[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8453 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8453
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 21, 2022
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
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:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.
By Kevin F. McCumber,
Deputy Clerk.