[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 157 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5331-S5332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5858. Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. Graham) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr.
Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) and intended to be proposed to the
bill H.R. 7900, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle B of title XII, add the following:
SEC. 1226. MODIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF COORDINATOR FOR
DETAINED ISIS MEMBERS AND RELEVANT POPULATIONS
IN SYRIA.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, the Committee on the Judiciary, the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Select
Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, the
Committee on Financial Services, the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(2) ISIS member.--The term ``ISIS member'' means a person
who was part of, or substantially supported, the Islamic
State in Iraq and Syria.
(3) Senior coordinator.--The term ``Senior Coordinator''
means the coordinator for detained ISIS members and relevant
displaced populations in Syria designated under subsection
(a) of section 1224 of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92; 133 Stat. 1642), as
amended by subsection (d).
(b) Sense of Congress.--
It is the sense of Congress that--
(A) ISIS detainees held by the Syrian Democratic Forces and
ISIS-affiliated individuals located within displaced persons
camps in Syria pose a significant and growing humanitarian
challenge and security threat to the region;
(B) there is an urgent need to seek a sustainable solution
to such camps through repatriation and reintegration of the
inhabitants;
(C) the United States should work closely with
international allies and partners to facilitate the
repatriation and reintegration efforts required to provide a
long-term solution for such camps and prevent the resurgence
of ISIS; and
(D) if left unaddressed, such camps will continue to be
drivers of instability that jeopardize the long-term
prospects for peace and stability in the region.
[[Page S5332]]
(c) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United
States that--
(1) ISIS-affiliated individuals located within displacement
camps in Syria, and other inhabitants of displacement camps
in Syria, be repatriated or, where appropriate, prosecuted,
and where possible, reintegrated into their country of
origin, consistent with all applicable international laws
prohibiting refoulement; and
(2) the camps will be closed as soon as is practicable.
(d) Modification of Establishment of Coordinator for
Detained ISIS Members and Relevant Displaced Populations in
Syria.--Section 1224 of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92; 133 Stat. 1642)
is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a);
(2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
``(a) Designation.--
``(1) In general.--The President, in consultation with the
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Director of
National Intelligence, the Secretary of the Treasury, the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, and the Attorney General, shall designate an
existing official to serve within the executive branch as
senior-level coordinator to coordinate, in conjunction with
other relevant agencies, all matters related to ISIS members
who are in the custody of the Syrian Democratic Forces and
other relevant displaced populations in Syria, including--
``(A) the disposition of such individuals, including in all
matters related to--
``(i) repatriation, transfer, prosecution, and intelligence
gathering;
``(ii) all multilateral and international engagements led
by the Department of State and other agencies that are
related to the current and future handling, detention, and
prosecution of such ISIS members, including such engagements
with the International Criminal Police Organization; and
``(iii) the coordination of the provision of technical and
evidentiary assistance to foreign countries to aid in the
successful prosecution of such ISIS members, as appropriate,
in accordance with international humanitarian law and other
internationally recognized human rights and rule of law
standards;
``(B) all multilateral and international engagements
related to humanitarian access and provision of basic
services to, and freedom of movement and security and safe
return of, displaced persons at camps or facilities in Syria
that hold family members of such ISIS members;
``(C) coordination with relevant agencies on matters
described in this section; and
``(D) any other matter the Secretary of State considers
relevant.
``(2) Rule of construction.--If, on the date of the
enactment of the the James M. Inhofe National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, an individual has
already been designated, consistent with the requirements and
responsibilities described in paragraph (1), the requirements
under that paragraph shall be considered to be satisfied with
respect to such individual until the date on which such
individual no longer serves as the Senior Coordinator.'';
(3) in subsection (c), by striking ``subsection (b)'' and
inserting ``subsection (a)'';
(4) in subsection (e), by striking ``January 31, 2021'' and
inserting ``January 31, 2025'';
(5) in subsection (f)--
(A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3);
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new
paragraph (2):
``(2) Senior coordinator.--The term `Senior Coordinator'
means the individual designated under subsection (a).''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(4) Relevant agencies.--The term `relevant agencies'
means--
``(A) the Department of State;
``(B) the Department of Defense;
``(C) the Department of the Treasury;
``(D) the Department of Justice;
``(E) the United States Agency for International
Development;
``(F) the Office of the Director of National Intelligence;
and
``(G) any other agency the President considers relevant.'';
and
(6) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) as
subsections (b) through (e), respectively.
(e) Strategy on ISIS-related Detainee and Displacement
Camps in Syria.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Director of
National Intelligence, the Secretary of the Treasury, the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, and the Attorney General, shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress an interagency strategy
with respect to ISIS-affiliated individuals and ISIS-related
detainee and other displaced persons camps in Syria.
(2) Elements.--The strategy required by paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) methods to address--
(i) disengagement from and prevention of recruitment into
violence, violent extremism, and other illicit activity in
such camps;
(ii) repatriation and, where appropriate, prosecution of
foreign nationals from such camps, consistent with all
applicable international laws;
(iii) the return and reintegration of displaced Syrian and
Iraqi women and children into their communities of origin;
(iv) international engagement to develop processes for
repatriation and reintegration of foreign nationals from such
camps;
(v) contingency plans for the relocation of detained and
displaced persons who are not able to be repatriated from
such camps;
(vi) efforts to improve the humanitarian conditions in such
camps, including through the delivery of medicine,
psychosocial support, clothing, education, and improved
housing; and
(vii) assessed humanitarian and security needs of all camps
and detainment facilities based on prioritization of such
camps and facilities most at risk of humanitarian crises,
external attacks, or internal violence; and
(B) a plan to improve, in such camps--
(i) security conditions, including by training of personnel
and through construction; and
(ii) humanitarian conditions;
(C) a framework for measuring progress of humanitarian,
security, and repatriation efforts with the goal of closing
such camps; and
(D) any other matter the Secretary of State considers
appropriate.
(f) Annual Interagency Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than
annually thereafter through January 31, 2025, the Senior
Coordinator, in coordination with the relevant agencies,
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
detailed report that includes the following:
(A) A detailed description of the facilities and camps
where detained ISIS members, and families with perceived ISIS
affiliation, are being held and housed, including--
(i) a description of the security and management of such
facilities and camps
(ii) an assessment of resources required for the security
of such facilities and camps; and
(iii) an assessment of the adherence by the operators of
such facilities and camps to international humanitarian law
standards.
(B) A description of all efforts undertaken by the United
States Government to address deficits in the humanitarian
environment and security of such facilities and camps.
(C) A description of all multilateral and international
engagements related to humanitarian access and provision of
basic services to, and freedom of movement and security and
safe return of, displaced persons at camps or facilities in
Iraq, Syria, and any other area affected by ISIS activity,
including a description of--
(i) support for efforts by the Syrian Democratic Forces to
facilitate the return and reintegration of displaced people
from Iraq and Syria;
(ii) repatriation efforts with respect to displaced women
and children;
(iii) any current or future potential threat to United
States national security interests posed by detained ISIS
members or displaced families, including an analysis of the
al-Hol camp and annexes; and
(iv) United States Government plans and strategies to
respond to any threat identified under clause (iii).
(D) To the greatest extent practicable under the law and
consistent with Department of Justice policy, an analysis
of--
(i) United States efforts to prosecute detained or
displaced ISIS members; and
(ii) the outcomes of such efforts.
(E) A detailed description of any option to expedite
prosecution of any detained ISIS member, including in a court
of competent jurisdiction outside of the United States.
(F) An analysis of factors on the ground in Syria and Iraq
that may result in the unintended release of detained or
displaced ISIS members, and an assessment of any measures
available to mitigate such releases.
(G) A detailed description of efforts to coordinate the
disposition and security of detained or displaced ISIS
members with other countries and international organizations,
including the International Criminal Police Organization, to
ensure secure chains of custody and locations of such ISIS
members.
(H) An analysis of the manner in which the United States
Government communicates on such proposals and efforts with
the families of United States citizens believed to have been
victims of a criminal act by a detained or displaced ISIS
member.
(I) An analysis of all efforts between the United States
and partner countries within the Global Coalition to Defeat
ISIS or other countries to share intelligence or evidence
that may aid in the prosecution of ISIS members, and any
legal obstacles that may hinder such efforts.
(J) Any other matter the Coordinator considers appropriate.
(2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified
annex.
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