,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ebeg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,august #e1 #bjbf,mr4 ,markey 7for himself and ,ms4 ,warren7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to expedite the provision of humanitarian assistance1 including life-saving medical care1 to the people of ,north ,korea1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,enhancing ,north ,korea ,humanitarian ,assistance ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,providing humanitarian assistance1 including to countries subject to sanctions imposed by the ,united ,states1 is an expression of ,american values that furthers ,united ,states interests around the world and is consistent with international humanitarian law and promoting peace4 7#b7 ,as of #bjbe1 roughly #aa1hjj1jjj people in ,north ,korea are in urgent need of food assistance and roughly #aj1djj1jjj need nutrition support and improved access to basic services1 including health care1 water1 sanitation1 and hygiene facilities4 7#c7 ,more than #de percent of people in ,north ,korea are undernourished1 and #a out of every #e children in the country younger than #e years of age is stunted in growth4 7#d7 ,one-third of household drinking water in ,north ,korea is contaminated4 7#e7 ,independent experts have identified severe deficiencies in ,north ,korea's public health infrastructure1 trained medical personnel1 ability to communicate important safety information1 and the ability to address those deficiencies4 7#f7 ,north ,korea has one of the highest burdens of tuberculosis in the world and humanitarian assistance is critical for countering the spread of deadly infectious diseases such as tuberculosis4 7#g7 ,north ,korea cannot reliably maintain stocks of drugs to treat diseases such as tuberculosis posing the risk of interrupted treatments1 which can lead to treatment failures and resistance to multiple therapies that make treatment significantly more difficult and costly4 7#h7 ,in its final report published on ,august #bh1 #bjbj1 the ,united ,nations ,panel of ,experts on ,north ,korea found that there can be little doubt that ,united ,nations sanctions have had unintended effects on the humanitarian situation and aid operations within the ,democratic ,people's ,republic of ,korea4 7#i7 ,barriers to humanitarian access can result from decisions made or delayed by the ,government of ,north ,korea1 by the governments of other countries1 including the ,governments of the ,united ,states and the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 and by the ,committee of the ,united ,nations ,security ,council established by ,united ,nations ,security ,council ,resolution #agah 7#bjjf7 7referred to in this ,act as the #agah ,sanctions ,committee74 7#aj7 ,nongovernmental organizations that provide humanitarian assistance in ,north ,korea must typically seek simultaneous authorizations from the ,department of the ,treasury1 the ,department of ,state1 the ,department of ,commerce1 the #agah ,sanctions ,committee1 customs officials in the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 and the ,government of ,north ,korea1 adding further delays to humanitarian access4 7#aa7 ,the #agah ,sanctions ,committee issued the document entitled ,implementation ,assistance ,notice ,no4 #g on ,august #f1 #bjah1 to clarify the process for granting requests for humanitarian exemptions by the ,united ,nations and to reaffirm that sanctions are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences for civilians in ,north ,korea4 ,that guidance was updated on ,december #a1 #bjbj1 to help streamline permissions for ,,covid-#ai related aid and to extend humanitarian waivers from #f to #i months4 ,it was updated again on ,june #b1 #bjbc1 to further streamline the exemption process and to reflect ,united ,nations ,security ,council ,resolution #bffd 7#bjbb71 which created a standing humanitarian carve-out from the asset-freeze measures while leaving other sanctions measures subject to case-by-case exemptions4 7#ab7 ,united ,states ,government travel restrictions impede the access of ,united ,states employees of humanitarian organizations inside ,north ,korea and can complicate the monitoring and evaluation procedures that nongovernmental organizations have used to ensure that aid reaches the most vulnerable populations4 7#ac7 ,humanitarian exceptions in comprehensive sanctions programs1 such as the exceptions under section #eaj4eab of the ,north ,korea ,sanctions ,regulations1 are not effective unless the persons who provide assistance along with their financial institutions1 suppliers1 shippers1 and other entities can make practical use of the exceptions1 including the ability to make use of humanitarian exemptions without delay or extended review periods4 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 national governments and multilateral authorities must take action to mitigate documented delays and ensure that sanctions imposed with respect to ,north ,korea do not hinder efforts to provide humanitarian relief to the people of ,north ,korea2 7#b7 the ,department of the ,treasury should provide timely and meaningful responses to requests for specific licenses given that humanitarian organizations typically have a limited time to execute projects that must be approved by multiple ,united ,states ,government agencies and foreign governments2 7#c7 because humanitarian assistance is unlikely to enable large-scale sanctions evasion and revenue generation1 sanctions enforcement should focus on ongoing ,north ,korean activities1 including ship-to-ship transfers of coal and other goods1 cyberattacks1 and the use of forced labor abroad1 all highlighted in reports issued by the ,united ,nations ,panel of ,experts on ,north ,korea and other authoritative sources2 7#d7 financial institutions should recognize and consider the reputational and practical costs of impeding legitimate efforts to deliver life saving aid to ,north ,korea2 and 7#e7 as of ,july #bjbf1 the ,department of ,state's travel ban for humanitarian missions to ,north ,korea1 introduced in #bjag1 is inconsistent with the intent of the ,north ,korea ,sanctions and ,policy ,enhancement ,act of #bjaf 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #ibja et seq471 which explicitly exempted work related to the repatriation of the remains of ,united ,states veterans4 #d4 ,enhancing exemptions from ,united ,states sanctions 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 acting through the ,director of the ,office of ,foreign ,assets ,control1 shall take the following actions3 7#a7 ,modify the ,north ,korea ,sanctions ,regulations to eliminate pre-activity reporting requirements entirely1 in line with the precedent set by previous general licenses4 7#b7 ,adopt a post-activity reporting process1 facilitating urgently needed humanitarian assistance without diminishing oversight or compliance4 7b7 ,modification to ,north ,korea ,sanctions ,regulations ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall modify the ,north ,korea ,sanctions ,regulations so that personal computers and related peripherals that support authorized humanitarian activities by nongovernmental organizations are not considered to be luxury goods and do not require export license from the ,bureau of ,industry and ,security1 including in circumstances where such items may otherwise be authorized for export pursuant to section #gdj4ad of title #ae1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 which would permit authorization for temporary exports by ,united ,states persons traveling with baggage1 including certain tools of the trade1 for work abroad4 7c7 ,modification ,to export administration regulations ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,commerce shall amend the ,export ,administration ,regulations1 including section #gdf4d7;b77#a7 of title #ae1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 as necessary to exclude personal computers and related peripheral equipment that support authorized humanitarian activities by nongovernmental organizations from the definition of luxury goods4 7d7 ,guidance ,not later than #abj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 acting through the ,director of the ,office of ,foreign ,assets ,control1 shall issue plainly worded guidance intended for financial institutions1 shipping companies1 foreign customs officials1 and others involved in transactions related to humanitarian assistance that-- 7#a7 clarifies the applicability of the humanitarian exception under the ,north ,korea ,sanctions ,regulations2 and 7#b7 describes best practices for ensuring that activities are consistent with that exception4 7e7 ,report required ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and every #abj days thereafter1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 acting through the ,director of the ,office of ,foreign ,assets ,control and in consultation with the ,secretary of ,state1 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes-- 7#a7 a list of requests for specific licenses or comfort letters related to humanitarian assistance in ,north ,korea denied by the ,office of ,foreign ,assets ,control during such #abj-;day period1 including explanations for the denials2 7#b7 a list of requests for specific licenses or comfort letters related to humanitarian assistance in ,north ,korea that have been pending for #fj days or more as of the date on which the report is submitted1 including explanations for the delays2 and 7#c7 a description of recent efforts to streamline the process by which nongovernmental organizations engaged in humanitarian activity in ,north ,korea apply for and are granted specific licenses or comfort letters4 #e4 ,enhancing multilateral sanctions exemptions 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state shall direct the ,united ,states ,permanent ,representative to the ,united ,nations to use the voice1 vote1 and influence of the ,united ,states to urge the ,united ,nations-- 7#a7 to extend the period for humanitarian exemptions from the #agah ,sanctions ,committee to #a year and remove the limitation on exemption applications per organization per year2 7#b7 to apply lessons learned from expedited approvals of requests for humanitarian exemptions during the ,,covid-#ai pandemic to speed approval at the #agah ,sanctions ,committee of other critical exemption requests1 such as requests that would address urgent needs identified in the annual reports of the ,united ,nations on needs and priorities for ,north ,korea2 and 7#c7 to modify applications for humanitarian exemptions from the #agah ,sanctions ,committee to be less burdensome for nongovernmental organizations1 drawing as appropriate on successes in approaches taken by other ,united ,nations sanctions committees4 7b7 ,reporting ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and every #ahj days thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report-- 7#a7 describing any requests for humanitarian exemptions to the #agah ,sanctions ,committee known to have been denied in the #ahj days preceding submission of the report or known to have been in process for more than #fj days as of the date of the report1 and any known explanations for such denials and delays2 7#b7 detailing any action by a foreign government in the #ahj days preceding submission of the report that has delayed or impeded humanitarian assistance approved by the #agah ,sanctions ,committee1 including the status of obstacles to humanitarian assistance posed by customs officials in the ,people's ,republic of ,china2 and 7#c7 describing efforts in the #ahj days preceding submission of the report to establish or maintain an approved banking channel for transactions related to humanitarian assistance for ,north ,korea4 #f4 ,streamlining humanitarian travel authorizations ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and every #abj days thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,state shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees a briefing-- 7#a7 detailing the number of requests for special validation to travel to ,north ,korea2 7#b7 a list of requests for special validation to travel to ,north ,korea that have been pending for #fj days or more as of the date on which the report is submitted1 including explanations for the delays2 and 7#c7 a list of requests for special validation to travel to ,north ,korea denied by the ,department of ,state during such #abj-;day period1 including explanations for the denials4 #g4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations and the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs and the ,committee on ,financial ,services of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,export ,administration ,regulations ,the term ,export ,administration ,regulations means the regulations set forth in subchapter ,c of chapter ,,vii of title #ae1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or successor regulations4 7#c7 ,north ,korea ,sanctions ,regulations ,the term ,north ,korea ,sanctions ,regulations means the regulations set forth in part #eaj of title #ca1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or successor regulations4