[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 284 Referred in House (RFH)]
<DOC>
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 284
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 18, 2016
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons responsible for
gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and for
other purposes.
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 ``Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a
person that is not a United States person.
(2) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or
entity.
(3) 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;
or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the
United States or of any jurisdiction within the United
States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.
(a) In General.--The President may impose the sanctions described
in subsection (b) with respect to any foreign person the President
determines, based on credible evidence--
(1) is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or
other gross violations of internationally recognized human
rights committed against individuals in any foreign country who
seek--
(A) to expose illegal activity carried out by
government officials; or
(B) to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote
internationally recognized human rights and freedoms,
such as the freedoms of religion, expression,
association, and assembly, and the rights to a fair
trial and democratic elections;
(2) acted as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign person
in a matter relating to an activity described in paragraph (1);
(3) is a government official, or a senior associate of such
an official, that is responsible for, or complicit in,
ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, acts of
significant corruption, including the expropriation of private
or public assets for personal gain, corruption related to
government contracts or the extraction of natural resources,
bribery, or the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of
corruption to foreign jurisdictions; or
(4) has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided
financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or
services in support of, an activity described in paragraph (3).
(b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this
subsection are the following:
(1) Inadmissibility to united states.--In the case of a
foreign person who is an individual--
(A) ineligibility to receive a visa to enter the
United States or to be admitted to the United States;
or
(B) if the individual has been issued a visa or
other documentation, revocation, in accordance with
section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), of the visa or other documentation.
(2) Blocking of property.--
(A) In general.--The blocking, in accordance with
the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), of all transactions in all
property and interests in property of a 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.
(B) Inapplicability of national emergency
requirement.--The requirements of section 202 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C.
1701) shall not apply for purposes of this section.
(C) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
(i) In general.--The authority to block and
prohibit all transactions in all property and
interests in property under subparagraph (A)
shall not include the authority to impose
sanctions on the importation of goods.
(ii) Good.--In this subparagraph, the term
``good'' has the meaning given that term in
section 16 of the Export Administration Act of
1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2415) (as continued in
effect pursuant to the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)).
(c) Consideration of Certain Information in Imposing Sanctions.--In
determining whether to impose sanctions under subsection (a), the
President shall consider--
(1) information provided by the chairperson and ranking
member of each of the appropriate congressional committees; and
(2) credible information obtained by other countries and
nongovernmental organizations that monitor violations of human
rights.
(d) Requests by Chairperson and Ranking Member of Appropriate
Congressional Committees.--Not later than 120 days after receiving a
written request from the chairperson and ranking member of one of the
appropriate congressional committees with respect to whether a foreign
person has engaged in an activity described in subsection (a), the
President shall--
(1) determine if that person has engaged in such an
activity; and
(2) submit a report to the chairperson and ranking member
of that committee with respect to that determination that
includes--
(A) a statement of whether or not the President
imposed or intends to impose sanctions with respect to
the person; and
(B) if the President imposed or intends to impose
sanctions, a description of those sanctions.
(e) Exception To Comply With United Nations Headquarters Agreement
and Law Enforcement Objectives.--Sanctions under subsection (b)(1)
shall not apply to an individual if admitting the individual into the
United States would further important law enforcement objectives or 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 of the United States.
(f) Enforcement of Blocking of Property.--A person that violates,
attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of
subsection (b)(2) or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry
out subsection (b)(2) 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.
(g) Termination of Sanctions.--The President may terminate the
application of sanctions under this section with respect to a person if
the President determines and reports to the appropriate congressional
committees not later than 15 days before the termination of the
sanctions that--
(1) credible information exists that the person did not
engage in the activity for which sanctions were imposed;
(2) the person has been prosecuted appropriately for the
activity for which sanctions were imposed;
(3) the person has credibly demonstrated a significant
change in behavior, has paid an appropriate consequence for the
activity for which sanctions were imposed, and has credibly
committed to not engage in an activity described in subsection
(a) in the future; or
(4) the termination of the sanctions is in the vital
national security interests of the United States.
(h) Regulatory Authority.--The President shall issue such
regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary to carry out this
section.
(i) Identification of Sanctionable Foreign Persons.--The Assistant
Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, in
consultation with the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs
and other bureaus of the Department of State, as appropriate, is
authorized to submit to the Secretary of State, for review and
consideration, the names of foreign persons who may meet the criteria
described in subsection (a).
(j) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
(a) In General.--The President shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees, in accordance with subsection (b), a report
that includes--
(1) a list of each foreign person with respect to which the
President imposed sanctions pursuant to section 3 during the
year preceding the submission of the report;
(2) a description of the type of sanctions imposed with
respect to each such person;
(3) the number of foreign persons with respect to which the
President--
(A) imposed sanctions under section 3(a) during
that year; and
(B) terminated sanctions under section 3(g) during
that year;
(4) the dates on which such sanctions were imposed or
terminated, as the case may be;
(5) the reasons for imposing or terminating such sanctions;
and
(6) a description of the efforts of the President to
encourage the governments of other countries to impose
sanctions that are similar to the sanctions authorized by
section 3.
(b) Dates for Submission.--
(1) Initial report.--The President shall submit the initial
report under subsection (a) not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Subsequent reports.--
(A) In general.--The President shall submit a
subsequent report under subsection (a) on December 10,
or the first day thereafter on which both Houses of
Congress are in session, of--
(i) the calendar year in which the initial
report is submitted if the initial report is
submitted before December 10 of that calendar
year; and
(ii) each calendar year thereafter.
(B) Congressional statement.--Congress notes that
December 10 of each calendar year has been recognized
in the United States and internationally since 1950 as
``Human Rights Day''.
(c) Form of Report.--
(1) In general.--Each report required by subsection (a)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex.
(2) Exception.--The name of a foreign person to be included
in the list required by subsection (a)(1) may be submitted in
the classified annex authorized by paragraph (1) only if the
President--
(A) determines that it is vital for the national
security interests of the United States to do so;
(B) uses the annex in a manner consistent with
congressional intent and the purposes of this Act; and
(C) not later than 15 days before submitting the
name in a classified annex, provides to the appropriate
congressional committees notice of, and a justification
for, including the name in the classified annex despite
any publicly available credible information indicating
that the person engaged in an activity described in
section 3(a).
(d) Public Availability.--
(1) In general.--The unclassified portion of the report
required by subsection (a) shall be made available to the
public, including through publication in the Federal Register.
(2) Nonapplicability of confidentiality requirement with
respect to visa records.--The President shall publish the list
required by subsection (a)(1) without regard to the
requirements of section 222(f) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(f)) with respect to
confidentiality of records pertaining to the issuance or
refusal of visas or permits to enter the United States.
(e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Foreign
Relations, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
and
(2) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on
Financial Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
Passed the Senate December 17, 2015.
Attest:
JULIE E. ADAMS,
Secretary.