[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2675-S2676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 543. Mrs. SHAHEEN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by her to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 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. 1225. 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, the Committee on Appropriations,
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs 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, the Committee on Appropriations,
and the Committee on Homeland Security 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) the vast majority of individuals held in displaced
persons camps in Syria are women and children, approximately
50 percent of whom are under the age of 12 at the al-Hol
camp, and they face significant threats of violence and
radicalization, as well as lacking access to adequate
sanitation and health care facilities;
(C) there is an urgent need to seek a sustainable solution
to such camps through repatriation and reintegration of the
inhabitants;
(D) 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
(E) 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.
(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 and, where appropriate, prosecuted,
or where possible, reintegrated into their country of origin,
consistent with all relevant domestic laws and 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, matters related to ISIS members who
are in the custody of the Syrian Democratic Forces and other
relevant displaced populations in Syria, including--
``(A) by engaging foreign partners to support the
repatriation and disposition of such individuals, including
by encouraging foreign partners to repatriate, transfer,
investigate, and prosecute such ISIS members, and share
information;
``(B) coordination of 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;
``(C) the funding and coordination of the provision of
technical and other assistance to foreign countries to aid in
the successful investigation and prosecution of such ISIS
members, as appropriate, in accordance with relevant domestic
laws, international humanitarian law, and other
internationally recognized human rights and rule of law
standards;
``(D) coordination 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
Syria that hold family members of such ISIS members;
``(E) coordination with relevant agencies on matters
described in this section; and
``(F) any other matter the President considers relevant.
``(2) Rule of construction.--If, on the date of the
enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2024, 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 (d), by striking ``subsection (b)'' and
inserting ``subsection (a)'';
(5) in subsection (e), by striking ``January 31, 2021'' and
inserting ``January 31, 2025'';
(6) 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
(7) 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) efforts to encourage and facilitate repatriation and,
as appropriate, investigation and prosecution of foreign
nationals from such camps, consistent with all relevant
domestic and 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;
(B) an assessment of--
[[Page S2676]]
(i) rehabilitation centers in northeast Syria, including
humanitarian conditions and processes for admittance and
efforts to improve both humanitarian conditions and
admittance processes for such centers and camps, as well as
on the prevention of youth radicalization; and
(ii) processes for being sent to, and resources directed
towards, rehabilitation centers and programs in countries
that receive returned ISIS affiliated individuals, with a
focus on the prevention of radicalization of minor children;
(C) a plan to improve, in such camps--
(i) security conditions, including by training of personnel
and through construction; and
(ii) humanitarian conditions;
(D) a framework for measuring progress of humanitarian,
security, and repatriation efforts with the goal of closing
such camps; and
(E) any other matter the Secretary of State considers
appropriate.
(3) Form.--The strategy required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified
annex that is transmitted separately.
(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;
(iii) an assessment of the adherence by the operators of
such facilities and camps to international humanitarian law
standards; and
(iv) an assessment of children held within such facilities
and camps that may be used as part of smuggling operations to
evade security at the facilities and camps.
(B) A description of all efforts undertaken by, and the
resources needed for, 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 and male children aging into adults while held
in these facilities and camps;
(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) The number of individuals repatriated from the custody
of the Syrian Democratic Forces.
(E) 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.
(F) A detailed description of efforts to encourage the
final disposition and security of detained or displaced ISIS
members with other countries and international organizations.
(G) A description of foreign repatriation and
rehabilitation programs deemed successful systems to model,
and an analysis of the long-term results of such programs.
(H) A description of the manner in which the United States
Government communicates regarding repatriation and
disposition efforts with the families of United States
citizens believed to have been victims of a criminal act by a
detained or displaced ISIS member, in accordance with section
503(c) of the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 (34
U.S.C. 20141(c)) and section 3771 of title 18, United States
Code.
(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 related information that may
aid in resolving the final disposition of ISIS members, and
any 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 that is transmitted separately.
(g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section, or an
amendment made by this section, may be construed--
(1) to limit the authority of any Federal agency to
independently carry out the authorized functions of such
agency; or
(2) to impair or otherwise affect the activities performed
by that agency as granted by law.
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