizations; (2) add the relevant text from H.R. 2828, 110th Congress, as passed by the House, relating to compensation of Foreign Service victims of terrorism; (3) add a provision relating to streamlining export controls to better serve the scientific and research community, consistent with the protection of U.S. national security interests; (4) add a provision authorizing the establishment of a regional security training center for West, Central and North Africa; (5) add a provision to improve the stabilization and reconstruction activities of the Department of State; and (6) add a provision relating to the development of a food security strategy.
Bilirakis (FL)	#72	Would prohibit the Secretary of State from establishing a formal or informal U.S. diplomatic or commercial presence in and with Iran, unless the President certifies that the Government of Iran is not engaged in certain activities detrimental to the national security of the United States.
Bishop, Tim (NY)	#9	Would require a GAO study of the effects of USAID’s use of waivers under the Buy America Act for HIV test kits on 1) United States-based manufacturers and 2) availability of and access to HIV testing for at-risk populations in low-income countries.
Bishop, Rob (UT)/ Chaffetz (UT)/ Matheson (UT)	#26	Would allow for the enumeration, for purposes of apportionment, of American citizens living overseas during the decennial census (starting in 2010) who are not affiliated with the federal government and who either: 1) themselves take the steps to be enumerated through an international “Be Counted” form available at U.S. embassies, or 2) belong to an organization that chooses to submit administrative records to the Census Bureau.
Blunt (MO)	#2	Would prevent funds authorized by this Act from being used for a contribution for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea or the International Seabed Authority.
Broun (GA)	#65	Revised Would require the Department of State to receive a response from the Central Intelligence Agency regarding intelligence on visa applicants before issuing a visa to the applicant when a Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) is requested.
Brown-Waite (FL)	#44	Would increase the authorization for the Office of the Inspector General to $113,000,000 with a corresponding decrease in the International Organizations authorization to $1,784,000,000.
Brown-Waite (FL)	#54	Would strike Title VII, the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2009.
Brown-Waite (FL)	#55	Would strike Sec. 505, domestic release of the Voice of America film entitled ‘‘A Fateful Harvest’’.
Brown-Waite (FL)	#56	Would strike Section 405, authorizing payment of U.S. arrearages to the United Nations.
Brown-Waite (FL)	#57	Would strike section 303, establishment of the Lessons Learned Center.
Brown-Waite (FL)	#58	Withdrawn Would strike Sec. 224, which establishes an exchange program between Liberia and the United States for women legislators and women staff members.
Brown-Waite (FL)	#59	Withdrawn Would strike Sec. 223, which establishes an exchange program between Sri Lanka and the United States to promote dialogue among minority groups in Sri Lanka.
Brown-Waite (FL)	#60	Withdrawn Would strike Section 221, which authorizes scholarships for indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central and South America.
Burton (IN)	#38	Sense of Congress removing waiver authority in the Jerusalem Embassy Act, formally recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and would immediately relocate the United States embassy to Jerusalem.
Burton (IN)	#39	Would require that at least 50% of the value of the assets of certain Enterprise Funds are to be transferred to the US Treasury for payment on the public debt when the funds close down their operations.
Burton (IN)	#40	Would prohibit the U.S. from contributing funds to the United Nations to pay or reimburse current or former UN officers’ or employees’ legal fees, if incurred in connection with proceedings arising from alleged malfeasance in employment at the UN. It would authorize the President to ensure that U.S. contributions to the UN are not used for such purposes, including by withholding funds from the UN’s regular budget, if necessary.
Carnahan (MO)	#52	Withdrawn Would add a provision to Title VII, the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Act, to require the foundation, in its administration of study abroad programs, to consider as a factor universities' institutional commitment to increasing study abroad participation.
Castle (DE)/ Dent (PA)	#63	4th Revision Would require reports to Congress every 90 days listing the countries that refuse or unreasonably delay accepting nationals of such countries who are under final orders of removal from the . The amendment empowers the Secretary of State to suspend diplomatic visa issuances to any country that continues to deny or unreasonably delay repatriation.
Chaffetz (UT)	#32	Would strike section 412, which would increase U.S. peacekeeping operations contributions from 25% to 27.1%.
Chaffetz (UT)	#33	Would prohibit authorized funds from being appropriated for the United Nations Population Fund.
Cuellar (TX)	#66	Revised Would waive the passport fee for children under age 12 if their family income is more than 50% below the median family income in the United States.
Cuellar (TX)/Ortiz(TX)/Hinojosa (TX)/Rodriguez (TX)/Grijalva (AZ)	#68	2nd Revised Would establish a uniform standard for the issuance and adjudication of passports for U.S. citizens in cases involving birth certificates registered by a midwife.
Davis, Susan (CA)/ Grayson (FL)	#69	Revised Would require the Inspectors General of the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the United States Agency for International Development, and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction to modify their auditing and assessment protocols for Afghanistan to include the impact U.S. development assistance has on the social, economic, and political empowerment of Afghan women as part of their auditing and reporting requirements.
Edwards, Donna (MD)	#24	Would create a program to provide microfinancing for Afghan women.
Edwards, Donna (MD)	#25	Would authorize appropriations for microenterprise development assistance.
Eshoo (CA)/ Cardoza (CA)/ Wolf (VA)	#61	Withdrawn Would authorize funds to provide humanitarian, development, economic, and security assistance to ethno-religious minorities in Iraq, and to support the establishment of a sustainable and secure administrative unit in the Nineveh Plain region of Iraq.
Franks (AZ)	#46	Would prohibit the use of US funds for sex-selection abortion by requiring certification prior to prospective international family planning appropriations that U.S. funds have not been used to provide or finance sex-selection abortions in the recipient countries.
Franks (AZ)	#62	Would establish a reporting requirement on the existence of sex-selection abortion in countries that receive U.S. funds and to determine the extent to which U.S. funds may be, prospectively, supporting the performance of sex-selection abortions.
Garrett (NJ)/ Price, Tom (GA)	#76	Would direct the Secretary of State to ensure that any funds used by the United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund outlined in the Presidential Determination 2009-15 of January 27, 2009, are not used to import, or give assistance to any Palestinian refugee or conflict victim from Gaza with ties to Hamas.
Gohmert (TX)	#64	Revised Would cut U.S. financial assistance to any country who has voted against the U.S. in the U.N. General Assembly more than 50% of the time in a year.
Grayson (FL)	#37	Would require that the cost or price to the Federal government be given at least equal importance as technical or other criteria in evaluating competitive proposals for Federal contracts other than defense contracts.
Hill (IN)	#73	Revised Would require the Department of State to conduct a cost-benefit analysis in conjunction with all appropriate Federal departments and agencies on how to best use American funds to reduce smuggling and trafficking in persons.
Hodes (NH)	#78	Would change the dollar amount threshold for arms sales that require the State Department to notify Congress 30 days before the sale occurs. For sales involving firearms under Category 1 of the U.S. Munitions List, the threshold would be increased from $1,000,000 to $14,000,000.
Holt (NJ)	#5	Would direct the the Secretary of State to report within 60 days of enactment on changes in treaty and U.S. laws that could help improve compliance with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Hunter (CA)	#11	Would include the Secretary of Defense as a member of the Task Force on the Prevention of Illicit Small Arms Trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.
Inglis (SC)	#12	Withdrawn Would strike Section 1108 regarding the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) and inserts a new sense of Congress that the refurbishment of helicopters for peacekeeping missions should be funded primarily through Foreign Military Financing (FMF). Additionally, it would state that it shall be United States policy to assist in filling gaps in peacekeeping operations, require a U.S. strategy to address air mobility shortfalls for UN peacekeeping missions, and authorize such sums as necessary for each of the Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011.
Israel (NY)	#29	Would authorize $10 million in FY10 for renewable energy microfinance projects in developing countries, administered through USAID and in consultation with the Department of State and the Department of Energy. It would give priority to female-owned businesses in developing countries.
Jackson (IL)/ Blunt (MO)	#10	Withdrawn Would compensate relatives of U.S. citizens killed in the 1998 al Qaeda embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
Johnson, Eddie Bernice (TX)	#15	Would designate the headquarters building of the United States Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as the ‘‘Mickey Leland United States Embassy Building’’.
Johnson, Eddie Bernice (TX)	#16	2nd Revised Would establish and provide financial assistance for exchange programs between Afghanistan and the United States for women legislators.
Johnson, Eddie Bernice (TX)	#17	Withdrawn Would add to the roles of the Office for Global Women's Issues, the development and initiation of a strategic plan of action for the obligations of the United States under UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and to implement a strategic plan of action related to the role of women in peacekeeping and conflict resolution.
Johnson, Eddie Bernice (TX)	#18	Would express the Sense of Congress on the importance of global health diplomacy as a pathway to ensure positive relations between the United States and countries in the developing world by augmenting peace, economic progress and cooperation.
Johnson, Eddie Bernice (TX)	#83	Revised Sense of Congress that the use of child soldiers is unacceptable and is a violation of human rights and the prevention and elimination of child soldiers should be a foreign policy goal of the United States.
Kirk (IL)	#67	Would allow the Secretary of State, at her discretion, to make payments from the Rewards for Justice program to officers or employees of foreign governments who provide information leading to the capture of exceptional and high-profile terrorists.
Kirkpatrick (AZ)	#84	Revised Would add to the monitoring and evaluation system established in the bill a requirement to look at the illegal southbound flow of cash.
Kirkpatrick (AZ)	#85	Revised Would require the coordinator of the Merida Initiative to consult with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the roles played by U.S. federal law enforcement outside the U.S. as a part of the program.
Larsen, Rick (WA)/Kirk (IL)	#19	Revised Would provide that the policy of the , with respect to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, shall be to prevent any weakening of, and ensure robust compliance with and enforcement of, existing international legal requirements for the protection of intellectual property rights, related to energy or environmental technologies.
Lynch (MA)/Platts (PA)	#49	Withdrawn Would create within the United States Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, an Office of Legislative Affairs to be headed by a Legislative Affairs Adviser to the Ambassador.
Lynch (MA)	#50	Would direct the State Department to submit to Congress a report on the 1059 and 1244 Special Immigrant Visa Programs for certain Iraqis and Afghanis who work for, or on behalf of, the U.S. Government.
Maloney (NY)	#30	Would require the State Department to issue a report of the status of women’s rights in countries in which the U.S. is actively promoting women's rights, establish a United States Commission on International Women’s Rights, and create a position within the National Security Council a Special Adviser to the President on International Women’s Rights, whose position should be comparable to that of a director within the Executive Office of the President.
Matheson (UT)	#3	2nd Revision Would provide that the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Director of the Census Bureau, will conduct a feasibility study and issue a report to Congress on whether there can be implemented a method for using the passports of U.S. citizens living overseas to facilitate voting in U.S. elections and for being counted in the U.S. Census.
Matheson (UT)	#4	Withdrawn, Revised Would provide that the Secretary of State shall appoint a coordinator to help implement the International Nuclear Fuel Bank not later than 120 days after enactment.
McCaul (TX)	#13	Would prohibit the Secretary of State from issuing a visa to any person of a country designated as supporting acts of international terrorism and direct the Secretary of State to deny access to domestic or overseas United States Government facilities to any person, agent or instrumentality of a government of a country designated as supporting acts of international terrorism. This amendment allows for the Secretary of State to waive these restrictions on a case-by-case basis if the Secretary certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the issuance of a visa to the alien is vital to the national security interest of the United States.
McCaul (TX)	#14	Revised Would direct the President to develop and transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive interagency strategy and implementation plan to address the ongoing crisis in Sudan. This includes a description of how the United States assistance will be used to achieve a U.S. policy towards Sudan, financial plan, management of U.S. foreign assistance, and criteria used to determine their prioritization.
McGovern (MA)/ Tsongas (MA)	#7	Withdrawn Would extend the period during which a specific group of Afghan and Iraqi nationals holding Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) may receive resettlement support, entitlements and other benefits, to the same extent, and for the same periods of time as refugees admitted under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S. C. 1157). These specific SIV holders are Iraqi and Afghan nationals (and their family members) who worked for the U.S. Government, or on behalf of the U.S. Government, including as military translators, and whose lives were put in danger because of such service.
McMahon (NY)	#22	Withdrawn Would offer between 50% and 100% tuition assistance to American medical students who volunteer with the Peace Corps. The funds would be distributed to graduates of the Peace Corps over a two year period and the amount of tuition assistance is to be determined by the Administration.
Meeks, Gregory (NY)	#74	Revised Would require the Secretary of State to report to Congress on bilateral efforts to promote equality and eliminate racial discrimination in the Western Hemisphere.
Moore, Gwen (WI)	#20	Revised Would make clear that passage of laws in Afghanistan that restrict or repress human rights, including the rights of women, undermines the support and goodwill shown by the international community and the U.S. through the considerable financial aid that has been provided to help rebuild Afghanistan and may make it harder to generate public support for those seeking to provide such support in the future.
Moore, Gwen (WI)	#21	Would require that the State Department study and regularly review whether the health, education, employment and other needs of Iraqi refugees that have been approved and are being resettled in the U.S. are being met. This includes a review of the State Department’s initial refugee resettlement assistance limits for receiving assistance and steps by the State Department to address any reported obstacles or difficulties being experienced by Iraqi refugees resettling in the U.S.
Nadler (NY)	#53	Revised Sense of Congress that the should continue working with the states of the former Soviet Union to see that émigrés from these states who now live in the are paid the pensions they are owed by these states.
Pence (IN)	#8	Sense of Congress that seeks to impose sanctions on: (1) Iranian banks engaged in proliferation activities or the support of terrorist groups; (2) international banks which conduct financial transactions with proscribed Iranian banks; (3) energy companies with large investments in the Iranian petroleum or natural gas sector; and (4) all companies which do business with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It further demands that the President initiate an effort to increase pressure on Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment activities. Would urge the President to lead a regional effort to support governments in the region against Iran.
Peters (MI)	#75	Revised Would provide that the Secretary of State shall report to Congress on the flow of people, goods, and services across the international borders shared by the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean region.
Poe (TX)	#42	Would strike Section 405, which authorizes payment of U.S. arrearages to the United Nations.
Poe (TX)	#43	Would require the Secretary of State to withhold from the U.S. contribution to the United Nations regular budget an amount equal to the percentage of that contribution that would be used to fund the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The withholding would end if and when the Secretary certified that UNDP had acceded to the jurisdiction of the UN Ethics Office.
Poe (TX)	#45	2nd Revised Would make it a two year requirement for the President to report total cash and in-kind contributions to the entire United Nations system each fiscal year by every agency or department.
Polis (CO)	#41	Revised Would broaden the experience within the Foreign Service and encourage Foreign Service officers to pursue a functional specialty by making it mandatory to develop a functional focus during an officer's first two years as well as creating a more diverse promotions panel where functional and regional specialists are evenly distributed. It would require the State Department to make materials from libraries and resource centers, including U.S. films available over the internet when possible and for the advisory commission on public diplomacy to gauge the effectiveness of online outreach authorized under section 214.
Reichert (WA)	#80	Revised Would direct the President to develop a strategy to reduce mortality and improve the health of newborns, children, and mothers in developing countries.
Rodriguez (TX)/Cuellar (TX)/Reyes (TX)	#31	Would direct the State Department to submit a plan to Congress 90 days after enactment for how it will handle the increase in nonimmigrant visa renewals along the US-Mexican border.
Ros-Lehtinen (FL)	#27	Would call for a re-listing of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, full implementation of sanctions imposed by UN Security Council resolutions 1695 and 1718, passed in 2006 but never fully enforced, and an end to North Korea's egregious human rights violations and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to Iran, Syria and other rogue regimes. It withholds U.S. diplomatic recognition of North Korea - including the establishment of a liaison office in North Korea - until Pyongyang accedes to the benchmarks enumerated regarding proliferation, illicit activities and human rights abuses and frees the two U.S. citizens it is now holding.
Ros-Lehtinen (FL)	#28	Would replace the FY10 funding numbers for the accounts reauthorized in the bill with numbers that are no more than 3.7% higher than FY09 levels.
Ros-Lehtinen (FL)	#34	Would prohibit funds from being used by the Department of State for the purpose of preparing or issuing a statement of interest to encourage a court in the U.S. to dismiss any claim brought against a European insurance company to recover compensation arising out of a covered Holocaust-era insurance policy.
Ros-Lehtinen (FL)	#35	Would prevent funds authorized by this Act from being used for a contribution for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Ros-Lehtinen (FL)	#36	Would require the Secretary of State to withhold from the U.S. contribution to the International Atomic Energy Agency an amount equal to nuclear technical cooperation provided by the IAEA in 2007 to Iran, Syria, Sudan and Cuba.
Roskam (IL)	#77	Would strike section 405 and insert a new section restricting authorization for payment of U.S. arrearages to the United Nations to only those budgetary shortfalls and cap-related restrictions accumulated after the Helms-Biden Act’s enactment (between calendar years 2000 and 2009), and conditioning payment of arrearages on the enactment and implementation of a number of reforms by the United Nations or its Member States, as appropriate.
Royce (CA)	#47	Would add a new section stating that it shall be the policy of the United States to undertake all diplomatic efforts to persuade European allies to apply economic sanctions against and divest resources from the Sudanese regime in Khartoum until such time as that regime has ceased support for armed groups engaged in gross violations of human rights and crimes against humanity in Darfur, Southern Sudan, and the whole of the country.
Royce (CA)	#48	Sense of Congress that Eritrea's support for armed insurgents in Somalia poses a direct threat to the national security interests of the United States, that the Secretary of State should designate Eritrea a State Sponsor of Terrorism, and that the United Nations Security Council should impose sanctions against Eritrea.
Ryan, Tim (OH)	#79	Summarizes the case of State of Ohio v. Claudia C. Hoerig, an aggravated murder case in Trumbull County, Ohio (17th congressional district), and that Congress has sought assistance from the Department of State, Department of Justice and numerous Brazilian officials. It would express the sense of Congress that justice should be served in this case and that the United States should seek the full cooperation of Brazil to that end.
Sessions (TX)	#6	Sense of Congress that Israel has the right to defend itself from an imminent nuclear or military threat from Iran and other countries and organizations.
Shadegg (AZ)	#1	Would prohibit the transfer or entry of any detainee currently being held at Guantanamo Bay into the United States.
Smith, Christopher (NJ)	#71	Would strike Section 334, the Office for Global Women's Issues, and replace it with a substitute Office for Global Women's Issues that also would include non-intervention language with respect to abortion.
Stearns (FL)	#70	Would prevent funds authorized by this Act from being used for a contribution for the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Teague (NM)/ Titus (NV)/Giffords(AZ)	#81	Revised Would create the Global Clean Energy Exchange Program a program to strengthen research, educational exchange, and international cooperation with the aim of promoting the development and deployment of clean and efficient energy technologies.
Weiner (NY)	#82	Revised Would prohibit providing aid to Saudi Arabia, prohibit the sale of joint direct attack munitions (JDAM) weapon systems to Saudi Arabia, and require a report about Saudi Arabia covering human rights, hate speech in text books and state sponsored terrorism.
Wilson, Joe (SC)	#23	Expresses a statement of policy on the growing concern about the threat posed by nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons in the hands of states that sponsor terrorism, such as Iran. Expresses support for the deployment of United States missile defense assets in Europe. Urges the President to expedite the deployment of such a missile defense system, and calls upon the President to report to Congress on an annual basis on the steps taken by the United States to move forward with the deployment.