[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 783 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 783

    To enhance diplomacy with Iran to peacefully prevent Iran from 
           acquiring nuclear weapons, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 15, 2013

   Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Ellison, Mr. 
    Johnson of Georgia, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Rush, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. 
    Dingell, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Holt, and Mr. Moran) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To enhance diplomacy with Iran to peacefully prevent Iran from 
           acquiring nuclear weapons, 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 ``Prevent Iran from Acquiring Nuclear 
Weapons and Stop War Through Diplomacy Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech on December 
        10, 2009, President Obama said, ``I know that engagement with 
        repressive regimes lacks the satisfying purity of indignation. 
        But I also know that sanctions without outreach--and 
        condemnation without discussion--can carry forward a crippling 
        status quo. No repressive regime can move down a new path 
        unless it has the choice of an open door.''.
            (2) President Obama stated on November 14, 2012, that, 
        ``With respect to Iran, I very much want to see a diplomatic 
        resolution to the problem. I was very clear before the 
        campaign, I was clear during the campaign and I'm now clear 
        after the campaign--we're not going to let Iran get a nuclear 
        weapon. But I think there is still a window of time for us to 
        resolve this diplomatically. We've imposed the toughest 
        sanctions in history. It is having an impact on Iran's economy. 
        There should be a way in which they can enjoy peaceful nuclear 
        power while still meeting their international obligations and 
        providing clear assurances to the international community that 
        they're not pursuing a nuclear weapon.''.
            (3) While the United States has engaged in direct 
        negotiations with Iran without preconditions under the Obama 
        Administration, official representatives of the United States 
        and official representatives of Iran have held only two direct, 
        bilateral meetings in over 30 years, both of which occurred in 
        October 2009, one on the sidelines of the United Nations 
        Security Council negotiations in Geneva, and one on the 
        sidelines of negotiations brokered by the United Nations 
        International Atomic Energy Agency (referred to in this Act as 
        the ``IAEA'') in Vienna.
            (4) Resolving all of the outstanding issues between the 
        United States and Iran cannot be achieved instantaneously and 
        will require a robust, sustained diplomatic effort involving 
        multilateral and bilateral negotiations.
            (5) Under the Department of State's current ``no contact'' 
        policy, officers and employees of the Department of State are 
        not permitted to make any direct contact with official 
        representatives of the Government of Iran without express prior 
        authorization from the Secretary of State.
            (6) On September 20, 2011, then-Chairman of the Joint 
        Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen called for establishing 
        direct communications with Iran, stating, ``I'm talking about 
        any channel that's open. We've not had a direct link of 
        communication with Iran since 1979. And I think that has 
        planted many seeds for miscalculation. When you miscalculate, 
        you can escalate and misunderstand.''.
            (7) While the International Atomic Energy Agency continues 
        to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in 
        Iran and has inspectors and monitoring devices located at 
        Iranian nuclear facilities, the agency has expressed concerns 
        regarding Iran's past and ongoing nuclear work that can only be 
        resolved through increased transparency, more robust 
        safeguards, and a more vigorous inspections regime.
            (8) On October 3, 2012, former Secretary of Defense Robert 
        Gates stated, ``The results of an American or Israeli military 
        strike on Iran could, in my view, prove catastrophic, haunting 
        us for generations in that part of the world.'', adding that 
        ``[S]uch an attack would make a nuclear-armed Iran inevitable. 
        They would just bury the program deeper and make it more 
        covert.''.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It should be the policy of the United States--
            (1) to prevent Iran from pursuing or acquiring a nuclear 
        weapon and to resolve the concerns of the United States and of 
        the international community about Iran's nuclear program and 
        Iran's human rights obligations under international and Iranian 
        law;
            (2) to ensure inspection of suspected prohibited cargo to 
        or from Iran, as well as the seizure and disposal of prohibited 
        items, as authorized by United Nations Security Council 
        Resolution 1929 (June 9, 2010);
            (3) to pursue sustained, direct, bilateral negotiations 
        with the Government of Iran without preconditions in order to 
        reduce tensions, prevent war, prevent nuclear proliferation, 
        support human rights, and seek resolutions to issues that 
        concern the United States and the international community;
            (4) to utilize all diplomatic tools, including engaging in 
        direct bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, leveraging 
        sanctions, engaging in Track II diplomacy, creating a special 
        envoy described in section 4, and enlisting the support of all 
        interested parties to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran and to 
        prevent war;
            (5) to secure an agreement that ensures Iran does not 
        engage in nuclear weapons work and that Iran's nuclear 
        enrichment program is verifiably limited to civilian purposes 
        through the implementation of robust safeguards and enhanced 
        IAEA inspections, including through the implementation of the 
        Additional Protocol;
            (6) to pursue opportunities to build mutual trust and to 
        foster sustained negotiations in good faith with Iran and to 
        explore areas of mutual benefit to both Iran and the United 
        States, such as regional security, the long-term stabilization 
        of Iraq and Afghanistan, the establishment of a framework for 
        peaceful nuclear energy production, other peaceful energy 
        modernization programs, and counter-narcotics efforts; and
            (7) that no funds appropriated or otherwise made available 
        to any executive agency of the Government of the United States 
        may be used to carry out any military operation or activity 
        against Iran unless the President determines that a military 
        operation or activity is warranted and seeks express prior 
        authorization by Congress, as required under article I, section 
        8, clause 2 of the United States Constitution, which grants 
        Congress the sole authority to declare war, except that this 
        requirement shall not apply to a military operation or 
        activity--
                    (A) to directly repel an offensive military action 
                launched from within the territory of Iran against the 
                United States or any ally with which the United States 
                has a mutual defense assistance agreement;
                    (B) in hot pursuit of forces that engage in an 
                offensive military action outside the territory of Iran 
                against United States forces or an ally with which the 
                United States has a mutual defense assistance agreement 
                and then enter into the territory of Iran; or
                    (C) to directly thwart an imminent offensive 
                military action to be launched from within the 
                territory of Iran against United States forces or an 
                ally with which the United States has a mutual defense 
                assistance agreement.

SEC. 4. APPOINTMENT OF HIGH-LEVEL UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE OR 
              SPECIAL ENVOY.

    (a) Appointment.--At the earliest possible date, the President, in 
consultation with the Secretary of State, shall appoint a high-level 
United States representative or special envoy for Iran.
    (b) Criteria for Appointment.--The President shall appoint an 
individual under subsection (a) on the basis of such individual's 
knowledge and understanding of Iran and the issues regarding Iran's 
nuclear program, experience in conducting international negotiations, 
and ability to conduct negotiations under subsection (c) with the 
respect and trust of the parties involved in such negotiations.
    (c) Duties.--The high-level United States representative or special 
envoy for Iran shall--
            (1) seek to facilitate direct, unconditional, bilateral, 
        and multilateral negotiations with Iran for the purpose of 
        easing tensions and normalizing relations between the United 
        States and Iran;
            (2) lead the diplomatic efforts of the United States with 
        regard to Iran;
            (3) consult with other countries and international 
        organizations, including countries in the region, where 
        appropriate and when necessary to achieve the purpose specified 
        in paragraph (1);
            (4) act as liaison with United States and international 
        intelligence agencies where appropriate and when necessary to 
        achieve the purpose specified in paragraph (1); and
            (5) ensure that the bilateral negotiations under paragraph 
        (1) complement the ongoing international negotiations with 
        Iran.

SEC. 5. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

    (a) Elimination of ``No Contact'' Policy.--Not later than 30 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 
shall rescind the ``no contact'' policy that prevents officers and 
employees of the Department of State from making any direct contact 
with official representatives of the Government of Iran without express 
prior authorization from the Secretary of State.
    (b) Office of High-Level United States Representative or Special 
Envoy.--Not later than 30 days after the appointment of a high-level 
United States representative or special envoy under section 4, the 
Secretary of State shall establish an office in the Department of State 
for the purpose of supporting the work of such representative or 
special envoy.

SEC. 6. REPORTING TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Reports.--Not later than 60 days after the high-level United 
States representative or special envoy for Iran is appointed under 
section 4 and every 180 days thereafter, such United States 
representative or special envoy shall submit to the committees 
specified in subsection (b) a report on the steps that have been taken 
to facilitate direct, unconditional, bilateral, and multilateral 
negotiations with the Government of Iran under section 4(c). Each such 
report may, when necessary or appropriate, be submitted in classified 
and unclassified form.
    (b) Committees.--The committees referred to in subsection (a) are--
            (1) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Armed Services, and the 
        Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations, the Committee on Armed Services, and the 
        Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2013 and 2014.
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