HR 515 · 112th Congress 2011–2013, ended

Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011

Introduced Jan 26, 2011 Originated House Became Public Law 112-82 Sponsor Christopher H. Smith R-NJ

Latest action · Jan 3, 2012 Became Public Law No: 112-82.

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 26, 2011
Passed HouseJul 6, 2011
Passed SenateDec 14, 2011
To the PresidentDec 23, 2011
Became lawJan 3, 2012Public Law 112-82

Summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on December 14, 2011. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011 - Amends the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 to express the sense of Congress that the President should continue to support radio, television, and Internet broadcasting to the people of Belarus in languages spoken in Belarus by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Voice of America, European Radio for Belarus, and Belsat.

Includes among the criteria that the government of Belarus must meet in order to end U.S. sanctions: (1) release of individuals who were jailed based on political beliefs or expression in connection with the repression that attended the December 2010 presidential election; (2) prosecution of senior leadership of the government of Belarus responsible for violations of human rights violations, including human rights violations in connection with the presidential election; (3) withdrawal of politically motivated legal charges against opposition activists and independent journalists in connection with the presidential election; and (4) holding free and transparent presidential and parliamentary elections consistent with Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) standards and under OSCE supervision.

Authorizes the denial of U.S. entry to members of the security or law enforcement services who have participated in the crackdown on opposition leaders, journalists, and peaceful protesters or in the persecution of religious groups or human rights defenders.

Requires that the President's annual Belarus report to Congress include information about government of Belarus cooperation with any foreign government or organization related to Internet censorship or surveillance or the purchase or receipt of any technology or training for such purposes.

Cosponsors 12

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 26, 2011 to Jul 6, 2011; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
R-IN	Dan Burton	Original	Jan 26, 2011
R-CA	Dana Rohrabacher	Original	Jan 26, 2011
R-VA	Frank R. Wolf	Original	Jan 26, 2011
R-MI	Thaddeus G. McCotter		Mar 2, 2011
D-FL	Alcee L. Hastings		Mar 10, 2011
D-TX	Lloyd Doggett		Mar 10, 2011
D-NC	Mike McIntyre		Mar 10, 2011
D-TN	Steve Cohen		Mar 10, 2011
R-PA	Tom Marino		Mar 17, 2011
R-KS	Mike Pompeo		Apr 5, 2011
D-NJ	Frank Pallone, Jr.		May 26, 2011
R-IL	John Shimkus		Jul 6, 2011

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 26, 2011Markup Apr 14, 2011
	Europe Subcommittee	Referred Mar 1, 2011
	Africa Subcommittee	Referred Mar 1, 2011Hearings Apr 13, 2011Markup Apr 13, 2011Reported Apr 13, 2011
House	Judiciary Committee	Referred Jan 26, 2011
	Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee	Referred Feb 14, 2011
House	Financial Services Committee	Referred Jan 26, 2011
	Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy Subcommittee	Referred Mar 23, 2011
Senate	Foreign Relations Committee	Referred Jul 7, 2011Discharged Dec 15, 2011

Actions 29

Everything that happened, newest first.

Jan 3, 2012Signed by President.
Jan 3, 2012Became Public Law No: 112-82.
Dec 23, 2011Presented to President.
Dec 20, 2011Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H9999)
Dec 20, 2011Resolving differences -- House actions: On motion that the House suspend the rules and agree to the Senate amendments Agreed to by voice vote. (text as House agreed to Senate amendments: CR 12/19/2011 H9938)
Dec 20, 2011Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Dec 19, 2011Ms. Ros-Lehtinen moved that the House suspend the rules and agree to the Senate amendments. (consideration: CR H9938-9940)
Dec 19, 2011DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on agreeing to the Senate amendments to H.R. 515.
Dec 19, 2011At the conclusion of debate, the chair put the question on the motion to suspend the rules. Ms. Ros-Lehtinen objected to the vote on the grounds that a quorum was not present. Further proceedings on the motion were postponed. The point of no quorum was withdrawn.
Dec 15, 2011Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Dec 14, 2011Senate Committee on Foreign Relations discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Dec 14, 2011Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S8611)
Dec 14, 2011Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with amendments by Voice Vote. (text: CR S8611)
Jul 7, 2011Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Jul 6, 2011Ms. Ros-Lehtinen moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Jul 6, 2011Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4632-4638)
Jul 6, 2011DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 515.
Jul 6, 2011Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H4632-4634)
Jul 6, 2011Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Apr 14, 2011Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Apr 13, 2011Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Apr 13, 2011Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Apr 13, 2011Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote .
Mar 23, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade.
Mar 1, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia.
Mar 1, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights.
Feb 14, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.
Jan 26, 2011Introduced in House
Jan 26, 2011Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, 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.

In the Congressional Record 7

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

Where	In the Record	Members	Date
Extensions	Debate and remarks E503	Christopher H. Smith R-NJ	Mar 29, 2012
House	Debate and remarks H9999	—	Dec 20, 2011
House	Debate and remarks H9938–H9940Amendments H9938	Christopher H. Smith R-NJ, Gerald E. Connolly D-VA, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen R-FL	Dec 19, 2011
Senate	Debate and remarks S8773	Richard J. Durbin D-IL	Dec 17, 2011
Senate · Extensions	Debate and remarks E2260, S8611Text printed S8611Amendments S8604, S8611	David Dreier R-CA, Harry Reid D-NV, John F. Kerry D-MA (amendment), Richard G. Lugar R-IN (amendment)	Dec 14, 2011

Show all 7 days

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.

Congressional Budget Office cost estimate

May 2, 2011H.R. 515, Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011Cost estimate for the bill as amended by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on April 14, 2011

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: The constitutional authorities on which this bill rests are those given in Article I, Section 5, Clause 2; Article I, Section 8, Clause 1; Article I, Section 8, Clause 4; Article I, Section 8, Clause 18.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H513.

Printed hearings 3

Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.

Number	Hearing	Committee	Held
Serial No. 112-36	TO AMEND THE ATOMIC ENERGY ACT OF 1954 TO REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF AGREEMENTS FOR PEACEFUL NUCLEAR COOPERATION WITH FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; FURTHERING INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR SAFETY ACT OF 2011; ASSESSING PROGRESS IN HAITI ACT; AND BELARUS DEMOCRACY REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2011131 pages	Foreign Affairs Committee	Apr 14, 2011
Serial No. 112-53	BELARUS DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2011; AND A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE DEMOCRATIC ASPIRATIONS OF THE IVORIAN PEOPLE AND CALLING ON THE UNITED STATES TO APPLY INTENSE DIPLOMATIC PRESSURE AND PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT IN RESPONSE TO THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN COTE D'IVOIRE49 pages	Foreign Affairs Committee	Apr 13, 2011
Serial No. 112-56	THE GOVERNMENT OF BELARUS: CRUSHING HUMAN RIGHTS AT HOME?74 pages	Foreign Affairs Committee	Apr 1, 2011

Amendments 1

Amendments offered to this bill.

Amendment	Description	Offered by	Status
SA 1462	To make minor edits to the bill.	John F. Kerry D-MA	Amendment SA 1462 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.

Titles 5

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

Official Title as Introduced: To reauthorize the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004.
Short Titles as Introduced: Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2011
Short Titles as Passed House: Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011
Short Titles as Passed Senate: Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011
Short Titles as Enacted: Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011

Subjects

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

Text 5

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

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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.