,i #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #eged ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #aj1 #bjah,mr4 ,yoho 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,lowenthal1 ,mr4 ,royce of ,california1 ,mr4 ,engel1 ,mr4 ,sherman1 and ,mr4 ,chabot7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on the ,judiciary1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to promote free and fair elections1 political freedoms1 and human rights in ,cambodia1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,cambodia ,democracy ,act of #bjah4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,cambodia's present political system was established in #aiia1 after decades of internal conflict1 by the ,united ,nations-brokered ,paris ,peace ,accords4 ,the first national elections under this system were administered by the ,united ,nations in #aiic4 ,hun ,sen1 the current ,prime ,minister of ,cambodia1 has been in power in ,cambodia since before this time1 serving as premier from #aihe to #aiic1 and as ,prime ,minister thereafter4 ,hun ,sen has used his position to cling to the pinnacle of power in ,cambodia for #cb years1 through tactics including coup d'tat1 irregular election procedures1 and the silencing of opposition voices4 7#b7 ,in ,cambodia's most recent general elections in #bjac1 ,hun ,sen's ,cambodian ,people's ,party 7,,cpp7 maintained its parliamentary majority by the smallest margin to date1 while a unified opposition ,cambodia ,national ,rescue ,party 7,,cnrp7 made substantial gains4 ,the ,department of ,state's ,country ,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices for #bjaf described ,cambodia's #bjac elections as largely free of intimidation1 in contrast to previous national elections1 yet also fraught with irregularities4 ,subsequent local elections marked similar setbacks for the ruling ,,cpp4 7#c7 ,cambodia's next general elections will occur in ,june #bjah4 ,according to the #bjag ,freedom in the ,world ,report issued by ,freedom ,house1 in the intervening period ,hun ,sen has overseen a decisive crackdown on the country's beleaguered opposition and press corps as his ,,cpp prepared for national elections4 ,regional experts have reached a general consensus that ,hun ,sen and the ,,cpp have undertaken this crackdown to consolidate power ahead of an election that may have ended their grip on power4 7#d7 ,hun ,sen's actions in late #bjag pushed ,cambodia further away from democracy4 ,in late ,august #bjag1 the regime shut down the ,national ,democratic ,institute and expelled its entire foreign staff from the country within a week4 ,less than a week later1 radio stations carrying ,radio ,free ,asia and ,voice of ,america were also shut down by the regime4 ,on ,september #c1 #bjag1 authorities arrested ,kem ,sokha1 the leader of the ,,cnrp1 and charged him with treason1 allegedly for participating in an ,american plot to undermine ,hun ,sen's regime4 ,kem ,sokha remains in detention4 ,on ,november #af1 #bjag1 ,cambodia's ,supreme ,court dissolved the ,,cnrp1 eliminating the most popular and viable challenger to ,hun ,sen's regime4 ,subsequent actions by ,hun ,sen have aimed to cement total control over ,cambodian government and business1 according to ,human ,rights ,watch4 7#e7 ,since the dissolution of the ,,cnrp1 both the ,department of ,state and the ,white ,house have issued statements condemning the ,hun ,sen regime's actions to undermine democracy and calling for ,kem ,sokha's release4 ,on ,november #af1 #bjag1 the ,white ,house announced that the ,united ,states would terminate support for ,cambodia's ,national ,election ,committee4 ,on ,december #f1 #bjag1 the ,department of ,state began implementing visa restrictions for officials responsible for undermining ,cambodian democracy4 ,on ,february #bg1 #bjah1 the ,white ,house announced further assistance reductions following ,cambodian ,senate elections on ,february #be which did not represent the genuine will of the ,cambodian people4 #c4 ,sanctions relating to undermining democracy in ,cambodia 7a7 ,designation of persons responsible for undermining democracy in ,cambodia ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,president shall apply the sanctions described in subsection 7b7 on-- 7#a7 each senior official of the ,government1 military1 or security forces of ,cambodia that the ,president determines has directly and substantially undermined democracy in ,cambodia2 and 7#b7 each senior official of the ,government1 military1 or security forces of ,cambodia that the ,president determines has committed or directed serious human rights violations associated with undermining democracy in ,cambodia4 7b7 ,sanctions described 7#a7 ,asset blocking ,the ,president shall exercise all of the powers granted to the ,president under the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agja et seq47 to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property of a person designated under subsection 7a7 if such property and interests in property are in the ,united ,states1 come within the ,united ,states1 or are or come within the possession or control of a ,united ,states person4 7#b7 ,visa restrictions 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 shall continue to implement the policy announced by the ,department of ,state on ,december #f1 #bjag1 to restrict entry into the ,united ,states of person involved in undermining democracy in ,cambodia1 including any person designated under subsection 7a74 7,b7 ,exception for multilateral activities ,persons otherwise restricted from entry into the ,united ,states under this section may be admitted if such admission is necessary to comply with ,united ,states obligations under the ,agreement between the ,united ,nations and the ,united ,states of ,america regarding the ,headquarters of the ,united ,nations1 signed at ,lake ,success ,june #bf1 #aidg1 and entered into force ,november #ba1 #aidg1 or under the ,convention on ,consular ,relations1 done at ,vienna ,april #bd1 #aifc1 and entered into force ,march #ai1 #aifg1 or other applicable international obligations of the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,penalties ,the penalties provided for in subsections 7b7 and 7c7 of section #bjf of the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agje7 shall apply to a person that violates1 attempts to violate1 conspires to violate1 or causes a violation of paragraph 7#a7 to the same extent that such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection 7a7 of such section #bjf4 7e7 ,list of designated persons 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,president shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a list of persons designated under subsection 7a74 7#b7 ,updates ,the ,president shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees updated lists under paragraph 7#a7 as new information becomes available4 7f7 ,implementation ,the ,president may exercise all authorities provided under sections #bjc and #bje of the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agjb and #agjd7 to carry out this section4 7g7 ,waiver ,the ,president may waive the application of sanctions described in subsection 7b7 with respect to a person described in subsection 7a7 if the ,president determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that such waiver is in the national interest of the ,united ,states4 #d4 ,suspension and termination of sanctions 7a7 ,suspension ,the sanctions described in section #c may be suspended for up to one year upon certification by the ,president to the appropriate congressional committees that ,cambodia is making meaningful progress toward the following3 7#a7 ,ending government efforts to undermine democracy4 7#b7 ,ending human rights violations associated with undermining democracy4 7#c7 ,conducting free and fair elections which allow for the active participation of credible opposition candidates4 7b7 ,renewal of suspension ,the suspension described in subsection 7a7 may be renewed for additional1 consecutive #ahj-;day periods if the ,president certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that ,cambodia is continuing to make meaningful progress towards satisfying the conditions described in such subsection during the previous year4 #e4 ,sunset ,this ,act shall terminate on the date that is five years after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #f4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs and the ,committee on ,financial ,services of the ,house of ,representatives1 and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations and the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,united ,states person2 person ,the term ,united ,states person means-- 7,a7 a ,united ,states citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the ,united ,states2 or 7,b7 an entity organized under the laws of the ,united ,states or of any jurisdiction of the ,united ,states1 including a foreign branch of such an entity4