[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8641 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8641
To protect journalists and other members of the press from gross
violations of internationally recognized human rights, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 20, 2020
Mr. Schiff (for himself, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Takano, Ms.
Wild, Mr. San Nicolas, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Khanna,
Ms. Norton, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Lee of California, Mrs. Bustos,
Mr. Sires, Mr. Cohen, and Mr. Neguse) introduced the following bill;
which was 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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect journalists and other members of the press from 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 ``Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom
Accountability Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) A free and independent press is necessary for citizens
to make informed choices on issues of public concern, to have
the information necessary to recognize truth from falsehood,
and to hold the powerful and government officials to account.
(2) As reflected in the First Amendment to the United
States Constitution, a free press is essential to safeguard
democracy.
(3) The suppression of the press is historically associated
with authoritarian rule.
(4) As provided in Article 19 of the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all people enjoy the
right to freedom of opinion and expression, which includes the
right to seek, receive, and impart information.
(5) An informed public is fundamental to a free society.
(6) In accordance with a long United States history of
championing freedom of the press around the globe, the Daniel
Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 was enacted into law
(Public Law 111-166).
(7) Since the passage of the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the
Press Act of 2009, the global environment for a free and
independent press has become more repressive.
(8) According to 2019 data from the Committee to Protect
Journalists, for the fourth consecutive year, at least 248
journalists were imprisoned globally in 2019, and in 96 percent
of the 337 cases in which journalists were murdered for their
work worldwide in the preceding decade, either no perpetrator
was successfully prosecuted or only some of the suspected
perpetrators were convicted.
(9) According to 2019 data from Freedom House, in seven of
the last 10 years, more countries have seen declines in press
freedom scores than improvements. In the last five years,
nearly 50 percent more countries have seen a net decline in
press freedom.
(10) According to 2019 data from Reporters Without Borders,
63 percent of the journalists killed last year were
deliberately targeted and 59 percent were killed outside
warzones.
(11) In 2018, the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the
hands of Saudi intelligence officers acting on explicit orders
of the Saudi Government underscored the extent to which those
in power will go to stifle the freedom of expression, silence
their critics, and eliminate the threat they believe
independent journalists pose to their rule.
SEC. 3. EXPANDING SCOPE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS WITH RESPECT TO
VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF JOURNALISTS.
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is
amended as follows:
(1) In paragraph (12) of section 116(d)--
(A) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) by inserting ``or online harassment''
after ``direct physical attacks''; and
(ii) by inserting ``or surveillance'' after
``sources of pressure'';
(B) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking ``ensure
the prosecution'' and all that follows to the end of
the clause and inserting ``ensure the investigation,
prosecution, and conviction of government officials or
private individuals who engage in or facilitate digital
or physical attacks, including hacking, censorship,
surveillance, harassment, unlawful imprisonment, or
bodily harm, against journalists and others who
perform, or provide administrative support to, the
dissemination of print, broadcast, internet-based, or
social media intended to communicate facts or
opinion.'';
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) (as
amended by subparagraph (A) of this section) as
subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the
following new subparagraph:
``(B) an identification of countries in which there
were gross violations of internationally recognized
human rights (as such term is defined for purposes of
section 502B) committed against journalists;''.
(2) By redesignating the second subsection (i) of section
502B as subsection (j).
(3) In the first subsection (i) of section 502B--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by inserting ``or online harassment''
after ``direct physical attacks''; and
(ii) by inserting ``or surveillance'' after
``sources of pressure'';
(B) by redesignating paragraph (2) (as amended by
subparagraph (A) of this section) and paragraph (3) as
paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following
new paragraph:
``(2) an identification of countries in which there were
gross violations of internationally recognized human rights
committed against journalists;''.
SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
COMMISSION OF GROSS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY
RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS AGAINST JOURNALISTS.
(a) Listing of Persons Who Have Committed Gross Violations of
Internationally Recognized Human Rights.--
(1) In general.--On or after the date on which a person is
listed pursuant to paragraph (2), the President shall impose
the sanctions described in subsection (b) on each foreign
person the President determines, based on credible information,
has perpetrated, ordered, or otherwise directed the
extrajudicial killing of or other gross violation of
internationally recognized human rights committed against a
journalist or other person who performs, or provides
administrative support to, the dissemination of print,
broadcast, internet-based, or social media intended to report
newsworthy activities or information, or communicate facts or
fact-based opinions.
(2) Publication of list.--The Secretary of State shall
publish on a publicly available website of the Department of
State a list of the names of each foreign person determined
pursuant to paragraph (1) to have perpetrated, ordered, or
directed an act described in such paragraph. Such list shall be
updated at least annually.
(3) Exception.--The President may waive the imposition of
sanctions under paragraph (1) and omit a foreign person from
the list published in accordance with paragraph (2), or
terminate such sanctions and remove a foreign person from such
list, if the President certifies to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate--
(A) that public identification of the individual is
not in the national interest of the United States,
including an unclassified description of the factual
basis supporting such certification that may contain a
classified annex; or
(B) that appropriate foreign government authorities
have credibly--
(i) investigated the foreign person and, as
appropriate, held such person accountable for
perpetrating, ordering, or directing the acts
described in paragraph (1);
(ii) publicly condemned violations of the
freedom of the press and the acts described in
paragraph (1);
(iii) complied with any requests for
information from international or regional
human rights organizations with respect to the
acts described in paragraph (1); and
(iv) complied with any United States
Government requests for information with
respect to the acts described in paragraph (1).
(b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this
subsection are the following:
(1) Asset blocking.--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 a foreign person
identified in the report required under subsection (a)(1) if
such property and interests in property are in the United
States, come within the United States, 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)(1) 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)(1) 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 take effect immediately, and
automatically cancel any other valid visa or
entry documentation that is in the alien's
possession.
(3) Exceptions.--
(A) Exception for intelligence activities.--The
sanctions described in this subsection shall not apply
to any activity subject to the reporting requirements
under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50
U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any authorized intelligence
activities of the United States.
(B) Exception to comply with international
obligations.--The sanctions described in this
subsection shall not apply with respect to an alien if
admitting or paroling 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.
(c) Implementation; Penalties.--
(1) 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.
(2) 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 foreign
person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to
violate, or causes a violation of this section to the same
extent that such penalties apply to a person that commits an
unlawful act described in subsection (a) of such section 206.
(d) Exception Relating to the Importation of Goods.--
(1) In general.--The authorities and requirements to impose
sanctions under this Act shall not include any authority or
requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.
(2) Good defined.--For purposes of this subsection, the
term ``good'' means any article, natural or man-made substance,
material, supply, or manufactured product, including inspection
and test equipment and excluding technical data.
(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. 1001).
(2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an
individual who is not--
(A) a United States citizen or national; or
(B) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent
residence to the United States.
(3) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen, an alien lawfully
admitted for permanent residence to the United States,
or any other individual subject to the jurisdiction of
the United States;
(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 entity; or
(C) any person in the United States.
SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.
(a) Prohibition.--Assistance authorized under the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or the Arms Export
Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) may not be made available to any
governmental entity of a country if the Secretary of State or the
Director of National Intelligence has credible information that one or
more officials associated with, leading, or otherwise acting under the
authority of such entity has committed a gross violation of
internationally recognized human rights against a journalist or other
person who performs, or provides administrative support to, the
dissemination of print, broadcast, internet-based, or social media
intended to report newsworthy activities or information, or communicate
facts or fact-based opinions. To the maximum extent practicable, a list
of such governmental entities shall be published on publicly available
websites of the Department of State and of the Office of the Director
of National Intelligence and shall be updated on a regular basis.
(b) Prompt Information.--The Secretary of State shall promptly
inform appropriate officials of the government of a country from which
assistance is withheld in accordance with the prohibition under
subsection (a).
(c) Exception.--The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not
apply with respect to the following:
(1) Humanitarian assistance or disaster relief assistance
authorized under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
(2) Assistance the Secretary determines to be essential to
assist the government of a country to bring the responsible
members of the relevant governmental entity to justice for the
acts described in subsection (a).
(d) Waiver.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, may waive the
prohibition under subsection (a) with respect to a governmental
entity of a country if--
(A) the President, acting through the Secretary of
State and the Director of National Intelligence,
determines that such a waiver is in the national
security interest of the United States; or
(B) the Secretary of State has received credible
information that the government of that country has--
(i) performed a thorough investigation of
the acts described in subsection (a) and is
taking effective steps to bring responsible
members of the relevant governmental entity to
justice;
(ii) condemned violations of the freedom of
the press and the acts described in subsection
(a);
(iii) complied with any requests for
information from international or regional
human rights organizations with respect to the
acts described in subsection (a), in accordance
with international legal obligations to protect
the freedom of expression; and
(iv) complied with United States Government
requests for information with respect to the
acts described in paragraph (a).
(2) Certification.--A waiver described in paragraph (1) may
only take effect if--
(A) the Secretary of State certifies, not later
than 30 days before the effective date of the waiver,
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate that such waiver is
warranted and includes an unclassified description of
the factual basis supporting the certification, which
may contain a classified annex; and
(B) the Director of National Intelligence, not
later than 30 days before the effective date of the
waiver, submits to the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the
Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate a report
detailing any underlying information that the
intelligence community (as such term is defined in
section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50
U.S.C. 3003)) has regarding the perpetrators of the
acts described in subsection (a), which shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may contain a
classified annex.
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