[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 64 (Monday, April 15, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2378-H2380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HOLDING IRANIAN LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE ACT OF 2023

  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6245) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to report on 
financial institutions' involvement with officials of the Iranian 
Government, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6245

       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 ``Holding Iranian Leaders 
     Accountable Act of 2023''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) Iran is characterized by high levels of official and 
     institutional corruption, and substantial involvement by 
     Iran's security forces, particularly the Islamic 
     Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in the economy.
       (2) The Department of Treasury in 2019 designated the 
     Islamic Republic of Iran's financial sector as a jurisdiction 
     of primary money laundering concern, concluding, ``Iran has 
     developed covert methods for accessing the international 
     financial system and pursuing its malign activities, 
     including misusing banks and exchange houses, operating 
     procurement networks that utilize front or shell companies, 
     exploiting commercial shipping, and masking illicit 
     transactions using senior officials, including those at the 
     Central Bank of Iran (CBI).''.
       (3) In June 2019, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 
     urged all jurisdictions to require increased supervisory 
     examination for branches and subsidiaries of financial 
     institutions based in Iran. The FATF later called upon its 
     members to introduce enhanced relevant reporting mechanisms 
     or systematic reporting of financial transactions, and 
     require increased external audit requirements, for financial 
     groups with respect to any of their branches and subsidiaries 
     located in Iran.
       (4) According to the State Department's ``Country Reports 
     on Terrorism'' in 2021, ``Iran continued to be the leading 
     state sponsor of terrorism, facilitating a wide range of 
     terrorist and other illicit activities around the world. 
     Regionally, Iran supported acts of terrorism in Bahrain, 
     Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen through proxies and partner 
     groups such as Hizballah and Hamas.''.

     SEC. 3. REPORT ON FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND ASSETS CONNECTED 
                   TO CERTAIN IRANIAN OFFICIALS.

       (a) Financial Institutions and Assets Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the 
     President shall submit a report to the appropriate Members of 
     Congress containing--
       (A) the estimated total funds or assets that are under 
     direct or indirect control by each of the natural persons 
     described under subsection (b), and a description of such 
     funds or assets, except that the President may limit coverage 
     of the report to not fewer than 5 of such natural persons in 
     order to meet the submission deadline described under this 
     paragraph;
       (B) a description of how such funds or assets were 
     acquired, and how they have been used or employed;
       (C) a list of any non-Iranian financial institutions that--
       (i) maintain an account in connection with funds or assets 
     described in subparagraph (A); or
       (ii) knowingly provide significant financial services to a 
     natural person covered by the report; and
       (D) a description of any illicit or corrupt means employed 
     to acquire or use such funds or assets.
       (2) Exemptions.--The requirements described under paragraph 
     (1) may not be applied with respect to a natural person or a 
     financial institution, as the case may be, if the President 
     determines:
       (A) The funds or assets described under subparagraph (A) of 
     paragraph (1) were acquired through legal or noncorrupt 
     means.
       (B) The natural person has agreed to provide significant 
     cooperation to the United States for an important national 
     security or law enforcement purpose with respect to Iran.
       (C) A financial institution that would otherwise be listed 
     in the report required by paragraph (1) has agreed to--
       (i) no longer maintain an account described under 
     subparagraph (C)(i) of paragraph (1);
       (ii) no longer provide significant financial services to a 
     natural person covered by the report; or
       (iii) provide significant cooperation to the United States 
     for an important national security or law enforcement purpose 
     with respect to Iran.
       (3) Waiver.--The President may waive for up to 1 year at a 
     time any requirement under paragraph (1) with respect to a 
     natural person or a financial institution after reporting in 
     writing to the appropriate Members of Congress that the 
     waiver is in the national interest of the United States, with 
     a detailed explanation of the reasons therefor.
       (b) Persons Described.--The natural persons described in 
     this subsection are the following:
       (1) The Supreme Leader of Iran.
       (2) The President of Iran.
       (3) The members of the Council of Guardians.
       (4) The members of the Expediency Council.
       (5) The Minister of Intelligence and Security.
       (6) The Commander and the Deputy Commander of the IRGC.
       (7) The Commander and the Deputy Commander of the IRGC 
     Ground Forces.
       (8) The Commander and the Deputy Commander of the IRGC 
     Aerospace Force.
       (9) The Commander and the Deputy Commander of the IRGC 
     Navy.
       (10) The Commander of the Basij-e-Mostaz'afin.
       (11) The Commander of the Qods Force.
       (12) The Commander in Chief of the Police Force.
       (13) The head of the IRGC Joint Staff.
       (14) The Commander of the IRGC Intelligence.
       (15) The head of the IRGC Imam Hussein University.
       (16) The Supreme Leader's Representative at the IRGC.
       (17) The Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of the 
     IRGC Cooperative Foundation.
       (18) The Commander of the Khatam-al-Anbia Construction Head 
     Quarter.
       (19) The Chief Executive Officer of the Basij Cooperative 
     Foundation.
       (20) The head of the Political Bureau of the IRGC.
       (21) The senior leadership as determined by the President 
     of the following groups:
       (A) Hizballah.
       (B) Hamas.
       (C) Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
       (D) Kata'ib Hizballah.
       (c) Form of Report; Public Availability.--
       (1) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) and any 
     waiver under subsection (a)(3) shall be submitted in 
     unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.
       (2) Public availability.--The Secretary shall make the 
     unclassified portion of such report public if the Secretary 
     notifies the appropriate Members of Congress that the 
     publication is in the national interest of the United States 
     and would substantially promote--
       (A) deterring or sanctioning official corruption in Iran;
       (B) holding natural persons or financial institutions 
     listed in the report accountable to the people of Iran;
       (C) combating money laundering or the financing of 
     terrorism; or
       (D) achieving any other strategic objective with respect to 
     the Government of Iran.
       (3) Format of publicly available reports.--If the Secretary 
     makes the unclassified portion of a report public pursuant to 
     paragraph (2), the Secretary shall make it available to the 
     public on the website of the Department of the Treasury--
       (A) in English, Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri; and
       (B) in precompressed, easily downloadable versions that are 
     made available in all appropriate formats.

     SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than the date that is 90 days 
     after submitting a report described under section 3(a)(1), 
     the Secretary shall undertake the following with respect to a 
     financial institution that is described under section 
     3(a)(1)(C) and listed in the report:
       (1) If the financial institution is a United States 
     financial institution, require the closure of any account 
     described in section 3(a)(1)(C)(i), and prohibit the 
     provision of significant financial services, directly or 
     indirectly, to a natural person covered by the report.
       (2) If the financial institution is a foreign financial 
     institution, actively seek the closure of any account 
     described in section 3(a)(1)(C)(i), and the cessation of 
     significant financial services to a natural person covered by 
     the report, using any existing authorities of the Secretary, 
     as appropriate.
       (b) Suspension.--The Secretary may suspend the application 
     of subsection (a) with respect to a financial institution 
     upon reporting to the appropriate Members of Congress that 
     the suspension is in the national interest of the United 
     States, with a detailed explanation of the reasons therefor.

     SEC. 5. EXCEPTIONS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY; IMPLEMENTATION 
                   AUTHORITY.

       The following activities shall be exempt from requirements 
     under sections 3 and 4:
       (1) Any activity subject to the reporting requirements 
     under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
     3091 et seq.), or to any

[[Page H2379]]

     authorized intelligence activities of the United States.
       (2) The admission of an alien to the United States if such 
     admission is necessary to comply with United States 
     obligations under the Agreement between the United Nations 
     and the United States of America regarding the Headquarters 
     of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, 
     and entered into force November 21, 1947, or under the 
     Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 
     1963, and entered into force March 19, 1967, or other 
     applicable international obligations of the United States.
       (3) The conduct or facilitation of a transaction for the 
     sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical 
     devices to Iran or for the provision of humanitarian 
     assistance to the people of Iran, including engaging in a 
     financial transaction relating to humanitarian assistance or 
     for humanitarian purposes or transporting goods or services 
     that are necessary to carry out operations relating to 
     humanitarian assistance or humanitarian purposes.

     SEC. 6. SUNSET.

       The provisions of this Act shall have no force or effect on 
     the earlier of--
       (1) the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of 
     this Act; or
       (2) 30 days after the Secretary reports in writing to the 
     appropriate Members of Congress that--
       (A) Iran is not a jurisdiction of primary money laundering 
     concern; or
       (B) the Government of Iran is providing significant 
     cooperation to the United States for the purpose of 
     preventing acts of international terrorism, or for the 
     promotion of any other strategic objective that is important 
     to the national interest of the United States, as specified 
     in the report by the Secretary.

     SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

       For purposes of this Act:
       (1) Appropriate members of congress.--The term 
     ``appropriate Members of Congress'' means the Speaker and 
     Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority 
     Leader and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Chairman and 
     Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services of the 
     House of Representatives, and the Chairman and Ranking Member 
     of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of 
     the Senate.
       (2) Financial institution.--The term ``financial 
     institution'' means a United States financial institution or 
     a foreign financial institution.
       (3) Foreign financial institution.--The term ``foreign 
     financial institution'' has the meaning given that term in 
     section 561.308 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations.
       (4) Funds.--The term ``funds'' means--
       (A) cash;
       (B) equity;
       (C) any other asset whose value is derived from a 
     contractual claim, including bank deposits, bonds, stocks, a 
     security as defined in section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 
     1933 (15 U.S.C. 77b(a)), or a security or an equity security 
     as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 
     1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); and
       (D) anything else that the Secretary determines 
     appropriate.
       (5) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'' with respect to 
     conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has 
     actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the 
     circumstance, or the result.
       (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Treasury.
       (7) United states financial institution.--The term ``United 
     States financial institution'' has the meaning given the term 
     ``U.S. financial institution'' under section 561.309 of title 
     31, Code of Federal Regulations.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. McHenry) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Cleaver) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6245, the Holding Iranian 
Leaders Accountable Act, sponsored by the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. 
Hill).
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), the subcommittee chair as well as vice chair 
on the House Financial Services Committee. He holds posts on the 
Foreign Affairs Committee as well as the Intelligence Committee. He is 
well positioned to make policy here and construct bipartisan 
legislation, as he has done.
  Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of our committee, Mr. 
McHenry from North Carolina, for affording the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6245, the Holding Iranian 
Leaders Accountable Act.
  This legislation would make public detailed information about the 
assets held by senior Iranian Government officials and require the U.S. 
Treasury to brief Congress about how the money was acquired and used 
and the total amounts. The Secretary would also identify and seek 
closure of U.S. and foreign bank accounts connected with these assets.
  By combining publicly available information with U.S. intelligence, 
this legislation can provide a valuable window into the corrupt 
business practices of Iran's top kleptocrats and limit their financial 
holdings, which can be used to support and sponsor terrorism.

                              {time}  1745

  Chief among them is Ayatollah Khamenei who, according to Reuters, 
controls a massive financial empire of real estate, corporate stakes, 
and other assets that total nearly $100 billion.
  That is right, Mr. Speaker, the Ayatollah in Iran, a cleric, a man of 
the faith of his religion in Iran, is worth $100 billion while roughly 
60 percent of the Iranian people live in poverty. It is important to 
show ordinary Iranians and the rest of the world about the theft and 
corruption of Iran's leaders.
  The Iranian regime has been funding terrorism against the United 
States for far too long. We have court cases in New York, Mr. Speaker, 
of assassination attempts in this country by Iranian actors. For 
example, Hamas--so long in the news here because of what has happened 
in Gaza--is a creature of Iranian money and training, and the recent 
barbaric terrorist attacks against Israel demonstrate the need to 
expose these financial ties.
  In Syria, Iran is the primary financier of Hezbollah, and the Iranian 
Revolutionary Guard units fighting alongside Russia to prop up Assad's 
murderous regime.
  Iran-backed militias in Iraq have claimed responsibility for recent 
drone attacks against U.S. forces in northeast Syria and along the 
Jordanian border, and in Yemen, Iran is the primary financier of the 
Houthis who have routinely launched long-range missiles at Israel over 
Saudi Arabian airspace and actively attacked international shipping and 
U.S. military naval and air forces in the region.
  These proxies, Mr. Speaker, seek to destabilize the Middle East by 
creating chaos and hiding behind hostages and civilians.
  Here at home, we need strong, bipartisan leadership in this House to 
protect our Nation, defend our allies, and assist the innocent. I am 
proud to say this bill passed the House Financial Services Committee 
49-0 in November--unanimously--and a similar version of this bill 
passed with bipartisan support in a prior Congress.
  I thank my good friend from California, Congressman Juan Vargas, for 
his bipartisan support to expose the theocratic blood money and crack 
down on the banks that maintain accounts with connection to those 
funds. I thank Chairman McHenry for affording this bill to come to the 
House floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 6245.
  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 6245, sponsored by Representative Hill and 
Representative Vargas. This bill would require the President to report 
on the assets of certain Iranian Government officials and terrorist 
leaders and requires the publication of those assets in a report.
  We have heard from Treasury that to the extent that the Office of 
Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, which administers U.S. sanctions, has 
such information. It has already acted on it by imposing sanctions on 
these leaders and officials. Nevertheless, I and my Democratic 
colleagues on the Financial Services Committee are comfortable 
combining these names and assets into one place. If OFAC hasn't already 
sanctioned any of the persons on this list, additional sanctions should 
follow.
  Democrats also pressed our Republican colleagues to also include the 
names and assets of Russian and Belarusian elites, especially due to 
the growing collaboration of Iran and Russia. Unfortunately, they were 
not supportive of that effort. While that is a missed opportunity, I 
hope Republicans will finally allow funding for Ukraine's war effort to 
come to the floor so that Ukrainians can defeat Putin.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.

[[Page H2380]]

  

  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers and am 
prepared to close.
  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close.
  H.R. 6245 would direct the President to create a public report of 
Iranian leaders and their assets, helping Congress ensure that the U.S. 
Government is appropriately sanctioning those officials. Although this 
bill would not do anything to protect Israel from another attack, nor 
would it support our allies like Ukraine and Taiwan, who are either 
being attacked or threatened by an authoritarian regime, it may help 
identify targets for additional sanctions.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close.
  I commend the bipartisan vote out of the House Financial Services 
Committee. I also commend the author of this bill, Mr. Hill, for his 
work in building consensus here and the important work that we do as a 
nation-state with our economic capacity to support friends and allies, 
to support the rule of law, free speech rights, human rights, human 
dignity, and economic freedom globally through our relationships in 
standing against regimes that do not respect those rights; and, 
especially, most firmly opposing corrupt regimes and corrupt regimes 
that commit terrorist acts.
  I think this is an important vote, especially in light of the events 
of the weekend in the Middle East and the attack by the Iranian regime 
against the people of Israel.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Huizenga). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6245, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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