[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2297 Engrossed Amendment Senate (EAS)]
<DOC>
In the Senate of the United States,
November 17, 2015.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R.
2297) entitled ``An Act to prevent Hezbollah and associated entities
from gaining access to international financial and other institutions,
and for other purposes.'', do pass with the following
AMENDMENTS:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Hizballah
International Financing Prevention Act of 2015''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Statement of policy.
TITLE I--PREVENTION OF ACCESS BY HIZBALLAH TO INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL
AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS
Sec. 101. Report on imposition of sanctions on certain satellite
providers that carry al-Manar TV.
Sec. 102. Sanctions with respect to financial institutions that engage
in certain transactions.
TITLE II--REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS ON NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING AND
SIGNIFICANT TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES OF HIZBALLAH
Sec. 201. Report and briefing on narcotics trafficking by Hizballah.
Sec. 202. Report and briefing on significant transnational criminal
activities of Hizballah.
Sec. 203. Rewards for Justice and Hizballah's fundraising, financing,
and money laundering activities.
Sec. 204. Report on activities of foreign governments to disrupt global
logistics networks and fundraising,
financing, and money laundering activities
of Hizballah.
TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Rule of construction.
Sec. 302. Regulatory authority.
Sec. 303. Termination.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It shall be the policy of the United States to--
(1) prevent Hizballah's global logistics and financial
network from operating in order to curtail funding of its
domestic and international activities; and
(2) utilize all available diplomatic, legislative, and
executive avenues to combat the global criminal activities of
Hizballah as a means to block that organization's ability to
fund its global terrorist activities.
TITLE I--PREVENTION OF ACCESS BY HIZBALLAH TO INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL
AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS
SEC. 101. REPORT ON IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN SATELLITE
PROVIDERS THAT CARRY AL-MANAR TV.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees and leadership a report on the following:
(1) The activities of all satellite, broadcast, Internet,
or other providers that have knowingly entered into a
contractual relationship with al-Manar TV, and any affiliates
or successors thereof.
(2) With respect to all providers described in paragraph
(1)--
(A) an identification of those providers that have
been sanctioned pursuant to Executive Order 13224 (50
U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property and
prohibiting transactions with persons who commit,
threaten to commit, or support terrorism); and
(B) an identification of those providers that have
not been sanctioned pursuant to Executive Order 13224
and, with respect to each such provider, any
information indicating that the provider has knowingly
entered into a contractual relationship with al-Manar
TV, and any affiliates or successors of al-Manar TV.
(b) Form of Report.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form to the greatest extent possible, but may
include a classified annex.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees and Leadership Defined.--
In this section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees and
leadership'' means--
(1) the Speaker, the minority leader, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Financial Services, and the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the majority leader, the minority leader, the Committee
on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate.
SEC. 102. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT ENGAGE
IN CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS.
(a) Prohibitions and Conditions With Respect to Certain Accounts
Held by Foreign Financial Institutions.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall prescribe
regulations to prohibit, or impose strict conditions on, the
opening or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent
account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial
institution that the President determines, on or after such
date of enactment, engages in an activity described in
paragraph (2).
(2) Activities described.--A foreign financial institution
engages in an activity described in this paragraph if the
foreign financial institution--
(A) knowingly facilitates a significant transaction
or transactions for Hizballah;
(B) knowingly facilitates a significant transaction
or transactions of a person identified on the list of
specially designated nationals and blocked persons
maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of
the Department of the Treasury and the property and
interests in property of which are blocked pursuant to
the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) for acting on behalf of or at the
direction of, or being owned or controlled by,
Hizballah;
(C) knowingly engages in money laundering to carry
out an activity described in subparagraph (A) or (B);
or
(D) knowingly facilitates a significant transaction
or transactions or provides significant financial
services to carry out an activity described in
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).
(3) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections
(b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person
that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or
causes a violation of regulations prescribed under this
subsection to the same extent that such penalties apply to a
person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a)
of such section 206.
(4) Procedures for judicial review of classified
information.--
(A) In general.--If a finding under this
subsection, or a prohibition, condition, or penalty
imposed as a result of any such finding, is based on
classified information (as defined in section 1(a) of
the Classified Information Procedures Act (18 U.S.C.
App.)) and a court reviews the finding or the
imposition of the prohibition, condition, or penalty,
the President may submit such information to the court
ex parte and in camera.
(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to confer or imply any
right to judicial review of any finding under this
subsection or any prohibition, condition, or penalty
imposed as a result of any such finding.
(b) Waiver.--
(1) In general.--The President may waive, on a case-by-case
basis, the application of a prohibition or condition imposed
with respect to a foreign financial institution pursuant to
subsection (a) for a period of not more than 180 days, and may
renew the waiver for additional periods of not more than 180
days, on and after the date on which the President--
(A) determines that such a waiver is in the
national security interests of the United States; and
(B) submits to the appropriate congressional
committees a report describing the reasons for such
determination.
(2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1)(B) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex.
(c) Special Rule To Allow for Termination of Sanctionable
Activity.--The President shall not be required to apply sanctions to a
foreign financial institution described in subsection (a) if the
President certifies in writing to the appropriate congressional
committees that--
(1) the foreign financial institution--
(A) is no longer engaging in the activity described
in subsection (a)(2); or
(B) has taken and is continuing to take significant
verifiable steps toward terminating the activity
described in that subsection; and
(2) the President has received reliable assurances from the
government with primary jurisdiction over the foreign financial
institution that the foreign financial institution will not
engage in any activity described in subsection (a)(2) in the
future.
(d) Report on Foreign Central Banks.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that--
(A) identifies each foreign central bank that the
Secretary determines engages in one or more activities
described in subsection (a)(2)(D); and
(B) provides a detailed description of each such
activity.
(2) Form of report.--Each report required by paragraph (1)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex.
(e) Implementation.--The President may exercise all authorities
provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this
section.
(f) Definitions.--
(1) In general.--In this section:
(A) Account; correspondent account; payable-through
account.--The terms ``account'', ``correspondent
account'', and ``payable-through account'' have the
meanings given those terms in section 5318A of title
31, United States Code.
(B) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(i) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and
the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives; and
(ii) the Committee on Foreign Relations and
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate.
(C) Financial institution.--The term ``financial
institution'' means a financial institution specified
in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (H),
(I), (J), (K), (M), (N), (P), (R), (T), (Y), or (Z) of
section 5312(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code.
(D) Foreign financial institution.--The term
``foreign financial institution'' has the meaning given
that term in section 1010.605 of title 31, Code of
Federal Regulations.
(E) Hizballah.--The term ``Hizballah'' means--
(i) the entity known as Hizballah and
designated by the Secretary of State as a
foreign terrorist organization pursuant to
section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); or
(ii) any person--
(I) the property or interests in
property of which are blocked pursuant
to the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.);
and
(II) who is identified on the list
of specially designated nationals and
blocked persons maintained by the
Office of Foreign Assets Control of the
Department of the Treasury as an agent,
instrumentality, or affiliate of
Hizballah.
(F) Money laundering.--The term ``money
laundering'' includes the movement of illicit cash or
cash equivalent proceeds into, out of, or through a
country, or into, out of, or through a financial
institution.
(2) Other definitions.--The President may further define
the terms used in this section in the regulations prescribed
under this section.
TITLE II--REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS ON NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING AND
SIGNIFICANT TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES OF HIZBALLAH
SEC. 201. REPORT AND BRIEFING ON NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING BY HIZBALLAH.
(a) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees and leadership a report on
the activities of Hizballah related to narcotics trafficking
worldwide.
(2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form to the greatest extent possible,
but may include a classified annex.
(b) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the submission of the
report required by subsection (a), the President shall provide to the
appropriate congressional committees and leadership a briefing on--
(1) the report;
(2) procedures for designating Hizballah as a significant
foreign narcotics trafficker under the Foreign Narcotics
Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.); and
(3) Government-wide efforts to combat the narcotics
trafficking activities of Hizballah.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees and Leadership Defined.--
In this section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees and
leadership'' means--
(1) the Speaker, the minority leader, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Financial Services, the
Committee on the Judiciary, and the Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the majority leader, the minority leader, the Committee
on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs, the Committee on Finance, the Committee on the
Judiciary, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate.
SEC. 202. REPORT AND BRIEFING ON SIGNIFICANT TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL
ACTIVITIES OF HIZBALLAH.
(a) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees and leadership a report on
the significant transnational criminal activities of Hizballah,
including human trafficking.
(2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form to the greatest extent possible,
but may include a classified annex.
(b) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the submission of the
report required by subsection (a), the President shall provide to the
appropriate congressional committees and leadership a briefing on--
(1) the report;
(2) procedures for designating Hizballah as a significant
transnational criminal organization under Executive Order 13581
(75 Fed. Reg. 44,757); and
(3) Government-wide efforts to combat the transnational
criminal activities of Hizballah.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees and Leadership Defined.--
In this section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees and
leadership'' means--
(1) the Speaker, the minority leader, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Financial Services, the
Committee on the Judiciary, and the Permanent Select Committee
on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the majority leader, the minority leader, the Committee
on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs, the Committee on Finance, the Committee on the
Judiciary, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate.
SEC. 203. REWARDS FOR JUSTICE AND HIZBALLAH'S FUNDRAISING, FINANCING,
AND MONEY LAUNDERING ACTIVITIES.
(a) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that details actions taken by the
Department of State through the Department of State rewards program
under section 36 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act (22
U.S.C. 2708) to obtain information on fundraising, financing, and money
laundering activities of Hizballah and its agents and affiliates.
(b) Briefing.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State
shall provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees on
the status of the actions described in subsection (a).
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
SEC. 204. REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS TO DISRUPT GLOBAL
LOGISTICS NETWORKS AND FUNDRAISING, FINANCING, AND MONEY
LAUNDERING ACTIVITIES OF HIZBALLAH.
(a) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes--
(A) a list of countries that support Hizballah or
in which Hizballah maintains important portions of its
global logistics networks;
(B) with respect to each country on the list
required by subparagraph (A)--
(i) an assessment of whether the government
of the country is taking adequate measures to
disrupt the global logistics networks of
Hizballah within the territory of the country;
and
(ii) in the case of a country the
government of which is not taking adequate
measures to disrupt such networks--
(I) an assessment of the reasons
that government is not taking such
adequate measures; and
(II) a description of measures
being taken by the United States to
encourage that government to improve
measures to disrupt such networks;
(C) a list of countries in which Hizballah, or any
of its agents or affiliates, conducts significant
fundraising, financing, or money laundering activities;
(D) with respect to each country on the list
required by subparagraph (C)--
(i) an assessment of whether the government
of the country is taking adequate measures to
disrupt the fundraising, financing, or money
laundering activities of Hizballah and its
agents and affiliates within the territory of
the country; and
(ii) in the case of a country the
government of which is not taking adequate
measures to disrupt such activities--
(I) an assessment of the reasons
that government is not taking such
adequate measures; and
(II) a description of measures
being taken by the United States to
encourage that government to improve
measures to disrupt such activities;
and
(E) a list of methods that Hizballah, or any of its
agents or affiliates, utilizes to raise or transfer
funds, including trade-based money laundering, the use
of foreign exchange houses, and free-trade zones.
(2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form to the greatest extent possible,
and may contain a classified annex.
(3) Global logistics networks of hizballah.--In this
subsection, the term ``global logistics networks of
Hizballah'', ``global logistics networks'', or ``networks''
means financial, material, or technological support for, or
financial or other services in support of, Hizballah.
(b) Briefing on Hizballah's Assets and Activities Related To
Fundraising, Financing, and Money Laundering Worldwide.--Not later than
90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days
thereafter, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and
the heads of other applicable Federal departments and agencies shall
provide to the appropriate congressional committees a briefing on the
disposition of Hizballah's assets and activities related to
fundraising, financing, and money laundering worldwide.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on
Financial Services, and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Select Committee
on Intelligence of the Senate.
TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SEC. 301. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this Act shall apply
to the authorized intelligence activities of the United States.
SEC. 302. REGULATORY AUTHORITY.
(a) In General.--The President shall, not later than 120 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, promulgate regulations as
necessary for the implementation of this Act and the amendments made by
this Act.
(b) Notification to Congress.--Not less than 10 days before the
promulgation of regulations under subsection (a), the President shall
notify the appropriate congressional committees of the proposed
regulations and the provisions of this Act and the amendments made by
this Act that the regulations are implementing.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
SEC. 303. TERMINATION.
This Act shall terminate on the date that is 30 days after the date
on which the President certifies to Congress that Hizballah--
(1) is no longer designated as a foreign terrorist
organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); and
(2) is no longer designated for the imposition of sanctions
pursuant to Executive Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note;
relating to blocking property and prohibiting transactions with
persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism).
Amend the title so as to read: ``An Act to prevent
Hizballah and associated entities from gaining access to
international financial and other institutions, and for other
purposes.''.
Attest:
Secretary.
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H.R. 2297
_______________________________________________________________________
AMENDMENTS