HR 156 · 112th Congress 2011–2013, ended

Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act

Introduced Jan 5, 2011 Originated House Sponsor Edward R. Royce R-CA

Latest action · Mar 23, 2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedJan 5, 2011
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act - Directs the President to: (1) impose financial and immigration/entry sanctions on listed nationals of Vietnam who are complicit in human rights abuses committed against nationals of Vietnam or their family members, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Vietnam; and (2) submit to Congress a publicly available list of individuals determined to be complicit in such human rights abuses.

Authorizes the President to waive sanctions to comply with international agreements.

Terminates sanctions if the President certifies to Congress that the government of Vietnam has: (1) released all political prisoners; (2) ceased its practices of violence, detention, and abuse of citizens of Vietnam engaging in peaceful political activity; and (3) conducted a transparent investigation into the killings, arrest, and abuse of such political activists and prosecuted those responsible.

Cosponsors 5

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 3, 2011 to Apr 17, 2012.

Seat	Cosponsor	Signed on
R-CA	Dana Rohrabacher	Mar 3, 2011
D-VA	Gerald E. Connolly	Mar 17, 2011
D-IN	André Carson	Apr 16, 2012
R-TX	Joe Barton	Apr 16, 2012
D-CA	Loretta Sanchez	Apr 17, 2012

Committees 4

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Foreign Affairs Committee	Referred Jan 5, 2011
	East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee	Referred Mar 1, 2011
	Africa Subcommittee	Referred Mar 1, 2011
House	Judiciary Committee	Referred Jan 5, 2011
	Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee	Referred Jan 24, 2011
House	Ways and Means Committee	Referred Jan 5, 2011
	Trade Subcommittee	Referred Jan 14, 2011
House	Financial Services Committee	Referred Jan 5, 2011
	Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy Subcommittee	Referred Mar 23, 2011

Actions 7

Everything that happened, newest first.

Mar 23, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade.
Mar 1, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
Mar 1, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights.
Jan 24, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.
Jan 14, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
Jan 5, 2011Introduced in House
Jan 5, 2011Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Financial Services, 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.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: The constitutional authority on which this bill rests is the power of Congress to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, provided by Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3, which reads: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with Indian Tribes. The Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act imposes sanctions on individuals who are nationals of Vietnam that the President determines are complicit in human rights abuses committed against nationals of Vietnam or their family members. Sanctions include prohibition of entry and admission to the United States and imposition of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, including blocking of property, and restricting or prohibiting financial transactions and the exportation and importation of property by the individual.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H46.

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To impose sanctions on individuals who are complicit in human rights abuses committed against nationals of Vietnam or their family members, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced: Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: International Affairs.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Jan 5, 2011Introduced in House

Support LegiList

This page is free, carries no paywall, and is built and maintained by one person. If the record here is useful to you, a few dollars keeps it going.

$1 $5 $10

Processed by Stripe in a separate window. LegiList never sees card details.

Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.