[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4681 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4681
To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to illicit
captagon trafficking.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 17, 2023
Mr. Hill (for himself and Mr. Moskowitz) 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 provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to illicit
captagon trafficking.
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 ``Illicit Captagon Trafficking
Suppression Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Industrial scale production of the amphetamine-type
stimulant also known as captagon, and the illicit production of
precursor chemicals, in territories held by the regime of
President Bashar al Assad in Syria are becoming more
sophisticated and pose a severe challenge to regional and
international security.
(2) Elements of the Government of Syria are key drivers of
illicit trafficking in captagon, with ministerial-level
complicity in production and smuggling, using other armed
groups such as Hizballah for technical and logistical support
in captagon production and trafficking.
(3) As affiliates of the Government of Syria and other
actors seek to export captagon, they undermine regional
security by empowering a broad range of criminal networks,
militant groups, mafia syndicates, and autocratic governments.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to target individuals,
entities, and networks associated with the Government of Syria to
dismantle and degrade the transnational criminal organizations,
including narcotics trafficking networks, associated with the regime of
President Bashar al Assad in Syria and Hizballah.
SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO ILLICIT CAPTAGON
TRAFFICKING.
(a) In General.--The sanctions described in subsection (b) shall be
imposed with respect to any foreign person the President determines, on
or after the date of enactment of this Act--
(1) engages in, or attempts to engage in, activities or
transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a
significant risk of materially contributing to, the illicit
production and international illicit proliferation of captagon;
or
(2) knowingly receives any property or interest in property
that the foreign person knows--
(A) constitutes or is derived from proceeds of
activities or transactions that have materially
contributed to, or pose a significant risk of
materially contributing to, the illicit production and
international illicit proliferation of captagon; or
(B) was used or intended to be used to commit or to
facilitate activities or transactions that have
materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk
of materially contributing to, the illicit production
and international illicit proliferation of captagon.
(b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this
subsection are the following:
(1) Blocking of property.--The President shall exercise all
authorities granted 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 the foreign person 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) shall be--
(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 visa or other entry
documentation of any alien described in
subsection (a) is subject to revocation
regardless of the issue date of the visa or
other entry documentation.
(ii) Immediate effect.--A revocation under
clause (i) shall, in accordance with section
221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1201(i))--
(I) take effect immediately; and
(II) cancel any other valid visa or
entry documentation that is in the
possession of the alien.
(c) Penalties.--Any person that violates, or attempts to violate,
subsection (b) or any regulation, license, or order issued pursuant to
that subsection, 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.
(d) Waiver.--
(1) In general.--The President may waive the application of
sanctions under this section with respect to a foreign person
only if, not later than 15 days prior to the date on which the
waiver is to take effect, the President submits to the
appropriate congressional committees a written determination
and justification that the waiver is in the vital national
security interests of the United States.
(2) Briefing.--Not later than 60 days after the issuance of
a waiver under paragraph (1), and every 180 days thereafter
while the waiver remains in effect, the President shall brief
the appropriate congressional committees on the reasons for the
waiver.
(e) 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.
(f) Regulations.--
(1) In general.--The President shall, not later than 120
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, promulgate
regulations as necessary for the implementation of this
section.
(2) Notification to congress.--Not later than 10 days
before the promulgation of regulations under this subsection,
the President shall notify the appropriate congressional
committees of the proposed regulations and the provisions of
this section that the regulations are implementing.
(g) Exceptions.--
(1) Exception for intelligence activities.--Sanctions under
this section 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 and
for law enforcement activities.--Sanctions under this section
shall not apply with respect to an alien if admitting or
paroling the alien into the United States is necessary--
(A) 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; or
(B) to carry out or assist authorized law
enforcement activity in the United States.
SEC. 5. DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE GOVERNMENT OF SYRIA,
HIZBALLAH, AND NETWORKS AFFILIATED WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF
SYRIA OR HIZBALLAH.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President shall--
(1) determine whether each foreign person described in
subsection (b) meets the criteria for sanctions under this Act;
and
(2) submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report containing--
(A) a list of all foreign persons described in
subsection (b) that meet the criteria for imposition of
sanctions under this Act;
(B) for each foreign person identified pursuant to
subparagraph (A), a statement of whether sanctions have
been imposed or will be imposed within 30 days of the
submission of the report; and
(C) with respect to any person identified pursuant
to subparagraph (A) for whom sanctions have not been
imposed and will not be imposed within 30 days of the
submission of the report, the specific authority under
which otherwise applicable sanctions are being waived,
have otherwise been determined not to apply, or are not
being imposed and a complete justification of the
decision to waive or otherwise not apply such
sanctions.
(b) Foreign Persons Described.--The foreign persons described in
this subsection are the following:
(1) Maher Al Assad.
(2) Imad Abu Zureiq.
(3) Amer Taysir Khiti.
(4) Taher al-Kayyali.
(5) Raji Falhout.
(6) Mohammed Asif Issa Shalish.
(7) Abdellatif Hamid, a Syrian national.
(8) Mustafa Al Masalmeh.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and
the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
(2) Captagon.--The term ``captagon'' means any compound,
mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of a
stimulant in schedule I or II of section 202 of the Controlled
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812), including--
(A) amphetamine, methamphetamine, and fenethylline;
(B) any immediate precursor or controlled substance
analogue of such a stimulant, as defined in section 102
of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802); and
(C) any isomers, esters, ethers, salts, and salts
of isomers, esters, and ethers of such a stimulant,
whenever the existence of such isomers, esters, ethers,
and salts is possible within the specific chemical
designation.
(3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person''--
(A) means an individual or entity that is not a
United States person; and
(B) includes a foreign state (as such term is
defined in section 1603 of title 28, United States
Code).
(4) Illicit proliferation.--The term ``illicit
proliferation'' refers to any illicit activity to produce,
manufacture, distribute, sell, or knowingly finance or
transport.
(5) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'' has the meaning
given that term in section 14 of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996
(Public Law 104-172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note).
(6) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen;
(B) a permanent resident alien of the United
States;
(C) 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;
or
(D) a person in the United States.
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