[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 56 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 56

  To impose sanctions against persons who knowingly provide material 
support or resources to the Donbass People's Militia or its affiliates, 
         associated groups, or agents, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 2015

 Ms. Jackson Lee introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
 the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on 
Foreign Affairs and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To impose sanctions against persons who knowingly provide material 
support or resources to the Donbass People's Militia or its affiliates, 
         associated groups, or agents, 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 ``Donbass People's Militia Terrorist 
Designation Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON DESIGNATION OF THE DONBASS PEOPLE'S 
              MILITIA AS A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Donbass People's Militia (DPM) is an armed militia 
        with allegiance to the Donestsk People's Republic, a self-
        proclaimed State in Eastern Europe.
            (2) The organization consists of pro-Russian separatists 
        that have taken up arms against the Ukrainian Armed Forces and 
        the Government of Ukraine.
            (3) The Government of Ukraine has concluded that the DPM is 
        responsible for shooting down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 on 
        July 17, 2014.
            (4) The actions of the DPM resulted in the deaths of 283 
        passengers, 80 of them children, and 15 crew members.
            (5) A United Nations report released May 15, 2014, 
        concluded that ``in eastern Ukraine, freedom of expression is 
        under particular attack through the harassment of, and threats 
        to, journalists and media outlets and the increasing prevalence 
        of hate speech is further fuelling tensions (Section I, Article 
        5, Section vi).''.
            (6) According to the United Nations report, ``Armed groups 
        continue to illegally seize and occupy public and 
        administrative buildings in cities and towns of the eastern 
        regions and proclaim `self-declared regions'''.
            (7) Leaders and members of these armed groups commit an 
        increasing number of human rights abuses, such as abductions, 
        harassment, unlawful detentions, in particular of journalists. 
        This is leading to a breakdown in law and order and a climate 
        of intimidation and harassment (Section I, Article 5, Section 
        ii).
            (8) A report by the highly respected human rights advocacy 
        organization, Human Rights Watch, found that ``Anti-Kiev forces 
        in eastern Ukraine are abducting, attacking, and harassing 
        people they suspect of supporting the Ukrainian government or 
        consider undesirable.''.
            (9) Militants in the self-proclaimed Donestsk People's 
        Republic have taken hostages and have yet to release them.
            (10) According to a report by the United Nations High 
        Commissioner for Refugees, the actions of DPM and other 
        militant groups have caused over 100,000 Ukrainians to flee 
        their country as refugees and have also displaced approximately 
        54,000 citizens internally.
    (b) Criteria.--Section 219(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)(1)) provides the 3 criteria for the designation 
of an organization as a foreign terrorist organization:
            (1) The organization must be a foreign organization.
            (2) The organization must engage in terrorist activity, as 
        defined in section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)), or terrorism, as 
        defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations 
        Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 
        2656f(d)(2)), or retain the capability and intent to engage in 
        terrorist activity or terrorism.
            (3) The organization's terrorist activity or terrorism must 
        threaten the security of United States nationals or the 
        national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the 
        economic interests) of the United States.
    (c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Donbass People's Militia has met the criteria for 
        designation as a foreign terrorist organization under section 
        219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as described in 
        subsection (b)); and
            (2) the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
        Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, should 
        exercise the Secretary of State's statutory authority and 
        designate the Donbass People's Militia as a foreign terrorist 
        organization.
    (d) Report.--If the Secretary of State does not designate the 
Donbass People's Militia as a foreign terrorist organization under 
section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act within 60 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 
submit to Congress a report that contains the reasons therefor.

SEC. 3. SANCTIONS AGAINST PERSONS WHO KNOWINGLY PROVIDE MATERIAL 
              SUPPORT OR RESOURCES TO THE DONBASS PEOPLE'S MILITIA OR 
              ITS AFFILIATES, ASSOCIATED GROUPS, OR AGENTS.

    (a) Sanctions.--
            (1) In general.--The President shall subject to all 
        available sanctions any person in the United States or subject 
        to the jurisdiction of the United States who knowingly provides 
        material support or resources to the Donbass People's Militia 
        or its affiliates, associated groups, or agents.
            (2) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term ``material 
        support or resources'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 2339A(b)(1) of title 18, United States Code.
    (b) Inadmissibility and Removal.--
            (1) Inadmissability.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
        of law, the Secretary of State may not issue any visa to, and 
        the Secretary of Homeland Security shall deny entry to the 
        United States of, any member or representative of the Donbass 
        People's Militia or its affiliates, associated groups, or 
        agents.
            (2) Removal.--Any alien who is a member or representative 
        of the Donbass People's Militia or its affiliates, associated 
        groups, or agents may be removed from the United States in the 
        same manner as an alien who is inadmissible under section 
        212(a)(3)(B)(i) (IV) or (V) of the Immigration and Nationality 
        Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(i) (IV) or (V)).
    (c) Funds.--Any United States financial institution (as defined 
under section 5312 of title 31, United States Code) that knowingly has 
possession of or control over funds in which the Donbass People's 
Militia or its affiliates, associated groups, or agents have an 
interest shall retain possession of or control over the funds and 
report the funds to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 
Department of the Treasury.
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