[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 167 (Tuesday, November 18, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15079-S15080]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Graham of South 
        Carolina, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Collins, Mr. Graham of Florida, and 
        Mr. Bayh):
  S. 1888. A bill to half Saudi support for institutions that fund, 
train, incite, encourage, or in any other way aid and abet terrorism, 
and to secure full Saudi cooperation in the investigation of terrorist 
incidents; to the committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill and a summary of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the additional material was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2003

       Cosponsors: Schumer, Lindsey Graham, Wyden, Collins, Bob 
     Graham, Bayh.


                                Content

       Sanctions. Unless the President makes a certification that 
     Saudi Arabia is making a

[[Page S15080]]

     maximum effort to fight terrorism (details below), he shall 
     take the following actions:
       Prohibit export to Saudi Arabia of any defense articles or 
     services listed on the Arms Export Control Act. Prohibit 
     export to Saudi Arabia of any items listed on the Commerce 
     Control List (these are materials that have both economic and 
     military uses). Restrict travel of Saudi diplomats to a 25-
     radius of the city in which their offices are located (would 
     apply to the Saudi Embassy in DC, the Saudi UN mission in New 
     York, and the Saudi Consulates in Houston and Los Angeles).
       Presidential Certification. The President is not required 
     to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia if he certifies that 
     Saudi Arabia is:
       Fully cooperating with the United States in investigating 
     and preventing terrorist attacks; Has permanently closed all 
     Saudi-based terror organizations; Has ended any funding or 
     other support by the Government of Saudi Arabia for any 
     offshore terror organizations.
       Presidential Waiver. Even it he has not made the 
     certification, the President may waive the application of the 
     sanctions if he determines that it is in the national 
     security interest of the United States to do so.


                              Definitions

       Offshore Terror Organizations are defined as ``charities, 
     schools, and any other organization or institution outside of 
     Saudi Arabia that train, incite, encourage, or in any other 
     way aid and abet terrorism anywhere in the world.'' Thus a 
     religious school or madrassah that incites its students to 
     terror would be defined as a terrorist organization for 
     purposes of this bill.
       Saudi-Based Terror Organizations are the same types of 
     organizations located within the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

                                S. 1888

       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 ``Saudi Arabia Accountability 
     Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001) 
     mandates that all states ``refrain from providing any form of 
     support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved 
     in terrorist acts'', take ``the necessary steps to prevent 
     the commission of terrorist acts'', and ``deny safe haven to 
     those who finance, plan, support, or commit terrorist acts''.
       (2) The Council on Foreign Relations concluded in an 
     October 2002 report on terrorist financing that ``[f]or 
     years, individuals and charities based in Saudi Arabia have 
     been the most important source of funds for al-Qaeda, and for 
     years, Saudi officials have turned a blind eye to this 
     problem''.
       (3) The Middle East Media Research Institute concluded in a 
     July 3, 2003, report on Saudi support for Palestinian 
     terrorists that ``for decades, the royal family of the 
     Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been the main financial supporter 
     of Palestinian groups fighting Israel''. The report notes 
     specifically that Saudi-sponsored organizations have funneled 
     over $4,000,000,000 to finance the Palestinian intifada that 
     began in September 2000.
       (4) Much of this Saudi money has been directed to Hamas and 
     to the families of suicide bombers, directly funding and 
     rewarding suicide bombers. In December 2000, former 
     Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas wrote to the Saudis 
     to complain about their support for Hamas.
       (5) The New York Times, citing United States and Israeli 
     sources, reported on September 17, 2003, that at least 50 
     percent of the current operating budget of Hamas comes from 
     ``people in Saudi Arabia''.
       (6) Many Saudi-funded religious institutions and the 
     literature they distribute teach a message of hate and 
     intolerance that provides an ideological basis for anti-
     Western terrorism. The effects of these teachings are 
     evidenced by the fact that Osama bin Laden himself and 15 of 
     the 19 September 11th hijackers were Saudi citizens.
       (7) After the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers housing 
     complex at Dahran, Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 United 
     States Air Force personnel and wounded approximately 400 
     people, the Government of Saudi Arabia refused to allow 
     United States officials to question individuals held in 
     detention by the Saudis in connection with the attack.
       (8) During an October 2002 hearing on financing of 
     terrorism before the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
     Senate, the Undersecretary for Enforcement of the Department 
     of the Treasury testified that the Government of Saudi Arabia 
     had taken only ``baby steps'' toward stemming the financing 
     of terrorist activities.
       (9) During a July 2003 hearing on terrorism before the 
     Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security 
     of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, David 
     Aufhauser, General Counsel of the Treasury Department, stated 
     that Saudi Arabia is, in many cases, the ``epicenter'' of 
     financing for terrorism.
       (10) A joint committee of the Select Committee on 
     Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee 
     on Intelligence of the House of Representatives issued a 
     report on July 24, 2003, that quotes various United States 
     Government personnel who complained that the Saudis refused 
     to cooperate in the investigation of Osama bin Laden and his 
     network both before and after the September 11, 2001, 
     terrorist attacks.
       (11) There are indications that, since the May 12, 2003, 
     suicide bombings in Riyadh, the Government of Saudi Arabia is 
     making a more serious effort to combat terrorism.

     SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) it is imperative that the Government of Saudi Arabia 
     immediately and unconditionally--
       (A) provide complete, unrestricted, and unobstructed 
     cooperation to the United States, including the unsolicited 
     sharing of relevant intelligence in a consistent and timely 
     fashion, in the investigation of groups and individuals that 
     are suspected of financing, supporting, plotting, or 
     committing an act of terror against United States citizens 
     anywhere in the world, including within the Kingdom of Saudi 
     Arabia;
       (B) permanently close all charities, schools, or other 
     organizations or institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
     that fund, train, incite, encourage, or in any other way aid 
     and abet terrorism anywhere in the world (hereafter in this 
     Act referred to as ``Saudi-based terror organizations''), 
     including by means of providing support for the families of 
     individuals who have committed acts of terrorism;
       (C) end funding or other support by the Government of Saudi 
     Arabia for charities, schools, and any other organizations or 
     institutions outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that train, 
     incite, encourage, or in any other way aid and abet terrorism 
     anywhere in the world (hereafter in this Act referred to as 
     ``offshore terror organizations''), including by means of 
     providing support for the families of individuals who have 
     committed acts of terrorism; and
       (D) block all funding from private Saudi citizens and 
     entities to any Saudi-based terror organization or offshore 
     terrorism organization; and
       (2) the President, in deciding whether to make the 
     certification under section 4, should judge whether the 
     Government of Saudi Arabia has continued and sufficiently 
     expanded the efforts to combat terrorism that it redoubled 
     after the May 12, 2003, bombing in Riyadh.

     SEC. 4. SANCTIONS.

       (a) Restrictions on Exports and Diplomatic Travel.--Unless 
     the President makes the certification described in subsection 
     (c), the President shall take the following actions:
       (1) Prohibit the export to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and 
     prohibit the issuance of a license for the export to the 
     Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, of--
       (A) any defense articles or defense services on the United 
     States Munitions List under section 38 of the Arms Export 
     Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778) for which special export 
     controls are warranted under such Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et 
     seq.); and
       (B) any item identified on the Commerce Control List 
     maintained under part 774 of title 15, Code of Federal 
     Regulations.
       (2) Restrict travel of Saudi diplomats assigned to 
     Washington, District of Columbia, New York, New York, the 
     Saudi Consulate General in Houston, or the Saudi Consulate in 
     Los Angeles to a 25-mile radius of Washington, District of 
     Columbia, New York, New York, the Saudi Consulate General in 
     Houston, or the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles, respectively.
       (b) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of 
     subsection (a) if the President--
       (1) determines that it is in the national security interest 
     of the United States to do so; and
       (2) submits to the appropriate congressional committees a 
     report that contains the reasons for such determination.
       (c) Certification.--The President shall transmit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a certification of any 
     determination made by the President after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act that the Government of Saudi Arabia--
       (1) is fully cooperating with the United States in 
     investigating and preventing terrorist attacks;
       (2) has permanently closed all Saudi-based terror 
     organizations;
       (3) has ended any funding or other support by the 
     Government of Saudi Arabia for any offshore terror 
     organization; and
       (4) has exercised maximum efforts to block all funding from 
     private Saudi citizens and entities to offshore terrorist 
     organizations.

     SEC. 5. REPORT.

       (a) Requirement for Report.--Not later than 6 months after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 12 months 
     thereafter until the President makes the certification 
     described in section 4(c), the Secretary of State shall 
     submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
     on the progress made by the Government of Saudi Arabia toward 
     meeting the conditions described in paragraphs (1) through 
     (4) of section 4(c).
       (b) Form.--The report submitted under subsection (a) shall 
     be in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.

     SEC. 6. DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.

       In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional 
     committees'' means the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
     Senate and the Committee on International Relations of the 
     House of Representatives.




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