S868-119

What This Bill Does

The reported MEGOBARI Act concerns the country of Georgia, not the U.S. state. It would require a review within 90 days of specified Georgian officials, political figures and qualifying benefiting immediate family members for knowing corruption, violence or intimidation related to blocking Euro-Atlantic integration. Affirmative findings trigger visa and admission restrictions, subject to waivers and exceptions. A separate provision makes visa restrictions mandatory and asset blocking discretionary for foreign persons determined responsible for specified threats to Georgia's peace, security, stability, sovereignty or territorial integrity, and qualifying leaders or benefiting family members. It also requires diplomatic and intelligence reports. The Act and its sanctions expire five years after enactment; individual sanctions can end sooner upon the stated presidential certification. The bill is reported, not enacted law.

Who Benefits and How

Georgian civil society organizations, independent media, peaceful protesters and people targeted by political intimidation are intended beneficiaries of support planning and pressure on qualifying perpetrators. The bill calls for a strategy addressing continued U.S. support for civil society and media. After the President certifies significant, sustained democratic and Euro-Atlantic progress, it encourages academic exchanges, people-to-people contacts and appropriate defense cooperation. These provisions do not appropriate a specified amount, guarantee grants, require new arms deliveries, or grant Georgia membership in NATO or the European Union. Humanitarian providers and recipients receive explicit sanctions exceptions for food, agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices and related humanitarian transactions.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Officials and other foreign persons satisfying the statutory findings can lose U.S. visas, entry and other immigration benefits; qualifying persons under the territorial-security provision can also have U.S.-jurisdiction assets blocked. Family relationship alone is insufficient: the text includes benefit-from-conduct requirements and applicable presidential determinations. U.S. financial institutions may face transaction-screening and blocking work if financial sanctions are imposed. The Department of State must coordinate with Defense and the Director of National Intelligence on a 180-day classified foreign-influence report and with the USAID Administrator on a 90-day bilateral strategy, as those roles are assigned in the bill. Treasury, State and Homeland Security would administer the sanctions, while the President must make determinations, prescribe rules within 120 days, and provide reports and notifications. A drafting limitation matters: the IEEPA penalty paragraph cross-references the visa/admission paragraph rather than the asset-blocking paragraph, so this analysis does not silently treat that reference as corrected.

Key Provisions

• Requires 90-day determinations and a State briefing on qualifying Georgian officials and political figures, including parliamentary or senior party service on or after January 1, 2014; imposed immigration sanctions include visa revocation.
• Authorizes asset blocking and requires immigration sanctions after qualifying findings regarding threats to Georgia, with congressional notification within 10 days of imposition.
• Allows case-by-case waivers for the official-review sanctions on national-security or changed-circumstance grounds; territorial-security sanctions allow renewable waivers of at most 180 days with 15 days' advance justification.
• Requires a 90-day bilateral strategy covering assistance, investment, civil society and independent media, and a 180-day classified report on Russian intelligence penetration with a Chinese-influence annex.
• Requires implementing regulations within 120 days, advance congressional notice, and a 180-day report on broader corruption determinations and sanctions.
• Protects authorized intelligence work, required admissions under international obligations and humanitarian transactions; excludes authority to sanction goods imports under the property-blocking provision.
• Ends this Act after five years and ends sanctions sooner for a person certified no longer engaged in the triggering activity; preserves independent existing sanctions authority.