[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1493 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.1493
One Hundred Fourteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the fourth day of January, two thousand and sixteen
An Act
To protect and preserve international cultural property at risk due to
political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters,
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 ``Protect and Preserve International
Cultural Property Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the President should establish an
interagency coordinating committee to coordinate the efforts of the
executive branch to protect and preserve international cultural
property at risk from political instability, armed conflict, or natural
or other disasters. Such committee should--
(1) be chaired by a Department of State employee of Assistant
Secretary rank or higher, concurrent with that employee's other
duties;
(2) include representatives of the Smithsonian Institution and
Federal agencies with responsibility for the preservation and
protection of international cultural property;
(3) consult with governmental and nongovernmental
organizations, including the United States Committee of the Blue
Shield, museums, educational institutions, and research
institutions, and participants in the international art and
cultural property market on efforts to protect and preserve
international cultural property;
(4) coordinate core United States interests in--
(A) protecting and preserving international cultural
property;
(B) preventing and disrupting looting and illegal trade and
trafficking in international cultural property, particularly
exchanges that provide revenue to terrorist and criminal
organizations;
(C) protecting sites of cultural and archaeological
significance; and
(D) providing for the lawful exchange of international
cultural property.
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY PROTECTION FOR SYRIAN CULTURAL PROPERTY.
(a) In General.--The President shall exercise the authority of the
President under section 304 of the Convention on Cultural Property
Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2603) to impose import restrictions set
forth in section 307 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 2606) with respect to any
archaeological or ethnological material of Syria--
(1) not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act;
(2) without regard to whether Syria is a State Party (as
defined in section 302 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 2601)); and
(3) notwithstanding--
(A) the requirement of subsection (b) of section 304 of
that Act (19 U.S.C. 2603(b)) that an emergency condition (as
defined in subsection (a) of that section) applies; and
(B) the limitations under subsection (c) of that section.
(b) Annual Determination Regarding Certification.--
(1) Determination.--
(A) In general.--The President shall, not less often than
annually, determine whether at least 1 of the conditions
specified in subparagraph (B) is met, and shall notify the
appropriate congressional committees of such determination.
(B) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in subparagraph
(A) are the following:
(i) The Government of Syria is incapable, at the time a
determination under such subparagraph is made, of
fulfilling the requirements to request an agreement under
section 303 of the Convention on Cultural Property
Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2602), including the
requirements under subsection (a)(3) of that section.
(ii) It would be against the United States national
interest to enter into such an agreement.
(2) Termination of restrictions.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
the import restrictions referred to in subsection (a) shall
terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date on which
the President determines that neither of the conditions
specified in paragraph (1)(B) are met.
(B) Request for termination.--If Syria requests to enter
into an agreement with the United States pursuant to section
303 of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act
(19 U.S.C. 2602) on or after the date on which the President
determines that neither of the conditions specified in
paragraph (1)(B) are met, the import restrictions referred to
in subsection (a) shall terminate on the earlier of--
(i) the date that is 3 years after the date on which
Syria makes such a request; or
(ii) the date on which the United States and Syria
enter into such an agreement.
(c) Waiver.--
(1) In general.--The President may waive the import
restrictions referred to in subsection (a) for specified
archaeological and ethnological material of Syria if the President
certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the
conditions described in paragraph (2) are met.
(2) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in paragraph (1)
are the following:
(A)(i) The owner or lawful custodian of the specified
archaeological or ethnological material of Syria has requested
that such material be temporarily located in the United States
for protection purposes; or
(ii) if no owner or lawful custodian can reasonably be
identified, the President determines that, for purposes of
protecting and preserving such material, the material should be
temporarily located in the United States.
(B) Such material shall be returned to the owner or lawful
custodian when requested by such owner or lawful custodian.
(C) There is no credible evidence that granting a waiver
under this subsection will contribute to illegal trafficking in
archaeological or ethnological material of Syria or financing
of criminal or terrorist activities.
(3) Action.--If the President grants a waiver under this
subsection, the specified archaeological or ethnological material
of Syria that is the subject of such waiver shall be placed in the
temporary custody of the United States Government or in the
temporary custody of a cultural or educational institution within
the United States for the purpose of protection, restoration,
conservation, study, or exhibition, without profit.
(4) Immunity from seizure.--Any archaeological or ethnological
material that enters the United States pursuant to a waiver granted
under this section shall have immunity from seizure under Public
Law 89-259 (22 U.S.C. 2459). All provisions of Public Law 89-259
shall apply to such material as if immunity from seizure had been
granted under that Public Law.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Finance of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
(2) Archaeological or ethnological material of syria.--The term
``archaeological or ethnological material of Syria'' means cultural
property (as defined in section 302 of the Convention on Cultural
Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601)) that is unlawfully
removed from Syria on or after March 15, 2011.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
and annually thereafter for the next 6 years, the President shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the
efforts of the executive branch, during the 12-month period preceding
the submission of the report, to protect and preserve international
cultural property, including--
(1) whether an interagency coordinating committee as described
in section 2 has been established and, if such a committee has been
established, a description of the activities undertaken by such
committee, including a list of the entities participating in such
activities;
(2) a description of measures undertaken pursuant to relevant
statutes, including--
(A) actions to implement and enforce section 3 of this Act
and section 3002 of the Emergency Protection for Iraqi Cultural
Antiquities Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-429; 118 Stat. 2599),
including measures to dismantle international networks that
traffic illegally in cultural property;
(B) a description of any requests for a waiver under
section 3(c) of this Act and, for each such request, whether a
waiver was granted;
(C) a list of the statutes and regulations employed in
criminal, civil, and civil forfeiture actions to prevent
illegal trade and trafficking in cultural property;
(D) actions undertaken to ensure the consistent and
effective application of law in cases relating to illegal trade
and trafficking in cultural property; and
(E) actions undertaken to promote the legitimate commercial
and non-commercial exchange and movement of cultural property;
and
(3) actions undertaken in fulfillment of international
agreements on cultural property protection, including the
Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of
Armed Conflict, done at The Hague May 14, 1954.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.