Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today convened a committee business meeting during which members approved eight pieces of legislation, four treaties, and one nomination.
“I am pleased that the committee favorably reported four important tax treaties to the full Senate today. These protocols between the U.S. and Spain, Switzerland, Japan, and Luxembourg, respectively, are important for citizens of all nations. These treaties have languished and awaited ratification for nearly a decade, and are incredibly important to our own citizens. I appreciate Leader McConnell’s commitment to moving these treaties. I look forward to working with him to see that they are ratified by the full Senate.”
Full list of legislation passed in the meeting is below, and will be available on foreign.senate.gov.
LEGISLATION
1. S. 727, Global Fragility Act of 2019, with an amendment
2. S. 1102, Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019, with an amendment
3. S. 1309, Combating Global Corruption Act of 2019, with an amendment
4. S. Res. 34, A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the Governments of Burma and Bangladesh ensure the safe, dignified, voluntary, and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees who have been displaced by the campaign of ethnic cleansing conducted by the Burmese military and to immediately release unjustly imprisoned journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, with amendments
5. S. Res. 198, A resolution condemning Brunei's dramatic human rights backsliding, with amendments
6. S. Res. 206, A resolution marking the 70th anniversary of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, expressing concern about significant violations of international humanitarian law on contemporary battlefields, and encouraging United States leadership in ensuring greater respect for international humanitarian law in current conflicts, particularly with its security partners, with amendments
7. S. Con Res. 10, A concurrent resolution recognizing that Chinese telecommunications companies such as Huawei and ZTE pose serious threats to the national security of the United States and its allies, with amendments
8. S.1945, SAFE Act
TREATIES
9. The Protocol Amending the Convention between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and its Protocol, signed at Madrid on February 22, 1990, Treaty and Resolution of Advice and Consent
10. Protocol Amending the Convention between the United States of America and the Swiss Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income, signed at Washington on October 2, 1996, signed on September 23, 2009, at Washington, as corrected by an exchange of notes effected November 16, 2010 and a related agreement effected by an exchange of notes on September 23, 2009, Treaty and Resolution of Advice and Consent
11. The Protocol Amending the Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and a related agreement entered into by an exchange of notes (together the "proposed Protocol"), both signed on January 24, 2013, at Washington, together with correcting notes exchanged March 9 and March 29, 2013, Treaty and Resolution of Advice and Consent
12. Protocol Amending the Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and Capital, signed on May 20, 2009, at Luxembourg (the "proposed Protocol") and a related agreement effected by the exchange of notes also signed on May 20, 2009, Treaty and Resolution of Advice and Consent
NOMINATIONS
13. Mr. Eliot Pedrosa, of Florida, to be United States Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank for a term of three years
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