Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
Latest action. Committee Hearings Held.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.)
Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act - Title I: Approval of, and General Provisions Relating to, the Agreement - (Sec. 101) Approves the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States-Free Trade Agreement entered into on August 5, 2005, with the governments of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (CAFTA-DR), and the statement of administrative action proposed to implement the Agreement, both submitted to Congress on June 23, 2005.
(Sec. 103) Authorizes the President to proclaim actions, and other appropriate officers of the U.S. government to issue regulations, necessary to ensure that any provision of this Act that takes effect on the date the Agreement enters into force is appropriately implemented. Declares that proclaimed actions that are not subject to consultation and layover requirements under this Act shall not take effect before the 15th day after the text of the proclamation is published in the Federal Register. Provides that presidential proclamations calling for action under this Act may be proclaimed only if: (1) the President has obtained advice regarding the proposed action from the appropriate advisory committees and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC); (2) the President has reported to specified congressional committees with respect to such action; (3) a period of 60 days has expired; and (4) the President has consulted with the appropriate congressional committees during such 60-day period.
(Sec. 105) Authorizes the President to establish or designate within the Department of Commerce an office to provide administrative assistance to dispute settlement panels established under the Agreement. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 106) Authorizes the United States to resolve any claim against it covered by the Agreement, pursuant to the Investor-State Dispute Settlement procedures set forth in the Agreement.
(Sec. 107) Provides that, during any period in which a country ceases to be a CAFTA-DR country, the provisions of this Act (other than this subsection) and the amendments made by this Act shall cease to have effect with respect to that country.
The summary continues for 37 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Public Law" stage on August 2, 2005. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 7, 2005: Committee Hearings Held.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
TOM DELAY (R-TX) introduced it on June 23, 2005, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 23, 2005, 7796 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7720 days ago, on September 7, 2005.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers