Iran Sanctions Relief Review Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 488 To provide for congressional review of actions to terminate or waive sanctions imposed with respect to Iran. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 25, 2021 Mr. HAGERTY (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. COTTON, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. CORNYN, Ms. LUMMIS, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Ms. ERNST, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. SASSE, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. MARSHALL, Mrs. CAPITO, and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To provide for congressional review of actions to terminate or waive sanctions imposed with respect to Iran. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iran Sanctions Relief 4 Review Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 488 IS SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF CERTAIN ACTIONS RE- 1 LATING TO SANCTIONS IMPOSED WITH RE- 2 SPECT TO IRAN. 3 (a) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS OF PROPOSED AC- 4 TION.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 6 provision of law, before taking any action described 7 in paragraph (2), the President shall submit to the 8 appropriate congressional committees and leadership 9 a report that describes the proposed action and the 10 reasons for that action. 11 (2) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—An action described in 13 this paragraph is— 14 (i) an action to terminate the applica- 15 tion of any sanctions described in subpara- 16 graph (B); 17 (ii) with respect to sanctions described 18 in subparagraph (B) imposed by the Presi- 19 dent with respect to a person, an action to 20 waive the application of those sanctions 21 with respect to that person; or 22 (iii) a licensing action that signifi- 23 cantly alters United States foreign policy 24 with respect to Iran. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 488 IS (B) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanc- 1 tions described in this subparagraph are sanc- 2 tions with respect to Iran provided for under— 3 (i) the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 4 (Public Law 104–172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 5 note); 6 (ii) the Comprehensive Iran Sanc- 7 tions, Accountability, and Divestment Act 8 of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.); 9 (iii) section 1245 of the National De- 10 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 11 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8513a); 12 (iv) the Iran Threat Reduction and 13 Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 14 U.S.C. 8701 et seq.); 15 (v) the Iran Freedom and Counter- 16 Proliferation Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8801 17 et seq.); 18 (vi) the International Emergency Eco- 19 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 note); 20 or 21 (vii) any other statute or Executive 22 order that requires or authorizes the impo- 23 sition of sanctions with respect to Iran. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 488 IS (3) DESCRIPTION OF TYPE OF ACTION.—Each 1 report submitted under paragraph (1) with respect 2 to an action described in paragraph (2) shall include 3 a description of whether the action— 4 (A) is not intended to significantly alter 5 United States foreign policy with respect to 6 Iran; or 7 (B) is intended to significantly alter 8 United States foreign policy with respect to 9 Iran. 10 (4) INCLUSION OF ADDITIONAL MATTER.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each report submitted 12 under paragraph (1) that relates to an action 13 that is intended to significantly alter United 14 States foreign policy with respect to Iran shall 15 include a description of— 16 (i) the significant alteration to United 17 States foreign policy with respect to Iran; 18 (ii) the anticipated effect of the action 19 on the national security interests of the 20 United States; and 21 (iii) the policy objectives for which the 22 sanctions affected by the action were ini- 23 tially imposed. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 488 IS (B) REQUESTS FROM BANKING AND FI- 1 NANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEES.—The Com- 2 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 3 of the Senate or the Committee on Financial 4 Services of the House of Representatives may 5 request the submission to the Committee of the 6 matter described in clauses (ii) and (iii) of sub- 7 paragraph (A) with respect to a report sub- 8 mitted under paragraph (1) that relates to an 9 action that is not intended to significantly alter 10 United States foreign policy with respect to 11 Iran. 12 (5) CONFIDENTIALITY OF PROPRIETARY INFOR- 13 MATION.—Proprietary information that can be asso- 14 ciated with a particular person with respect to an 15 action described in paragraph (2) may be included 16 in a report submitted under paragraph (1) only if 17 the appropriate congressional committees and lead- 18 ership provide assurances of confidentiality, unless 19 that person otherwise consents in writing to such 20 disclosure. 21 (6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Paragraph 22 (2)(A)(iii) shall not be construed to require the sub- 23 mission of a report under paragraph (1) with respect 24 to the routine issuance of a license that does not sig- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 488 IS nificantly alter United States foreign policy with re- 1 spect to Iran. 2 (b) PERIOD FOR REVIEW BY CONGRESS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the period of 30 cal- 4 endar days beginning on the date on which the 5 President submits a report under subsection 6 (a)(1)— 7 (A) in the case of a report that relates to 8 an action that is not intended to significantly 9 alter United States foreign policy with respect 10 to Iran, the Committee on Banking, Housing, 11 and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Com- 12 mittee on Financial Services of the House of 13 Representatives should, as appropriate, hold 14 hearings and briefings and otherwise obtain in- 15 formation in order to fully review the report; 16 and 17 (B) in the case of a report that relates to 18 an action that is intended to significantly alter 19 United States foreign policy with respect to 20 Iran, the Committee on Foreign Relations of 21 the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Af- 22 fairs of the House of Representatives should, as 23 appropriate, hold hearings and briefings and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 488 IS otherwise obtain information in order to fully 1 review the report. 2 (2) EXCEPTION.—The period for congressional 3 review under paragraph (1) of a report required to 4 be submitted under subsection (a)(1) shall be 60 cal- 5 endar days if the report is submitted on or after 6 July 10 and on or before September 7 in any cal- 7 endar year. 8 (3) LIMITATION ON ACTIONS DURING INITIAL 9 CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW PERIOD.—Notwithstanding 10 any other provision of law, during the period for 11 congressional review provided for under paragraph 12 (1) of a report submitted under subsection (a)(1) 13 proposing an action described in subsection (a)(2), 14 including any additional period for such review as 15 applicable under the exception provided in paragraph 16 (2), the President may not take that action unless 17 a joint resolution of approval with respect to that ac- 18 tion is enacted in accordance with subsection (c). 19 (4) LIMITATION ON ACTIONS DURING PRESI- 20 DENTIAL CONSIDERATION OF A JOINT RESOLUTION 21 OF DISAPPROVAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 22 vision of law, if a joint resolution of disapproval re- 23 lating to a report submitted under subsection (a)(1) 24 proposing an action described in subsection (a)(2) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 488 IS passes both Houses of Congress in accordance with 1 subsection (c), the President may not take that ac- 2 tion for a period of 12 calendar days after the date 3 of passage of the joint resolution of disapproval. 4 (5) LIMITATION ON ACTIONS DURING CONGRES- 5 SIONAL RECONSIDERATION OF A JOINT RESOLUTION 6 OF DISAPPROVAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 7 vision of law, if a joint resolution of disapproval re- 8 lating to a report submitted under subsection (a)(1) 9 proposing an action described in subsection (a)(2) 10 passes both Houses of Congress in accordance with 11 subsection (c), and the President vetoes the joint 12 resolution, the President may not take that action 13 for a period of 10 calendar days after the date of 14 the President’s veto. 15 (6) EFFECT OF ENACTMENT OF A JOINT RESO- 16 LUTION OF DISAPPROVAL.—Notwithstanding any 17 other provision of law, if a joint resolution of dis- 18 approval relating to a report submitted under sub- 19 section (a)(1) proposing an action described in sub- 20 section (a)(2) is enacted in accordance with sub- 21 section (c), the President may not take that action. 22 (c) JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF DISAPPROVAL OR AP- 23 PROVAL.— 24 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 488 IS (A) JOINT RESOLUTION OF APPROVAL.— 1 The term ‘‘joint resolution of approval’’ means 2 only a joint resolution of either House of Con- 3 gress— 4 (i) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘A 5 joint resolution approving the President’s 6 proposal to take an action relating to the 7 application of certain sanctions with re- 8 spect to Iran.’’; and 9 (ii) the sole matter after the resolving 10 clause of which is the following: ‘‘Congress 11 approves of the action relating to the appli- 12 cation of sanctions imposed with respect to 13 Iran proposed by the President in the re- 14 port submitted to Congress under section 15 2(a)(1) of the Iran Sanctions Relief Review 16 Act of 2021 on lllllll relating 17 to llllllll.’’, with the first 18 blank space being filled with the appro- 19 priate date and the second blank space 20 being filled with a short description of the 21 proposed action. 22 (B) JOINT RESOLUTION OF DIS- 23 APPROVAL.—The term ‘‘joint resolution of dis- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 488 IS approval’’ means only a joint resolution of ei- 1 ther House of Congress— 2 (i) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘A 3 joint resolution disapproving the Presi- 4 dent’s proposal to take an action relating 5 to the application of certain sanctions with 6 respect to Iran.’’; and 7 (ii) the sole matter after the resolving 8 clause of which is the following: ‘‘Congress 9 disapproves of the action relating to the 10 application of sanctions imposed with re- 11 spect to Iran proposed by the President in 12 the report submitted to Congress under 13 section 2(a)(1) of the Iran Sanctions Relief 14 Review Act of 2021 on lllllll 15 relating to llllllll.’’, with the 16 first blank space being filled with the ap- 17 propriate date and the second blank space 18 being filled with a short description of the 19 proposed action. 20 (2) INTRODUCTION.—During the period of 30 21 calendar days provided for under subsection (b)(1), 22 including any additional period as applicable under 23 the exception provided in subsection (b)(2), a joint 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 488 IS resolution of approval or joint resolution of dis- 1 approval may be introduced— 2 (A) in the House of Representatives, by 3 the majority leader or the minority leader; and 4 (B) in the Senate, by the majority leader 5 (or the majority leader’s designee) or the mi- 6 nority leader (or the minority leader’s des- 7 ignee). 8 (3) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP- 9 RESENTATIVES.—If a committee of the House of 10 Representatives to which a joint resolution of ap- 11 proval or joint resolution of disapproval has been re- 12 ferred has not reported the joint resolution within 13 10 calendar days after the date of referral, that 14 committee shall be discharged from further consider- 15 ation of the joint resolution. 16 (4) CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE.— 17 (A) COMMITTEE REFERRAL.—A joint reso- 18 lution of approval or joint resolution of dis- 19 approval introduced in the Senate shall be— 20 (i) referred to the Committee on 21 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs if 22 the joint resolution relates to a report 23 under subsection (a)(3)(A) that relates to 24 an action that is not intended to signifi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 488 IS cantly alter United States foreign policy 1 with respect to Iran; and 2 (ii) referred to the Committee on For- 3 eign Relations if the joint resolution relates 4 to a report under subsection (a)(3)(B) that 5 relates to an action that is intended to sig- 6 nificantly alter United States foreign policy 7 with respect to Iran. 8 (B) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—If the 9 committee to which a joint resolution of ap- 10 proval or joint resolution of disapproval was re- 11 ferred has not reported the joint resolution 12 within 10 calendar days after the date of refer- 13 ral of the joint resolution, that committee shall 14 be discharged from further consideration of the 15 joint resolution and the joint resolution shall be 16 placed on the appropriate calendar. 17 (C) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 18 Notwithstanding Rule XXII of the Standing 19 Rules of the Senate, it is in order at any time 20 after the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 21 Urban Affairs or the Committee on Foreign Re- 22 lations, as the case may be, reports a joint reso- 23 lution of approval or joint resolution of dis- 24 approval to the Senate or has been discharged 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:34 Mar 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S488.IS S488 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 488 IS from consideration of such a joint resolution 1 (even though a previous motion to the same ef- 2 fect has been disagreed to) to [Text truncated for display. 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