[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 555 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 555

 To direct the Secretary of State to establish a national registry of 
       Korean American divided families, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 2025

    Mr. Kaine (for himself, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Coons, Mr. Kelly, and Mr. 
   Ricketts) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of State to establish a national registry of 
       Korean American divided families, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Korean American Divided Families 
National Registry Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL REGISTRY OF KOREAN AMERICAN DIVIDED FAMILIES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, acting through the Special 
Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues, the Assistant Secretary of 
State for Consular Affairs, or such other individual as the Secretary 
may designate, shall--
            (1) identify Korean American families who wish to be 
        reunited with family members residing in North Korea from which 
        such Korean American families were divided after the signing of 
        the Agreement Concerning a Military Armistice in Korea, signed 
        at Panmunjom July 27, 1953 (commonly referred to as the 
        ``Korean War Armistice Agreement''), in anticipation of future 
        reunions for such families and family members, including in-
        person and video reunions; and
            (2) establish a national registry of the names and other 
        relevant information of such Korean American families--
                    (A) to facilitate such future reunions; and
                    (B) to provide for a repository of information 
                about such Korean American families and family members 
                in North Korea, including information about individuals 
                who may be deceased.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of State $1,000,000 to carry out this 
section.

SEC. 3. ACTIONS TO FACILITATE DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND 
              NORTH KOREA.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State should take such actions as 
may be necessary to ensure that any direct dialogue between the United 
States and North Korea includes progress towards holding future 
reunions for Korean American families and their family members in North 
Korea.
    (b) Consultations.--The Secretary of State should consult with the 
Government of the Republic of Korea, as appropriate, in carrying out 
this section.
    (c) Reporting Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State, acting through the 
        Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights Issues, shall 
        include in each report required under section 107(d) of the 
        North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7817(d)) a 
        description of the consultations described in subsection (b) 
        conducted during the year preceding the submission of the 
        report.
            (2) Elements.--The reporting required under paragraph (1) 
        should include--
                    (A) the status of the national registry established 
                pursuant to section 2(a)(2);
                    (B) the number of individuals included on the 
                registry who--
                            (i) have met their family members in North 
                        Korea during previous reunions; and
                            (ii) have yet to meet their family members 
                        in North Korea during previous reunions;
                    (C) a summary of responses by North Korea to 
                requests to hold reunions of divided families; and
                    (D) a description of actions taken by North Korea 
                that prevent the emigration of family members of Korean 
                American families.
    (d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this Act, the 
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives.
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