Sen. Inhofe Introduces Bill to Repeal Zimbabwe Democracy, Economic Recovery Act of 2001
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:S.1646:#
S.1646 — Zimbabwe Sanctions Repeal Act of 2011 (Introduced in Senate – IS)
S 1646 IS
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1646
To repeal the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 4, 2011
Mr. INHOFE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Foreign Relations
A BILL
To repeal the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Zimbabwe Sanctions Repeal Act of 2011′.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe and leader of the Zimbabwe
African National Union-Patriotic Front, has ruled Zimbabwe for 31 years.
(2) During President Mugabe’s regime, Zimbabwe has gone from being
the `bread basket’ of Africa to the world’s fastest shrinking economy.
(3) In 2000, the Government of Zimbabwe initiated a farmland
redistribution program, designed to reallocate foreign commercial farmland
to poor and middle-class citizens of Zimbabwe.
(4) The farmland redistribution program–
(A) led to the confiscation of industrial, fertile, and
previously settled lands, and mass chaos;
(B) undermined the Constitution of Zimbabwe; and
(C) caused more than 400,000 farmers to lose their homes and
livelihoods.
(5) In 2005, President Mugabe implemented a project known as
Operation Murambatsvina, translated into English as Operation `Clean Out the
Filth’.
(6) Under Operation Clean Out the Filth, the Mugabe regime bulldozed
and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, leading to an estimated
700,000 internally displaced persons, of whom 569,685 are still displaced.
(7) The majority of the people of Zimbabwe live on less than $1 per
day.
(8) The 95 percent unemployment rate in Zimbabwe has forced an
estimated 3,000,000 of the people of Zimbabwe, representing 25 percent of
the overall population, to migrate to neighboring countries.
(9) All of these actions by President Mugabe’s regime have caused
significant and persistent economic hardships in Zimbabwe.
(10) On March 29, 2008, a presidential election was held between
President Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition party,
the Movement for Democratic Change.
(11) Of the votes cast in the presidential election–
(A) Tsvangirai received 47.9 percent;
(B) President Mugabe received 43.2 percent; and
(C) Simba Mankoni, of the Mavambo Kusile Dawn Party, received
8.3 percent.
(12) Because Tsvangirai failed to achieve 50 percent of the votes
needed to win outright, a run-off was scheduled for June 27, 2008.
(13) President Mugabe–
(A) declared that he would not relinquish power regardless of
the election outcome;
(B) directed a crackdown on opposition parties; and
(C) stated, `Only God, who appointed me, will remove me.’.
(14) As many as 400 members and supporters of the Movement for
Democratic Change were killed during the run-off campaign period.
(15) Tsvangirai dropped out of the run-off race, and took refuge in
the Embassy of the Netherlands, stating that he could not ask people to vote
`when that vote could cost them their lives’.
(16) The violence surrounding this unfair election came to the
world’s attention and specifically to that of the Southern African
Development Community, compromised of 15 southern African countries, and the
United States.
(17) Pressure from the Southern African Development Community and
the United States led to the creation of a power-sharing agreement between
Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front and Tsvangirai and
Mutambara’s respective wings of the Movement for Democratic Change Party.
This agreement, which is known as the Global Political Agreement, became
effective on September 15, 2008.
(18) The Parliament of Zimbabwe amended the Constitution of Zimbabwe
to allow for the creation of the power-sharing government.
(19) While Mugabe retained the office of President, Tsvangirai was
sworn in as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on February 11, 2009, and Tendai
Biti was appointed Minister of Finance by Prime Minister Tsvangirai.
(20) Since the appointment of Biti as Minister of Finance, the
economy of Zimbabwe has seen remarkable recovery in a short period of time.
Minister Biti dollarized the Zimbabwean economy to combat inflation. By
using stable foreign currencies, the 2008 annual inflation rate of
15,000,000,000 percent was reduced to the current 2011 rate of 2.5 percent.
(21) During Biti’s tenure as Minister of Finance, the real gross
domestic product (GDP) of Zimbabwe has also improved. In 2008, the real GDP
in Zimbabwe was contracting at a rate of negative 14.4 percent. Current
projections estimate that the real GDP in Zimbabwe will increase by 9.3
percent during 2011.
(22) The salaries of government employees have also been reissued,
allowing those employed in basic government services like medicine,
education, and transportation to return to work.
(23) The overall economy and well-being of the citizens of Zimbabwe
have made tremendous advances since Tsvangirai and the Movement for
Democratic Change gained power-sharing authority in the Government of
Zimbabwe.
(24) The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001
(Public Law 107-99; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note), which was enacted into law in
2001, imposed sanctions on the Mugabe regime and members of the Zimbabwe
African National Union-Patriotic Front.
(25) Section 4(c) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery
Act of 2001 specifically directs the United States Executive Director to
each international financial institution to oppose and vote against–
(A) any extension by the institution of any loan, credit, or
guarantee to the Government of Zimbabwe; or
(B) any cancellation or reduction of indebtedness owed by the
Government of Zimbabwe to the United States or any international financial
institution.
(26) Repealing the sanctions imposed under the Zimbabwe Democracy
and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 that burden the power-sharing government
in Zimbabwe is necessary–
(A) to fully restore the economy of Zimbabwe; and
(B) to assist Zimbabwe in transitioning to democracy.
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF ZIMBABWE DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT OF 2001.
The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 (Public Law
107-99; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note) is repealed.