[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4848-S4850]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2522. 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
[[Page S4849]]
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the end of title XII, add the following:
Subtitle G--PLO and PA Terror Payments Accountability Act of 2024
SEC. 1291. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``PLO and PA Terror
Payments Accountability Act of 2024''.
SEC. 1292. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Palestine Liberation Organization and the
Palestinian Authority provide hundreds of millions of dollars
per year in payments, salaries, and benefits to terrorists
and the families of terrorists as part of a system
compensation that incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and
supports acts of terrorism.
(2) The Palestine Liberation Organization and the
Palestinian Authority policies, laws, and regulations that
direct, authorize, enact, facilitate, and implement a system
of compensation in support of acts of terrorism require
payments, salaries, and benefits to terrorists including
those who are members and part of organizations designated as
foreign terrorist organizations by the Secretary of State
under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1189), including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that receive
direct support including financial and military assistance
from Iran, the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the
world.
(3) In 2018, Congress passed the Taylor Force Act (title X
of division S of Public Law 115-141; 132 Stat. 1143) into law
that calls on the Palestine Liberation Organization and the
Palestinian Authority to end their system of compensation
that incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and supports acts of
terrorism and restricts United States assistance ``that
directly benefits the Palestinian Authority'' unless the
Secretary of State certifies to Congress that the Palestine
Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority have
met specific conditions including terminating that system of
compensation and revoking the policies, laws, and regulations
that authorize and implement the system of compensation.
(4) Despite the enactment of the Taylor Force Act, the
Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian
Authority have continued their system of compensation that
incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and supports acts of
terrorism.
(5) On October 7, 2023, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other
Gaza-based terrorist organizations attacked Israel on Shabbat
and during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, committing
the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the
Holocaust.
(6) On October 7, 2023, Hamas fired thousands of rockets
into Israel, deliberately targeting Israeli civilians, and
thousands of terrorists invaded Israeli communities--
massacring, raping, torturing, decapitating, burning alive,
seriously injuring, and kidnapping Israelis and Americans,
including men, women, children, babies, and grandparents, and
including Holocaust survivors, with children being murdered
in front of their parents and parents being murdered in front
of their children.
(7) On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered more than 1,200 who
were mostly civilians, and kidnapped more than 240, including
Israeli and American men, women, children, babies, and
grandparents, and took them to Gaza as hostages.
(b) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the
United States to hold the Palestine Liberation Organization
and the Palestinian Authority accountable including through
the imposition of sanctions for providing payments, salaries,
and benefits to terrorists and the families of terrorists as
part of a system compensation that incentivizes, encourages,
rewards, and supports acts of terrorism.
SEC. 1293. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) Act of terrorism.--The term ``act of terrorism''--
(A) means an act of international terrorism (as defined in
section 2331 of title 18, United States Code); and
(B) includes the meanings given the terms ``terrorist
activity'' and ``engage in terrorist activity'' by section
212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(a)(3)(B)).
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
(3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means any
person or entity that is not a United States person.
(4) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to
conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person had
actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the
circumstance, or the result.
(5) System of compensation.--The term ``system of
compensation'', with respect to the Palestinian Authority and
the Palestinian Liberation Organization, means the payments
described in subparagraph (B) of section 1004(a)(1) of the
Taylor Force Act (22 U.S.C. 2378c-1) and the system of
compensation described in subparagraph (C) of that section.
(6) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) 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) a person in the United States.
SEC. 1294. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN FOREIGN PERSONS
SUPPORTING TERRORISM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and an ongoing basis thereafter,
the President shall impose the sanctions described in
subsection (b) on--
(1) any foreign person that--
(A) has served in a position as a representative, minister,
official, or employee of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, the Palestinian Authority, or any other foreign
person that has directed, authorized, been responsible for,
materially assisted with, enacted, implemented, or otherwise
facilitated the Palestine Liberation Organization and the
Palestinian Authority system of compensation supporting acts
of terrorism; or
(B) has provided payments, salaries, and benefits to
terrorists and the families of terrorists as part of the
Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian
Authority system of compensation supporting acts of
terrorism;
(2) any entity that directly or indirectly has operated,
ordered, controlled, directed, or otherwise facilitated the
Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian
Authority system of compensation supporting acts of terrorism
including the Commission of Prisoners and Released Prisoners,
the Institute for the Care of the Families of the Martyrs and
the Wounded, the Palestine National Fund, National
Association of the Families of the Martyrs of Palestine, or
any successor, agency, instrumentality, organization, or
affiliated entities thereof; or
(3) any foreign person that has knowingly provided
significant financial, technological, or material support and
resources support to, or knowingly engaged in a significant
transaction with a foreign person described in subparagraphs
(1) or (2).
(b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions that shall be
imposed with respect to a foreign person described a
subsection (a) are the following:
(1) Blocking of property.--The President shall exercise all
of the powers granted to the President under the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701
et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all
transactions in property and interests in property of the
foreign person 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.
(2) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole.--
(A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien described in
subsection (a) 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.).
(B) Current visas revoked.--
(i) In general.--An alien described in subsection (a) is
subject to revocation of any visa or other entry
documentation regardless of when the visa or other entry
documentation is or was issued.
(ii) Immediate effect.--A revocation under clause (i)
shall--
(I) take effect immediately; and
(II) automatically cancel any other valid visa or entry
documentation that is in the alien's possession.
(iii) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections
(b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person
that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or
causes a violation of this section or any regulations
promulgated to carry out this section to the same extent that
such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act
described in section 206(a) of that Act.
(c) Congressional Requests.--Not later than 30 days after
receiving a request from the chairman or ranking member of
one of the appropriate congressional committees with respect
to whether a person meets the criteria of a person described
in subsection (a), the President shall--
(1) determine if the person meets such criteria; and
(2) submit a classified or unclassified report to the
chairman or ranking member, that submitted the request with
respect to that determination that includes a statement of
whether or not the President imposed or intends to impose
sanctions with respect to the person.
(d) Implementation; Regulations.--
(1) In general.--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) for
purposes of carrying out this section.
(2) Regulations.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall issue such
regulations or other guidance as may be necessary for the
implementation of this section.
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(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Material support or resources.--The term ``material
support or resources'' has the meaning given that term in
section 2339A(b) of title 18, United States Code.
SEC. 1295. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS THAT FACILITATE TRANSACTIONS
SUPPORTING TERRORISM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis
thereafter, the President shall impose the sanctions
described in subsection (c) with respect to each foreign
financial institution that engages in the activities
described in subsection (b).
(b) Activities Described.--A foreign financial institution
engages in an activity described in this subsection if the
institution--
(1) processes, participates in, facilitates, or provides a
transaction that are payments, salaries, or benefits, or any
other conduct described in section 1294(a); or
(2) knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant
financial transaction with any foreign person subject to
sanctions under section 1294(a).
(c) Sanctions Described.--The President shall prohibit the
opening, and prohibit or impose strict donations on the
maintaining, in the United States of a correspondent account
or a payable-through account by a foreign financial
institution described in subsection (a).
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Correspondent account; payable-through account.--The
terms ``correspondent account'' and ``payable-through
account'' have the meanings given those terms in section
5318A of title 31, United States Code.
(2) Foreign financial institution.--The term ``foreign
financial institution'' has the meaning of that term as
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to
section 104(i) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C.
8513(i)).
SEC. 1296. TERMINATION.
The provisions of this subtitle shall have no force or
effect only if the Secretary of State certifies in writing to
the appropriate congressional committees that the Palestine
Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority system
of compensation providing payments, salaries, and benefits to
terrorists and the families of terrorists that incentivizes,
encourages, rewards, and supports acts of terrorism as
described in this subtitle, has ceased to be in effect and is
no longer taking place.
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