[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.
                                 ______