[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 90 (Monday, May 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3354-S3355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1943. Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Menendez) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 1502 
proposed by Mr. Schumer to the bill S. 1260, to establish a new 
Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the National Science 
Foundation, to establish a regional technology hub program, to require 
a strategy and report on economic security, science, research, 
innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to establish a critical 
supply chain resiliency program, and for other purposes; which was 
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle A of title II of division C, add 
     the following:

     SEC. 3219L. TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
                   PREVENTION.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention Act 
     of 2021'' or as the ``TRAP Act of 2021''.
       (b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The International Criminal Police Organization 
     (INTERPOL) works to prevent and fight crime through enhanced 
     cooperation and innovation on police and security matters, 
     including kleptocracy, counterterrorism, cybercrime, 
     counternarcotics, and transnational organized crime.
       (2) United States membership and participation in INTERPOL 
     advances the national security and law enforcement interests 
     of the United States related to combating kleptocracy, 
     terrorism, cybercrime, narcotics, and transnational organized 
     crime.
       (3) Article 2 of INTERPOL's Constitution states that the 
     organization aims ``[to] ensure and promote the widest 
     possible mutual assistance between all criminal police 
     authorities . . . in the spirit of the `Universal Declaration 
     of Human Rights' ''.
       (4) Article 3 of INTERPOL's Constitution states that ``[i]t 
     is strictly forbidden for the Organization to undertake any 
     intervention or activities of a political, military, 
     religious or racial character''.
       (5) These principles provide INTERPOL with a foundation 
     based on respect for human rights and avoidance of 
     politically motivated actions by the organization and its 
     members.
       (6) According to the Justice Manual of the United States 
     Department of Justice, ``[i]n the United States, national law 
     prohibits the arrest of the subject of a Red Notice issued by 
     another INTERPOL member country, based upon the notice 
     alone''.
       (c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     some INTERPOL member countries have repeatedly misused 
     INTERPOL's databases and processes, including Notice and 
     Diffusion mechanisms, for activities of an overtly political 
     or other unlawful character and in violation of international 
     human rights standards, including making requests to harass 
     or persecute political opponents, human rights defenders, or 
     journalists.
       (d) Support for INTERPOL Institutional Reforms.--The 
     Attorney General and the Secretary of State shall--
       (1) use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 
     States, as appropriate, within INTERPOL's General Assembly 
     and Executive Committee to promote reforms aimed at improving 
     the transparency of INTERPOL and ensuring its operation 
     consistent with its Constitution, particularly articles 2 and 
     3, and Rules on the Processing of Data, including--
       (A) supporting INTERPOL's reforms enhancing the screening 
     process for Notices, Diffusions, and other INTERPOL 
     communications to ensure they comply with INTERPOL's 
     Constitution and Rules on the Processing of Data (RPD);
       (B) supporting and strengthening INTERPOL's coordination 
     with the Commission for Control of INTERPOL's Files (CCF) in 
     cases in which INTERPOL or the CCF has determined that a 
     member country issued a Notice, Diffusion, or other INTERPOL 
     communication against an individual in violation of articles 
     2 or 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution, or the RPD, to prohibit 
     such member country from seeking the publication or issuance 
     of any subsequent Notices, Diffusions, or other INTERPOL 
     communication against the same individual based on the same 
     set of claims or facts;
       (C) increasing, to the extent practicable, dedicated 
     funding to the CCF and the Notices and Diffusions Task Force 
     in order to further expand operations related to the review 
     of requests for red notices and red diffusions;
       (D) supporting candidates for positions within INTERPOL's 
     structures, including the Presidency, Executive Committee, 
     General Secretariat, and CCF who have demonstrated experience 
     relating to and respect for the rule of law;
       (E) seeking to require INTERPOL in its annual report to 
     provide a detailed account, disaggregated by member country 
     or entity of--
       (i) the number of Notice requests, disaggregated by color, 
     that it received;
       (ii) the number of Notice requests, disaggregated by color, 
     that it rejected;
       (iii) the category of violation identified in each instance 
     of a rejected Notice;
       (iv) the number of Diffusions that it cancelled without 
     reference to decisions by the CCF; and
       (v) the sources of all INTERPOL income during the reporting 
     period; and
       (F) supporting greater transparency by the CCF in its 
     annual report by providing a detailed account, disaggregated 
     by country, of--
       (i) the number of admissible requests for correction or 
     deletion of data received by the CCF regarding issued 
     Notices, Diffusions, and other INTERPOL communications; and
       (ii) the category of violation alleged in each such 
     complaint;
       (2) inform the INTERPOL General Secretariat about incidents 
     in which member countries abuse INTERPOL communications for 
     politically motivated or other unlawful purposes so that, as 
     appropriate, action can be taken by INTERPOL; and
       (3) request to censure member countries that repeatedly 
     abuse and misuse INTERPOL's red notice and red diffusion 
     mechanisms, including restricting the access of those 
     countries to INTERPOL's data and information systems.
       (e) Report on INTERPOL.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter for a period 
     of 4 years, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, 
     in consultation with the heads of other relevant United 
     States Government departments or agencies, shall submit to 
     the appropriate committees of Congress a report containing an 
     assessment of how INTERPOL member countries abuse INTERPOL 
     Red Notices, Diffusions, and other INTERPOL communications 
     for political motives and other unlawful purposes within the 
     past three years.
       (2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
     shall include the following elements:
       (A) A list of countries that the Attorney General and the 
     Secretary determine have repeatedly abused and misused the 
     red notice and red diffusion mechanisms for political 
     purposes.
       (B) A description of the most common tactics employed by 
     member countries in conducting such abuse, including the 
     crimes most commonly alleged and the INTERPOL communications 
     most commonly exploited.
       (C) An assessment of the adequacy of INTERPOL mechanisms 
     for challenging abusive requests, including the Commission 
     for the Control of INTERPOL's Files (CCF), an assessment of 
     the CCF's March 2017 Operating Rules, and any shortcoming the 
     United States believes should be addressed.
       (D) A description of how INTERPOL's General Secretariat 
     identifies requests for red notice or red diffusions that are 
     politically motivated or are otherwise in violation of 
     INTERPOL's rules and how INTERPOL reviews and addresses cases 
     in which a member country has abused or misused the red 
     notice and red diffusion mechanisms for overtly political 
     purposes.

[[Page S3355]]

       (E) A description of any incidents in which the Department 
     of Justice assesses that United States courts and executive 
     departments or agencies have relied on INTERPOL 
     communications in contravention of existing law or policy to 
     seek the detention of individuals or render judgments 
     concerning their immigration status or requests for asylum, 
     with holding of removal, or convention against torture claims 
     and any measures the Department of Justice or other executive 
     departments or agencies took in response to these incidents.
       (F) A description of how the United States monitors and 
     responds to likely instances of abuse of INTERPOL 
     communications by member countries that could affect the 
     interests of the United States, including citizens and 
     nationals of the United States, employees of the United 
     States Government, aliens lawfully admitted for permanent 
     residence in the United States, aliens who are lawfully 
     present in the United States, or aliens with pending asylum, 
     withholding of removal, or convention against torture claims, 
     though they may be unlawfully present in the United States.
       (G) A description of what actions the United States takes 
     in response to credible information it receives concerning 
     likely abuse of INTERPOL communications targeting employees 
     of the United States Government for activities they undertook 
     in an official capacity.
       (H) A description of United States advocacy for reform and 
     good governance within INTERPOL.
       (I) A strategy for improving interagency coordination to 
     identify and address instances of INTERPOL abuse that affect 
     the interests of the United States, including international 
     respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, citizens 
     and nationals of the United States, employees of the United 
     States Government, aliens lawfully admitted for permanent 
     residence in the United States, aliens who are lawfully 
     present in the United States, or aliens with pending asylum, 
     withholding of removal, or convention against torture claims, 
     though they may be unlawfully present in the United States.
       (3) Form of report.--Each report required under this 
     subsection shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 
     include a classified annex, as appropriate. The unclassified 
     portion of the report shall be posted on a publicly available 
     website of the Department of State and of the Department of 
     Justice.
       (4) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the submission 
     of each report under paragraph (1), the Department of Justice 
     and the Department of State, in coordination with other 
     relevant United States Government departments and agencies, 
     shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the 
     content of the reports and recent instances of INTERPOL abuse 
     by member countries and United States efforts to identify and 
     challenge such abuse, including efforts to promote reform and 
     good governance within INTERPOL.
       (f) Prohibition Regarding Basis for Extradition.--No United 
     States Government department or agency may extradite an 
     individual based solely on an INTERPOL Red Notice or 
     Diffusion issued by another INTERPOL member country for such 
     individual.
       (g) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
     ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     the Judiciary of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
     the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
       (2) INTERPOL communications.--The term ``INTERPOL 
     communications'' means any INTERPOL Notice or Diffusion or 
     any entry into any INTERPOL database or other communications 
     system maintained by INTERPOL.
                                 ______