[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 566 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 566

To require the President to report on the use by the Government of Iran 
  of commercial aircraft and related services for illicit military or 
               other activities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 13, 2017

 Mr. Roskam (for himself, Mr. Sherman, and Mr. Zeldin) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the President to report on the use by the Government of Iran 
  of commercial aircraft and related services for illicit military or 
               other activities, 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 ``Terror-Free Skies Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Iran is designated as the world's foremost state 
        sponsor of terrorism and a direct threat to the national 
        security of the United States and United States allies.
            (2) Iran, through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 
        (IRGC), provides material and financial support to Foreign 
        Terrorist Organizations (FTO), including Hamas, Hezbollah, and 
        Kata'ib Hezbollah, as well as to the Bashar al-Assad regime in 
        Syria which is responsible for over 400,000 civilian deaths.
            (3) Iran has systematically employed its national air 
        carrier, Iran Air, as well as numerous private and publically 
        owned Iranian and Syrian airliners, including Mahan Air, to 
        ferry weapons, troops, and military equipment on behalf of the 
        IRGC and Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics 
        (MODAFL) to FTOs and rogue regimes around the world.
            (4) On June 23, 2011, the U.S. Department of the Treasury 
        designated Iran Air pursuant to Executive Order 13882 for 
        providing material support and services to the IRGC, including 
        shipping military-related equipment on behalf of the IRGC since 
        2006 and transporting rockets or missiles to Syria.
            (5) On January 16, 2016, Iran Air was delisted as a 
        Specially Designated National (SDN) by the U.S. Department of 
        the Treasury even though Iran Air had not ceased its illicit 
        and sanctionable activity.
            (6) Iran Air remains owned and operated by the Iranian 
        government and has, since January 16, 2016, flown numerous 
        unscheduled flights on well-known weapons supply routes between 
        Iran and Syria.
            (7) In correspondence with U.S. Members of Congress, the 
        U.S. Department of the Treasury has refused to confirm that 
        Iran Air has ceased its illicit activity. In a November 23, 
        2016, letter to Rep. Peter Roskam, Thomas Patrick Maloney, 
        Senior Advisor in the Office of Legislative Affairs of the U.S. 
        Department of the Treasury wrote: ``The United States retains 
        the ability to designate any individual or entity that engages 
        in sanctionable activities under our authorities targeting 
        conduct outside the scope of the JCPOA, including Iran's 
        support for terrorism, human rights abuses, ballistic missile 
        program, and other destabilizing activities in the region.''.
            (8) Evidence supports that despite being removed from the 
        Specially Designated National (SDN) on January 16, 2016, Iran 
        Air has since continued its illicit and sanctionable activity 
        in support of the IRGC, MODAFL, Hezbollah, and the Bashar al-
        Assad regime since January 16, 2016.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON USE BY THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN OF COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT 
              AND RELATED SERVICES FOR ILLICIT MILITARY OR OTHER 
              ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the President, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and 
the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the Committee on 
Armed Services, Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Foreign Relations, and the 
Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate a report on use by the 
Government of Iran of commercial aircraft and related services for 
illicit military or other activities on or after the date that is the 
beginning of the 5-year period ending on the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
    (b) Elements of Report.--The report required under subsection (a) 
shall include a description of the extent to which--
            (1) the Government of Iran has used commercial aircraft, 
        including aircraft of Iran Air, or related services to 
        transport illicit cargo to or from Iran, including military 
        goods, weapons, military personnel, military-related electronic 
        parts and mechanical equipment, or rocket or missile 
        components;
            (2) the commercial aviation sector of Iran, including Iran 
        Air, has provided financial, material, or technological support 
        to the IRGC, MODAFL, the Bashar al Assad Regime, Hezbollah, 
        Hamas, Kata'ib Hezbollah, or any other FTOs or entities 
        designated on the SDN list; and
            (3) foreign governments and persons have facilitated the 
        activities described in paragraph (1), including allowing the 
        use of airports, services, or other resources.
    (c) Effect of Determination.--If, in a report submitted under this 
section, the President determines that Iran Air or any other Iranian 
commercial airliner has used or has been using commercial aircraft for 
illicit military purposes on or after January 16, 2016, the President 
shall, within 90 days of making such determination, designate such 
airline as a specially designated national and blocked person on the 
list maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 
Department of the Treasury.

SEC. 4. SUNSET.

    This Act shall cease to be effective on the date that is 30 days 
after the date on which the President certifies to Congress that the 
Government of Iran has ceased providing support for acts of 
international terrorism.
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