H. Rept. 115-642 - IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS AND HOSTAGE-TAKING ACCOUNTABILITY ACT115th Congress (2017-2018)
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115th Congress } { Rept. 115-642
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { Part 1
======================================================================
IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS AND HOSTAGE-TAKING ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
_______
April 18, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Royce of California, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4744]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 4744) to impose additional sanctions with respect to
serious human rights abuses of the Government of Iran, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as
amended do pass.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
The Amendment.................................................... 1
Summary and Purpose.............................................. 5
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 6
Hearings......................................................... 8
Committee Consideration.......................................... 8
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 8
New Budget Authority, Tax Expenditures, and Federal Mandates..... 8
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 9
Directed Rule Making............................................. 10
Non-Duplication of Federal Programs.............................. 10
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 10
Congressional Accountability Act................................. 11
New Advisory Committees.......................................... 11
Earmark Identification........................................... 11
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 11
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 12
The Amendment
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Iran Human Rights and Hostage-Taking
Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. UNITED STATES POLICY ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY THE
GOVERNMENT OF IRAN.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Iran is a member of the United Nations, voted for the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is a signatory to
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, among
other international human rights treaties.
(2) In violation of these and other international
obligations, Iranian regime officials continue to violate the
fundamental human rights of the Iranian people.
(3) The Iranian regime persecutes ethnic and religious
minority groups, such as the Baha'is, Christians, Sufi, Sunni,
and dissenting Shi'a Muslims (such as imprisoned Ayatollah
Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi), through harassment, arrests, and
imprisonment, during which detainees have routinely been
beaten, tortured, and killed.
(4) Following voting irregularities that resulted in the 2009
election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian regime
brutally suppressed peaceful political dissent from wide
segments of civil society during the Green Revolution in a
cynical attempt to retain its undemocratic grip on power.
(5) Since February 2011 the leaders of Iran's Green Movement,
former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, his wife Dr. Zahra
Rahnavard, and former Speaker of the Majles (parliament) Mehdi
Karroubi, have lived under strict house arrest, ordered by
Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
(6) In 1999 the Iranian regime brutally suppressed a student
revolt that was one of the largest mass uprisings up until that
point in the country since 1979.
(7) Over a 4-month period in 1988, the Iranian regime carried
out the barbaric mass executions of thousands of political
prisoners by hanging and firing squad for refusing to renounce
their political affiliations and in some cases for possessing
political reading material, including prisoners of conscience,
teenagers, and pregnant women. In a recently disclosed
audiotape, the late Hussein Ali Montazeri, a grand ayatollah
who served as former Supreme leader Khomeini's chief deputy,
said that the 1988 mass killings were ``the greatest crime
committed during the Islamic Republic, for which history will
condemn us''.
(8) Senior governmental, military, and public security
officials in Iran have continued ordering, controlling, and
committing egregious human rights violations that, in many
cases, represent official policies of the Iranian regime.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that the
United States should--
(1) deny the Government of Iran the ability to continue to
oppress the people of Iran and to use violence and executions
to silence pro-democracy protestors;
(2) work with international partners to investigate human
rights violations by senior officials of the Government of
Iran, regardless of where or when such violations took place;
(3) support efforts made by the people of Iran to promote the
establishment of basic freedoms that build the foundation for
the emergence of a freely elected, open, non-corrupt and
democratic political system;
(4) condemn Iranian human rights abuses against dissidents,
including the massacre in 1988 and the suppression of political
demonstrations in 1999, 2009, and 2017, and pressure the
Government of Iran to provide family members detailed
information that they were denied about the final resting
places of any missing victims of such abuses; and
(5) help the people of Iran produce, access, and share
information freely and safely via the internet and other media.
(c) Statement of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the United States
to stand with the people of Iran who seek the opportunity to freely
elect a government of their choosing, and increase the utilization of
all available authorities to impose sanctions on officials of the
Government of Iran and other individuals responsible for serious human
rights abuses.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON
CERTAIN PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR OR COMPLICIT IN
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES, ENGAGING IN CENSORSHIP,
ENGAGING IN THE DIVERSION OF GOODS INTENDED FOR THE
PEOPLE OF IRAN, OR ENGAGING IN CORRUPTION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report containing a determination of whether
any senior officials of the Government of Iran or other Iranian persons
meet the criteria described in--
(1) subsection (b) of section 105D of the Comprehensive Iran
Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, as added
by section 5 of this Act; or
(2) paragraph (3) or (4) of section 1263(a) of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114-
328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note).
(b) Review of Certain Entities.--The report required under subsection
(a) shall contain a review of any activities of cooperative foundations
or bonyads in Iran with a capitalization that exceeds $200,000,000 and
that meet the criteria in paragraph (3) or (4) of section 1263(a) of
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law
114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) for purposes of corruption.
(c) Form of Report; Public Availability.--
(1) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex.
(2) Public availability.--The unclassified portion of such
report shall be made available to the public and posted on the
internet 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.
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES POLICY ON HOSTAGE-TAKING BY THE GOVERNMENT OF
IRAN.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Since 1979 the Iranian regime has engaged in various
destabilizing activities that undermine the national security
of the United States and its allies and partners.
(2) These activities include the hostage-taking or prolonged
arbitrary detentions of United States citizens and other
persons with connections to Canada, the United Kingdom, France,
and other nations allied with the United States.
(3) The Iranian regime has detained on fabricated claims a
significant number of United States citizens, including Siamak
and Baquer Namazi and Xiyue Wang, as well as United States
legal permanent resident, Nizar Zakka, in violation of
international legal norms.
(4) The Iranian regime has not provided information on the
whereabouts of or assistance in ensuring the prompt and safe
return of Robert Levinson, despite repeated promises to do so,
after he was kidnapped while visiting Iran's Kish Island on
March 9, 2007--making him the longest held hostage in United
States history.
(5) The Iranian regime reportedly uses hostages as leverage
against foreign investors to exact business concessions in
foreign investment deals.
(6) The type of hostage-taking enterprise put in place by the
Iranian regime is a crime against humanity and a violation of
customary international law.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the Administration should fully utilize all necessary and
appropriate measures to prevent the Iranian regime from
engaging in hostage-taking or the prolonged arbitrary detention
of United States citizens or legal permanent resident aliens,
to include--
(A) the use of extradition to try and convict those
individuals responsible for ordering or controlling the
hostage-taking or arbitrary detention of United States
citizens; and
(B) the use of the Department of Homeland Security's
Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center to target
such individuals; and
(2) the United States should encourage its allies and other
affected countries to pursue the criminal prosecution and
extradition of state and non-state actors in Iran that assist
in or benefit from such hostage-taking to prevent such state
and non-state actors from engaging in this practice in the
future.
(c) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States
Government not to pay ransom for the purpose of securing the release of
United States citizens or legal permanent resident aliens taken hostage
abroad.
(d) Strategy.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report that contains a
strategy to prevent elements of the Iranian regime from engaging in
hostage-taking or the prolonged arbitrary detention of United States
citizens or legal permanent resident aliens.
SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRANIAN PERSONS WHO
ENGAGE IN CERTAIN ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES
CITIZENS OR IRANIAN PERSONS.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the United
States should coordinate with United States allies and other allies and
partners whose citizens may be subject to politically-motivated
detention or trial in Iran, to apply sanctions against Iranian persons
that are responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering,
controlling, or otherwise directing, such detention or trial.
(b) In General.--Title I of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 is amended by inserting
after section 105C (22 U.S.C. 8514c) the following:
``SEC. 105D. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRANIAN PERSONS
WHO ENGAGE IN CERTAIN ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES
CITIZENS OR IRANIAN PERSONS.
``(a) In General.--The President shall impose sanctions described in
section 105(c) with respect to each person on the list required by
subsection (b).
``(b) List of Iranian Persons Who Engage in Certain Actions Against
United States Citizens or Iranian Persons.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this section, the President shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a list of Iranian
persons that the President determines, are knowingly--
``(A) responsible for or complicit in, or responsible
for ordering or otherwise directing, the politically-
motivated harassment, abuse, extortion, or extended
detention or trial of citizens of the United States or
United States legal permanent resident aliens,
regardless of whether such actions occurred in Iran; or
``(B) responsible for or complicit in, or responsible
for ordering or otherwise directing, the politically-
motivated harassment, abuse, extortion, or extended
detention or trial of Iranians, Iranian residents, or
persons of Iranian origin outside of Iran.
``(2) Updates of list.--The President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees an updated list under
paragraph (1)--
``(A) each time the President is required to submit
an updated list to those committees under section
105(b)(2)(A); and
``(B) as new information becomes available.
``(3) Form of report; public availability.--
``(A) Form.--The list required by paragraph (1) shall
be submitted in unclassified form but may contain a
classified annex.
``(B) Public availability.--The unclassified portion
of the list required by paragraph (1) shall be made
available to the public and posted on the websites of
the Department of the Treasury and the Department of
State.
``(c) Application of Sanctions to Immediate Family Members.--
``(1) In general.--The President is authorized to impose
sanctions described in paragraph (2) with respect to each
person that is a family member of any person on the list
required by subsection (b).
``(2) Aliens ineligible for visas, admission, or parole.--
``(A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien who the
Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland
Security (or a designee of one of such Secretaries)
knows, or has reason to believe, is a family member of
any person on the list required by subsection (b) 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.--The issuing consular
officer, the Secretary of State, or the
Secretary of Homeland Security (or a designee
of one of such Secretaries) shall revoke any
visa or other entry documentation issued to an
alien who is a family member of any person on
the list required by subsection (b) regardless
of when issued.
``(ii) Effect of revocation.--A revocation
under clause (i)--
``(I) shall take effect immediately;
and
``(II) shall automatically cancel any
other valid visa or entry documentation
that is in the alien's possession.
``(3) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters
agreement.--Sanctions under paragraph (2) shall not apply to an
alien if admitting the alien into the United States is
necessary to permit the United States to comply with the
Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations,
signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force
November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United
States, or other applicable international obligations.
``(4) Definition of family member.--In this section, the term
`family member' means, with respect to an individual--
``(A) a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandchild,
or grandparent of the individual; and
``(B) a spouse's child, parent, or sibling.
``(d) Termination of Sanctions.--The provisions of this section shall
terminate on the date that is 30 days after the date on which the
President--
``(1) determines and certifies to the appropriate
congressional committees that the Government of Iran is no
longer complicit in or responsible for the wrongful and
unlawful detention of United States citizens or legal permanent
resident aliens; and
``(2) transmits to the appropriate congressional committees
the certification described in section 105(d) of this Act.''.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Comprehensive
Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 is amended
by inserting after the item relating to section 105C the following new
item:
``Sec. 105D. Imposition of sanctions with respect to Iranian persons
who engage in certain actions against United States citizens or Iranian
persons.''.
(d) Amendments to General Provisions.--Section 401 of the
Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of
2010 (22 U.S.C. 8551) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``and 305'' and inserting
``, 105D, and 305''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(1)--
(A) by striking ``or 105C(a)'' and inserting
``105C(a), or 105D(a)''; and
(B) by striking ``or 105C(b)'' and inserting
``105C(b), or 105D(b)''.
SEC. 6. CONSOLIDATION OF CERTAIN REPORTS.
(a) In General.--Any and all reports required to be submitted to
Congress under this Act, any amendment made by this Act, or a covered
provision of law that are subject to a deadline for submission
consisting of the same unit of time may be consolidated into a single
report that is submitted to Congress pursuant to such deadline.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The consolidated reports shall contain
all information required under this Act, any amendment made by this
Act, or a covered provision of law, in addition to all other elements
required by previous law.
(c) Covered Provisions of Law.--In this section, the term ``covered
provision of law'' means the following:
(1) The Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-172; 50
U.S.C. 1701 note).
(2) The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and
Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-195; 22 U.S.C. 8501 et
seq.).
(3) The Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of
2012 (Public Law 112-158; 22 U.S.C. 8701 et seq.).
(4) The Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012
(subtitle D of title XII of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Year 2013; 22 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.).
(5) Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a).
Summary and Purpose
Since coming to power in 1979, Iran's revolutionary
government has used hostages and the detention of foreign
citizens as a policy to influence foreign governments and show
resistance to Iran's international isolation. After Iranians
seized the American Embassy in November 1979, 52 American
diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days, from
November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981. This policy continued
over the next decade as Iranian-backed organizations in Lebanon
systematically kidnapped Americans and other Westerners, a
number of whom were murdered. As sanctions on Iran have
increased, the Iranian Government has responded by detaining
U.S. citizens. These cases included Washington Post reported
Jason Reziaian, former Marine Amir Hekmati, pastor Saeed
Abedini, Woodrow Wilson Center scholar Haleh Esfandiari,
Iranian-American journalist Roxanna Saberi, and American
hikers--Sara Shourd, Shane Bauer, and Josh Fattal--who have all
since been released. However, American citizens are not the
only victims of the Iranian regime, as foreign citizens have
been subjected to similar treatment. Iranian laws are vaguely
written and inconsistently applied in support of these
politically-motivated detentions. Those held are often denied
access to legal counsel.
The purpose of this legislation is to impose additional
sanctions on Iranian human rights abusers, and on Iranian
businesses that benefit from the proceeds of corruption. The
United States and other responsible nations must more
aggressively target Iranians who are imprisoning and engaging
in politically-motivated, prolonged detention of United States
citizens and those of our allies, and also target those
Iranians exploiting any special privileges, monopolies, or
political contacts for economic gain at the expense of average
Iranians.
Background and Need for the Legislation
Iran's Recent Human Rights Record.
U.S. and international criticism of Iran's human rights
practices has been long-standing. State Department reports and
reports from the U.N. Special Rapporteur have long cited Iran
for a wide range of abuses including the denial of fair public
trial, harsh and life-threatening conditions in prison, and
unlawful detention and torture. A U.N. Special Rapporteur on
Iran human rights was reestablished in March 2011 by the U.N.
Human Rights Council (22 to 7 vote). A previous Special
Rapporteur on Iran human rights existed during 1988-2002.
Former Maldives Foreign Minister Ahmad Shaheed was appointed to
this role in June 2011, and he was replaced by Pakistani human
rights lawyer Asma Jahangir in September 2016. She issued two
Iran human rights reports, the latest of which was dated August
14, 2017 (A/72/322), before she passed away in February 2018.
Her report findings were largely consistent with those of the
State Department and those of her predecessor. The Special
Rapporteur mandate was extended on March 24, 2018, but a
successor to Jahangir has not been announced.
On December 28, 2017, the latent fissures erupted in
significant unrest throughout Iran. Demonstrations were smaller
than the 2009-2010 protests, but were more widespread,
occurring in more than 80 cities. Protests initially cited
economic concerns--the high prices of staple foods--but the
demonstrations quickly evolved to expressions of opposition to
Iran's power structure and leadership as well as to the
government's expenditure of resources on its interventions
throughout the Middle East. Some protesters might have been
motivated by Rouhani's 2018-2019 budget proposals that
increased funds for clerical business enterprises and the IRGC,
while at the same time continuing to cut subsidies that Iranian
economic experts argued were inflationary.
The Trump Administration voiced its strong support to the
protestors, in part by warning the regime against using force
and vowing to hold officials responsible for harming
protestors. The State Department and Treasury Department urged
Iran not to restrict access to social media platforms, such as
Instagram and Telegram, which protesters were using to organize
protest activities. The Administration also requested a U.N.
Security Council meeting to consider Iran's crackdown on the
unrest. The Administration imposed U.S. sanctions on identified
regime officials and institutions responsible for abuses
against protestors, including judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani.
The designation of Larijani for human rights sanctions
represented the highest level Iranian official sanctioned by
the United States to date. The House of Representatives passed
H. Res. 676, supporting the rights of protestors and condemning
the use of force against them by the Iranian Government.
Recent Developments in the Detention of U.S. Citizens, U.S. Legal
Permanent Resident Aliens, and Other Foreign Nationals.
Iran continues to detain U.S. and U.S.-Iran dual nationals.
Iranian foreign ministry officials acknowledged unspecified
discussions about the dual nationals with the Trump
Administration on the sidelines of a late April 2017
multilateral meeting on the nuclear deal, but Iran has not
outlined publicly any specific demands for their release.
LNizar Zakka (U.S. permanent resident, Lebanon
national): Iran detained information technology
professional Nizar Zakka in September 2015. He was
sentenced to 10 years in prison in October 2016.
LSiamak and Baquer Namazi: In November 2015,
Iran arrested a U.S.-Iran dual national, business
consultant Siamak Namazi, on unspecified charges. Iran
detained his father, Baquer Namazi, in February 2016.
In October 2016, the Namazis were sentenced to 10 years
in prison. The regime allowed Baquer Namazi to receive
hospital treatment outside the prison during January
28-February 4, 2018, but insisted he return to prison
afterwards.
LReza ``Robin'' Shahini: In July 2016, Iran
detained U.S.-Iran dual national Reza ``Robin''
Shahini, for crimes against the Islamic Republic and on
October 25 he was sentenced to 18 years in prison. He
was released on bail in late March 2017, pending
appeal, but he is still apparently not permitted to
leave Iran.
LKaran Vafadari: Vafadari, an Iranian
American, was arrested in July 2016, along with his
wife, U.S. permanent resident Afarin Niasari. The art
gallery owners, who are Zoroastrians, were sentenced in
January 2018 to 27 years in jail for ``engaging in
corruption and depravity'' referring to allegedly
serving alcohol at their home.
LOn July 16, 2017, Iranian judiciary officials
announced that Xiyue Wang, a U.S. citizen and a
graduate student at Princeton University, had been
sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly spying
for the United States. Mr. Wang reportedly was arrested
in the summer of 2016 while conducting research in Iran
on that country's Qajar dynasty. Princeton and the U.S.
Government reportedly sought to work quietly to achieve
his release.
LRobert Levinson: Former FBI agent Robert
Levinson remains missing after a visit to Kish Island
in March 2007 to meet an Iranian contact. In March
2018, Iran again denied knowing his status or location.
In January 2013, his family released recent photos of
him provided by captors through uncertain channels.
Non-U.S. Dual Nationals.
British-Iranian dual national Kamal Foroughi, arrested in
May 2011, was sentenced to 8 years in prison in 2013 for
unspecified charges. In 2016, Iran detained British-Iranian
dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Canadian-Iranian
dual national Homa Hoodfar, but Hoodfar was released in
September 2016. In April 2016, French-Iranian Nazak Afshar was
arrested upon return to Iran, sentenced to 6 years in prison,
and released on bail. She had been arrested in 2009 but was
freed following French Government intervention. A well-known
Iranian-Canadian sculptor, Parviz Tanavoli, was barred from
traveling to Britain in July 2016 and his passport was
confiscated. British-Iranian dual national Abdolrasoul Dorri-
Esfahani, a former member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team
focused on financial issues, has been jailed since 2016 for
alleged spying for British intelligence. In March 2018, dual
British-Iran national Shahabeddin Mansouri-Kermani, a banker,
was sentenced on spying charges.
Hearings
During the present Congress, the committee has continued
its active oversight regarding Iran, including multiple
hearings related to the content of H.R. 4744. The Subcommittee
on Middle East and North Africa held a hearing on July 25,
2017, titled, ``Held for Ransom: The Families of Iran's
Hostages Speak Out,'' which directly addressed the issue of
detention of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Issues
related to human rights and detention of U.S. persons were also
discussed in a full committee hearing held on February 16, 2017
titled, ``Iran on Notice,'' and in a full committee hearing
held on October 11, 2017, titled ``Confronting the Full Range
of Iranian Threats.''
Committee Consideration
On March 15, 2018, the Committee on Foreign Affairs marked
up H.R. 4744 in open session, pursuant to notice. An amendment
in the nature of a substitute (offered by Mr. McCaul) and two
amendments to that amendment in the nature of a substitute
(offered, respectively, by Mr. Poe and Mr. Cicilline) were
considered en bloc with the underlying bill, and were agreed to
by voice vote. The bill was ordered favorably reported, as
amended, to the House.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee reports that
findings and recommendations of the committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of House Rule X, are
incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report,
particularly in the ``Background and Purpose of Legislation''
and ``Section-by-Section Analysis'' sections.
New Budget Authority, Tax Expenditures, and Federal Mandates
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of House Rule XIII and
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (P.L. 104-4), the committee
adopts as its own the estimate of new budget authority,
entitlement authority, tax expenditure or revenues, and Federal
mandates contained in the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, March 28, 2018.
Hon. Edward R. Royce, Chairman,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4744, the Iran
Human Rights and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sunita
D'Monte, who can be reached at 226-2840.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure
cc:
Honorable Eliot L. Engel
Ranking Member
H.R. 4744--Iran Human Rights and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act.
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign
Affairs on March 15, 2018
H.R. 4744 would amend the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-
195), primarily to impose sanctions on people and entities
responsible for certain cases of politically-motivated
harassment, abuse, extortion, or extended detention or trial.
In addition, H.R. 4744 would require the Administration to
provide to the Congress reports on the implementation of the
bill and a strategy to prevent Iran from detaining U.S.
citizens and residents or taking them hostage.
Implementing H.R. 4744 would increase administrative costs
at the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury.
Based on the costs of implementing similar legislation, CBO
estimates that administering the specified sanctions and
implementing the reporting requirements would cost less than
$500,000 each year and would total $1 million over the 2018-
2023 period. That spending would be subject to the availability
of appropriated funds.
Enacting H.R. 4744 would increase the number of people who
would be denied visas by the Department of State and the number
who would be subject to civil or criminal penalties. Most visa
fees are retained by the department and spent without further
appropriation, but some fees are deposited in the Treasury as
revenues. Penalties also are recorded as revenues, and a
portion of those penalties can be spent without further
appropriation. Pay-as-you-go procedures apply to this bill
because enacting it would affect direct spending and revenues.
However, significant sanctions on Iran already exist. CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 4744 would affect very few
additional people and thus would have insignificant effects on
both revenues and direct spending.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4744 would not
significantly increase net direct spending or on-budget
deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods
beginning in 2028.
H.R. 4744 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
The sanctions imposed by the bill would be private-sector
mandates as defined in UMRA because they could restrict actions
of U.S. entities that otherwise might be involved in
transactions with the sanctioned persons or with shared
financial institutions. Because the sanctions focus only on
people and entities in Iran that have committed such
violations, CBO expects that the number of entities and
individuals in the United States that could be affected by the
legislation would be small. Furthermore, CBO expects that the
loss of income from any incremental restrictions in the bill
would be minimal. Therefore, CBO estimates that the aggregate
cost of the mandates would fall well below the annual threshold
established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($156 million
in 2017, adjusted annually for inflation).
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Sunita D'Monte
(for federal costs) and Jon Sperl (for mandates). The estimate
was approved by Leo Lex, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget
Analysis.
Directed Rule Making
Pursuant to clause 3(c) of House Rule XIII, as modified by
section 3(i) of H. Res. 5 during the 115th Congress, the
committee notes that H.R. 4744 contains no directed rule-making
provisions.
Non-Duplication of Federal Programs
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of House Rule XIII, the
committee states that no provision of this bill establishes or
reauthorizes a program of the Federal Government known to be
duplicative of another Federal program, a program that was
included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-
139, or a program related to a program identified in the most
recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The objective of this legislation is to hold Iran
accountable for its gross human rights violations and
politically-motivated detention of U.S. citizens. H.R. 4744
establishes U.S. policy regarding imposing sanctions on Iranian
officials responsible for human rights abuses and states that
it is the sense of Congress that the Administration should take
actions to end the practice of hostage taking and prolonged
arbitrary detention of U.S. citizens and foreign persons.
Pursuant to these policies, the legislation requires
determinations regarding whether Iranian Government officials
are responsible for or complicit in committing gross human
rights violations and whether businesses run by the Iranian
Government should be sanctioned for public corruption, and
imposes sanctions on Iranian officials responsible for the
politically-motivated detentions of U.S. citizens and legal
permanent residents or engaged in abuse against Iranian
expatriates.
Congressional Accountability Act
H.R. 4744 does not apply to terms and conditions of
employment or to access to public services or accommodations
within the legislative branch.
New Advisory Committees
H.R. 4744 does not establish or authorize any new advisory
committees.
Earmark Identification
H.R. 4744 contains no congressional earmarks, limited tax
benefits, or limited tariff benefits as described in clauses
9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of House Rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short Title. This Act may be cited as the ``Iran
Human Rights and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act.''
Section 2. United States Policy on Human Rights Violations
by the Government of Iran. This provision catalogues the
Iranian regime's human rights abuses against ethnic, religious,
and political minorities in Iran. This provision states that it
is U.S. policy to stand with the people of Iran who seek the
opportunity to freely elect a government of their choosing.
Also states that it is U.S. policy to increase the utilization
of all available authorities to impose sanctions on Iranian
officials responsible for human rights abuses.
Section 3. Determinations with Respect to Imposition of
Sanctions on Certain Persons Responsible for or Complicit in
Human Rights Abuses, or Engaging in Corruption. This provision
requires the President to determine whether senior members of
the Government of Iran are responsible for or complicit in
committing those gross human rights violations specified in PL
114-328 (the FY 2017 NDAA) or in section 5 of this Act. It also
requires a determination as to whether certain Iranian business
cooperatives run by the Iranian Government should be sanctioned
for public corruption under the requirements of PL 114-328.
Section 4. United States Policy on Hostage-Taking by the
Government of Iran. This provision catalogues the Iranian
regime's violations of international law in terms of their
hostage-taking or prolonged arbitrary detentions of U.S.
citizens and other foreign persons. Also includes a sense of
Congress on actions that the Administration should take in
conjunction with our allies to put an end to this practice,
including the use of extradition to try and convict Iranian
individuals responsible for this practice, and requires a
strategy from the Secretary of State on how to end this
practice moving forward.
Section 5. Imposition of Sanctions with Respect to Persons
Who Engage in Certain Actions Against United States Citizens or
Iranian Persons. States that the U.S. should coordinate with
our allies and partners whose citizens have been subject to
politically-motivated detention or trial in Iran to apply
sanctions against Iranian persons that are responsible for or
complicit in such detention. Imposes property blocking
sanctions and visa prohibitions on Iranian officials
responsible for the politically-motivated detentions of U.S.
citizens and legal permanent residents, as well as those
engaged in abuses against Iranian expatriates. The provision
also authorizes visa denial sanctions to members of a
sanctioned person's family.
Section 6. Consolidation of Certain Reports. This provision
authorizes the President to consolidate reporting on Iran that
is subject to similar reporting deadlines as a resource-saving
measure.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
COMPREHENSIVE IRAN SANCTIONS, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND DIVESTMENT ACT OF
2010
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the
``Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment
Act of 2010''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is
as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
* * * * * * *
TITLE I--SANCTIONS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 105D. Imposition of sanctions with respect to Iranian persons who
engage in certain actions against United States citizens or
Iranian persons.
* * * * * * *
TITLE I--SANCTIONS
* * * * * * *
SEC. 105D. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRANIAN PERSONS WHO
ENGAGE IN CERTAIN ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES
CITIZENS OR IRANIAN PERSONS.
(a) In General.--The President shall impose sanctions
described in section 105(c) with respect to each person on the
list required by subsection (b).
(b) List of Iranian Persons who Engage in Certain Actions
Against United States Citizens or Iranian Persons.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this section, the President
shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a list of Iranian persons that the President
determines, are knowingly--
(A) responsible for or complicit in, or
responsible for ordering or otherwise
directing, the politically-motivated
harassment, abuse, extortion, or extended
detention or trial of citizens of the United
States or United States legal permanent
resident aliens, regardless of whether such
actions occurred in Iran; or
(B) responsible for or complicit in, or
responsible for ordering or otherwise
directing, the politically-motivated
harassment, abuse, extortion, or extended
detention or trial of Iranians, Iranian
residents, or persons of Iranian origin outside
of Iran.
(2) Updates of list.--The President shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees an updated
list under paragraph (1)--
(A) each time the President is required to
submit an updated list to those committees
under section 105(b)(2)(A); and
(B) as new information becomes available.
(3) Form of report; public availability.--
(A) Form.--The list required by paragraph (1)
shall be submitted in unclassified form but may
contain a classified annex.
(B) Public availability.--The unclassified
portion of the list required by paragraph (1)
shall be made available to the public and
posted on the websites of the Department of the
Treasury and the Department of State.
(c) Application of Sanctions to Immediate Family Members.--
(1) In general.--The President is authorized to
impose sanctions described in paragraph (2) with
respect to each person that is a family member of any
person on the list required by subsection (b).
(2) Aliens ineligible for visas, admission, or
parole.--
(A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien
who the Secretary of State or the Secretary of
Homeland Security (or a designee of one of such
Secretaries) knows, or has reason to believe,
is a family member of any person on the list
required by subsection (b) 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.--The issuing consular
officer, the Secretary of State, or the
Secretary of Homeland Security (or a
designee of one of such Secretaries)
shall revoke any visa or other entry
documentation issued to an alien who is
a family member of any person on the
list required by subsection (b)
regardless of when issued.
(ii) Effect of revocation.--A
revocation under clause (i)--
(I) shall take effect
immediately; and
(II) shall automatically
cancel any other valid visa or
entry documentation that is in
the alien's possession.
(3) Exception to comply with united nations
headquarters agreement.--Sanctions under paragraph (2)
shall not apply to an alien if admitting the alien into
the United States is necessary to permit the United
States to comply with the Agreement regarding the
Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake
Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force November
21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United
States, or other applicable international obligations.
(4) Definition of family member.--In this section,
the term ``family member'' means, with respect to an
individual--
(A) a spouse, child, parent, sibling,
grandchild, or grandparent of the individual;
and
(B) a spouse's child, parent, or sibling.
(d) Termination of Sanctions.--The provisions of this section
shall terminate on the date that is 30 days after the date on
which the President--
(1) determines and certifies to the appropriate
congressional committees that the Government of Iran is
no longer complicit in or responsible for the wrongful
and unlawful detention of United States citizens or
legal permanent resident aliens; and
(2) transmits to the appropriate congressional
committees the certification described in section
105(d) of this Act.
* * * * * * *
TITLE IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 401. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
(a) Sunset.--The provisions of this Act (other than sections
105 [and 305], 105D, and 305 and the amendments made by
sections 102, 107, 109, and 205) shall terminate, and section
13(c)(1)(B) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as added by
section 203(a), shall cease to be effective, on the date that
is 30 days after the date on which the President certifies to
Congress that--
(1) the Government of Iran has ceased providing
support for acts of international terrorism and no
longer satisfies the requirements for designation as a
state sponsor of terrorism (as defined in section 301)
under--
(A) section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App.
2405(j)(1)(A)) (or any successor thereto);
(B) section 40(d) of the Arms Export Control
Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)); or
(C) section 620A(a) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371(a)); and
(2) Iran has ceased the pursuit, acquisition, and
development of, and verifiably dismantled its, nuclear,
biological, and chemical weapons and ballistic missiles
and ballistic missile launch technology.
(b) Presidential Waivers.--
(1) In general.--The President may waive the
application of sanctions under section 103(b), the
requirement to impose or maintain sanctions with
respect to a person under section 105(a), 105A(a),
105B(a), [or 105C(a)] 105C(a), or 105D(a), the
requirement to include a person on the list required by
section 105(b), 105A(b), 105B(b), [or 105C(b)] 105C(b),
or 105D(b), the application of the prohibition under
section 106(a), or the imposition of the licensing
requirement under section 303(c) with respect to a
country designated as a Destination of Diversion
Concern under section 303(a), if the President
determines that such a waiver is in the national
interest of the United States.
(2) Reports.--
(A) In general.--If the President waives the
application of a provision pursuant to
paragraph (1), the President shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a
report describing the reasons for the waiver.
(B) Special rule for report on waiving
imposition of licensing requirement under
section 303(c).--In any case in which the
President waives, pursuant to paragraph (1),
the imposition of the licensing requirement
under section 303(c) with respect to a country
designated as a Destination of Diversion
Concern under section 303(a), the President
shall include in the report required by
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph an
assessment of whether the government of the
country is taking the steps described in
subparagraph (A) of section 303(d)(1).
(c) Authorizations of Appropriations.--
(1) Authorization of appropriations for the
department of state and the department of the
treasury.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary of State and to the Secretary of the
Treasury such sums as may be necessary to implement the
provisions of, and amendments made by, titles I and III
of this Act.
(2) Authorization of appropriations for the
department of commerce.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce such sums as
may be necessary to carry out title III.
* * * * * * *
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