Last week, U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., introduced the “Sanctions Lists Harmonization Act.”
The bill will “require coordination between the federal agencies managing prohibited party lists whenever a new entity is added” since, as the congressman’s office noted, the federal government “maintains various sanctions lists with different jurisdiction authorities.”
Waltz explained why he offered the proposal.
“Right now, national security agencies do not communicate adequately when a foreign entity is added to their sanction list,” said Waltz. “For example, an entity may be denied an export license by the Department of Commerce, but still allowed to conduct banking transactions regulated by the Department of the Treasury. At the very least, our agencies should proactively notify and coordinate with each other to maximize the penalties on these bad actors when appropriate.”
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs and the Armed Services Committees. So far, there are no House cosponsors and no companion measure over in the U.S. Senate.
