[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4498-S4499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2211. Mr. COTTON submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2025 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 F of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1291. ILLEGITIMATE COURT COUNTER ACTION ACT.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act''.
       (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) The United States and Israel are not parties to the 
     Rome Statute or members of the International Criminal Court, 
     and therefore the International Criminal Court has no 
     legitimacy or jurisdiction over the United States or Israel.
       (2) On May 20, 2024, the Prosecutor of the International 
     Criminal Court, Karim Khan, announced arrest warrant 
     applications for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 
     and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and should be condemned 
     in the strongest possible terms.
       (3) The bipartisan American Servicemembers' Protection Act 
     (22 U.S.C. 7421 et seq.) was enacted in 2002 to protect 
     United States military personnel, United States officials, 
     and officials and military personnel of certain allied 
     countries against criminal prosecution by an international 
     criminal court to which the United States is not party, 
     stating, ``In addition to exposing members of the Armed 
     Forces of the United States to the risk of international 
     criminal prosecution, the Rome Statute creates a risk that 
     the President and other senior elected and appointed 
     officials of the United States Government may be prosecuted 
     by the International Criminal Court.''.
       (4) The International Criminal Court's actions against 
     Israel are illegitimate and baseless, including the 
     preliminary examination and investigation of Israel and 
     applications for arrest warrants against Israeli officials, 
     which create a damaging precedent that threatens the United 
     States, Israel, and all United States partners who have not 
     submitted to the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction.
       (5) The United States must oppose any action by the 
     International Criminal Court against the United States, 
     Israel, or any other ally of the United States that has not 
     consented to International Criminal Court jurisdiction or is 
     not a state party to the Rome Statute.
       (c) Sanctions With Respect to the International Criminal 
     Court.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis 
     thereafter, if the International Criminal Court is engaging 
     in any attempt to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute 
     any protected person, the President shall impose--
       (A) the sanctions described in paragraph (2) with respect 
     to any foreign person the President determines--
       (i) has directly engaged in or otherwise aided any effort 
     by the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, 
     detain, or prosecute a protected person;
       (ii) has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided 
     financial, material, or technological support for, or goods 
     or services to or in support of any effort by the 
     International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain, 
     or prosecute a protected person; or
       (iii) is owned or controlled by, or is currently acting or 
     purports to have acted, directly or indirectly, for or on 
     behalf of any person that directly engages in any effort by 
     the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, 
     detain, or prosecute a protected person; and
       (B) the sanctions described in paragraph (2)(B) with 
     respect to the immediate family members of each foreign 
     person who is subject to sanctions pursuant to subparagraph 
     (A).
       (2) Sanctions described.--The sanctions described in this 
     paragraph with respect to a foreign person described in 
     paragraph (1) are the following:
       (A) Property blocking.--The President shall exercise all of 
     the powers granted by the International Emergency Economic 
     Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary 
     to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and 
     interests in property of any foreign person described in 
     paragraph (1)(A) if such property and interests in property 
     are in the United States, come within the United States, or 
     are or come within the possession or control of a United 
     States person.
       (B) Aliens inadmissible for visas, admission, or parole.--
       (i) Visas, admission, or parole.--In the case of an alien 
     described in paragraph (1), the alien is--

       (I) inadmissible to the United States;
       (II) ineligible to receive a visa or other documentation to 
     enter the United States; and
       (III) otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled into 
     the United States or to receive any other benefit under the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).

       (ii) Current visas revoked.--

       (I) In general.--The visa or other entry documentation of 
     an alien described in subparagraph (A) shall be revoked, 
     regardless of when such visa or other entry documentation was 
     issued.
       (II) Immediate effect.--A revocation under clause (i) 
     shall--

       (aa) take effect immediately; and
       (bb) automatically cancel any other valid visa or entry 
     documentation that is in the alien's possession.
       (3) Implementation; penalties.--
       (A) Implementation.--The President may exercise all 
     authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the 
     International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 
     and 1704) to carry out this section.
       (B) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to 
     violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this 
     section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry 
     out this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth 
     in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the 
     International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) 
     to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act 
     described in subsection (a) of that section.
       (4) Notification to congress.--Not later than 10 days after 
     any imposition of sanctions pursuant to paragraph (1), the 
     President shall brief and provide written notification to the 
     appropriate congressional committees regarding the imposition 
     of sanctions that shall include--
       (A) a description of the foreign person or persons subject 
     to the imposition of such sanctions, including the foreign 
     person's role at or relation to the International Criminal 
     Court;
       (B) a description of any activity undertaken by such 
     foreign person or persons in support of efforts to 
     investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected 
     person; and
       (C) the specific sanctions imposed on such foreign person 
     or persons.
       (5) Waiver.--
       (A) In general.--The President may, on a case-by-case basis 
     and for periods not to exceed 90 days each, waive the 
     application of sanctions imposed or maintained with respect 
     to a foreign person under this section if the President 
     submits to the appropriate congressional committees before 
     the waiver is to take effect a report that contains a 
     determination of the President that the waiver is vital to 
     the national security interests of the United States.
       (B) Contents.--Each report required by subparagraph (A) 
     with respect to a waiver of the application of sanctions 
     imposed or maintained with respect to a foreign person under 
     this section, or the renewal of such a waiver, shall 
     include--

[[Page S4499]]

       (i) a specific and detailed rationale for the determination 
     that the waiver is vital to the national security interests 
     of the United States;
       (ii) a description of the activity that resulted in the 
     foreign person being subject to sanctions; and
       (iii) a detailed description and list of actions the United 
     States has taken to--

       (I) stop the International Criminal Court from engaging in 
     any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute all 
     protected persons; and
       (II) permanently close, withdraw, end, or otherwise 
     terminate any preliminary examination, investigation, or any 
     other effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute all 
     protected persons.

       (C) Form.--Each report required by subparagraph (A) shall 
     be submitted in unclassified form but may include a 
     classified annex.
       (6) Special rule.--The President may terminate the 
     sanctions with respect to the foreign persons described in 
     paragraph (1) if the President certifies in writing to the 
     appropriate congressional committees that the International 
     Criminal Court--
       (A) has ceased engaging in any effort to investigate, 
     arrest, detain, or prosecute all protected persons; and
       (B) has permanently closed, withdrawn, ended, and otherwise 
     terminated any preliminary examination, investigation, or any 
     other effort by the International Criminal Court to 
     investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute all protected 
     persons.
       (d) Rescission of Funds for International Criminal Court.--
       (1) In general.--Effective on the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, any amounts appropriated for the International 
     Criminal Court and available for obligation as of such date 
     of enactment are hereby rescinded.
       (2) Prohibition on future appropriations.--On and after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, no appropriated funds may 
     be used for the International Criminal Court.
       (e) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Admitted alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien'' 
     have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
       (2) Ally of the united states.--The term ``ally of the 
     United States'' means--
       (A) a government of a member country of the North Atlantic 
     Treaty Organization; or
       (B) a government of a major non-NATO ally, as that term is 
     defined by section 2013(7) of the American Service-Members' 
     Protection Act (22 U.S.C. 7432(7)).
       (3) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on the 
     Judiciary of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
     Financial Services, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
     House of Representatives.
       (4) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a 
     person that is not a United States person.
       (5) Immediate family member.--The term ``immediate family 
     member'', with respect to a foreign person, means the spouse, 
     parent, sibling, or adult child of the person.
       (6) International criminal court; rome statute.--The terms 
     ``International Criminal Court'' and ``Rome Statute'' have 
     the meaning given those terms in section 2013 of the American 
     Service-Members' Protection Act (22 U.S.C. 7432).
       (7) Protected person.--The term ``protected person'' 
     means--
       (A) any United States person, unless the United States 
     provides formal consent to International Criminal Court 
     jurisdiction and is a state party to the Rome Statute of the 
     International Criminal Court, including--
       (i) current or former members of the Armed Forces of the 
     United States;
       (ii) current or former elected or appointed officials of 
     the United States Government; and
       (iii) any other person currently or formerly employed by or 
     working on behalf of the United States Government; and
       (B) any foreign person that is a citizen or lawful resident 
     of an ally of the United States that has not consented to 
     International Criminal Court jurisdiction or is not a state 
     party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal 
     Court, including--
       (i) current or former members of the Armed Forces of such 
     ally of the United States;
       (ii) current or former elected or appointed government 
     officials of such ally of the United States; and
       (iii) any other person currently or formerly employed by or 
     working on behalf of such a government.
       (8) United states person.--The term ``United States 
     person'' means--
       (A) an individual who is a United States citizen or an 
     alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United 
     States;
       (B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States 
     or any jurisdiction within the United States, including a 
     foreign branch of such an entity; or
       (C) any person in the United States.
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