[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4779 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4779

 To impose sanctions with respect to the system of compensation of the 
 Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority that 
                      supports acts of terrorism.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 2024

  Mr. Cotton (for himself, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Cruz, Mr. 
 Ricketts, Mr. Budd, Mr. Schmitt, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Cramer, 
    Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Graham) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
            Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To impose sanctions with respect to the system of compensation of the 
 Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority that 
                      supports acts of terrorism.

    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 ``PLO and PA Terror Payments 
Accountability Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Palestine Liberation Organization and the 
        Palestinian Authority provide hundreds of millions of dollars 
        per year in payments, salaries, and benefits to terrorists and 
        the families of terrorists as part of a system compensation 
        that incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and supports acts of 
        terrorism.
            (2) The Palestine Liberation Organization and the 
        Palestinian Authority policies, laws, and regulations that 
        direct, authorize, enact, facilitate, and implement a system of 
        compensation in support of acts of terrorism require payments, 
        salaries, and benefits to terrorists including those who are 
        members and part of organizations designated as foreign 
        terrorist organizations by the Secretary of State under section 
        219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189), 
        including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that receive direct support 
        including financial and military assistance from Iran, the 
        leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world.
            (3) In 2018, Congress passed the Taylor Force Act (title X 
        of division S of Public Law 115-141; 132 Stat. 1143) into law 
        that calls on the Palestine Liberation Organization and the 
        Palestinian Authority to end their system of compensation that 
        incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and supports acts of 
        terrorism and restricts United States assistance ``that 
        directly benefits the Palestinian Authority'' unless the 
        Secretary of State certifies to Congress that the Palestine 
        Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority have met 
        specific conditions including terminating that system of 
        compensation and revoking the policies, laws, and regulations 
        that authorize and implement the system of compensation.
            (4) Despite the enactment of the Taylor Force Act, the 
        Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority 
        have continued their system of compensation that incentivizes, 
        encourages, rewards, and supports acts of terrorism.
            (5) On October 7, 2023, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other 
        Gaza-based terrorist organizations attacked Israel on Shabbat 
        and during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, committing the 
        deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
            (6) On October 7, 2023, Hamas fired thousands of rockets 
        into Israel, deliberately targeting Israeli civilians, and 
        thousands of terrorists invaded Israeli communities--
        massacring, raping, torturing, decapitating, burning alive, 
        seriously injuring, and kidnapping Israelis and Americans, 
        including men, women, children, babies, and grandparents, and 
        including Holocaust survivors, with children being murdered in 
        front of their parents and parents being murdered in front of 
        their children.
            (7) On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered more than 1,200 who 
        were mostly civilians, and kidnapped more than 240, including 
        Israeli and American men, women, children, babies, and 
        grandparents, and took them to Gaza as hostages.
    (b) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United 
States to hold the Palestine Liberation Organization and the 
Palestinian Authority accountable including through the imposition of 
sanctions for providing payments, salaries, and benefits to terrorists 
and the families of terrorists as part of a system compensation that 
incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and supports acts of terrorism.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Act of terrorism.--The term ``act of terrorism''--
                    (A) means an act of international terrorism (as 
                defined in section 2331 of title 18, United States 
                Code); and
                    (B) includes the meanings given the terms 
                ``terrorist activity'' and ``engage in terrorist 
                activity'' by section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration 
                and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)).
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 
                Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and 
                the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
            (3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means any 
        person or entity that is not a United States person.
            (4) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to 
        conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person had 
        actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the 
        circumstance, or the result.
            (5) System of compensation.--The term ``system of 
        compensation'', with respect to the Palestinian Authority and 
        the Palestinian Liberation Organization, means the payments 
        described in subparagraph (B) of section 1004(a)(1) of the 
        Taylor Force Act (22 U.S.C. 2378c-1) and the system of 
        compensation described in subparagraph (C) of that section.
            (6) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means--
                    (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 
                admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
                    (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) a person in the United States.

SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN FOREIGN PERSONS SUPPORTING 
              TERRORISM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and an ongoing basis thereafter, the President 
shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) on--
            (1) any foreign person that--
                    (A) has served in a position as a representative, 
                minister, official, or employee of the Palestine 
                Liberation Organization, the Palestinian Authority, or 
                any other foreign person that has directed, authorized, 
                been responsible for, materially assisted with, 
                enacted, implemented, or otherwise facilitated the 
                Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian 
                Authority system of compensation supporting acts of 
                terrorism; or
                    (B) has provided payments, salaries, and benefits 
                to terrorists and the families of terrorists as part of 
                the Palestine Liberation Organization and the 
                Palestinian Authority system of compensation supporting 
                acts of terrorism;
            (2) any entity that directly or indirectly has operated, 
        ordered, controlled, directed, or otherwise facilitated the 
        Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority 
        system of compensation supporting acts of terrorism including 
        the Commission of Prisoners and Released Prisoners, the 
        Institute for the Care of the Families of the Martyrs and the 
        Wounded, the Palestine National Fund, National Association of 
        the Families of the Martyrs of Palestine, or any successor, 
        agency, instrumentality, organization, or affiliated entities 
        thereof; or
            (3) any foreign person that has knowingly provided 
        significant financial, technological, or material support and 
        resources support to, or knowingly engaged in a significant 
        transaction with a foreign person described in subparagraphs 
        (1) or (2).
    (b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions that shall be imposed with 
respect to a foreign person described in subsection (a) 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 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) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole.--
                    (A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien 
                described in subsection (a) 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.--An alien described in 
                        subsection (a) is subject to revocation of any 
                        visa or other entry documentation regardless of 
                        when the visa or other entry documentation is 
                        or was issued.
                            (ii) Immediate effect.--A revocation 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.
                            (iii) 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 this 
                        section or any regulations promulgated to carry 
                        out this section to the same extent that such 
                        penalties apply to a person that commits an 
                        unlawful act described in section 206(a) of 
                        that Act.
    (c) Congressional Requests.--Not later than 30 days after receiving 
a request from the chairman or ranking member of one of the appropriate 
congressional committees with respect to whether a person meets the 
criteria of a person described in subsection (a), the President shall--
            (1) determine if the person meets such criteria; and
            (2) submit a classified or unclassified report to the 
        chairman or ranking member, that submitted the request with 
        respect to that determination that includes a statement of 
        whether or not the President imposed or intends to impose 
        sanctions with respect to the person.
    (d) Implementation; Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--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) for 
        purposes of carrying out this section.
            (2) Regulations.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the President shall issue such 
        regulations or other guidance as may be necessary for the 
        implementation of this section.
    (e) Material Support or Resources Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``material support or resources'' has the meaning given that term 
in section 2339A(b) of title 18, United States Code.

SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 
              THAT FACILITATE TRANSACTIONS SUPPORTING TERRORISM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis thereafter, the 
President shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (c) with 
respect to each foreign financial institution that engages in the 
activities described in subsection (b).
    (b) Activities Described.--A foreign financial institution engages 
in an activity described in this subsection if the institution--
            (1) processes, participates in, facilitates, or provides a 
        transaction that are payments, salaries, or benefits, or any 
        other conduct described in section 4(a); or
            (2) knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant 
        financial transaction with any foreign person subject to 
        sanctions under section 4(a).
    (c) Sanctions Described.--The President shall prohibit the opening, 
and prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintaining, in the 
United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account 
by a foreign financial institution described in subsection (a).
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) 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.
            (2) Foreign financial institution.--The term ``foreign 
        financial institution'' has the meaning of that term as 
        determined by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 
        104(i) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and 
        Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513(i)).

SEC. 6. TERMINATION.

    The provisions of this Act shall have no force or effect only if 
the Secretary of State certifies in writing to the appropriate 
congressional committees that the Palestine Liberation Organization and 
the Palestinian Authority system of compensation providing payments, 
salaries, and benefits to terrorists and the families of terrorists 
that incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and supports acts of terrorism 
as described in this Act, has ceased to be in effect and is no longer 
taking place.
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