[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5917 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5917

 To amend the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields 
       Act to modify and extend that Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 10, 2023

 Mr. Gallagher (for himself and Mr. Sherman) introduced the following 
                                  bill

                            October 25, 2023

 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
  Committees on the Judiciary, and Armed 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 amend the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields 
       Act to modify and extend that Act, 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 ``Strengthening Tools to Counter the 
Use of Human Shields Act''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It shall be the policy of the United States to fully implement and 
enforce sanctions against terrorist organizations and other malign 
actors that use innocent civilians as human shields.

SEC. 3. MODIFICATION AND EXTENSION OF SANCTIONING THE USE OF CIVILIANS 
              AS DEFENSELESS SHIELDS ACT.

    (a) In General.--Section 3 of the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians 
as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115-348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph 
                (4); and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) Each foreign person that the President determines, on 
        or after the date of the enactment of the Strengthening Tools 
        to Counter the Use of Human Shields Act--
                    ``(A) is a member of Palestine Islamic Jihad or is 
                knowingly acting on behalf of Palestine Islamic Jihad; 
                and
                    ``(B) knowingly orders, controls, or otherwise 
                directs the use of civilians protected as such by the 
                law of war to shield military objectives from 
                attack.'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), (g), (h), and 
        (i) as subsections (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j), respectively; 
        and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Congressional Requests.--Not later than 120 days after 
receiving a request from the chairman and ranking member of one of the 
appropriate congressional committees with respect to whether a foreign 
person meets the criteria of a person described in subsection (b) or 
(c), the President shall--
            ``(1) determine if the person meets such criteria; and
            ``(2) submit a written justification to the chairman and 
        ranking member detailing whether or not the President imposed 
        or intends to impose sanctions described in subsection (b) or 
        (c) with respect to such person.''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 4 of the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians 
as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115-348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
            ``(7) Palestine islamic jihad.--The term `Palestine Islamic 
        Jihad' means--
                    ``(A) the entity known as Palestine Islamic Jihad 
                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 identified as an agent or 
                instrumentality of Palestine Islamic Jihad on the list 
                of specially designated nationals and blocked persons 
                maintained by the Office of Foreign Asset Control of 
                the Department of the Treasury, 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.).''.
    (c) Sunset.--Section 5 of the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as 
Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115-348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is 
amended by striking ``December 31, 2023'' and inserting ``December 31, 
2030''.
    (d) Severability.--The Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as 
Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115-348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY.

    ``If any provision of this Act, or the application of such 
provision to any person or circumstance, is found to be 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or the application of that 
provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected.''.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON COUNTERING THE USE OF HUMAN SHIELDS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the 
congressional defense committees, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
the Senate a report that contains the following:
            (1) A description of the lessons learned from the United 
        States and its allies and partners in addressing the use of 
        human shields by terrorist organizations such as Hamas, 
        Hezbollah, Palestine Islamic Jihad, and any other organization 
        as determined by the Secretary of Defense.
            (2) A description of a specific plan and actions being 
        taken by the Department of Defense to incorporate the lessons 
        learned as identified in paragraph (1) into Department of 
        Defense operating guidance, relevant capabilities, and tactics, 
        techniques, and procedures to deter, counter, and address the 
        challenge posed by the use of human shields and hold 
        accountable terrorist organizations for the use of human 
        shields.
            (3) A description of specific measures being developed and 
        implemented by the United States Government to mobilize and 
        leverage allied nations, including member nations of the North 
        Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to deter, counter, and 
        hold accountable terrorist organizations for the use of human 
        shields.
            (4) The current status of joint exercises, doctrine 
        development, education, and training on countering the use of 
        human shields in multinational centers of excellence.
            (5) The current status of participation of members of the 
        Armed Forces and Department of Defense civilian personnel in 
        any multinational center of excellence for the purposes of 
        countering the use of human shields.
            (6) The feasibility and advisability of beginning or 
        continuing participation of members of the Armed Forces and 
        Department of Defense civilian personnel to promote the 
        integration of joint exercises, doctrine development, 
        education, and training on countering the use of human shields 
        into multinational centers of excellence.
    (b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``multinational center 
of excellence'' has the meaning given that term in section 344 of title 
10, United States Code.
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