1 115th Congress " ! REPORT 1st Session SENATE 115–22 LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS JANUARY 3, 2015–JANUARY 3, 2017 MARCH 30, 2017. ORDERED TO BE PRINTED U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 69–010 WASHINGTON : 2017 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 31, 2017 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5012 Sfmt 5012 E:\HR\OC\SR022.XXX SR022 lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with REPORTS seneagle COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS BOB CORKER, TENNESSEE, Chairman JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland MARCO RUBIO, Florida BARBARA BOXER, California RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey JEFF FLAKE, Arizona JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire CORY GARDNER, Colorado CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware DAVID PERDUE, Georgia TOM UDALL, New Mexico JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut RAND PAUL, Kentucky TIM KAINE, Virginia JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts TODD WOMACK, Staff Director CHRIS LYNCH, Democratic Staff Director ROB STRAYER, Majority Chief Counsel MARGARET TAYLOR, Minority Chief Counsel JOHN DUTTON, Chief Clerk (II) VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 31, 2017 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\SR022.XXX SR022 lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with REPORTS CONTENTS Page Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 Foreign Affairs Legislation in the Senate .............................................................. 3 A. Treaties ............................................................................................................... 3 1. Treaties Approved ....................................................................................... 4 2. Other Treaties Considered by the Committee .......................................... 4 3. Treaties Pending in Committee at Close of the 113th Congress ............. 5 B. Legislation .......................................................................................................... 6 1. Legislation Referred to the Committee ...................................................... 6 2. Original Measures from the Committee .................................................... 17 C. Resolutions .......................................................................................................... 17 1. Resolutions Referred to the Committee ..................................................... 17 D. Nominations ....................................................................................................... 25 1. Department of State .................................................................................... 25 2. Ambassadors ................................................................................................ 26 3. Others ........................................................................................................... 26 4. International Conferences ........................................................................... 26 5. Privileged Nominations ............................................................................... 27 E. Activities ............................................................................................................. 27 1. Full Committee Meetings ........................................................................... 27 2. Subcommittees and Subcommittee Meetings ............................................ 31 APPENDIX Committee Publications .......................................................................................... 35 Executive Reports ............................................................................................. 35 Senate Reports .................................................................................................. 36 Hearings ............................................................................................................ 36 Committee Prints ............................................................................................. 40 Public Laws ....................................................................................................... 40 (III) VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 31, 2017 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\SR022.XXX SR022 lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with REPORTS VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 31, 2017 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\SR022.XXX SR022 lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with REPORTS 115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! 1st Session SENATE 115–22 LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES REPORT MARCH 30, 2017.—Ordered to be printed Mr. CORKER, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, submitted the following REPORT INTRODUCTION BY SENATOR BOB CORKER, CHAIRMAN 1 The Committee on Foreign Relations maintained an ambitious agenda during the 114th Congress. The committee and its sub- committees conducted a total of 187 sessions, comprising hearings and briefings on significant U.S. foreign policy priorities as well as consideration of legislation, nominations, and treaties. Committee activity included the following: • Ensuring Congress played a significant and appropriate role in the crafting of U.S. foreign policy by exhaustively examining Iran’s nuclear program and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement between the United States and Iran. This effort included extensive hearings and briefings and culminated on April 14, 2015, when the Committee unani- mously and favorably reported S. 615, the Iran Nuclear Agree- ment Review Act of 2015 (INARA). INARA prevented the President from waiving or relieving any statutory sanctions re- garding Iran’s nuclear program for a period of time, affording Congress the opportunity to review and vote on the JCPOA. On May 7, 2015, the full Senate passed INARA, in the form of a substitute amendment to H.R. 1191, by a vote of 98-1. The bill passed the House on May 14, 2015 by a vote of 400-25. On May 22, 2015, the bill was signed by the President and became Public Law No: 114-17. • Working to bring an end to modern slavery by unanimously and favorably reporting out S. 553, the End Modern Slavery Initiative Act, which established a new federal effort to combat modern slavery worldwide. On December 8, 2016, the full Sen- ate passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017, which included authorizing language for the End Modern Slav- 1 This review and report of activities of the Committee on Foreign Relations during the 114th Congress is submitted in response to the requirements of Rule XXVI 8(b) of the Standing Rules of the Senate, which stipulate that all standing committees report to the Senate, not later than March 31 of each odd-numbered year, on its legislative activities during the preceding Congress. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 Mar 31, 2017 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR022.XXX SR022 lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with REPORTS 2 ery Initiative. On December 23, 2016, the bill was signed by the President and became Public Law No: 114-328. The com- mittee also held multiple hearings and briefings on the issue to thoroughly assess the processes utilized by the Department of State in establishing Tier Rankings for the annual U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report. • Authorizing the Department of State for the first time since 2002 by passing the Department of State Authorities Act of Fiscal Year 2017. The legislation strengthened embassy secu- rity, improved personnel practices at the State Department, enhanced oversight, and promoted accountability of the United Nations. On June 9, 2015, the committee unanimously and fa- vorably reported out a State Department Authorization bill for Fiscal Year 2016. This legislation passed the Senate by unani- mous consent on April 28, 2016, the same day the committee unanimously and favorably reported out a State Department Authorization bill for Fiscal Year 2017. On December 10, 2016, the Senate unanimously approved a State Department Author- ization bill referred from the House of Representatives, which incorporated a majority of the provisions included in the Sen- ate Foreign Relations Committee’s 2016 and 2017 authoriza- tion bills. On December 16, 2016, the bill was signed by the President and became Public Law No: 114-323. • Analyzing U.S. options for constraining malign Russian activi- ties and holding a series of hearings and briefings to scrutinize Russian actions and motives. Specifically, the Committee held five events on Russian violations of borders, treaties, and human rights (June 7, 2016; May 23, 2016; February 2, 2016; November 3, 2015; March 4, 2015); four events on Russian ag- gression in Ukraine (March 15, 2016; October 8, 2015; Sep- tember 30, 2015; March 10, 2015); two events on Russian inter- vention in Syria (May 17, 2016; February 9, 2016); and two events on empowering the NATO alliance to deal with a resur- gent Russia (September 14, 2016; June 23, 2016). • Imposing more serious consequences on the North Korean re- gime and its enablers. On February 2, 2016 the Committee unanimously and favorably reported out H.R.757, the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, which was passed subsequently by the full Senate 96-0 on February 10, 2016. The President signed the bill into law, Public