Foreign Operations FY97 Appropriations bill

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: NATO Enlargement Facilitation Act of 1996

Title VII: Middle East Development Bank

Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1997 - Title I: Export and Investment Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1997 for: (1) Export-Import Bank subsidies; (2) the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; and (3) the Trade and Development Agency.

Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1997 for: (1) expenses of the President under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) the Agency for International Development (AID) for specified development assistance (including transfers of funds) allowing availability of limited amounts for the Inter-American Foundation, the African Development Foundation, and the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad program; (3) assistance to Vietnam to reform its trade regime through, among other things, reform of its commercial and investment legal codes; (4) AID's Office of Population and the U.S. Telecommunications Training Institute; (5) specified projects aimed at reunification of Cyprus; (6) democracy and humanitarian activities in Burma; (7) private and voluntary organizations; (8) international disaster assistance; (9) debt restructuring; (10) micro and small enterprise development programs; (11) guaranteed loans under the worldwide housing guarantees program; (12) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (13) operating expenses of AID and the AID Office of Inspector General; (14) Economic Support Fund (ESF) assistance (but not for Zaire); (15) economic assistance for Eastern Europe, the Baltic States, and the independent states of the former Soviet Union; (16) the Peace Corps (but with a ban on fund use for abortions); and (17) the Department of State for international narcotics control, migration and refugee assistance, and nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, and related programs and activities.

Title III: Military Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1997 for: (1) international military education and training (with a ban on such assistance to Zaire and Guatemala); (2) foreign military financing and direct loans and grants (earmarking amounts for Israel, Egypt, Greece, and Turkey, and for the participation of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic in the Partnership for Peace Program; and (3) international peacekeeping operations.

Prohibits foreign military financing for: (1) any non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) country participating in the Partnership for Peace Program except through the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations; and (2) Zaire, Sudan, Peru, Liberia, and Guatemala.

Title IV: Multilateral Economic Assistance - Makes appropriations for FY 1997 for the U.S. contribution to the: (1) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) for the Global Environment Facility (GEF); (2) Interim Trust Fund of the International Development Association; (3) International Finance Corporation; (4) Inter-American Development Bank; (5)Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund; (6) Asian Development Bank; (7) Asian Development Fund; (8) European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and (9) North American Development Bank.

Makes appropriations for FY 1997 for international programs and organizations, with restrictions, including a ban on the use of funds for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for activities in China.

Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth limits on the use of appropriations identical or very similar to restrictions enacted in the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1996 (P.L. 104-107), notably with respect to: (1) countries supporting the Arab boycott of Israel, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, Liberia, Montenegro, the Palestine Liberation Organization, Serbia, terrorist countries or countries supporting terrorism or giving sanctuary to war criminals; (2) financial incentives to induce a business to relocate outside the United States or assistance to develop certain kinds of export processing zones in foreign countries; and (3) limitations on funds to the territory of the Bosniac-Croat Federation.

(Sec. 517) Declares it continues to be U.S. policy that funds allocated to Israel from the ESF 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 (including to lobby for or against abortions).

(Sec. 519) Bars the use of funds to: (1) pay for abortions as a method of family planning, or to coerce or motivate any person to practice abortions; or (2) lobby for or against abortion.

(Sec. 521) Prohibits the use of funds for Colombia, Guatemala, Pakistan, Zaire, among other specified countries, except through the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations.

(Sec. 533) States that direct costs associated with meeting a foreign customer's additional or unique requirements will continue to be allowable under contracts for sales of defense articles under the Arms Export Control Act, with loadings applicable to such costs permitted at the same rates applicable to procurement of like items purchased by the Department of Defense for its own use.

(Sec. 542) Authorizes the President, subject to notification of the congressional appropriations committees, to direct the transfer of defense articles to the Bosnia and Herzegovina governments, without reimbursement, if he certifies to the Congress that the transfer of such articles would assist that nation in self-defense and promote the security and stability of the region. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 550) Authorizes for FY 1997 the provision of nonlethal excess defense articles, without regard to certain restrictions, to countries for which U.S. foreign assistance has been requested and for which receipt of such articles was separately justified for the fiscal year. Authorizes provision of excess defense articles to Jordan, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and countries eligible to participate in the Partnership for Peace.

Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to repeal the termination of, thus making permanent, authority for the transfer of excess defense articles to NATO and non-NATO allies on NATO's southern flank. Amends the Arms Export Control Act to remove purchases pursuant to sales under it from the aggregate acquisition ceiling for ordered excess defense articles.

(Sec. 561) Authorizes the expenditure of Department of Defense funds during FY 1997 for the packing and transportation of excess defense articles to countries eligible to participate in the Partnership for Peace.

(Sec. 566) Declares the sense of the Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products purchased with funds available in this Act should be American-made. Requires each Federal agency head to notify any entity using assistance or contract funds under this Act of this declaration.

(Sec. 568) Imposes certain economic sanctions against Burma until the President certifies to the Congress that Burma has made progress in improving human rights and implementing democracy.

(Sec. 569) Requires the Secretary of Labor to report to the appropriate congressional committees on Burma's compliance or non- compliance with international labor standards, and on U.S. efforts to end violations of fundamental labor rights in Burma.

(Sec. 570) Authorizes the President (similarly to authority under P.L. 104-107) to: (1) reduce certain debts owed the United States by eligible countries; and (2) sell, reduce, or cancel certain loans under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 in order to facilitate debt-for-equity, debt-for-development, or debt-for-nature swaps, or debt buybacks.

(Sec. 578) Requires denial of a visa to travel to the United States (subject to waiver on U.S. national interest grounds) to any current or former senior official of a government receiving funds under this Act if the Secretary of State has credible evidence that such official has committed, ordered, or attempted to thwart investigation of gross violation of an internationally recognized human right.

(Sec. 580) Requires the Secretary of State to report annually to the Congress (in some instances optionally in classified form) on the cooperation of foreign countries in: (1) the apprehension, conviction, and punishment of individuals responsible for acts of international terrorism against U.S citizens or interests; and (2) the prevention of further such acts against U.S. citizens in the respective foreign countries.

(Sec. 581) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of each international financial institution to vote against any loan or other use of the institution's funds, other than to address basic human needs, for the government of any country with a known history of female genital mutilation which has not made the practice illegal nor taken steps to implement educational programs to prevent it.

(Sec. 582) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Japanese Ministry of Finance should immediately and completely comply with all provisions of the United States-Japan Insurance Agreement; and (2) the U.S. Government should use all resources at its disposal to bring about such full compliance.

(Sec. 583) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to the conflict in Chechnya.

(Sec. 584) Requires the Secretary of State's annual report to the Congress on voting practices at the United Nations to include a side- by-side comparison of individual countries' overall support for the United States at the United Nations and the amount of U.S. assistance provided to such country in that fiscal year.

(Sec. 585) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on all assistance furnished directly or indirectly to foreign countries, foreign entities, and international organizations by domestic Federal agencies (whose primary mission is to carry out functions unrelated to foreign affairs, defense, or national security) and other Federal agencies.

(Sec. 586) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to pay any voluntary U.S. contribution to the United Nations or any of its specialized agencies if the United Nations attempts to implement or impose any taxation or fee on any U.S. persons or borrows funds from any international financial institution.

(Sec. 587) Declares that the Government of Haiti shall be eligible to purchase defense articles and services under the Arms Export Control Act for the civilian-led Haitian National Police and Coast Guard, except as otherwise stated in law.

(Sec. 588) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should take steps to promote more open, fair, and free trade between the United States and Central European countries.

(Sec. 589) Amends the Federal judicial code to revise the limitation on foreign sovereign immunity when money damages are sought against a foreign state for personal injury or death caused by a kind of violent act engaged in or materially supported by an official, employee, or agent of such foreign state.

(Sec. 590) Declares the sense of the Congress that: (1) Croatia should be commended for its contributions to NATO and the various peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia; and (2) the United States should support the active participation of Croatia in activities appropriate for qualifying for NATO membership, provided Croatia meets certain requirements.

(Sec. 591) Declares the sense of the Congress that Romania is making significant progress in meeting certain requirements and should be evaluated for membership in the NATO Participation Act's transition assistance program at the earliest opportunity.

(Sec. 592) Calls upon the Government of Germany to negotiate in good faith with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany to broaden the categories of those eligible for compensation so that the injustice of uncompensated Holocaust survivors may be corrected before it is too late.

(Sec. 593) Declares the sense of the Senate that: (1) the People's Republic of China should immediately halt the delivery of cruise missiles and other advanced conventional weapons to Iran; and (2) the President should enforce all appropriate U.S. laws with respect to such delivery.

(Sec. 594) Declares the sense of the Senate that: (1) the People's Republic of China should continue to honor its agreement with the United States not to export ballistic missiles or related technology to Syria in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime; and (2) the President should exercise all available legal authority to prevent such export.

(Sec. 595) Declares that, for purposes of eligibility for the Orderly Departure Program for nationals of Vietnam, certain Vietnamese aliens shall be considered refugees of special humanitarian concern, and shall be admitted to the United States for resettlement.

(Sec. 596) Directs the Secretary of State to report to the Committee on Appropriations about certain military activities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

(Sec. 597) Requires the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration to report to the President on certain individuals indicted as major drug traffickers believed to reside in Mexico. Prohibits the availability of certain international military education and training funds to Mexico unless the President certifies that Mexico has extradited such individuals to the United States, or has apprehended and begun to prosecute them. Provides for waiver of this prohibition in specified circumstances.

(Sec. 598) Amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the President to deobligate certain unexpended economic assistance funds.

(Sec. 599) Declares the sense of the Senate condemning any violent action to overthrow the Government of Burundi, calling all parties to the conflict in Burundi to exercise restraint, and urging the Administration to continue diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful resolution to such conflict.

(Sec. 599A) Declares the sense of the Senate with respect to encouragement of additional regional treaties for transboundary activities that are undertaken in environmentally sound ways.

(Sec. 599B) Declares the sense of the Senate in support of U.S. and NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) efforts to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Title VI: NATO Enlargement Facilitation Act of 1996 - NATO Enlargement Facilitation Act of 1996 - Declares it is the policy of the United States to: (1) assist the transition to full membership in NATO of emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe; and (2) work to construct a political and security relationship between an enlarged NATO and the Russian Federation.

(Sec. 604) Expresses the sense of the Congress that in order to promote security in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Moldova, and Ukraine: (1) the United States should support the full and active participation of these countries in activities that will qualify them for NATO membership; (2) the U.S. Government should press the European Union to admit as soon as possible any country qualifying for membership; and (3) the United States and NATO should support military and peacekeeping initiatives between and among such countries, NATO countries, and Russia.

(Sec. 605) Expresses the sense of the Congress that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania should not be disadvantaged in seeking membership into NATO.

(Sec. 606) Designates Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia as eligible to receive certain assistance for transition to full membership in NATO. Requires the President to designate as eligible for such assistance other emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe that meet specified criteria.

(Sec. 607) Authorizes appropriations for NATO enlargement assistance.

(Sec. 608) Authorizes the availability of certain funds for the Regional Airspace Initiative and the Partnership for Peace Information Management System.

(Sec. 609) Declares that the transfer of excess defense articles to countries intending to participate in NATO (including countries of NATO's southern flank) shall be given priority, to the maximum extent feasible, over the delivery of such articles to other countries, except certain countries specified under the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1995.

(Sec. 610) Declares that Congress endorses U.S. efforts to modernize the defense capability of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and any other countries the President designates under the NATO Participation Act of 1994, by exploring options for the sale or lease to such countries of weapons systems compatible with those used by NATO members, including air defense systems, advanced fighter aircraft, and telecommunications infrastructure.

(Sec. 611) Amends the NATO Participation Act of 1994 to establish a presidential and congressional procedure for termination of eligibility for assistance for Partnership for Peace countries which: (1) no longer meet certain eligibility criteria; (2) are hostile to the NATO alliance; or (3) pose a national security threat to the United States.

Title VII: Middle East Development Bank - Bank for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Middle East and North Africa Act - Authorizes the President to accept membership for the United States in the Bank for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Middle East and North Africa, including subscription to up to a specified number of shares of stock in such Bank.