[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8453 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8453

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to foreign 
   persons undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement or threatening the 
      security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 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 ``Upholding the Dayton Peace Agreement 
Through Sanctions Act''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to support Bosnia and Herzegovina's sovereignty, 
        territorial integrity, and multi-ethnic character;
            (2) to back and bolster Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress 
        towards Euro-Atlantic integration;
            (3) to encourage officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina to 
        resume institutional participation at all levels of government 
        to advance functionality and common-sense reforms for greater 
        prosperity and for Bosnia and Herzegovina to obtain European 
        Union candidate status;
            (4) to push Bosnia and Herzegovina to implement the rulings 
        of the European Court of Human Rights;
            (5) to advocate for robust participation in the October 2, 
        2022, general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
            (6) to utilize targeted sanctions against persons who 
        undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement and democratic 
        institutions, including by blocking, boycotting or not 
        recognizing the results of elections, in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
        to support peace and stability in that country;
            (7) to urge the European Union to join the United States 
        and United Kingdom in sanctioning Milorad Dodik, a member of 
        the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for his actions that 
        undermine the stability and territorial integrity of Bosnia and 
        Herzegovina;
            (8) to expose and condemn the Government of Russia for its 
        role in fueling instability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 
        undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement, the role of the Office 
        of the High Representative, and the European Union Force in 
        BiH's Operation Althea;
            (9) to work with other regional States, including Serbia 
        and Croatia, to support the territorial integrity and stability 
        of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and
            (10) to use its voice and vote at the United Nations, the 
        Peace Implementation Council and its Steering Board, and other 
        relevant international bodies to support the Office of the High 
        Representative.

SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN PERSONS 
              UNDERMINING THE DAYTON PEACE AGREEMENT OR THREATENING THE 
              SECURITY OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA.

    (a) Imposition of Sanctions.--
            (1) List required.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for five 
        years, the President shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a list of foreign persons that are 
        determined--
                    (A) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 
                have directly or indirectly engaged in, any action or 
                policy that threatens the peace, security, stability, 
                or territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
                including actions that seek to undermine the authority 
                of Bosnia and Herzegovina's state-level institutions, 
                such as forming illegal parallel institutions or 
                actions that threaten the Office of the High 
                Representative;
                    (B) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 
                have directly or indirectly engaged in, any action or 
                policy that undermines democratic processes or 
                institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
                    (C) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 
                have directly or indirectly engaged in, or to have 
                attempted, a violation of, or an act that has 
                obstructed or threatened the implementation of, the 
                Dayton Peace Agreement or the Conclusions of the Peace 
                Implementation Conference Council held in London in 
                December 1995, including the decisions or conclusions 
                of the Office of the High Representative, the Peace 
                Implementation Council, or its Steering Board;
                    (D) to be a member, official, or senior leader of 
                an illegal parallel institution or any other 
                institution that engages in activities described in 
                subparagraph (A), (B) or (C), as determined by the 
                Secretary of State;
                    (E) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 
                have directly or indirectly engaged in, or attempted to 
                engage in, corruption related to Bosnia and 
                Herzegovina, including corruption by, on behalf of, or 
                otherwise related to the government in Bosnia and 
                Herzegovina, or a current or former government official 
                at any level of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
                such as the misappropriation of public assets, 
                expropriation of private assets for personal gain or 
                political purposes, corruption related to government 
                contracts or the extraction of natural resources or 
                bribery;
                    (F) to be an adult family member of any foreign 
                person described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or 
                (E) unless they have condemned the sanctionable 
                activity and taken tangible steps to oppose the 
                activity;
                    (G) to have knowingly facilitated a significant 
                transaction or transactions for or on behalf of a 
                foreign person described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), 
                (D), or (E);
                    (H) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted 
                or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or 
                indirectly, a foreign person described in subparagraph 
                (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E); or
                    (I) to have knowingly materially assisted, 
                sponsored, or provided financial, material, or 
                technological support for, or goods or services to or 
                in support of, a foreign person described in 
                subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E).
            (2) Imposition of sanctions.--Upon the submission of each 
        list required by paragraph (1), the President shall impose the 
        sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each 
        foreign person identified on the list.
    (b) Additional Measure Relating to Facilitation of Transactions.--
The Secretary of the Treasury may, in consultation with the Secretary 
of State, prohibit or impose strict conditions on the opening or 
maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or payable-
through account by a foreign financial institution that the President 
determines has, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
knowingly conducted or facilitated a significant transaction or 
transactions on behalf of a foreign person on the list required by 
subsection (a)(1).
    (c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this 
subsection are the following:
            (1) Property blocking.--Notwithstanding the requirements of 
        section 202 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 
        (50 U.S.C. 1701), the President may exercise of all powers 
        granted to the President by that Act to the extent necessary to 
        block and prohibit all transactions in all property and 
        interests in property of the foreign person if such property 
        and 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 inadmissible for visas, admission, or parole.--
                    (A) In general.--An alien on the list required by 
                subsection (a)(1) is--
                            (i) inadmissible to the United States;
                            (ii) ineligible for a visa or travel to 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.--The issuing consular 
                        officer, the Secretary of State, or the 
                        Secretary of Homeland Security (or a designee 
                        of one of such Secretaries) shall, in 
                        accordance with section 221(i) of the 
                        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
                        1201(i)), revoke any visa or other entry 
                        documentation issued to an alien on the list 
                        required by subsection (a)(1) regardless of 
                        when the visa or other entry documentation is 
                        issued.
                            (ii) Effect of revocation.--A visa or other 
                        entry documentation revoked under clause (i) 
                        shall--
                                    (I) take effect immediately; and
                                    (II) automatically cancel any other 
                                valid visa or entry documentation that 
                                is in the alien's possession.
    (d) Exceptions.--
            (1) Exception for intelligence, law enforcement, and 
        national security activities.--Sanctions under this section 
        shall not apply to any authorized intelligence, law 
        enforcement, or national security activities of the United 
        States.
            (2) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters 
        agreement.--Sanctions under subsection (c)(2) shall not apply 
        with respect to the admission of an alien to the United States 
        if the admission of the alien is necessary to permit the United 
        States to comply with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters 
        of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, 
        and entered into force November 21, 1947, between the United 
        Nations and the United States, the Convention on Consular 
        Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into 
        force March 19, 1967, or other applicable international 
        obligations.
            (3) Exception relating to the provision of humanitarian 
        assistance.--Sanctions under this section may not be imposed 
        with respect to transactions or the facilitation of 
        transactions for--
                    (A) the sale of agricultural commodities, food, 
                medicine, or medical devices;
                    (B) the provision of humanitarian assistance;
                    (C) financial transactions relating to humanitarian 
                assistance or for humanitarian purposes; and
                    (D) transporting goods or services that are 
                necessary to carry out operations relating to 
                humanitarian assistance or humanitarian purposes.
    (e) Waiver.--The President may, on a case-by-case basis and for 
periods not to exceed 180 days each, waive the application of sanctions 
or restrictions imposed with respect to a foreign person under this 
section if the President certifies to the appropriate congressional 
committees not later than 15 days before such waiver is to take effect 
that the waiver is vital to the national interest of the United States.
    (f) Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--The President shall, not later than 180 
        days after the date of the enactment of this Act, prescribe 
        regulations as necessary for the implementation of this Act.
            (2) Notification to congress.--Not later than 10 days 
        before the prescription of regulations under paragraph (1), the 
        President shall notify the appropriate congressional committees 
        regarding the proposed regulations and the provisions of this 
        Act that the regulations are implementing.
    (g) 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 Act.
    (h) 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 to carry out this Act to the same extent that such penalties 
apply to a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection 
(a) of such section 206.
    (i) Termination of Sanctions.--The President may terminate the 
application of sanctions under this section with respect to a foreign 
person if the President determines and reports to the appropriate 
congressional committees not later than 15 days before the termination 
of the sanctions that--
            (1) credible information exists that the foreign person did 
        not engage in the activity for which sanctions were imposed;
            (2) the foreign person has been prosecuted appropriately 
        for the activity for which sanctions were imposed; or
            (3) the foreign person has credibly demonstrated a 
        significant change in behavior, has paid an appropriate 
        consequence for the activity for which sanctions were imposed, 
        and has credibly committed to not engage in an activity 
        described in subsection (a)(1) in the future.
    (j) Sunset.--The authority to impose sanctions under this section 
shall terminate on the date that is five years after the date of 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION IN IMPOSING SANCTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after receiving a request 
from the chairman and ranking member of one of the appropriate 
congressional committees with respect to whether a person, foreign 
person, or foreign financial institution, as the case may be, meets the 
criteria described in this Act, Executive Order 14033 (86 Fed. Reg. 
31079; relating to blocking property and suspending entry into the 
United States of certain persons contributing to the destabilizing 
situation in the Western Balkans), or any Executive order issued 
pursuant to this Act or under the Balkans regulatory regime, the 
President shall--
            (1) determine if the person, foreign person, or foreign 
        financial institution, as the case may be, meets such criteria; 
        and
            (2) submit a classified or unclassified report to such 
        chairman and ranking member with respect to such determination 
        that includes a statement of whether or not the President 
        imposed or intends to impose sanctions with respect to such 
        person, foreign person, or foreign financial institution.
    (b) Sunset.--This section shall terminate on the date that is five 
years after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. EXCEPTION FOR IMPORTATION OF GOODS.

    (a) Exception Relating to Importation of Goods.--The authorities 
and requirements to impose sanctions under this Act shall not include 
the authority or requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of 
goods.
    (b) Good Defined.--In this section, the term ``good'' means any 
article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply, or 
manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, and 
excluding technical data.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien'' 
        have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
                Senate.
            (3) Correspondent account; payable-through account.--The 
        terms ``correspondent account'' and ``payable-through account'' 
        have the meanings given those terms in section 5318A of title 
        31, United States Code.
            (4) Dayton peace agreement.--The term ``Dayton Peace 
        Agreement'', also known as the ``Dayton Accords'', means the 
        General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and 
        Herzegovina, initialed by the parties in Dayton, Ohio, on 
        November 21, 1995, and signed in Paris on December 14, 1995.
            (5) Foreign financial institution.--The term ``foreign 
        financial institution'' has the meaning of that term as 
        determined by the Secretary of the Treasury by regulation.
            (6) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a 
        person that is not a United States person.
            (7) Illegal parallel institution.--The term ``illegal 
        parallel institution'' means an agency, structure, or 
        instrumentality at the Republika Srpska entity level that 
        disrupts the authority of the state-level institutions of 
        Bosnia and Herzegovina and undermines its constitutional order.
            (8) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to 
        conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has 
        actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the 
        circumstance, or the result.
            (9) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or 
        entity.
            (10) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means--
                    (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 
                admitted to the United States for permanent residence;
                    (B) an entity organized under the laws of the 
                United States or any jurisdiction within the United 
                States, including a foreign branch of such an entity; 
                or
                    (C) any person in the United States.

SEC. 7. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 20, 2022.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
117th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 8453

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to foreign 
   persons undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement or threatening the 
      security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and for other purposes.