PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 167.
Congressional Research Service
Version 25 · Reported to Senate · Jul 30, 2019
Saudi Arabia Accountability and Yemen Act of 2019
This bill suspends certain weapons transfers to Saudi Arabia. It also imposes sanctions on individuals for various activities related to the civil war in Yemen and for involvement in the death of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The United States may not authorize transfers to Saudi Arabia of missiles, ammunition, ground vehicles, aircraft, or other weapons that fall within Categories III, IV, VII, or VIII of the U.S. Munitions List. The prohibitions do not apply to ground-based missile defense systems and shall expire September 30, 2020.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The United States may not provide in-flight refueling for Saudi coalition aircraft involved in the civil war. (A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting against Ansar Allah, a group in armed conflict with the government of Yemen.)
The United States shall impose sanctions on individuals who are blocking the flow of humanitarian goods and services into Yemen or working to undermine the country's stability. This includes sanctions on supporters of Ansar Allah if the United States determines the group has not made meaningful efforts towards peace.
The bill also imposes sanctions on foreign individuals, including any members of the Saudi royal family, who are responsible for or who aided in Khashoggi's death.
The President shall impose import restrictions on cultural property unlawfully removed from Yemen on or after March 15, 2015.
People & committees
Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] · D–NJ
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 167.
Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Risch without amendment. Without written report.
Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Risch without amendment. Without written report.
Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Apr 7, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.398 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.398 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.398 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.398 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.