[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3783 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3783
To provide for a comprehensive strategy to counter Iran's growing
presence and hostile activity in the Western Hemisphere, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 18, 2012
Mr. Duncan of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Mack, Mr.
McCaul, Mrs. Myrick, Ms. Hochul, Mr. Meehan, Mr. Canseco, Mr. King of
Iowa, Mr. Hultgren, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Walsh of Illinois, Mr.
Hunter, Mr. Royce, Mr. Pitts, Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs. Lummis, Mr. Austria,
Mr. DesJarlais, Mr. Quayle, Mr. Culberson, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Burton of
Indiana, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Bilirakis, and Mr. Lamborn) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for a comprehensive strategy to counter Iran's growing
presence and hostile activity in the Western Hemisphere, 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 ``Countering Iran in the Western
Hemisphere Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States has vital political, economic, and
security interests in the Western Hemisphere.
(2) Iran is pursuing cooperation with Latin American
countries by signing economic and security agreements in order
to create a network of diplomatic and economic relationships to
lessen the blow of international sanctions and oppose Western
attempts to constrict its ambitions.
(3) According to the Department of State, Hezbollah, with
Iran as its state sponsor, is considered the ``most technically
capable terrorist group in the world'' with ``thousands of
supporters, several thousand members, and a few hundred
terrorist operatives'', and officials from Iran's IRGC's Qods
Force have been working in concert with Hezbollah since the
1990s.
(4) The IRGC's Qods Force has a long history of supporting
Hezbollah's military, paramilitary, and terrorist activities,
providing it with guidance, funding, weapons, intelligence, and
logistical support, and in 2007, the Department of the Treasury
placed sanctions on the IRGC and its Qods Force for their
support of terrorism and proliferation activities.
(5) The IRGC's Qods Force stations operatives in foreign
embassies, charities, and religious and cultural institutions
to foster relationships, often building on existing socio-
economic ties with the well established Shia Diaspora, and
recent years have witnessed an increased presence in Latin
America.
(6) According to the Department of Defense, the IRGC and
its Qods Force were involved in or behind some of the deadliest
terrorist attacks of the past two decades, including the 1994
attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, by
generally directing or supporting the groups that actually
executed the attacks.
(7) Reports of Iranian intelligence agents being implicated
in Hezbollah-linked activities since the early 1990s suggest
direct Iranian government support of Hezbollah activities in
the Tri-Border Area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, and in
the past decade, Iran has dramatically increased its diplomatic
missions to Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Argentina,
and Brazil. Iran has built 17 cultural centers in Latin
America, and it currently maintains 11 embassies, up from six
in 2005.
(8) Iran has used its proxies in Latin America to raise
revenues through illicit activities, including drug and arms
trafficking, counterfeiting, money laundering, forging travel
documents, pirating software and music, and providing haven and
assistance to other terrorists transiting the region.
(9) According to the Department of Defense, Iran provides
support for Hamas despite ideological differences, and there is
concern that Hamas is active in the Western Hemisphere, most
notably in Caracas.
(10) Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela
expressed their intention to assist Iran in breaking
international sanctions signing a statement supporting Iran's
nuclear activities and announcing at a 2010 joint press
conference in Tehran their determination to ``continue and
expand their economic ties to Iran'' with confidence that
``Iran can give a crushing response to the threats and
sanctions imposed by the West and imperialism''.
(11) Sophisticated narco-tunneling reportedly resembling
the types used by Hezbollah in Lebanon have been discovered
along the United States-Mexico border, and arrested Mexican
gang members entering the United States allegedly with Farsi
tattoos have led to concerns about Hezbollah's ability to
cooperate with Mexican drug cartels to utilize smuggling
techniques and routes in order to transport drugs and people
into the United States.
(12) Since the fall of 2008, at least 111 suspects of a
Hezbollah-linked international network of drug traffickers and
money launderers have been arrested in Drug Enforcement
Administration operations.
(13) In October 2011, the United States charged two men,
including Iranian-American Manssor Arbabsiar, a member of the
IRGC's Qods Force, on conspiracy to murder a foreign official
using a weapon of mass destruction in an act of terrorism.
Arbabsiar traveled to Mexico with the express intent to hire
``someone in the narcotics business'' to carry out the
assassination of the Saudi Arabian Ambassador in the United
States.
(14) The Obama Administration's 2011 Strategy for
Counterterrorism does not adequately address Iran's growing
influence and operations in the Western Hemisphere.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It shall be the policy of the United States to use all elements of
national power to counter Iran's growing presence and hostile activity
in the Western Hemisphere.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT OF A STRATEGY TO ADDRESS IRAN'S GROWING PRESENCE
AND ACTIVITY IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 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 strategy to address
Iran's growing presence and activity in the Western Hemisphere that--
(1) defines and outlines the presence and activities of
Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, and Hamas in the
Western Hemisphere, including information about their leaders,
goals, objectives, and areas of influence;
(2) provides an assessment of the terrain, population,
ports, foreign firms, airports, borders, media outlets,
financial centers, foreign embassies, charities, religious and
cultural centers, and income-generating activities in the
Western Hemisphere utilized by Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force,
Hezbollah, and Hamas;
(3) details operations of Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force,
Hezbollah, and Hamas within the United States, including
information on financial networks, trafficking activities, and
safe havens;
(4) documents the relationship of Iran, the IRGC, its Qods
Force, Hezbollah, and Hamas with transnational criminal
organizations and other terrorist organizations in the Western
Hemisphere;
(5) describes the relationship of Iran, the IRGC, its Qods
Force, Hezbollah, and Hamas with the governments in the Western
Hemisphere, including military-to-military relations and
diplomatic, economic, and security partnerships;
(6) assesses the Federal law enforcement capabilities,
military forces, state and local government institutions, and
other critical elements, such as nongovernmental organizations,
of the governments in the Western Hemisphere that may organize
to counter the threat posed by Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force,
Hezbollah, and Hamas;
(7) details operations of Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force,
Hezbollah, and Hamas at the United States-Mexico border and
other international borders within the Western Hemisphere,
including operations related to drug, human, and arms
trafficking, human support networks, financial support, and
technological advancements; and
(8) includes--
(A) with respect to the United States-Mexico
border, in coordination with the Government of Mexico
and the Secretary of Homeland Security, a plan to
address resources, technology, and infrastructure to
create a secure Southwest Border and prevent operatives
from Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, or
Hamas from entering the United States;
(B) within Latin American countries, a multi-agency
action plan including the development of strong rule-
of-law institutions to provide security for the people
and businesses of such countries, a counterterrorism
and counter-radicalization plan within communities to
isolate Iran, the IRGC, its Qods Force, Hezbollah, and
Hamas from their sources of financial support, and
combat terrorist activity; and
(C) incorporation of all of the elements of
national power, including diplomatic, economic, and
security elements, designed to counter Iran's growing
presence and hostile activity in the Western
Hemisphere.
(b) Development.--In developing the strategy under this section,
the Secretary of State shall consult with the heads of all appropriate
United States departments and agencies, including the Secretary of
Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of
Homeland Security, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney
General.
(c) Form.--The strategy under this section shall be submitted in
unclassified form but may include a classified annex.
SEC. 5. REPORT.
Not later than one year after the submission of the strategy
required under section 4, 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 on the progress
made toward the implementation of the strategy and a description and
evaluation toward achieving the policy objective described in section
3.
SEC. 6. FUNDING FOR DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGY TO
COUNTER IRAN IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds made available to
any office or bureau of the Department of State for counter-terrorism
programs are authorized to be made available to carrry out this Act.
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