[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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