S. 3509: South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act of 2016

114th Congress · introduced 2016-12-06 · International Affairs · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2016-12-06 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act of 2016

Plain summary

South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act of 2016 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) China cannot be allowed to interfere with the free use of waters and airspace in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, (2) China should not be allowed to pursue illegitimate claims and to militarize an area that is essential to global security, (3) the United States should expand freedom of navigation operations and overflights and respond to Chinese provocations with commensurate actions, and (4) the United States should oppose any unilateral Chinese actions to undermine Japan's control of the Senkaku Islands. The bill requires the President to impose entry and U.S.-based property sanctions with respect to: (1) any Chinese person that contributes to construction or development projects in areas of the South China Sea contested by one or more members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); (2) any Chinese person that has engaged in actions or policies that threaten the peace or stability of areas of the South China Sea contested by one or more ASEAN members or areas of the East China Sea administered by Japan; and (3) any person that is owned or acting on behalf of such person or that provides such person with financial, material, technological, or other support. The President shall prohibit the opening in the United States of, and shall prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintaining in the United States of, a correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial institution that conducts financial transactions for a sanctioned person if China has taken specified military-related actions concerning the South China Sea or the East China Sea. The Department of State shall submit a report to Congress identifying each Chinese person that is engaged in sanctioned activities. The bill prohibits: (1) the provision of foreign assistance, with specified exceptions, to the government of a country that recognizes China's sovereignty over the contested territory or airspace in the South China Sea or the East China Sea; and (2) the Government Publishing Office, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Justice from taking certain actions that would imply U.S. recognition of China's sovereignty over such territory or airspace. No U.S. person may take any action to approve, facilitate, finance, or guarantee any investment, or provide insurance or underwriting, in the South China Sea or the East China Sea that involves any sanctioned person.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

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PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act of 2016

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

John Cornyn (R-TX)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s3509.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>

Record fed-us-cong114-s3509 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114