[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 180 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 180
To require the identification of companies that conduct business
operations in Sudan, to prohibit United States Government contracts
with such companies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 4, 2007
Ms. Lee introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the identification of companies that conduct business
operations in Sudan, to prohibit United States Government contracts
with such companies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Darfur Accountability and Divestment
Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In the 108th Congress, the House of Representatives
adopted House Concurrent Resolution 467 on July 22, 2004, by a
unanimous vote of 422-0, which--
(A) declares that the atrocities unfolding in the
Darfur region of Sudan, are genocide;
(B) declares that the Government of Sudan has
violated the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
(C) urges the Administration to seriously consider
multilateral intervention to stop genocide in Darfur
should the United Nations Security Council fail to act;
and
(D) calls on the Administration to impose targeted
sanctions, including visa bans and the freezing of
assets of the Sudanese National Congress and affiliated
business and individuals directly responsible for the
atrocities in Darfur.
(2) In the 109th Congress, the House of Representatives
passed H.R. 3127, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of
2006, on April 5, 2006, by a vote of 416-3, which--
(A) appeals to the international community,
including the United Nations, the European Union, and
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to
immediately mobilize sufficient political, military,
and financial resources to support and expand the
African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS);
(B) blocks assets and restricts travel of any
individual the President determines is responsible for
acts of genocide, war crimes, or crimes against
humanity in the Darfur region of Sudan; and
(C) offers United States support for the
International Criminal Court's efforts to prosecute
those responsible for acts of genocide in Darfur.
(3) On September 9, 2004, former Secretary of State Colin
Powell stated before the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate that genocide was being committed in the Darfur region
of Sudan and that the Government of Sudan and the government-
supported Janjaweed militias bear responsibility for the
genocide.
(4) On September 21, 2004, President George W. Bush
affirmed the Secretary of State's finding in an address before
the United Nations General Assembly, stating that the world is
witnessing terrible suffering and horrible crimes in the Darfur
region of Sudan, crimes the Government of the United States has
concluded are genocide.
(5) Although the Government of the United States currently
bans United States companies from conducting business
operations in Sudan, millions of Americans are inadvertently
supporting the Government of Sudan by investing in foreign
companies that conduct business operations in Sudan that
disproportionately benefit the Sudanese regime in Khartoum.
(6) Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, and Maine have passed
legislation mandating divestment of State funds from companies
that conduct business operations in Sudan. California,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Kansas, Wisconsin,
Indiana, Georgia, Maryland, New York, Iowa, and Texas have
considered or are considering legislation to divest State funds
from companies that conduct business operations in Sudan.
Connecticut, Ohio, and Vermont have passed non-binding
divestment legislation with respect to Sudan. Arizona,
Louisiana, Missouri, and Pennsylvania have adopted screening
processes for investments in companies that conduct business
operations in countries that are sponsors of terrorism,
including Sudan.
(7) Providence, Rhode Island and New Haven, Connecticut
have passed legislation mandating divestment of city funds from
companies that conduct business operations in Sudan.
(8) Amherst, Boston University, Brandeis, Brown, Columbia,
Dartmouth, Harvard, Middlebury, Oberlin, Princeton, the
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Samford, Simmons, Smith,
Stanford, Trinity, the University of California, the University
of Maryland, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of
Southern California, the University of Vermont, the University
of Washington, Williams, and Yale have divested their funds
from, or placed restrictions on investment of their funds in,
certain companies that conduct business operations in Sudan.
(9) No American should have to worry that his or her
investments or pension money was earned in support of genocide.
(10) Divestment has proven effective in similar situations,
as in 1986, when State pension funds and university endowments
were divested from companies that conducted business operations
in South Africa, which was critical to ending apartheid in that
country, and by 1994, when the first free elections in South
Africa took place, a substantial number of States, counties,
cities, universities and colleges in the United States had
adopted partial or total divestment policies.
(11) The only type of pressure shown to be effective
against Sudan is economic pressure against the Government of
Sudan, such as the imposition of sanctions and divestment.
Sudan has cooperated with the United States on counterterrorism
efforts due to United States sanctions imposed on Sudan in 1997
and Sudan agreed to negotiations with the Sudan People's
Liberation Army of South Sudan that resulted in the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 due in part to a
successful divestment campaign against Talisman Energy,
Incorporated of Canada.
(12) Congress acknowledges that divestment should be used
sparingly and under extraordinary circumstances. This Act is
based on unique circumstances, specifically, the reprehensible
and abhorrent genocide occurring in Sudan.
(13) The business operations of companies in countries that
perpetrate grave abuses of human rights, especially the
uniquely monstrous crime of genocide, are of material financial
concern to United States investors even when these operations
represent a small fraction of a company's total business.
(14) State and city pension funds have routinely but
unsuccessfully sought to acquire and utilize data from the
Federal Government on companies for investment decisions.
(15) The deteriorating security situation in the Darfur
region of Sudan indicates that the people of Darfur cannot wait
long for security to be reestablished.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
Congress recognizes and supports--
(1) States and cities that have divested or are in the
process of divesting State and city funds from companies that
conduct business operations in Sudan; and
(2) United States colleges and universities that have
divested their funds from, or placed restrictions on
investments of their funds in, companies that conduct business
operations in Sudan.
SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF COMPANIES CONDUCTING BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN
SUDAN.
(a) Identification.--The Securities and Exchange Commission, acting
through the Division of Corporation Finance, shall require all
companies trading in securities that are registered under section 12 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l) which, either
directly or through a parent or subsidiary company, including partly-
owned subsidiaries, conduct business operations in Sudan to disclose
the nature of their business operations in Sudan, including--
(1) the existence and nature of business relationships and
investments with national, regional, and local governments;
(2) business activities with government or government-
controlled entities;
(3) business operations relating to the sale of military
equipment or inherently ``dual-use'' technology, such as
civilian radar systems;
(4) business operations relating to natural resource
extraction, including oil-related activities and mining of
minerals; and
(5) safeguards to ensure business operations do not become
indirectly involved in the terrorist-sponsoring or genocidal
policies of the Government of Sudan.
(b) Investigation by Government Accountability Office.--The
Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office shall
investigate the existence and extent of all Federal Retirement Thrift
Investment Board investments in companies identified pursuant to
subsection (a).
(c) Reports.--
(1) SEC report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Securities and Exchange Commission shall prepare and submit to
Congress a report that contains the names of the companies and
a description of their business operations identified under
subsection (a).
(2) GAO report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office
shall prepare and submit to Congress a report that contains the
names of the companies and a description of the amount of
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board investments in such
companies identified under subsection (b).
(d) Publication on Websites.--
(1) SEC website.--The Securities and Exchange Commission
shall maintain a list of the names of the companies identified
under subsection (a) on the website of the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
(2) GAO website.--The Comptroller General of the Government
Accountability Office shall maintain a list of the names of the
companies identified under subsection (b) on the website of the
Government Accountability Office.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.
(a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Government of the United States shall not enter into or renew a
contract for the procurement of goods or services with any company
identified under section 4(a).
(b) Exception.--The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply
with respect to a company identified under section 4(a) whose business
operations in Sudan are limited to activities or transactions relating
to--
(1) southern Sudan, southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountains State,
Blue Nile State, or Abyei;
(2) the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement of May
5, 2006;
(3) the provision of military equipment to be used by
nongovernmental organizations in the Darfur region of Sudan,
the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), or the United
Nations; or
(4) the provision of humanitarian assistance that is of
immediate and substantial benefit to--
(A) the majority of people of the Darfur region of
Sudan; or
(B) the majority of people of eastern Sudan,
including the Red Sea, Kassala, and Gedaref States.
(c) Waiver.--The President may waive the prohibition in subsection
(a) on a case-by-case basis if the President determines and certifies
in writing to Congress that it is important to the national security
interests of the United States to do so.
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act or any other provision of law shall be
construed to preempt any State law that prohibits investment of State
funds, including State pension funds, in or relating to Sudan.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Business operations.--The term ``business operations''
means maintaining, selling, or leasing equipment, facilities,
personnel, or any other apparatus of business or commerce,
including the ownership or possession of real or personal
property.
(2) Company.--The term ``company''--
(A) means a sole proprietorship, organization,
association, corporation, partnership, venture, or
other entity, its subsidiary or affiliate that exists
for profit-making purposes or to otherwise secure
economic advantage; and
(B) includes a company owned or controlled, either
directly or indirectly, by the government of a foreign
country, that is established or organized under the
laws of, or has its principal place of business in,
such foreign country.
(3) Government of sudan.--The term ``Government of Sudan''
means the Government of Sudan located in Khartoum or its
instrumentalities.
(4) Investment.--The term ``investment'' means the
purchase, ownership, or control of stock of a company,
association, or corporation, the capital stock of a mutual
water company or corporation, bonds issued by the government or
a political subdivision of a foreign country, corporate bonds
or other debt instruments issued by a company, or the
commitment of funds or other assets to a company, including a
loan or extension of credit to that company.
(5) Military equipment.--The term ``military equipment''
means weapons, arms, or military defense supplies.
(6) Oil-related activities.--The term ``oil-related
activities'' includes the export of oil, extracting or
producing oil, exploration for oil, or the construction or
maintenance of a pipeline, refinery, or other oil field
infrastructure.
(7) Sudan.--The term ``Sudan'' means the Republic of Sudan,
a territory under the administration or control of the
Government of Sudan, including the Darfur region, or an
individual, company, or public agency located in Khartoum,
northern Sudan, or the Nile River Valley that supports the
Republic of the Sudan.
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