[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 132 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5099-S5100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3324. Mr. MERKLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 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 title XII, add the following:
Subtitle F--Transnational Repression Policy Act
SEC. 1270. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Transnational
Repression Policy Act''.
SEC. 1271. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to protect persons within the United States, and United
States nationals who are outside of the United States, from
actions by foreign governments, or individuals acting on
behalf of foreign governments, that violate internationally
recognized human rights;
(2) to encourage cooperation with like-minded foreign
partners to mitigate transnational repression; and
(3) to pursue criminal prosecutions, as appropriate, and
undertake other steps, such as facilitating mutual legal
assistance, in accordance with United States law, to hold
foreign governments and individuals acting on behalf of
foreign governments, including unregistered foreign agents,
accountable for engaging in transnational repression.
SEC. 1272. DEFINED TERM.
In this subtitle, the term ``transnational repression''
refers to a range of tactics deployed by a foreign
government, or agents or proxies of a foreign government, to
reach beyond their borders to intimidate, silence, harass,
coerce, or harm individuals, such as political dissidents,
activists, journalists, political opponents, religious and
ethnic minority groups, international students, and members
of diaspora and exile communities.
SEC. 1273. INTERAGENCY STRATEGY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the heads of other appropriate Federal
departments and agencies, shall submit a report to the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee
on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that contains a
United States strategy--
(1) to increase international awareness of transnational
repression;
(2) to raise the costs borne by governments engaging in
transnational repression by holding such governments
accountable and protecting targeted individuals and groups;
and
(3) to increase collaboration and coordination concerning
transnational repression with like-minded allies and partners
and in multilateral venues and international organizations.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--
(1) Diplomacy.--The strategy required under subsection (a)
shall include--
(A) a strategy for advancing joint initiatives in
multilateral and international organizations to expand
awareness, accountability, and best practices to mitigate and
build capacity to counter transnational repression;
(B) a plan for establishing or strengthening regional and
international coalitions to monitor and respond to cases of
transnational repression, including reprisals faced by human
rights defenders and other activists for engaging at
multilateral organizations, such as the United Nations;
(C) an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the
designation of a special rapporteur for transnational
repression appointed by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations;
(D) a plan for engaging with foreign diplomatic or consular
missions in the United States whose personnel abuse
intimidate, threaten, attack, or undermine the human rights
and fundamental freedoms of exiles and members of diasporas
in the United States; and
(E) a description of the public affairs and public
diplomacy efforts, including at multilateral institutions and
international exchanges, to be used to draw critical
attention to, and oppose acts of, transnational repression.
(2) Assistance programming.--The strategy shall include
sufficient funding for civil society and nongovernmental
organizations that support victims of transnational
repression and conduct research and analysis of global trends
and incidents of transnational repression.
(3) Law enforcement in the united states.--The strategy
shall--
(A) consider updates to United States law to address
tactics of transnational repression, including--
(i) the criminalization of gathering information about
private individuals in diaspora and exile communities on
behalf of, or enabling the ability of, a foreign government
to harass, intimidate, or harm an individual due to
membership in such a community; and
(ii) the expansion of the definition of foreign agents
under the Foreign Registrations Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et
seq.) and section 951 of title 18, United States Code;
(B) coordinate between the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security,
United States intelligence agencies, and domestic law
enforcement agencies in partner countries, including options
for countering the use of surveillance technology and export
licensing policy in transnational repression;
(C) consider unintended negative impacts of expanded legal
authorities on the civil liberties of communities targeted by
transnational repression, taking into account the views of
affected communities;
(D) develop outreach strategies to connect law enforcement
and local municipal officials with targeted diaspora
communities to ensure individuals who are vulnerable to
transnational repression are aware of the Federal and local
resources available without putting them at further risk,
including policy and programmatic responses based on input
from such communities; and
(E) examine and review the legality of foreign governments
establishing overseas police service stations, or equivalent
facilities, to monitor members of the diaspora.
(c) Additional Matters To Be Included.--In addition to the
matters set forth in subsection (b), the report required
under subsection (a) should include--
(1) to the extent practicable, information regarding--
(A) the governments that perpetrate transnational
repression;
(B) countries in which incidents of transnational
repression are prevalent;
(C) governments that are complicit in aiding transnational
repression;
(D) individuals, whether United States citizens or foreign
nationals, who are complicit in transnational repression as
agents or proxies of a foreign government and are operating
in the United States, unless identifying those individuals
could interfere with law enforcement efforts; and
(E) groups of people that are most vulnerable to
transnational repression in the United States and, to the
extent possible, in foreign countries; and
(2) a description of any actions taken by the United States
Government to address transnational repression under existing
law, including--
(A) section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(C));
[[Page S5100]]
(B) section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10102);
(C) section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign
Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020
(division G of Public Law 116-94; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note);
(D) prosecutions and the statutory authority authorizing
such prosecutions; and
(E) which agencies are conducting outreach to victims of
transnational repression and the form of such outreach.
(d) Form.--The strategy required under subsection (a) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex, if necessary.
(e) Updates.--The Secretary of State shall provide the
congressional committee referred to in subsection (a) with
annual updates regarding the implementation of such strategy.
SEC. 1274. TRAINING.
(a) Department of State Personnel.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State should make
training available to Department of State personnel,
including overseas mission leadership, as appropriate, and if
it pertains to their countries of assignment, with respect
to--
(A) tactics and practices used by perpetrators;
(B) governments known to employ transnational repression;
(C) governments that cooperate with other governments
engaged in transnational repression;
(D) tools of digital surveillance and other cyber tools
used in transnational repression activities; and
(E) United States policy priorities.
(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary for
fiscal year 2026 to develop and implement the curriculum
described in paragraph (1).
(b) United States Officials Responsible for Domestic
Threats of Transnational Repression.--
(1) In general.--To better recognize and prevent
transnational repression, the Attorney General, in
consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the
Director of National Intelligence, civil society, and the
business community, shall provide training with respect to--
(A) tactics and practices used by perpetrators;
(B) governments known to employ transnational repression;
(C) which communities and locations in the United States
are most vulnerable to transnational repression;
(D) tools of digital surveillance and other cyber tools
used in transnational repression activities; and
(E) United States policy priorities.
(2) Training recipients.--Those receiving the training
described in paragraph (1) should be--
(A) employees or task force members of--
(i) the Department of Homeland Security, including U.S.
Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services, and U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement and any other employees the Secretary of Homeland
Security determines should receive such training;
(ii) the Department of Justice, including the--
(I) Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
(II) INTERPOL Washington; and
(iii) the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the Department
of Health and Human Services;
(B) other Federal, State, and local law enforcement and
municipal officials receiving instruction at the Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center; and
(C) appropriate private sector and community partners of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary for
fiscal year 2026 to develop and provide the curriculum and
training described in paragraph (1).
SEC. 1275. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRANSNATIONAL
REPRESSION IN THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.--The Attorney General, in consultation with
the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall--
(1) not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, publish a toolkit or guide that describes
existing Federal resources to assist and protect individuals
and communities targeted by transnational repression in the
United States;
(2) in cooperation with the heads of other Federal
agencies, conduct proactive outreach so that individuals in
targeted communities are informed about the types of criminal
incidents that should be reported to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation;
(3) organize annual trainings with caseworker staff in
congressional offices regarding the tactics of transnational
repression and the resources available to constituents; and
(4) produce an assessment of how data that is purchased by
governments perpetrating transnational repression is misused
by--
(A) entities that are exporting dual-use spyware technology
to any governments engaged in transnational repression;
(B) entities that are buying and selling personally
identifiable information that can be used to track and
surveil potential victims; and
(C) entities that are exporting items on the Commerce
Control List (as set forth in Supplement No. 1 to part 774 of
the Export Administration Regulations under subchapter C of
chapter VII of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations) to any
governments engaged in transnational repression that can be
misused for human rights abuses.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary for
fiscal year 2026 for the research, development, outreach, and
training activities described in subsection (a).
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