WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night, Representative Andy Barr (KY-06) was appointed to serve as a conferee on the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY2020) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the FY2020 NDAA with respect to the provisions of Treasury sanctions.
The NDAA establishes policies and spending authorizations for the U.S. Department of Defense and defense-related government programs and has a long history of annual passage and enactment.
During NDAA debate in the House, Congressman Barr introduced the Otto Warmbier North Korea Nuclear Sanctions Act of 2019 as an amendment and it passed with broad bipartisan support. The amendment authorizes the toughest financial sanctions ever directed at the North Korean regime, including foreign financial institutions that do business with virtually anyone that trades with North Korea.
“North Korea’s malign activities and efforts to circumvent international sanctions requires a strong and robust response from the United States,” said Congressman Barr. “That is why I reintroduced the Otto Warmbier North Korea Nuclear Sanctions Act, which if enacted, would represent the toughest economic sanctions ever directed at North Korea. These sanctions are targeted at foreign banks and simply require those banks to make a choice. They can either do business with North Korea or they can do business with the United States, but they can’t do both. I’m honored to be chosen to serve on this conference committee to fight to include these tough sanctions on North Korea in the final version of the bill so that we advance American national security and counter North Korean aggression."
This amendment would give the Secretary of State and UN Ambassador additional leverage to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis. A similar stand-alone version of the amendment passed the House last Congress by a vote of 415-2.