Bill Summary
The "Iran Human Rights and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act" aims to impose additional sanctions on the Government of Iran for their human rights abuses, including investigating violations and supporting efforts for a democratic political system. It also establishes the U.S. policy of not paying ransom for the release of hostages and imposes sanctions on those responsible for wrongful detention of U.S. citizens. This includes a list of individuals and their family members who will face sanctions, with the exception for family members entering the U.S. for international obligations. The act also amends previous sections of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010.
Possible Impacts
1. Individuals who are wrongfully detained by the Iranian government, including U.S. citizens, will be directly affected by this legislation through the imposition of sanctions on those responsible for their detention.
2. The family members of Iranian individuals who engage in actions against U.S. citizens or Iranian persons will also be affected by the legislation through the potential imposition of sanctions on these family members.
3. The public will be affected by this legislation through the requirement of a report to be made available in multiple languages, allowing for greater transparency and understanding of the human rights violations and corrupt practices of the Iranian government.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 194 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 194
To impose additional sanctions with respect to serious human rights
abuses of the Government of Iran, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2019
Mr. McCaul introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the
Judiciary, Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To impose additional sanctions with respect to serious human rights
abuses of the Government of Iran, 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 ``Iran Human Rights and Hostage-Taking
Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. UNITED STATES POLICY ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY THE
GOVERNMENT OF IRAN.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Iran is a member of the United Nations, voted for the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is a signatory to
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, among
other international human rights treaties.
(2) In violation of these and other international
obligations, Iranian regime officials continue to violate the
fundamental human rights of the Iranian people.
(3) The Iranian regime persecutes ethnic and religious
minority groups, such as the Baha'is, Christians, Sufi, Sunni,
and dissenting Shi'a Muslims (such as imprisoned Ayatollah
Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi), through harassment, arrests, and
imprisonment, during which detainees have routinely been
beaten, tortured, and killed.
(4) Following voting irregularities that resulted in the
2009 election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian
regime brutally suppressed peaceful political dissent from wide
segments of civil society during the Green Revolution in a
cynical attempt to retain its undemocratic grip on power.
(5) Since February 2011, the leaders of Iran's Green
Movement, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and his
wife Dr. Zahra Rahnavard, have been incarcerated, and former
Speaker of the Majles (parliament) Mehdi Karroubi has lived
under strict house arrest, ordered by Iran's Supreme National
Security.
(6) In 1999 the Iranian regime brutally suppressed a
student revolt that was one of the largest mass uprisings up
until that point in the country since 1979.
(7) Over a 4-month period in 1988, the Iranian regime
carried out the barbaric mass executions of thousands of
political prisoners by hanging and firing squad for refusing to
renounce their political affiliations and in some cases for
possessing political reading material, including prisoners of
conscience, teenagers, and pregnant women. In an audiotape, the
late Hussein Ali Montazeri, a grand ayatollah who served as
former Supreme leader Khomeini's chief deputy, said that the
1988 mass killings were ``the greatest crime committed during
the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us''.
(8) Senior governmental, military, and public security
officials in Iran have continued ordering, controlling, and
committing egregious human rights violations that, in many
cases, represent official policies of the Iranian regime.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that the
United States should--
(1) deny the Government of Iran the ability to continue to
oppress the people of Iran and to use violence and executions
to silence pro-democracy protestors;
(2) work with international partners to investigate human
rights violations by senior officials of the Government of
Iran, regardless of where or when such violations took place;
(3) support efforts made by the people of Iran to promote
the establishment of basic freedoms that build the foundation
for the emergence of a freely elected, open, non-corrupt and
democratic political system;
(4) condemn Iranian human rights abuses against dissidents,
including the massacre in 1988 and the suppression of political
demonstrations in 1999, 2009, and 2017, and pressure the
Government of Iran to provide family members detailed
information that they were denied about the final resting
places of any missing victims of such abuses; and
(5) help the people of Iran produce, access, and share
information freely and safely via the internet and other media.
(c) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United
States to stand with the people of Iran who seek the opportunity to
freely elect a government of their choosing, and increase the
utilization of all available authorities to impose sanctions on
officials of the Government of Iran and other individuals responsible
for serious human rights abuses.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON
CERTAIN PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR OR COMPLICIT IN HUMAN
RIGHTS ABUSES, ENGAGING IN CENSORSHIP, ENGAGING IN THE
DIVERSION OF GOODS INTENDED FOR THE PEOPLE OF IRAN, OR
ENGAGING IN CORRUPTION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report containing a determination of whether
any senior officials of the Government of Iran or other Iranian persons
meet the criteria described in--
(1) subsection (b) of section 105D of the Comprehensive
Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, as
added by section 5 of this Act; or
(2) paragraph (3) or (4) of section 1263(a) of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-
328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note).
(b) Review of Certain Entities.--The report required under
subsection (a) shall contain a review of any activities of cooperative
foundations or bonyads in Iran with a capitalization that exceeds
$200,000,000 and that meet the criteria in paragraph (3) or (4) of
section 1263(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2017 (Public Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) for purposes of
corruption.
(c) Form of Report; Public Availability.--
(1) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex.
(2) Public availability.--The unclassified portion of such
report shall be made available to the public and posted on the
internet website of the Department of the Treasury--
(A) in English, Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri; and
(B) in precompressed, easily downloadable versions
that are made available in all appropriate formats.
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES POLICY ON HOSTAGE-TAKING BY THE GOVERNMENT OF
IRAN.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Since 1979 the Iranian regime has engaged in various
destabilizing activities that undermine the national security
of the United States and its allies and partners.
(2) These activities include the hostage-taking or
prolonged arbitrary detentions of United States citizens and
other persons with connections to Canada, the United Kingdom,
France, and other nations allied with the United States.
(3) The Iranian regime has detained on fabricated claims a
significant number of United States citizens, including Siamak
and Baquer Namazi and Xiyue Wang, as well as United States
legal permanent resident, Nizar Zakka, in violation of
international legal norms.
(4) The Iranian regime has not provided information on the
whereabouts of or assistance in ensuring the prompt and safe
return of Robert Levinson, despite repeated promises to do so,
after he was kidnapped while visiting Iran's Kish Island on
March 9, 2007--making him the longest held hostage in United
States history.
(5) The Iranian regime reportedly uses hostages as leverage
against foreign investors to exact business concessions in
foreign investment deals.
(6) The type of hostage-taking enterprise put in place by
the Iranian regime is a crime against humanity and a violation
of customary international law.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the Administration should fully utilize all necessary
and appropriate measures to prevent the Iranian regime from
engaging in hostage-taking or the prolonged arbitrary detention
of United States citizens or legal permanent resident aliens,
to include--
(A) the use of extradition to try and convict those
individuals responsible for ordering or controlling the
hostage-taking or arbitrary detention of United States
citizens; and
(B) the use of the Department of Homeland
Security's Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center
to target such individuals; and
(2) the United States should encourage its allies and other
affected countries to pursue the criminal prosecution and
extradition of state and non-state actors in Iran that assist
in or benefit from such hostage-taking to prevent such state
and non-state actors from engaging in this practice in the
future.
(c) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States
Government not to pay ransom for the purpose of securing the release of
United States citizens or legal permanent resident aliens taken hostage
abroad.
(d) Strategy.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report that contains a
strategy to prevent elements of the Iranian regime from engaging in
hostage-taking or the prolonged arbitrary detention of United States
citizens or legal permanent resident aliens.
SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRANIAN PERSONS WHO
ENGAGE IN CERTAIN ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES CITIZENS
OR IRANIAN PERSONS.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the United
States should coordinate with United States allies and other allies and
partners whose citizens may be subject to politically-motivated
detention or trial in Iran, to apply sanctions against Iranian persons
that are responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering,
controlling, or otherwise directing, such detention or trial.
(b) In General.--Title I of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 is amended by inserting
after section 105C (22 U.S.C. 8514c) the following:
``SEC. 105D. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRANIAN PERSONS
WHO ENGAGE IN CERTAIN ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES
CITIZENS OR IRANIAN PERSONS.
``(a) In General.--The President shall impose sanctions described
in section 105(c) with respect to each person on the list required by
subsection (b).
``(b) List of Iranian Persons Who Engage in Certain Actions Against
United States Citizens or Iranian Persons.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this section, the President shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a list of Iranian
persons that the President determines, are knowingly--
``(A) responsible for or complicit in, or
responsible for ordering or otherwise directing, the
politically-motivated harassment, abuse, extortion, or
extended detention or trial of citizens of the United
States or United States legal permanent resident
aliens, regardless of whether such actions occurred in
Iran; or
``(B) responsible for or complicit in, or
responsible for ordering or otherwise directing, the
politically-motivated harassment, abuse, extortion, or
extended detention or trial of Iranians, Iranian
residents, or persons of Iranian origin outside of
Iran.
``(2) Updates of list.--The President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees an updated list under
paragraph (1)--
``(A) each time the President is required to submit
an updated list to those committees under section
105(b)(2)(A); and
``(B) as new information becomes available.
``(3) Form of report; public availability.--
``(A) Form.--The list required by paragraph (1)
shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain
a classified annex.
``(B) Public availability.--The unclassified
portion of the list required by paragraph (1) shall be
made available to the public and posted on the websites
of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of
State.
``(c) Application of Sanctions to Immediate Family Members.--
``(1) In general.--The President is authorized to impose
sanctions described in paragraph (2) with respect to each
person that is a family member of any person on the list
required by subsection (b).
``(2) Aliens ineligible for visas, admission, or parole.--
``(A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien who
the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland
Security (or a designee of one of such Secretaries)
knows, or has reason to believe, is a family member of
any person on the list required by subsection (b) is--
``(i) inadmissible to the United States;
``(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or
other documentation to enter the United States;
and
``(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted
or paroled into the United States or to receive
any other benefit under the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
``(B) Current visas revoked.--
``(i) In general.--The issuing consular
officer, the Secretary of State, or the
Secretary of Homeland Security (or a designee
of one of such Secretaries) shall revoke any
visa or other entry documentation issued to an
alien who is a family member of any person on
the list required by subsection (b) regardless
of when issued.
``(ii) Effect of revocation.--A revocation
under clause (i)--
``(I) shall take effect
immediately; and
``(II) shall automatically cancel
any other valid visa or entry
documentation that is in the alien's
possession.
``(3) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters
agreement.--Sanctions under paragraph (2) shall not apply to an
alien if admitting the alien into the United States is
necessary to permit the United States to comply with the
Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations,
signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force
November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United
States, or other applicable international obligations.
``(4) Definition of family member.--In this section, the
term `family member' means, with respect to an individual--
``(A) a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandchild,
or grandparent of the individual; and
``(B) a spouse's child, parent, or sibling.
``(d) Termination of Sanctions.--The provisions of this section
shall terminate on the date that is 30 days after the date on which the
President--
``(1) determines and certifies to the appropriate
congressional committees that the Government of Iran is no
longer complicit in or responsible for the wrongful and
unlawful detention of United States citizens or legal permanent
resident aliens; and
``(2) transmits to the appropriate congressional committees
the certification described in section 105(d) of this Act.''.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the
Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of
2010 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 105C
the following new item:
``Sec. 105D. Imposition of sanctions with respect to Iranian persons
who engage in certain actions against
United States citizens or Iranian
persons.''.
(d) Amendments to General Provisions.--Section 401 of the
Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of
2010 (22 U.S.C. 8551) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``and 305'' and
inserting ``, 105D, and 305''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(1)--
(A) by striking ``or 105C(a)'' and inserting
``105C(a), or 105D(a)''; and
(B) by striking ``or 105C(b)'' and inserting
``105C(b), or 105D(b)''.
<all>