Senator Seeks to Add 2 Sanctions Bills to NDAA

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Nov. 20 that she’s trying to get two sanctions bills included in the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Congress aims to pass before it adjourns for the year in December.

One bill is the Georgian People’s Act, which would authorize property-blocking sanctions on Republic of Georgia officials for corruption, human rights abuses and anti-democratic efforts (see 2410250043). Shaheen introduced the bill with Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the ranking member on Senate Foreign Relations.

“There has been general bipartisan agreement” to include the Georgia bill in the NDAA, Shaheen told Export Compliance Daily. “There are a couple of details that we’re still working out.”

Shaheen and Risch said last month that the Georgia bill might need to be modified to ensure that those responsible for “fraud and manipulation” in the country's recent parliamentary elections are held accountable (see 2410280022).

The other bill is the Western Balkans Democracy and Prosperity Act, which would codify two U.S. executive orders that authorize property-blocking sanctions against those who threaten peace and stability in the Western Balkans and engage in corruption. Shaheen introduced the bill with Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

The NDAA has been mentioned as a possible vehicle for a host of measures that aren’t strictly defense-related, including portions of a major China-focused foreign policy bill (see 2411150003) and a proposal that would require U.S. companies to notify the Treasury Department before making certain investments in several “countries of concern,” including China (see 2409230016). House and Senate negotiators are trying to craft the final version of the NDAA.