[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4668 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4668

 To limit assistance to the Palestinian Authority unless the President 
certifies to Congress that the Palestinian Authority is not controlled 
      by a foreign terrorist organization, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2006

Mr. Fossella (for himself, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Cantor, Mr. Garrett of New 
Jersey, Mr. Gerlach, Mr. Brown of South Carolina, Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of 
Virginia, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Norwood, Mr. Hensarling, Mr. McNulty, 
   Mr. Engel, Mr. Otter, Mr. Kline, and Mr. Jones of North Carolina) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To limit assistance to the Palestinian Authority unless the President 
certifies to Congress that the Palestinian Authority is not controlled 
      by a foreign terrorist organization, 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 ``Limitation on Assistance to the 
Palestinian Authority Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In fiscal year 2005, the United States provided $275 
        million to the West Bank and Gaza, of which $50 million was 
        provided directly to the Palestinian Authority.
            (2) On January 25, 2006, the militant group Hamas, an 
        organization designated by the Department of State as a foreign 
        terrorist organization, won parliamentary elections and control 
        of the Palestinian government.
            (3) The inclusion of Hamas or any other foreign terrorist 
        organization in a Palestinian government is an implicit 
        endorsement of anti-American and anti-Israeli terrorist 
        ideology.
            (4) On December 16, 2005, the House of Representatives 
        overwhelmingly passed House Resolution 575, which asserts that 
        ``terrorist organizations, such as Hamas, should not be 
        permitted to participate in Palestinian elections until such 
        organizations recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish 
        state, cease incitement, condemn terrorism, and permanently 
        disarm and dismantle their terrorist infrastructure''.
            (5) House Resolution 575 further asserts that ``the 
        inclusion of Hamas, or any other terrorist group on the 
        Department of State's list of foreign terrorist organizations, 
        in the Palestinian Authority's government will inevitably raise 
        serious questions for the United States about the commitment of 
        the Palestinian Authority and its leadership to making peace 
        with Israel and will potentially undermine the ability of the 
        United States to have a constructive relationship with, or 
        provide further assistance to, the Palestinian Authority''.
            (6) Hamas is a terrorist organization that has killed more 
        than 500 people since 1989, including more than two dozen 
        United States citizens.
            (7) The United States has clearly stated that armed 
        militias attached to political parties are incompatible with 
        democratic societies.

SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

    It shall be the policy of the United States to promote the 
emergence of a democratic Palestinian government that--
            (1) denounces and combats terrorism;
            (2) is actively working to disarm and dismantle terrorist 
        agencies, networks, and facilities;
            (3) is actively working to eliminate terrorist incitement 
        and the commemoration of terrorists in Palestinian society;
            (4) respects the boundaries and sovereignty of its 
        neighbors; 
            (5) recognizes the existence of Israel and its right to 
        secure borders; and
            (6) acknowledges, respects, and upholds the human rights of 
        all people.

SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY.

    Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2351 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second section 620G (as added by 
        section 149 of Public Law 104-164 (110 Stat. 1436)) as section 
        620J; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 620K. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY.

    ``(a) Limitation.--Assistance may be provided under this Act or any 
other provision of law to the Palestinian Authority only during a 
period for which a certification described in subsection (b) is in 
effect.
    ``(b) Certification.--A certification described in this subsection 
is a certification transmitted by the President to Congress that 
contains a determination of the President that--
            ``(1) the Palestinian Authority is not controlled by a 
        foreign terrorist organization; and
            ``(2) the Palestinian Authority--
                    ``(A) recognizes the right of Israel to exist;
                    ``(B) disarms all militias;
                    ``(C) renounces violence and acts of terrorism 
                against Israel; and
                    ``(D) takes definitive steps to be an active and 
                willing participant in peace negotiations and removes 
                people with ties to terrorist organizations from its 
                security services. 
    ``(c) Recertifications.--Not later than 90 days after the date on 
which the President transmits to Congress an initial certification 
under subsection (b), and every 6 months thereafter--
            ``(1) the President shall transmit to Congress a 
        recertification that the requirements contained in subsection 
        (b) are continuing to be met; or
            ``(2) if the President is unable to make such a 
        recertification, the President shall transmit to Congress a 
        report that contains the reasons therefor.
    ``(d) Congressional Notification.--Assistance made available under 
this Act or any other provision of law to the Palestinian Authority may 
not be provided until 15 days after the date on which the President has 
provided notice thereof to the Committee on International Relations and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations 
of the Senate in accordance with the procedures applicable to 
reprogramming notifications under section 634A(a) of this Act.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Foreign terrorist organization.--The term `foreign 
        terrorist organization' means an organization designated as a 
        foreign terrorist organization by the Secretary of State in 
        accordance with section 219(a) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)).
            ``(2) Palestinian authority.--The term `Palestinian 
        Authority' includes any agency or instrumentality of the 
        Palestinian Authority.''.
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