[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3342 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3342
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 26, 2017
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To impose sanctions on foreign persons that are responsible for gross
violations of internationally recognized human rights by reason of the
use by Hizballah of civilians as human shields, 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 ``Sanctioning Hizballah's Illicit Use
of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Human shields are civilians, prisoners of war, and
other noncombatants whose presence is designed to protect
combatants and military objects from attack, and the use of
human shields violates international law.
(2) Throughout the 2006 conflict with the State of Israel,
Hizballah forces utilized human shields to protect themselves
from counterattacks by Israeli forces, including storing
weapons inside civilian homes and firing rockets from inside
populated civilian areas.
(3) Hizballah has rearmed to include an arsenal of over
150,000 missiles, and other destabilizing weapons provided by
the Syrian and Iranian governments, which are concealed in
Shiite villages in southern Lebanon, often beneath civilian
infrastructure.
(4) Hizballah is legally required to disarm under both
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) and the
Taif Agreement (1989).
(5) Hizballah maintains an armed military force within
Lebanon's sovereign territory in direct violation of United
Nations Security Council Resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680
(2006), thus preventing Lebanon from exerting its lawful
control over its internationally recognized borders.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It shall be the policy of the United States to consider the use of
human shields by Hizballah as a gross violation of internationally
recognized human rights, to officially and publicly condemn the use of
innocent civilians as human shields by Hizballah, and to take effective
action against those that engage in the grave breach of international
law through the use of human shields.
SEC. 4. UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL.
The President should direct the United States Permanent
Representative to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, and
influence of the United States at the United Nations Security Council
to secure support for a resolution that would impose multilateral
sanctions against Hizballah for its use of civilians as human shields.
SEC. 5. IDENTIFICATION OF FOREIGN PERSONS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR
GROSS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN
RIGHTS BY REASON OF USE BY HIZBALLAH OF CIVILIANS AS
HUMAN SHIELDS.
(a) In General.--The President shall impose sanctions described in
subsection (c) with respect to each person on the list required under
subsection (b).
(b) List.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the
appropriate congressional committees a list of the following:
(A) Each foreign person that the President
determines, based on credible evidence, is a member of
Hizballah, or acting on behalf of Hizballah, that is
responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for
ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the use
of civilians as human shields.
(B) Each foreign person, or agency or
instrumentality of a foreign state, that the President
determines has provided, attempted to provide, or
significantly facilitated the provision of, material
support to a person described in subparagraph (A).
(2) Updates.--The President shall transmit to the
appropriate congressional committees an update of the list
required under paragraph (1) as new information becomes
available.
(c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions to be imposed on a foreign
person or an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state on the list
required under subsection (b) are the following:
(1) Blocking of property.--The President shall exercise all
of the powers granted to the President under the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the
extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in
property and interests in property of the foreign person or of
such agency or instrumentality of a foreign state if such
property or interests in property are in the United States,
come within the United States, or are or come within the
possession or control of a United States person.
(2) Aliens ineligible for visas, admission, or parole.--
(A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien who the
Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland
Security determines is a foreign person on the list
required under subsection (b) is--
(i) inadmissible to the United States;
(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other
documentation to enter the United States; and
(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted
or paroled into the United States or to receive
any other benefit under the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
(B) Current visas revoked.--
(i) In general.--Any visa or other
documentation issued to an alien who is a
foreign person on the list required under
subsection (b), regardless of when such visa or
other documentation was issued, shall be
revoked and such alien shall be denied
admission to the United States.
(ii) Effect of revocation.--A revocation
under clause (i)--
(I) shall take effect immediately;
and
(II) shall automatically cancel any
other valid visa or documentation that
is in the possession of the alien who
is the subject of such revocation.
(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 knowingly violates, attempts to violate, conspires to
violate, or causes a violation of regulations promulgated to
carry out this section to the same extent that such penalties
apply to a person that knowingly commits an unlawful act
described in section 206(a) of such Act.
(4) Regulatory authority.--
(A) In general.--The President may exercise all
authorities provided to the President under sections
203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) for purposes of
carrying out this section.
(B) Issuance of regulations.--Not later than 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
President shall, promulgate regulations as necessary
for the implementation of this section and the
amendments made by this section.
(C) Notification to congress.--Not later than 10
days before the promulgation of regulations under
subparagraph (B), the President shall brief the
appropriate congressional committees on the proposed
regulations and the provisions of this section that the
regulations are implementing.
(5) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to limit the authority of the President pursuant to
the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701
et seq.) or any other relevant provision of law.
(d) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of sanctions
under this section for periods not to exceed 120 days with respect to a
foreign person, or an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state, if
the President reports to the appropriate congressional committees that
such waiver is vital to the national security interests of the United
States.
(e) Exemptions.--Any activity subject to the reporting requirements
under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et
seq.), or to any authorized intelligence activities of the United
States.
SEC. 6. REPORT.
(a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report containing a determination on whether
each person described in subsection (b) meets the criteria described in
subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 5(b)(1).
(b) Persons Described.--The persons described in this subsection
are the following:
(1) The Secretary General of Hizballah.
(2) Members of the Hizballah Politburo.
(3) Any other senior members of Hizballah or other
associated entities that the President determines to be
appropriate.
(4) Any person, or agency or instrumentality of a foreign
state that the President determines provides material support
to Hizballah that supports its use of civilians as human
shields.
(c) Form of Report; Public Availability.--
(1) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex.
(2) Public availability.--The unclassified portion of such
report shall be made available to the public and posted on the
internet website of the Department of State--
(A) in English, Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri; and
(B) in pre-compressed, easily downloadable versions
that are made available in all appropriate formats.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien''
have the meanings given such terms in section 101 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
(2) Agency or instrumentality of a foreign state.--The term
``agency or instrumentality of a foreign state'' has the
meaning given such term in section 1603(b) of title 28, United
States Code.
(3) Appropriate congressional committees.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Financial Services, the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Ways and
Means, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Relations, the
Committee on Finance, the Committee on the Judiciary,
and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
(4) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means any
citizen or national of a foreign country, or any entity not
organized solely under the laws of the United States or
existing solely in the United States.
(5) Foreign state.--The term ``foreign state'' has the
meaning given such term in section 1603(a) of title 28, United
States Code.
(6) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means any United States citizen, permanent resident
alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States
(including foreign branches), or any person in the United
States.
(7) Hizballah.--The term ``Hizballah'' means--
(A) 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
(B) 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.
Passed the House of Representatives October 25, 2017.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.