[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 83 (Wednesday, May 25, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3173-S3175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. CORNYN:
S. 2984. A bill to impose sanctions in relation to violations by Iran
of the Geneva Convention (III) or the right under international law to
conduct innocent passage, and for other purposes; to the Committee on
Foreign Relations.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 2984
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 ``No Impunity for Iranian
Aggression at Sea Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE
COMPLICIT IN VIOLATIONS OF THE GENEVA
CONVENTION OR THE RIGHT UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
TO CONDUCT INNOCENT PASSAGE.
(a) Report Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes--
(A) a determination with respect to whether, during or
after the incident that began on January 12, 2016, in which
forces of Iran boarded two United States Navy riverine combat
vessels and detained at gunpoint the crews of those vessels,
any of the actions of the forces of Iran constituted a
violation of--
(i) the Geneva Convention; or
(ii) the right under international law to conduct innocent
passage; and
(B) a certification with respect to whether or not Federal
funds, including the $1,700,000,000 payment that was
announced by the Secretary of State on January 17, 2016, were
paid to Iran, directly or indirectly, to effect the release
of--
(i) the members of the United States Navy who were detained
in the incident described in subparagraph (A); or
(ii) other United States citizens, including Jason Rezaian,
Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari,
and Matthew Trevithick, the release of whom was announced on
January 16, 2016.
(2) Actions to be assessed.--In assessing actions of the
forces of Iran under paragraph (1)(A), the President shall
consider, at a minimum, the following actions:
(A) The stopping, boarding, search, and seizure of the two
United States Navy riverine combat vessels in the incident
described in paragraph (1)(A).
(B) The removal from their vessels and detention of members
of the United States Armed Forces in that incident.
(C) The theft or confiscation of electronic navigational
equipment or any other equipment from the vessels.
(D) The forcing of one or more members of the United States
Armed Forces to apologize for their actions.
(E) The display, videotaping, or photographing of members
of the United States Armed Forces and the subsequent
broadcasting or other use of those photographs or videos.
(F) The forcing of female members of the United States
Armed Forces to wear head coverings.
(3) Description of actions.--In the case of each action
that the President determines under paragraph (1)(A) is a
violation of the Geneva Convention or the right under
international law to conduct innocent passage, the President
shall include in the report required by that paragraph a
description of the action and an explanation of how the
action violated the Geneva Convention or the right to conduct
innocent passage, as the case may be.
[[Page S3174]]
(4) Form of report.--The report required by paragraph (1)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex.
(b) List of Certain Persons Who Have Been Complicit in
Violations of the Geneva Convention or the Right to Conduct
Innocent Passage.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the
submission of the report required by subsection (a), if the
President has determined that one or more actions of the
forces of Iran constituted a violation of the Geneva
Convention or the right under international law to conduct
innocent passage, the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a list of persons who
are officials of the Government of Iran or were acting on
behalf of that Government that, based on credible evidence,
are responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for
ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, any such
violation.
(2) Updates of list.--The President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees an updated list under
paragraph (1) as new information becomes available.
(3) Public availability.--To the maximum extent
practicable, the list required by paragraph (1) shall be made
available to the public and posted on publicly accessible
Internet websites of the Department of Defense and the
Department of State.
(c) Imposition of Sanctions.--
(1) In general.--The President shall impose the sanctions
described in paragraph (2) with respect to each person on the
list required by subsection (b).
(2) Sanctions.--
(A) Prohibition on entry and admission to the united
states.--An alien on the list required by subsection (b) may
not--
(i) be admitted to, enter, or transit through the United
States;
(ii) receive any lawful immigration status in the United
States under the immigration laws; or
(iii) file any application or petition to obtain such
admission, entry, or status.
(B) Blocking of property.--
(i) In general.--The President shall, pursuant to the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701
et seq.), block and prohibit all transactions in all property
and interests in property of a person on the list required by
subsection (b) 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.
(ii) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
(I) In general.--The authority to block and prohibit all
transactions in all property and interests in property under
clause (i) shall not include the authority to impose
sanctions on the importation of goods.
(II) Good.--In this subparagraph, the term ``good'' has the
meaning given that term in section 16 of the Export
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4618) (as continued in
effect pursuant to the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)).
(iii) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to
violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of
clause (i) or any regulation, license, or order issued to
carry out clause (i) shall be subject to the penalties set
forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705)
to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act
described in subsection (a) of that section.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Admitted; alien; immigration laws.--The terms
``admitted'', ``alien'', and ``immigration laws'' 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 Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence
of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
(3) Forces of iran.--The term ``forces of Iran'' means the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, members of other military
or paramilitary units of the Government of Iran, and other
agents of that Government.
(4) Geneva convention.--The term ``Geneva Convention''
means the Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners
of War, done at Geneva on August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3316)
(commonly referred to as the ``Geneva Convention (III))''.
(5) Innocent passage.--The term ``innocent passage'' means
the principle under customary international law that all
vessels have the right to conduct innocent passage through
another country's territorial waters for the purpose of
continuous and expeditious traversing.
(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; or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States
or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a
foreign branch of such an entity.
______
By Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mr. Murphy):
S. 2988. A bill to extend the sunset of the Iran Sanctions Act of
1996 in order to effectuate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in
guaranteeing that all nuclear material in Iran remains in peaceful
activities; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce with my colleague
Senator Murphy, a bill that extends the sunset of the Iran Sanctions
Act, ISA, of 1996 until the President certifies to Congress that the
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency has reached
a broader conclusion that all nuclear material in Iran remains in
peaceful activities.
Currently, ISA expires on December 31st, 2016. Tying ISA's extension
to Iran's compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,
JCPOA, will provide the administration additional leverage to ensure
that a ``snap back'' of sanctions would have significant effect on
Iran's economy. Since its enactment in 1996, ISA has been a pivotal
component of U.S. sanctions against Iran's energy sector and other
industries and remains a critical foundation of our overall sanctions
architecture.
Administration officials have indicated that extending ISA, with its
current waiver authorities, would not violate the JCPOA, as it imposes
no new sanctions. Additionally, ISA is about more than Iran's nuclear
program, but also its support for international terrorism, which
endangers the national security and foreign policy interests of the
United States and those countries with which the United States shares
common strategic and foreign policy objectives. ISA addresses this
issue by denying Iran money to finance international terrorism.
By specifying in the bill that the extension of ISA ``effectuates the
JCPOA,'' the intent is to support Congressional actions in line with
the deal negotiated by the P5+1 and Iran, particularly following
Congress's comprehensive review of the deal and decision to move
forward under the Iran Nuclear Review Agreement Act of 2015.
I am proud to introduce this bill with Senator Murphy to make sure
that ISA is in place during the JCPOA to signal to the commitment of
Congress to vigorously enforce Iran's compliance and to make clear that
should Iran break the terms of the agreement, there will be clear
consequences, including the re-imposition of sanctions.
______
By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. King):
S. 2990. A bill to prohibit the President from preventing foreign air
carriers traveling to or from Cuba from making transit stops in the
United States for refueling and other technical services based on the
Cuban Assets Control Regulations; to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr President, I rise to introduce bipartisan legislation
with my colleague from Maine, Senator King, to permit foreign air
carriers traveling to or from Cuba to make non-traffic, transit stops
in the United States. Enactment of this legislation will create new
opportunities for U.S. workers and airports.
For decades U.S. airports, including Bangor International Airport in
Maine, have lost out on additional revenue because the current travel
ban on Cuba prevents them from providing transit stop services to
flights departing from or en route to Cuba.
During these transit stops, passengers do not disembark the plane and
no new passengers board the aircraft. Yet, these stops are valuable for
airports and their employees who can offer fuel, de-icing, catering,
and crew services. Under the current travel ban, however, foreign air
carriers are forced to make transit stops in Canada rather than the
United States, and any potential profit for U.S. airports flies right
across the border along with the planes.
The current disparity means that airports like Bangor not only lose
revenue related to flights to or from Cuba, but also from transit stops
for European flights to and from many other destinations in North
America, Central America, and the Caribbean. That is because if foreign
airlines cannot use Bangor for all of their flights, it is simply
easier and more efficient for them to refuel at one airport that can
meet all of their needs.
[[Page S3175]]
The purpose of economic sanctions was to limit hard currency to
Cuba--not to harm American workers and cities. Allowing U.S. airports
to provide these services could support additional jobs for families in
Maine and other areas throughout the country.
Allowing such transit stops would also be consistent with existing
international air transportation agreements. For example, in 2007 the
U.S. and the EU signed an Air Transport Agreement that granted airlines
of one party the right to make stops in the territory of the other
party for non-traffic, transit purposes.
Likewise, the Chicago Convention, to which there are 191 parties,
recognizes the right to refuel or carry out maintenance in a foreign
country, including the United States. The United States should fulfill
its obligations and permit such transit stops at U.S. airports, no
matter the destination.
Our bill would provide American airports and workers the opportunity
to compete with Canadian airports and would bring the United States
into compliance with international air travel agreements.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this commonsense, bipartisan
bill.
____________________