[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 26, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1984-H1987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        PROTECT AND PRESERVE INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY ACT

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the 
Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 1493) to protect and preserve 
international cultural property at risk due to political instability, 
armed conflict, or natural or other disasters, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the Senate amendment is as follows:
  Senate amendment:

       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Protect and Preserve 
     International Cultural Property Act''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that the President should 
     establish an interagency coordinating

[[Page H1985]]

     committee to coordinate the efforts of the executive branch 
     to protect and preserve international cultural property at 
     risk from political instability, armed conflict, or natural 
     or other disasters. Such committee should--
       (1) be chaired by a Department of State employee of 
     Assistant Secretary rank or higher, concurrent with that 
     employee's other duties;
       (2) include representatives of the Smithsonian Institution 
     and Federal agencies with responsibility for the preservation 
     and protection of international cultural property;
       (3) consult with governmental and nongovernmental 
     organizations, including the United States Committee of the 
     Blue Shield, museums, educational institutions, and research 
     institutions, and participants in the international art and 
     cultural property market on efforts to protect and preserve 
     international cultural property;
       (4) coordinate core United States interests in--
       (A) protecting and preserving international cultural 
     property;
       (B) preventing and disrupting looting and illegal trade and 
     trafficking in international cultural property, particularly 
     exchanges that provide revenue to terrorist and criminal 
     organizations;
       (C) protecting sites of cultural and archaeological 
     significance; and
       (D) providing for the lawful exchange of international 
     cultural property.

     SEC. 3. EMERGENCY PROTECTION FOR SYRIAN CULTURAL PROPERTY.

       (a) In General.--The President shall exercise the authority 
     of the President under section 304 of the Convention on 
     Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2603) to 
     impose import restrictions set forth in section 307 of that 
     Act (19 U.S.C. 2606) with respect to any archaeological or 
     ethnological material of Syria--
       (1) not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act;
       (2) without regard to whether Syria is a State Party (as 
     defined in section 302 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 2601)); and
       (3) notwithstanding--
       (A) the requirement of subsection (b) of section 304 of 
     that Act (19 U.S.C. 2603(b)) that an emergency condition (as 
     defined in subsection (a) of that section) applies; and
       (B) the limitations under subsection (c) of that section.
       (b) Annual Determination Regarding Certification.--
       (1) Determination.--
       (A) In general.--The President shall, not less often than 
     annually, determine whether at least 1 of the conditions 
     specified in subparagraph (B) is met, and shall notify the 
     appropriate congressional committees of such determination.
       (B) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in subparagraph 
     (A) are the following:
       (i) The Government of Syria is incapable, at the time a 
     determination under such subparagraph is made, of fulfilling 
     the requirements to request an agreement under section 303 of 
     the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 
     U.S.C. 2602), including the requirements under subsection 
     (a)(3) of that section.
       (ii) It would be against the United States national 
     interest to enter into such an agreement.
       (2) Termination of restrictions.--
       (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     the import restrictions referred to in subsection (a) shall 
     terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date on which 
     the President determines that neither of the conditions 
     specified in paragraph (1)(B) are met.
       (B) Request for termination.--If Syria requests to enter 
     into an agreement with the United States pursuant to section 
     303 of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act 
     (19 U.S.C. 2602) on or after the date on which the President 
     determines that neither of the conditions specified in 
     paragraph (1)(B) are met, the import restrictions referred to 
     in subsection (a) shall terminate on the earlier of--
       (i) the date that is 3 years after the date on which Syria 
     makes such a request; or
       (ii) the date on which the United States and Syria enter 
     into such an agreement.
       (c) Waiver.--
       (1) In general.--The President may waive the import 
     restrictions referred to in subsection (a) for specified 
     archaeological and ethnological material of Syria if the 
     President certifies to the appropriate congressional 
     committees that the conditions described in paragraph (2) are 
     met.
       (2) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in paragraph 
     (1) are the following:
       (A)(i) The owner or lawful custodian of the specified 
     archaeological or ethnological material of Syria has 
     requested that such material be temporarily located in the 
     United States for protection purposes; or
       (ii) if no owner or lawful custodian can reasonably be 
     identified, the President determines that, for purposes of 
     protecting and preserving such material, the material should 
     be temporarily located in the United States.
       (B) Such material shall be returned to the owner or lawful 
     custodian when requested by such owner or lawful custodian.
       (C) There is no credible evidence that granting a waiver 
     under this subsection will contribute to illegal trafficking 
     in archaeological or ethnological material of Syria or 
     financing of criminal or terrorist activities.
       (3) Action.--If the President grants a waiver under this 
     subsection, the specified archaeological or ethnological 
     material of Syria that is the subject of such waiver shall be 
     placed in the temporary custody of the United States 
     Government or in the temporary custody of a cultural or 
     educational institution within the United States for the 
     purpose of protection, restoration, conservation, study, or 
     exhibition, without profit.
       (4) Immunity from seizure.--Any archaeological or 
     ethnological material that enters the United States pursuant 
     to a waiver granted under this section shall have immunity 
     from seizure under Public Law 89-259 (22 U.S.C. 2459). All 
     provisions of Public Law 89-259 shall apply to such material 
     as if immunity from seizure had been granted under that 
     Public Law.
       (d) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     Finance of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
     Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
       (2) Archaeological or ethnological material of syria.--The 
     term ``archaeological or ethnological material of Syria'' 
     means cultural property (as defined in section 302 of the 
     Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 
     2601)) that is unlawfully removed from Syria on or after 
     March 15, 2011.

     SEC. 4. REPORT.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, and annually thereafter for the next 6 years, the 
     President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
     committees a report on the efforts of the executive branch, 
     during the 12-month period preceding the submission of the 
     report, to protect and preserve international cultural 
     property, including--
       (1) whether an interagency coordinating committee as 
     described in section 2 has been established and, if such a 
     committee has been established, a description of the 
     activities undertaken by such committee, including a list of 
     the entities participating in such activities;
       (2) a description of measures undertaken pursuant to 
     relevant statutes, including--
       (A) actions to implement and enforce section 3 of this Act 
     and section 3002 of the Emergency Protection for Iraqi 
     Cultural Antiquities Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-429; 118 
     Stat. 2599), including measures to dismantle international 
     networks that traffic illegally in cultural property;
       (B) a description of any requests for a waiver under 
     section 3(c) of this Act and, for each such request, whether 
     a waiver was granted;
       (C) a list of the statutes and regulations employed in 
     criminal, civil, and civil forfeiture actions to prevent 
     illegal trade and trafficking in cultural property;
       (D) actions undertaken to ensure the consistent and 
     effective application of law in cases relating to illegal 
     trade and trafficking in cultural property; and
       (E) actions undertaken to promote the legitimate commercial 
     and non-commercial exchange and movement of cultural 
     property; and
       (3) actions undertaken in fulfillment of international 
     agreements on cultural property protection, including the 
     Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the 
     Event of Armed Conflict, done at The Hague May 14, 1954.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include any extraneous material into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I acknowledge the ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel from New York, for 
his outstanding leadership on this legislation. With its passage today, 
his H.R. 1493, the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property 
Act, will head to the President's desk for his signature.
  This is a critical measure. The Islamic State, or ISIS, continues to 
wreak havoc throughout Iraq and Syria. It is laying a path of death and 
destruction in its wake, and it has inspired deadly attacks around the 
world and deadly attacks here at home.
  No offense is more appalling than the terrorists' complete disregard 
for human life. As this body has recognized, ISIS is waging a genocide 
against religious minorities in the Middle East. I recently had the 
opportunity to talk to some of those Yazidi girls and Christian 
minorities about what they had been through, as well as to talk to 
Sunni and Kurdish families. It has unleashed a campaign of sickening 
violence against Muslims who do not share its radical beliefs and 
against the other religious minorities across the Middle East and 
beyond.
  Besides the human toll of ISIS' deplorable acts, we also mourn the 
tremendous loss of cultural heritage as these extremists loot and 
destroy their way through ancient sites in the territories that they 
conquer. We have seen sickening footage of ISIS' drilling its way 
through priceless artifacts in Mosul and in its bulldozing of 
magnificent Mesopotamian ruins in the 3,000-year-old city of Nimrud.

[[Page H1986]]

  ISIS claims the annihilation of cultural sites is meant to counter 
idol worship, but clearly these terrorists have another goal: to remove 
all traces of the region's rich and diverse religious and cultural 
past. It is in line with what the Nazis tried to do in burning the 
books across Europe in trying to burn history that predated them. By 
eliminating all evidence of religious pluralism and by eliminating all 
evidence of humanity's common heritage, it is paving the way for its 
own horrifying brand of radical Islamist extremism.
  The looting of antiquities is big business for ISIS. Experts estimate 
that the group has earned millions of dollars from the sale of stolen 
artifacts every year, which are often peddled by middlemen in old-
fashioned markets or online. Unfortunately, buyers in the U.S. appear 
to be a primary end destination for many of these pieces, as does 
Europe, as does Asia.
  Mr. Speaker, I just returned from the Middle East. I was honored to 
speak at the Iraq Museum in Baghdad about the need to counter ISIS' 
trafficking of priceless antiquities. This region is steeped in history 
from the rise and fall of empires to the evolution of writing and 
mathematics and art. Much of this heritage remains at risk due to 
looting by ISIS and, I should add, by other parties to the conflict in 
Syria, including the murderous Assad regime.
  That is why last year, Ranking Member Eliot Engel and I introduced 
this legislation, which will help the U.S. do its part to counter this 
black market trade. Specifically, this legislation will prevent those 
antiquities that have been removed since the start of Syria's civil war 
from being sold or imported into the United States. This will reduce 
funding to ISIS and will disincentivize future looting.
  Again, I thank the ranking member, as well as Representatives Smith 
and Keating, for all of their work on this measure. I also acknowledge 
the bill's Senate cosponsors--Senators Casey and Perdue and Grassley, 
as well as Chairman Corker and Ranking Member Cardin of the Senate 
Committee on Foreign Relations--whose leadership was instrumental to 
this measure's passage by Mr. Engel in the Senate.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in strong support of this legislation.
  First of all, I thank our chairman, Ed Royce, for his leadership on 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs and for pushing this bill ahead. I 
don't want to underestimate how important he has been in making sure 
that this bill reaches the floor. I thank Congressman Chris Smith for 
joining me as a lead Republican cosponsor on this measure, and I thank 
our Senate colleagues for their work to help get us to this point.
  This legislation is another great example of the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs' working across the aisle to get results because we believe, 
again, that foreign policy should be bipartisan and that partisanship 
should stop at the water's edge. When the House finishes its work on 
this bill today, it will be on its way to the President's desk, and 
that is something of which we should all be proud.
  Mr. Speaker, since the time ISIS emerged as a factor in Iraq and in 
Syria, we have read reports, have seen images, and have watched videos 
of ISIS terrorists in their destroying of ancient structures and 
artifacts in the areas they control. It is actually heartbreaking. 
These fanatics literally want to wipe away history. They want to 
destroy any trace of culture or belief system that doesn't conform to 
their twisted ideology and twisted way of thinking, but that is not the 
whole story.
  ISIS has also seized on cultural artifacts as a funding source. If 
you look at satellite pictures of heritage sites that ISIS controls, 
you can pick out thousands of small holes in the desert. ISIS has 
looted these areas, has dug up coins and statues and anything else it 
can carry, and has trafficked those items on the black market. As a 
result, millions of dollars have flowed into ISIS' coffers.
  So a few years ago I knew we needed to do more to combat this serious 
problem. With the help of several colleagues--and, again, I emphasize 
how helpful the chairman has been--I set out to help preserve this 
history and, at the same time, to cut off a vital revenue stream for 
these terrorists. I was confident we could do it because we have done 
it before.
  During the Iraq war, we also saw the looting of antiquities. So we 
passed legislation then to impose import restrictions on those items 
coming in from Iraq.

                              {time}  1816

  I decided that we needed to take similar steps with respect to items 
coming out of Syria. So we got to work, talking to experts and 
officials to find the best ways of stopping looted goods arriving on 
our shores and to make sure those goods aren't sold to help ISIS' 
campaign of violence.
  It is really disgraceful that anyone in the United States would buy 
these things. Those proven practices and innovative approaches are at 
the core of this bill.
  These restrictions would bring the United States in line with the 
U.N. Security Council resolution passed unanimously last year. That 
resolution called on all States to deny funding to ISIS by preventing 
trade in Iraqi and Syrian cultural property.
  Our European partners have already stepped up and enacted similar 
measures. That is good news because it is going to take a wide-ranging 
effort to effectively crack down on this illegal marketplace.
  My bill would also encourage administration agencies already working 
on this problem to collaborate more closely so that our efforts are 
more streamlined and efficient. Finally, it is important to note that 
the legislation would not prevent the importation of Syrian artifacts 
for preservation or restoration.
  So this is a good bill. I have been working on it for several years. 
I am proud of everything that has gone into it by my colleagues and our 
staff members.
  I am glad, once again, that we are working in a bipartisan way to 
pass legislation that advances our interests, and I am very grateful 
that we are so close to the finish line on this bill.
  So I want to thank everybody. I want to especially thank Chairman 
Royce once again. I ask that all Members support this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time to close.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, it is always a great feeling to cross the 
finish line on a piece of legislation. At our best, that is what the 
Foreign Affairs Committee does, and we are at our best here this day.
  So I again want to thank Chairman Royce for his leadership and 
partnership. I want to thank our Senate colleagues for doing their 
part. I want to thank the staff that worked so hard on this bill.
  We should be seizing every available opportunity to cut off resources 
to ISIS and other terrorist groups. This legislation goes after a 
practice that has put millions of dollars in ISIS' hands and has 
resulted in the irreversible destruction of some of history's greatest 
artifacts.
  So it destroys these artifacts, which is bad enough, but then it puts 
money in ISIS' hands. They actually make money by doing it. It is 
aiding and abetting terrorism. So it is a double whammy.
  We knew from past experience that the approach laid out in this bill 
works. It is long past due that we ramp up our efforts to stop the 
looting, stop the trafficking, and stop the destruction.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill and send it to the 
President. I know that the President will sign it. It is very 
important. I hope we will soon see this legislation enacted and on the 
books.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume
  Again, I thank Mr. Eliot Engel of New York for this legislation.
  The ancient cities now facing destruction at the hands of ISIS are 
considered the birthplace of modern civilization. As we stand here on 
the floor of the House, we see behind us the relief of the great 
lawgivers.
  First, there is Moses. Next to him is Hammurabi for Hammurabi's Code, 
the great lawgivers and heroes of liberty. We think about the fact 
that, in this part of the world, these antiquities are now in the hands 
of ISIS.

[[Page H1987]]

  As one expert told the Financial Services Committee's Task Force to 
Investigate Terrorism Financing last week, this is where the Acadian 
King Hammurabi ruled at the beginning of the second millennium BC and 
where the Hebrew prophet Jonah preached successfully repentance to the 
Assyrian Ninevites 1,000 years later.
  Now, in 2015, ISIS has as many as 4,500 cultural sites under its 
control. A raid carried out last year by U.S. Special Forces revealed 
that ISIS has invested heavily in the looting and smuggling of 
antiquities in the region as they cut up antiquities and then try to 
trade them for hard currency.
  The legislation before us today is an important step toward curbing 
this illicit trade and limiting funding to these terrorists. I do want 
to note that the bill's emergency import restrictions are not designed 
to continue in perpetuity and can be waived under certain conditions 
for the temporary safeguarding of cultural property in the United 
States.
  The bill also presses the administration to increase accountability 
for U.S. efforts to protect cultural property overseas and improves 
congressional oversight of this work.
  I appreciate the other committees of jurisdiction for working with 
the Foreign Affairs Committee on this measure, particularly the 
Committee on Ways and Means for its assistance on the cultural import 
restrictions in this bill.
  Lastly, I want to recognize the work of the committee staff on this 
important legislation, particularly Jessica Kelch, who, along with Mark 
Iozzi on Mr. Engel's staff and Kristen Marquardt on the Foreign Affairs 
Committee staff, worked out all the complexities to deliver what I am 
confident will be effective legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules 
and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 1493.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the Senate amendment was concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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