[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2278 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2278

   To direct the President to transmit to Congress a report on anti-
   American incitement to violence in the Middle East, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 2009

 Mr. Bilirakis (for himself and Mr. Crowley) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the President to transmit to Congress a report on anti-
   American incitement to violence in the Middle East, 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. ANTI-AMERICAN INCITEMENT TO VIOLENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are the 
        foundations of free and prosperous societies worldwide, and 
        with the freedom of the press and freedom of expression comes 
        the responsibility to repudiate purveyors of incitement to 
        violence.
            (2) For years, media outlets in the Middle East have 
        repeatedly published or broadcast incitements to violence 
        against the United States and Americans.
            (3) Television channels that broadcast incitement to 
        violence against Americans, the United States, and others have 
        demonstrated the ability to shift their operations to different 
        countries and their transmissions to different satellite 
        providers in order to continue broadcasting and to evade 
        accountability.
            (4) Television channels such as al-Manar, al-Aqsa, al-
        Zawra, and others that broadcast incitement to violence against 
        the United States and Americans aid Foreign Terrorist 
        Organizations in the key functions of recruitment, fundraising, 
        and propaganda.
            (5) The broadcast of incitement to violence against 
        Americans and the United States on television channels and 
        other media that are accessible in the United States may 
        increase the risk of radicalization and recruitment of 
        Americans into Foreign Terrorist Organizations that seek to 
        carry out acts of violence against American targets and on 
        American soil.
    (b) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United 
States to--
            (1) designate as Specially Designated Global Terrorists 
        satellite providers that knowingly and willingly contract with 
        entities designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists 
        under Executive Order 13224, to broadcast their channels, or to 
        consider implementing other punitive measures against satellite 
        providers that transmit al-Aqsa TV, al-Manar TV, al-Rafidayn 
        TV, or any other terrorist owned and operated station;
            (2) consider state-sponsorship of anti-American incitement 
        to violence when determining the level of assistance to, and 
        frequency and nature of relations with, regional states; and
            (3) urge all governments and private investors who own 
        shares in satellite companies or otherwise influence decisions 
        about satellite transmissions to oppose transmissions of 
        telecasts by al-Aqsa TV, al-Manar TV, al-Rafidayn TV, or any 
        other Specially Designated Global Terrorist owned and operated 
        stations that openly incite their audiences to commit acts of 
        terrorism or violence against the United States and its 
        citizens.
    (c) Report.--
            (1) Requirement for reports.--Beginning 6 months after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the 
        President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional 
        committees a report on anti-American incitement to violence in 
        the Middle East.
            (2) Content.--The reports required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    (A) a country-by-country list and description of 
                media outlets that engage in anti-American incitement 
                to violence in the Middle East; and
                    (B) a list of satellite companies that carry 
                mediums described in subparagraph (A) or designated 
                under Executive Order 13224.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Anti-american incitement to violence.--The term ``anti-
        American incitement to violence'' means the act of persuading, 
        encouraging, instigating, advocating, pressuring, or 
        threatening so as to cause another to commit a violent act 
        against any person, agent, instrumentality, or official of, is 
        affiliated with, or is serving as a representative of the 
        United States.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
            (3) Middle east.--The term ``Middle East'' means Algeria, 
        Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza 
        Strip, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, 
        Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and 
        Yemen.
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