U.S. House Of Representatives Passes Compromise Clean Diamond Act

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved on Wednesday the Clean Diamonds Act, which aims to eradicate the sale of "conflict diamonds," used to fund civil wars in Africa.

Members of the U.S. Congress' lower house voted 408 to 6 for the bill, numbered HR 2722. The version that was passed was a compromise agreed to earlier in the week by House lawmakers and the Bush administration.

The compromise bill permits the U.S. president authority to impose sanctions against a country that does not have a system of controls on rough diamonds, if he judges it to be a matter of national security. The president is also allowed to block shipments of jewelry and polished gems if there is credible evidence that they include conflict diamonds.

The original version of the bill was more sweeping. It provided the president with an automatic trigger for sanctions and subjected diamond jewelry to the same rules.

"This bill will go a long way in saving lives,'' said Rep. Tony Hall, the Ohio Democrat who was most closely associated with the battle in the U.S. Congress to impose controls on the diamond trade. It was Hall and Rep. Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican, who had pushed for automatic sanctions. But the Bush administration was concerned that the original version of the law might alienate countries working with the United States on its counter-terror campaign.

Once enacted, the law would go into effect immediately and include $5 million in each of its first two years to help poor countries set up certification systems. A similar bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate and is expected to be approved.

"This legislation gives impetus to the Kimberley Process," said Matthew Runci, president and CEO of Jewelers of America and the official in the World Diamond Council that was responsible for coordinating the legislative campaign in the U.S. Congress. "The diamond and jewelry industries have been backing and participating in this effort from the beginning. We are very pleased that it is close to finishing its work at the same time that this bill appears so close to enactment."