Center for Strategic & International Studies
Congress Fails to Reauthorize North Korean Human Rights Act: An Envoy Without Legislation
The North Korean Human Rights Act of 2018 expired in 2022. Efforts were made in both the House and the Senate during the 117th Congress (2021–2022) to reauthorize the legislation. A version of the legislation was adopted in 2022 by the Senate at the very end of the session, but the legislation was not brought to a vote in the House.
In the 118th Congress (2023–2024) legislation was introduced in both House and Senate to reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act. In the Senate, a North Korean human rights bill, S. 584, was introduced by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) with the support of two other bipartisan senators. In the House of Representatives, H.R. 3012, was introduced by Congresswoman Young Kim (R-CA) and Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA) with the support of 34 other bipartisan cosponsors.
Unfortunately, Congress has reached the point today that even noncontroversial and widely supported legislation cannot be adopted. Congress is currently out of session and will only return briefly after the election to adopt the most urgent funding bills and other pressing measures. As of the preelection adjournment on October 4, 2024, Congress has adopted only 106 public laws, a pale shadow of the usual congressional accomplishments. One journalist described the situation in these terms: “Congress left D.C. with little done, they’ll be back November 12 to give it another try.”
The North Korean Human Rights Act still has broad bipartisan support in Congress. The Biden administration has appointed a special envoy for North Korean human rights issues and she is functioning effectively. Unfortunately, the dysfunction of the current U.S. political scene means that even legislation on which there is broad bipartisan support cannot be enacted by Congress. The inability of Congress even to reauthorize such a broadly supported piece of legislation should be a wake-up call.
