[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 226 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 226
To protect journalists and other members of the press from gross
violations of internationally recognized human rights, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 4, 2021
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Leahy) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
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 2021''.
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 (Public Law 111-166; 124
Stat. 1186) was enacted into law.
(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 2020 data from the Committee to Protect
Journalists, for the fifth consecutive year, at least 250
journalists were imprisoned globally in 2020, and there was
complete impunity in an estimated 86 percent of cases of
murdered journalists in the last decade.
(9) According to 2019 data from Freedom House, in 7 of the
preceding 10 years, more countries saw declines in press
freedom scores than improvements. In the preceding 5 years,
nearly 50 percent more countries saw a net decline in press
freedom.
(10) According to 2019 data from Reporters Without Borders,
63 percent of the journalists killed in 2019 were deliberately
targeted and 59 percent were killed outside war zones.
(11) In 2018, the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the
hands of Saudi intelligence officers acting on explicit orders
of the Government of Saudi Arabia 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 INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS
AGAINST JOURNALISTS.
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is
amended--
(1) in section 116(d)(12) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)(12))--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``direct
physical attacks'' and all that follows through
``pressure,'' and inserting the following: ``gross
violations of internationally recognized human rights
(as defined in section 502B), direct physical attacks,
online harassment, imprisonment, indirect sources of
pressure, surveillance,''; and
(B) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking ``ensure
the prosecution'' and all that follows through the end
period and inserting ``ensure the investigation,
prosecution, and proper punishment of government
officials or private individuals who engage in or
facilitate murder, unlawful imprisonment, bodily harm,
digital or physical attacks, including hacking,
censorship, surveillance, or harassment 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.''; and
(2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)--
(A) in the first subsection (i), in paragraph (2),
by striking ``direct physical attacks'' and all that
follows through ``pressure,'' and inserting the
following: ``gross violations of internationally
recognized human rights, direct physical attacks,
online harassment, imprisonment, indirect sources of
pressure, surveillance,''; and
(B) by redesignating the second subsection (i) as
subsection (j).
SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR
THE COMMISSION OF GROSS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY
RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS AGAINST JOURNALISTS.
(a) Identification.--
(1) In general.--The President shall identify foreign
persons that the President determines, based on credible
information, have perpetrated, ordered, or otherwise directly
or indirectly participated in 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--
(A) publish on a publicly available website of the
Department of State a list of each foreign person
identified under paragraph (1); and
(B) update that list not less frequently than
annually.
(b) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President shall impose the
sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each foreign
person included in the list published under subsection (a)(2) on and
after the date on which the person is first included in that list.
(c) 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 included
in the list published under subsection (a)(2) 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)(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.
(d) 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 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.
(e) Waiver and Termination of Sanctions.--
(1) In general.--The President may waive the requirement to
include a foreign person on the list published under subsection
(a)(2) and to impose sanctions with respect to that person, or
may remove a foreign person from the list and terminate any
sanctions imposed with respect to that person, if the President
submits to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate a certification that--
(A) the waiver or removal is in the national
interest of the United States; or
(B) appropriate foreign government officials have--
(i) credibly and thoroughly investigated
the foreign person and, as appropriate, brought
the person to justice for perpetrating,
ordering, or otherwise directly or indirectly
participating in acts described in subsection
(a)(1);
(ii) publicly condemned such acts and
violations of freedom of the press; and
(iii) complied with any requests from the
United States Government for information with
respect to such acts.
(2) Form of certification.--Each certification submitted
under paragraph (1)--
(A) shall be submitted in unclassified form and
include an unclassified description of the factual
basis supporting the certification; and
(B) may include a classified annex.
(f) Exceptions.--
(1) Exception for intelligence activities.--The sanctions
described in subsection (c) 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.
(2) Exception to comply with international obligations.--
The sanctions described in subsection (c)(2) 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.
(3) Exception relating to the importation of goods.--
(A) In general.--The authorities and requirements
to impose sanctions under this section shall not
include any authority or requirement to impose
sanctions on the importation of goods.
(B) Good defined.--In this subsection, the term
``good'' means any article, natural or manmade
substance, material, supply, or manufactured product,
including inspection and test equipment and excluding
technical data.
(g) 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. 1101).
(2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an
individual who is not a United States citizen or an alien
lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States.
(3) Gross violation of internationally recognized human
rights.--The term ``gross violation of internationally
recognized human rights'' has the meaning given that term in
section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2304).
(4) 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 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 senior officials acting under the authority of such entity has
committed, ordered, or otherwise directly or indirectly participated in
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 authorized
under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
(2) Assistance the Secretary determines would 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 President 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
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 credible and 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 freedom of the
press and the acts described in subsection (a);
and
(iii) complied with United States
Government requests for information with
respect to the acts described in subsection
(a).
(2) Certification.--A waiver described in paragraph (1) may
only take effect if--
(A) the President 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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