22 U.S.C. § 6041: Withholding of foreign…

Summary

The President must withhold U.S. foreign aid, credits, or other kinds of assistance from any country that, on or after March 12, 1996, gives support to finish the Juragua nuclear plant near Cienfuegos, Cuba. The amount withheld must equal the value of the support that country or its companies provided on or after March 12, 1996. Exceptions are allowed for urgent humanitarian aid (like disaster or refugee relief); programs for democratic reform or rule of law; help to create private or independent nongovernmental groups; free-market development work; activities under the Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993; and the secondary school exchange program run by the U.S. Information Agency. “Assistance” covers aid under the Foreign Assistance Act, credits, sales and loan guarantees, help under the Arms Export Control Act, Food for Peace titles I and III, the FREEDOM Support Act, and other U.S. aid programs. Congress found serious safety and secrecy problems with the Juragua project. Cuba has not joined the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty or the Tlatelolco treaty. U.S. agencies and experts said Cuba lacked a regulator, training, and infrastructure; a former technician reported 10 to 15 percent defective welds; parts were exposed to salt air after construction stopped; the reactor dome was reported to withstand only 7 pounds per square inch versus normal atmospheric pressure of 32 pounds and U.S. designs for about 50 pounds; the area has earthquake risk (a 7.0 quake happened on May 25, 1992); and wind could spread radioactive pollution to Florida, Gulf Coast states as far as Texas, and northeast to Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Title 22, §6041

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Findings

The Congress makes the following findings:

(1)President Clinton stated in April 1993 that the United States opposed the construction of the Juragua nuclear power plant because of the concerns of the United States about Cuba’s ability to ensure the safe operation of the facility and because of Cuba’s refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or ratify the Treaty of Tlatelolco.

(2)Cuba has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or ratified the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the latter of which establishes Latin America and the Caribbean as a nuclear weapons-free zone.

(3)The State Department, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Department of Energy have expressed concerns about the construction and operation of Cuba’s nuclear reactors.

(4)In a September 1992 report to the Congress, the General Accounting Office outlined concerns among nuclear energy experts about deficiencies in the nuclear plant project in Juragua, near Cienfuegos, Cuba, including—

(A)a lack in Cuba of a nuclear regulatory structure;

(B)the absence in Cuba of an adequate infrastructure to ensure the plant’s safe operation and requisite maintenance;

(C)the inadequacy of training of plant operators;

(D)reports by a former technician from Cuba who, by examining with x-rays weld sites believed to be part of the auxiliary plumbing system for the plant, found that 10 to 15 percent of those sites were defective;

(E)since September 5, 1992, when construction on the plant was halted, the prolonged exposure to the elements, including corrosive salt water vapor, of the primary reactor components; and

(F)the possible inadequacy of the upper portion of the reactors’ dome retention capability to withstand only 7 pounds of pressure per square inch, given that normal atmospheric pressure is 32 pounds per square inch and United States reactors are designed to accommodate pressures of 50 pounds per square inch.

(5)The United States Geological Survey claims that it had difficulty determining answers to specific questions regarding earthquake activity in the area near Cienfuegos because the Cuban Government was not forthcoming with information.

(6)The Geological Survey has indicated that the Caribbean plate, a geological formation near the south coast of Cuba, may pose seismic risks to Cuba and the site of the power plant, and may produce large to moderate earthquakes.

(7)On May 25, 1992, the Caribbean plate produced an earthquake numbering 7.0 on the Richter scale.

(8)According to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, summer winds could carry radioactive pollutants from a nuclear accident at the power plant throughout all of Florida and parts of the States on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico as far as Texas, and northern winds could carry the pollutants as far northeast as Virginia and Washington, D.C.

(9)The Cuban Government, under dictator Fidel Castro, in 1962 advocated the Soviets’ launching of nuclear missiles to the United States, which represented a direct and dangerous provocation of the United States and brought the world to the brink of a nuclear conflict.

(10)Fidel Castro over the years has consistently issued threats against the United States Government, most recently that he would unleash another perilous mass migration from Cuba upon the enactment of this chapter.

(11)Despite the various concerns about the plant’s safety and operational problems, a feasibility study is being conducted that would establish a support group to include Russia, Cuba, and third countries with the objective of completing and operating the plant.

(b)Withholding of foreign assistance

(1)In general

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President shall withhold from assistance allocated, on or after March 12, 1996, for any country an amount equal to the sum of assistance and credits, if any, provided on or after March 12, 1996, by that country or any entity in that country in support of the completion of the Cuban nuclear facility at Juragua, near Cienfuegos, Cuba.

(2)Exceptions

The requirement of paragraph (1) to withhold assistance shall not apply with respect to—

(A)assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs, including disaster and refugee relief;

(B)democratic political reform or rule of law activities;

(C)the creation of private sector or nongovernmental organizations that are independent of government control;

(D)the development of a free market economic system;

(E)assistance for the purposes described in the Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993 (title XII of Public Law 103–160) [22 U.S.C. 5951 et seq.]; or

(F)assistance under the secondary school exchange program administered by the United States Information Agency.

(3)“Assistance” defined

As used in paragraph (1), the term “assistance” means assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.], credits, sales, guarantees of extensions of credit, and other assistance under the Arms Export Control Act [22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.], assistance under titles I and III of the Food for Peace Act [7 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., 1727 et seq.], assistance under the FREEDOM Support Act, and any other program of assistance or credits provided by the United States to other countries under other provisions of law.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Upon the enactment of this chapter, referred to in subsec. (a)(10), means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 104–114, which was approved Mar. 12, 1996. The Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(E), is title XII of div. A of Pub. L. 103–160, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1777, which is classified generally to chapter 68A (§ 5951 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 5951 of this title and Tables. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), is Pub. L. 87–195, Sept. 4, 1961, 75 Stat. 424, which is classified principally to chapter 32 (§ 2151 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 2151 of this title and Tables. The Arms Export Control Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), is Pub. L. 90–629, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1320, which is classified principally to chapter 39 (§ 2751 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 2751 of this title and Tables. The Food for Peace Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), is act July 10, 1954, ch. 469, 68 Stat. 454. Titles I and III of the Act are classified generally to subchapters II (§ 1701 et seq.) and III–A (§ 1727 et seq.), respectively, of chapter 41 of Title 7, Agriculture. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1691 of Title 7 and Tables. The FREEDOM Support Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), is Pub. L. 102–511, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3320, also known as the Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets Support Act of 1992. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 5801 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 110–246 substituted “Food for Peace Act” for “Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

General Accounting Office redesignated Government Accountability Office by section 8 of Pub. L. 108–271, set out as a note under section 702 of Title 31, Money and Finance.

Effective Date

of 2008 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, see section 4(b) of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture.

Transfer of Functions

United States Information Agency (other than Broadcasting Board of Governors and International Broadcasting Bureau) abolished and functions transferred to Secretary of State, see section 6531 and 6532 of this title.

§6041 Withholding of Foreign Assistance From Countries Supporting Juragua Nuclear Plant in Cuba

Summary

Title 22, §6041

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Short Title

Short Title

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Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Effective Date

Effective Date

Transfer of Functions

Citations & Metadata