[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2375 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2375

To require the application of sanctions against affiliates of the Iran 
           Revolutionary Guard Corps, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 12, 2009

 Mr. Sherman (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Klein of Florida, Mr. 
 Burton of Indiana, and Mr. Kirk) introduced the following bill; which 
 was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to 
 the Committees on the Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, 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 require the application of sanctions against affiliates of the Iran 
           Revolutionary Guard Corps, 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 Revolutionary Guard Corps 
Designation Implementation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is a 
        political and ideological military organization of Iran's 
        government, separate from the Iranian military. It globally 
        spreads Iran's ideology to terrorist groups and began deploying 
        fighters abroad during the Iran-Iraq War in an effort to spread 
        the ideology of the Iranian Revolution throughout the Middle 
        East.
            (2) The Qods Force, a paramilitary arm of the IRGC, was 
        created to conduct foreign operations--beginning in Iraq's 
        Kurdish region--and to forge relationships with Shiite and 
        Kurdish groups. A Qods unit was also deployed to Lebanon in 
        1982, where it helped to form Hizballah.
            (3) The IRGC was designated as an entity of proliferation 
        concern under Executive Order 13382 on October 21, 2007, and 
        the Qods Force was designated as a terrorism supporting entity 
        under Executive Order 13224 on October 25, 2007.
            (4) To further the support of terrorism abroad, Iran's 
        government allows the IRGC to raise funds and own businesses. 
        The IRGC often operates through front businesses and affiliate 
        groups.
            (5) The IRGC and Qods Force front businesses and affiliate 
        groups represent an important part of the Iranian economy. The 
        National Iranian Gas Company issued one such firm, Khatam-ol-
        Anbia (Ghorb), a $1.3 billion contract to construct Iran's 
        seventh gas pipeline. In June 2006, Pars Oil and Gas Company, a 
        subsidiary of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company, 
        awarded Ghorb a $2.3 billion contract to develop Phases 15-16 
        of Iran's South Pars development--the world's second largest 
        gas field. In July 2006, Tehran Urban & Suburban Railway 
        Company granted Ghorb a $1.2 billion contract to build the 
        seventh line of Tehran's metro system and a $350 million civil 
        engineering contract for the fourth line.
            (6) In 2008, IRGC naval ships aggressively approached the 
        USS Port Royal, USS Hopper, and USS Ingraham, during a routine 
        transit at the Strait of Hormuz.
            (7) Members of the IRGC captured 15 British sailors and 
        marines who were inspecting ships in the Persian Gulf near the 
        demarcation line that separates the territorial waters of Iran 
        and Iraq.
            (8) In December 2006 and January 2007, Iranian surrogates--
        the Qazali and Sheibani networks, which are now collectively 
        referred to as the Special Groups--stepped up their attacks on 
        Iraqi and Coalition forces. The Qazali network conducted 
        sophisticated operations against United States forces at the 
        Karbala Joint Provincial Coordination Center, kidnapping and 
        killing five United States soldiers during the aborted 
        operation.
            (9) The Qods Force has provided aid in the form of weapons, 
        training, and funding to Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad, the 
        Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, 
        Hizballah, Iraq-based militants, and Taliban fighters in 
        Afghanistan.
            (10) The United States military reported in February 2007 
        that the Qods Force was furnishing assistance to Shiite 
        militias in Iraq to assemble improvised explosive devices 
        (IEDs) and explosively formed projectiles (EFPs) that had been 
        used to kill over 150 United States service personnel.
            (11) United States commanders in Afghanistan--along with 
        the Department of State's Report on International Terrorism for 
        2007 and 2008--have cited specific weapons shipments by Iran, 
        implemented by the Qods Force, to Taliban militants in 
        Afghanistan. The Qods Force provided training to the Taliban on 
        small unit tactics, small arms, explosives, and indirect fire 
        weapons. Since at least 2006, Iran has arranged arms shipments 
        including small arms and associated ammunition, rocket 
        propelled grenades, mortar rounds, 107-mm rockets, and plastic 
        explosives to select Taliban members.

SEC. 3. SANCTIONS AGAINST AFFILIATES OF THE IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD 
              CORPS.

    (a) Publication of Names of Affiliates in Federal Register.--Not 
later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and as 
appropriate thereafter, the President shall publish in the Federal 
Register the name of each foreign person or foreign entity for which 
there is credible information indicating that the person or entity is 
as an agent, alias, front, instrumentality, official, or affiliate of 
the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps or is an individual serving as a 
representative of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps.
    (b) Application of Existing Sanctions Against Iran to Affiliates.--
The President shall apply to each foreign person or foreign entity 
identified in the Federal Register pursuant to subsection (a) all 
applicable sanctions of the United States in force against the Iran 
Revolutionary Guard Corps as of the date of publication of the name of 
the person or entity in the Federal Register, including measures 
contained in the following Executive orders:
            (1) Executive Order 13224 (66 Fed. Reg. 49079; relating to 
        blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who 
        commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism).
            (2) Executive Order 13382 (70 Fed. Reg. 38567; relating to 
        blocking property of weapons of mass destruction proliferators 
        and their supporters).
    (c) Sanctions Under Executive Order 13438.--
            (1) Publication of names of affiliates in federal 
        register.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, and as appropriate thereafter, the 
        President shall publish in the Federal Register the name of 
        each foreign person or foreign entity--
                    (A) for which there is credible information 
                indicating that the person or entity is as an agent, 
                alias, front, instrumentality, official, or affiliate 
                of the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps or is an 
                individual serving as a representative of the Iran 
                Revolutionary Guard Corps; and
                    (B) for which there is credible evidence that the 
                foreign person or foreign entity--
                            (i) has committed, or poses a significant 
                        risk of committing, an act or acts of violence 
                        that have the purpose or effect of--
                                    (I) threatening the peace or 
                                stability of Iraq or the Government of 
                                Iraq; or
                                    (II) undermining efforts to promote 
                                economic reconstruction and political 
                                reform in Iraq or to provide 
                                humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi 
                                people;
                            (ii) has materially assisted, sponsored, or 
                        provided financial, material, logistical, or 
                        technical support for, or goods or services in 
                        support of, such an act or acts of violence or 
                        any person whose property and interests in 
                        property are blocked pursuant to Executive 
                        Order 13438; or
                            (iii) is owned or controlled by, or has 
                        acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, 
                        directly or indirectly, any person whose 
                        property and interests in property are blocked 
                        pursuant to Executive Order 13438.
            (2) Application of sanctions under executive order 13438.--
        The President shall apply to each foreign person or foreign 
        entity identified in the Federal Register pursuant to paragraph 
        (1) all applicable sanctions and measures of the United States 
        contained in Executive Order 13438 (72 Fed. Reg. 39719; 
        relating to blocking property of certain persons who threaten 
        stabilization efforts in Iraq).
    (d) Exclusion From United States.--The Secretary of State shall 
deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall exclude 
from the United States, any alien who, on or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, is a foreign person identified in the Federal 
Register pursuant to subsection (a) or (c).
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to remove any sanction of the United States in force against 
the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps as of the date of the enactment of 
this Act by reason of the fact that the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps 
is an entity of the Government of Iran.

SEC. 4. MEASURES AGAINST FOREIGN PERSONS OR ENTITIES SUPPORTING THE 
              IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD CORPS.

    (a) Notification.--Whenever the President determines that there is 
credible information indicating that a foreign person or foreign 
entity, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, knowingly--
            (1) provided material support to the Iran Revolutionary 
        Guard Corps or any affiliated foreign person or foreign entity 
        identified pursuant to section 3 (a) or (c), or
            (2) conducted any commercial transaction or financial 
        transaction with the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps or any 
        affiliated foreign person or foreign entity identified pursuant 
        to section 3 (a) or (c),
the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a notification that contains the name of the foreign person or foreign 
entity (as the case may be).
    (b) Form.--The President may submit the notification required under 
subsection (a) in classified form.
    (c) Executive Order 12938 Sanctions.--Not later than 60 days after 
the date on which the President provides notice to the appropriate 
congressional committees pursuant to subsection (a), the President 
shall apply to each foreign person or foreign entity identified in such 
notice, for such time as the President may determine, the measures set 
forth in section 4 of Executive Order 12938 (59 Fed. Reg. 59099; 
relating to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction) and shall 
terminate such measures in accordance with the provisions of such 
section.
    (d) IEEPA Sanctions.--The President may exercise the authorities 
the President has under section 203(a) of the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702(a)) to impose additional sanctions 
on each foreign person or foreign entity identified pursuant to 
subsection (a) of this section, for such time as the President may 
determine, without regard to section 202 of that Act.
    (e) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of any measure 
described in subsection (c) with respect to a foreign person or foreign 
entity if the President--
            (1)(A) determines that the person or entity has ceased the 
        offending activity and has taken measures to prevent its 
        recurrence; or
            (B) determines that it is vital to the national security 
        interests of the United States to do so; and
            (2) submits to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        report that contains the reasons for the determination.

SEC. 5. SPECIAL MEASURES AGAINST FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS SUPPORTING THE 
              IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS CORPS.

    (a) Executive Order 12938 Sanctions.--With respect to any foreign 
entity identified pursuant to section 4(a) that is a foreign 
government, the President shall, in addition to applying to the entity 
the measures described in section 4(d), apply to the entity the 
measures set forth in section 5(b) of Executive Order 12938.
    (b) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of any measure 
described in subsection (a) with respect to a foreign entity if the 
President--
            (1)(A) determines that the entity has ceased the offending 
        activity and has taken measures to prevent its recurrence; or
            (B) determines that it is vital to the national security 
        interests of the United States to do so; and
            (2) submits to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        report that contains the reasons for the determination.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) 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.
            (2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 14 of the Iran Sanctions Act 
        of 1996.
            (3) Iran revolutionary guard corps.--The term ``Iran 
        Revolutionary Guard Corps'' includes the Iran Revolutionary 
        Guard Corps-Qods Force.
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