,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #dbjb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #bf1 #bjbe,ms4 
,salazar 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,castro of  
,texas1 ,mr4 ,smith of ,new ,jersey1    
,mrs4 ,torres of ,california1 ,mr4      
,lawler1 and ,mr4 ,green of ,tennessee7 
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     
direct the ,secretary of ,state to      
establish a strategy for monitoring the 
general elections in the ,republic of   
,honduras to take place on ,november    
#cj1 #bjbe1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,protect ,honduran ,democracy ,act4
  #b4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the    
sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the #bjbe

 election process in the ,republic of   
,honduras raises serious concerns about 
the fairness of the electoral process1  
including irregularities with the ,march
 #bjbe primary election1 violence       
against candidates and the actions      
undertaken by security and defense      
forces under the ongoing state of       
emergency1 including serious human      
rights violations which undermine the   
conditions of the election2  7#b7 there 
is a need for the ,united ,states to    
support efforts to ensure elections in  
the ,republic of ,honduras to take place
 on ,november #cj1 #bjbe1 are free and  
fair2 and  7#c7 the ,armed ,forces of   
,honduras and other relevant            
institutions with a role in the         
electoral process should respect their  
role within the confines of the         
constitution of ,honduras and protect   
the democratic process4  #c4 ,strategy  
7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of      
,state shall establish a strategy to    
promote free and fair elections in      

,honduras to take place on ,november    
#cj1 #bjbe4  7b7 ,matters ,to be        
included ,the strategy required by      
subsection 7a7 shall include support for
 monitoring the elections by credible   
and internationally recognized elections
 monitoring bodies1 such as the         
,organization of ,american ,states1 the 
,european ,union1 the ,united ,nations1 
and experienced civil society observers 
and others to achieve the following3    
7#a7 ,ensure that candidates to public  
office are not subject to harassment1   
undue legal persecution or other efforts
 to misuse ,state resources to dissuade 
them or undermine their candidacies4    
7#b7 ,avoid the misuse of ,state        
resources aimed at influencing voter    
preferences4  7#c7 ,avoid the use of    
violence and intimidation1 including by 
transnational criminal organizations1   
local gangs1 or political parties and   
their proxies4  7#d7 ,guarantee freedom 
of speech and assembly4  7#e7 ,ensure   
transparent and credible transmission of

 elections results4  #d4 ,assistance    
,the ,president1 acting through the     
,secretary of ,state1 is authorized to  
provide assistance on a grant basis to  
nongovernmental organizations for       
activities-- 7#a7 to monitor the        
national elections in ,honduras to take 
place on ,november #cj1 #bjbe2 and  7#b7
 to assess the extent to which these    
elections are held on a free and fair   
basis4  #e4 ,sanctions  7a7 ,in general 
,the ,president shall impose the        
sanctions described in subsection 7b7   
with respect to any foreign person1     
including any current or former official
 of the ,government of ,honduras or any 
person acting on behalf of that         
,government1 that the ,president        
determines-- 7#a7 has unduly prevented1 
or is responsible for ordering or       
otherwise directing the undue prevention
 of1 any candidate1 or prospective      
candidate1 in the general elections in  
,honduras to take place on ,november    
#cj1 #bjbe2  7#b7 has knowingly         

materially assisted1 sponsored1 or      
provided significant financial1         
material1 or technological support for1 
or goods or services in support of1 the 
commission of the acts described in     
paragraph 7#a72 or  7#c7 has carried out
 acts of intimidation or harassment     
toward candidates1 election officials1  
or election observers1 including through
 the use of spurious legal action4  7b7 
,sanctions described  7#a7 ,in general  
,the sanctions described in this        
subsection are1 in the case of an alien 
determined by the ,president to be      
subject to subsection 7a71 denial of a  
visa to1 and exclusion from the ,united 
,states of1 the alien1 and revocation in
 accordance with section #bba7;i7 of the
 ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h 
,u4,s4,c4 #abja7;i771 of any visa or    
other documentation of the alien4  7#b7 
,exceptions ,the sanctions described in 
paragraph 7#a7 shall not apply with     
respect to a foreign person that-- 7,a7 
the ,president determines is the subject

 of other sanctions equivalent to those 
described in paragraph 7#a72 or  7,b7 is
 an alien1 if admitting the alien into  
the ,united ,states is necessary to     
permit the ,united ,states to comply    
with the ,agreement regarding the       
,headquarters of the ,united ,nations1  
signed at ,lake ,success ,june #bf1     
#aidg1 and entered into force ,november 
#ba1 #aidg1 between the ,united ,nations
 and the ,united ,states1 or other      
applicable international obligations4   
7c7 ,waiver ,the ,president may waive   
the application of sanctions under      
subsection 7b7 with respect to a foreign
 person if the ,president-- 7#a7        
determines that such a waiver is in the 
national interest of the ,united        
,states2 and  7#b7 on or before the date
 on which the waiver takes effect1      
submits to the ,committee on ,foreign   
,relations and the ,committee on        
,appropriations of the ,senate and the  
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs and the 
,committee on ,appropriations of the    

,house of ,representatives a notice of  
and justification for the waiver4  7d7  
,regulatory authority ,the ,president   
shall issue such regulations1 licenses1 
and orders as are necessary to carry out
 this section4  #f4 ,promotion of       
migrant participation in elections      
,congress encourages the ,secretary of  
,state to promote the ability of        
citizens of ,honduras residing in the   
,united ,states to vote in the general  
elections in ,honduras to take place on 
,november #cj1 #bjbe4  #g4 ,sense of    
,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress 
that the ,president should continue to  
seek to coordinate with other countries1
 particularly ,central ,american        
countries1 a comprehensive1 multilateral
 strategy to further the purposes of    
this ,act1 including1 as appropriate1   
encouraging other countries to take     
measures with respect to ,honduras that 
are similar to measures described in    
this ,act4  #h4 ,authorization of       
appropriations  7a7 ,in general ,there  

is authorized to be appropriated to     
carry out this ,act #a1jjj1jjj for each 
of the fiscal years #bjbf and #bjbg4    
7b7 ,availability of funds ,amounts     
appropriated pursuant to the            
authorization of appropriations under   
subsection 7a7 are authorized to remain 
available until expended4