Protection of Saudi Dissidents Act of 2021

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1392 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 22, 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To protect Saudi dissidents in the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:56 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1392.RFS H1392 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 1392 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protection of Saudi 2 Dissidents Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Jamal Khashoggi, a United States resident, 6 Saudi journalist, and Washington Post columnist, 7 was killed and dismembered in the Saudi consulate 8 in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2, 2018. 9 (2) At the time of his murder, Khashoggi was 10 living in Virginia under an ‘‘O’’ visa and was in the 11 process of applying for a permanent residency. 12 (3) A report by the Office of the Director of 13 National Intelligence (ODNI) found that Saudi Ara- 14 bia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman ap- 15 proved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture 16 or kill Khashoggi. 17 (4) The assessment of the ODNI was based on 18 ‘‘the Crown Prince’s control of decisionmaking in 19 the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser 20 and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s protective 21 detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince’s sup- 22 port for using violent measures to silence dissidents 23 abroad’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:56 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1392.RFS H1392 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 1392 RFS (5) The report also reiterates that ‘‘the Crown 1 Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom’s se- 2 curity and intelligence organizations’’ since 2017. 3 SEC. 3. RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFERS OF DEFENSE ARTI- 4 CLES AND SERVICES, DESIGN AND CON- 5 STRUCTION SERVICES, AND MAJOR DEFENSE 6 EQUIPMENT TO SAUDI ARABIA. 7 (a) INITIAL PERIOD.—During the 120-day period be- 8 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 9 President may not sell, authorize a license for the export 10 of, or otherwise transfer any defense articles or defense 11 services, design and construction services, or major de- 12 fense equipment under the Arms Export Control Act (22 13 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) to an intelligence, internal security, 14 or law enforcement agency or instrumentality of the Gov- 15 ernment of Saudi Arabia, or to any person acting as an 16 agent of or on behalf of such agency or instrumentality. 17 (b) SUBSEQUENT PERIODS.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the 120-day period 19 beginning after the end of the 120-day period de- 20 scribed in subsection (a), and each 120-day period 21 thereafter, the President may not sell, authorize a li- 22 cense for the export of, or otherwise transfer any de- 23 fense articles or services, design and construction 24 services, or major defense equipment under the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:56 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1392.RFS H1392 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 1392 RFS Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), 1 regardless of the amount of such articles, services, 2 or equipment, to an intelligence, internal security, or 3 law enforcement agency or instrumentality of the 4 Government of Saudi Arabia, or to any person act- 5 ing as an agent of or on behalf of such agency or 6 instrumentality, unless the President has submitted 7 to the chairman and ranking member of the appro- 8 priate congressional committees a certification de- 9 scribed in paragraph (2). 10 (2) CERTIFICATION.—A certification described 11 in this paragraph is a certification that contains a 12 determination of the President that, during the 120- 13 day period preceding the date of submission of the 14 certification, the United States Government has not 15 determined that the Government of Saudi Arabia 16 has conducted any of the following activities: 17 (A) Forced repatriation, intimidation, or 18 killing of dissidents in other countries. 19 (B) The unjust imprisonment in Saudi 20 Arabia of United States citizens or aliens law- 21 fully admitted for permanent residence or the 22 prohibition on these individuals and their family 23 members from exiting Saudi Arabia. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:56 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1392.RFS H1392 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 1392 RFS (C) Torture of detainees in the custody of 1 the Government of Saudi Arabia. 2 (c) EXCEPTION.—The restrictions in this section 3 shall not apply with respect to the sale, authorization of 4 a license for export, or transfer of any defense articles or 5 services, design and construction services, or major de- 6 fense equipment under the Arms Export Control Act (22 7 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) for use in— 8 (1) the defense of the territory of Saudi Arabia 9 from external threats; or 10 (2) the defense of United States military or dip- 11 lomatic personnel or United States facilities located 12 in Saudi Arabia. 13 (d) WAIVER.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 15 the restrictions in this section if the President sub- 16 mits to the appropriate congressional committees a 17 report not later than 15 days before the granting of 18 such waiver that contains— 19 (A) a determination of the President that 20 such a waiver is in the vital national security 21 interests of the United States; and 22 (B) a detailed justification for the use of 23 such waiver and the reasons why the restric- 24 tions in this section cannot be met. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:56 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1392.RFS H1392 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 1392 RFS (2) FORM.—The report required by this sub- 1 section shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 2 may contain a classified annex. 3 (e) SUNSET.—This section shall terminate on the 4 date that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of 5 this Act. 6 (f) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- 7 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres- 8 sional committees’’ means— 9 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Per- 10 manent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the 11 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep- 12 resentatives; and 13 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 14 Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Com- 15 mittee on Armed Services of the Senate. 16 SEC. 4. REPORT ON CONSISTENT PATTERN OF ACTS OF IN- 17 TIMIDATION OR HARASSMENT DIRECTED 18 AGAINST INDIVIDUALS IN THE UNITED 19 STATES. 20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 21 (1) Section 6 of the Arms Export Control Act 22 (22 U.S.C. 2756) states that ‘‘no transfers or letters 23 of offer may be issued, no credits or guarantees may 24 be extended, and no export licenses may be issued 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:56 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1392.RFS H1392 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 1392 RFS under this Act with respect to any country deter- 1 mined by the President to be engaged in a consistent 2 pattern of acts of intimidation or harassment di- 3 rected against individuals in the United States’’. 4 (2) Section 6 of the Arms Export Control Act 5 further requires the President to report any such de- 6 termination promptly to the Speaker of the House of 7 Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Affairs 8 of the House of Representatives, and to the chair- 9 man of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 10 Senate. 11 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 12 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 13 to the appropriate congressional committees a report on— 14 (1) whether any official of the Government of 15 Saudi Arabia engaged in a consistent pattern of acts 16 of intimidation or harassment directed against 17 Jamal Khashoggi or any individual in the United 18 States; and 19 (2) whether any United States-origin defense 20 articles were used in the activities described in para- 21 graph (1). 22 (c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (b) 23 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain 24 a classified annex. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:56 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1392.RFS H1392 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 1392 RFS (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES 1 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con- 2 gressional committees’’ means— 3 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 4 Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 5 House of Representatives; and 6 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 7 the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. 8 SEC. 5. REPORT AND CERTIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO 9 SAUDI DIPLOMATS AND DIPLOMATIC FACILI- 10 TIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 11 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 12 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 13 to the appropriate congressional committees a report cov- 14 ering the three-year period preceding such date of enact- 15 ment regarding whether and to what extent covered per- 16 sons used diplomatic credentials, visas, or covered facilities 17 to facilitate monitoring, tracking, surveillance, or harass- 18 ment of, or harm to, other nationals of Saudi Arabia living 19 in the United States. 20 (b) CERTIFICATION.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and each 23 120-day period thereafter, the President shall, if the 24 President determines that such is the case, submit 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:56 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1392.RFS H1392 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 1392 RFS to the appropriate congressional committees a cer- 1 tification that the United States Government has 2 not determined covered persons to be using diplo- 3 matic credentials, visas, or covered facilities to facili- 4 tate serious harassment of, or harm to, other nation- 5 als of Saudi Arabia living in the United States dur- 6 ing the time period covered by each such certifi- 7 cation. 8 (2) FAILURE TO SUBMIT CERTIFICATION.—If 9 the President does not submit a certification under 10 paragraph (1), the President shall— 11 (A) close one or more covered facilities for 12 such period of time until the President does 13 submit such a certification; and 14 (B) submit to the appropriate congres- 15 sional committee a report that contains— 16 (i) a detailed explanation of why the 17 President is unable to make such a certifi- 18 cation; 19 (ii) a list and summary of engage- 20 ments of the United States Government 21 with the Government of Saudi Arabia re- 22 garding the use of diplomatic credentials, 23 visas, or covered facilities described in 24 paragraph (1); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:56 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1392.RFS H1392 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 1392 RFS (iii) a description of actions the 1 United States Government has taken or in- 2 tends to take in response to the use of dip- 3 lomatic credentials, visas, or covered facili- 4 ties described in paragraph (1). 5 (c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 6 and the certification and report required by subsection (b) 7 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain 8 a classified annex. 9 (d) WAIVER.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 11 the restrictions in this section if the President sub- 12 mits to the appropriate congressional committees a 13 report not later than 15 days before the granting of 14 such waiver that contains— 15 (A) a determination of the President that 16 such a waiver is in the vital national security 17 interests of the United States; and 18 (B) a detailed justification for the use of 19 such waiver and the reasons why the restric- 20 tions in this section cannot be met. 21 (2) FORM.—The report required by this sub- 22 section shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 23 may contain a classified annex. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:56 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1392.RFS H1392 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 1392 RFS (e) SUNSET.—This section shall terminate on the 1 date that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of 2 this Act. 3 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 5 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 6 mittees’’ means— 7 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 8 the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 9 of the House of Representatives; and 10 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 11 and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 12 Senate. 13 (2) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘‘covered 14 facility’’ means a diplomatic or consular facility of 15 Saudi Arabia in the United States. 16 (3) COVERED PERSON.—The term ‘‘covered 17 person’’ means a national of Saudi Arabia 18 credentialed to a covered facility. 19 SEC. 6. REPORT ON THE DUTY TO WARN OBLIGATION OF 20 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that Intelligence 22 Community Directive 191 provides that— 23 (1) when an element of the intelligence commu- 24 nity of the United States collects or acquires credible 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:56 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1392.RFS H1392 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 1392 RFS and specific information indicating an impending 1 threat of intentional killing, serious bodily injury, or 2 kidnapping directed at a person, the agency must 3 ‘‘warn the intended victim or those responsible for 4 protecting the intended victim, as appropriate’’ un- 5 less an applicable waiver of the duty is granted by 6 the appropriate official within the element; and 7 (2) when issues arise with respect to whether 8 the threat information rises to the threshold of 9 ‘‘duty to warn’’, the directive calls for resolution in 10 favor of warning the intended victim. 11 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 12 of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National In- 13 telligence, in coordination with the heads of other relevant 14 United States intelligence agencies, shall submit to the ap- 15 propriate congressional committees a report with respect 16 to— 17 (1) whether and how the intelligence community 18 fulfilled its duty to warn Jamal Khashoggi of threats 19 to his life and liberty pursuant to Intelligence Com- 20 munity Directive 191; and 21 (2) in the case of the intelligence community 22 [Text truncated for display. 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