HR1801-118

Introduced

To enhance the consideration of human rights in arms exports.

118th Congress Introduced Mar 27, 2023

Summary

What This Bill Does

The bill imposes short title This Act may be cited as the Safeguarding Human Rights in Arms Exports Act of 2023 or the SAFEGUARD Act of 2023, requires statement of policy on control of defense exports and protection of human rights It is the policy of the United States that one of the purposes for controlling the export of defense articles and defense, and provides prohibition of arms sales to countries committing genocide or war crimes No sale, export, or transfer of defense articles or defense services may occur to any country if the Secretary of State has credible. It relies on trade restrictions, compliance mandates, definition changes, and appropriations. The main policy areas are Foreign Businesses, Foreign Policy, Transportation, and Housing.

Who Benefits and How

Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause could face reduced risk, Foreign businesses and cross-border trade participants affected by the bill could face lower compliance burdens, and Foreign affairs agencies and foreign-policy stakeholders affected by the bill could face lower compliance burdens.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause would take on compliance duties, Foreign businesses and cross-border trade participants affected by the bill would take on compliance duties, and Transportation operators and users affected by the bill would take on compliance duties.

Key Provisions

  • Imposes short title This Act may be cited as the Safeguarding Human Rights in Arms Exports Act of 2023 or the SAFEGUARD Act of 2023.
  • Requires statement of policy on control of defense exports and protection of human rights It is the policy of the United States that one of the purposes for controlling the export of defense articles and defense...
  • Provides prohibition of arms sales to countries committing genocide or war crimes No sale, export, or transfer of defense articles or defense services may occur to any country if the Secretary of State has credible...
  • Requires misuse of arms sales for human rights abuses The President shall ensure that— the sale, export, or transfer of any defense article or defense service to a foreign country or international organization shall be...
  • Provides consideration of human rights and democratization in arms exports In considering the sale, export, or transfer of defense articles and defense services to foreign countries, the Secretary of State shall— also...

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

The bill imposes short title This Act may be cited as the Safeguarding Human Rights in Arms Exports Act of 2023 or the SAFEGUARD Act of 2023, requires statement of policy on control of defense exports and protection of human rights It is the policy of the United States that one of the purposes for controlling the export of defense articles and defense, and provides prohibition of arms sales to countries committing genocide or war crimes No sale, export, or transfer of defense articles or defense services may occur to any country if the Secretary of State has credible.

Key Policy Areas

Foreign Businesses, Foreign Policy, Transportation, Housing

Primary Purpose

The bill imposes short title This Act may be cited as the Safeguarding Human Rights in Arms Exports Act of 2023 or the SAFEGUARD Act of 2023, requires statement of policy on control of defense exports and protection of human rights It is the policy of the United States that one of the purposes for controlling the export of defense articles and defense, and provides prohibition of arms sales to countries committing genocide or war crimes No sale, export, or transfer of defense articles or defense services may occur to any country if the Secretary of State has credible.

Policy Domains

Foreign Businesses Foreign Policy Transportation Housing

Whole bill

Identified Gains
  • Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause
  • Foreign businesses and cross-border trade participants affected by the bill
  • Foreign affairs agencies and foreign-policy stakeholders affected by the bill
  • Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities
  • Homeowners, tenants, or housing market participants affected by the bill
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities:
Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause: , , , , ,
Homeowners, tenants, or housing market participants affected by the bill:
Foreign businesses and cross-border trade participants affected by the bill: , , , ,
Foreign affairs agencies and foreign-policy stakeholders affected by the bill: , ,
Identified Costs
  • Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause
  • Foreign businesses and cross-border trade participants affected by the bill
  • Transportation operators and users affected by the bill
  • Telecommunications providers and users affected by the bill
  • Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: ih
Transportation operators and users affected by the bill:
Telecommunications providers and users affected by the bill:
Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities:
Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause: , , , , , , , ,
Foreign businesses and cross-border trade participants affected by the bill: , , , , ,

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Mar 27, 2023

Mr. Meeks (for himself, Ms. Wild, Ms. Spanberger, Ms. Jacobs, …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Law Enforcement
2 mentions across 2 clauses
+1 positive -1 negative

Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities

Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities faces effects in multiple directions

11/11
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Foreign Businesses Foreign Policy Transportation Housing

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology