Maximum Pressure Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2718 To impose additional sanctions with respect to Iran and modify other existing sanctions with respect to Iran, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 21, 2021 Mr. BANKS (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. TIMMONS, Mrs. HARSHBARGER, Mr. JOHNSON of Lou- isiana, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. HILL, Mr. GOODEN of Texas, Ms. HERRELL, Mr. BABIN, Mr. JACOBS of New York, Mr. ARMSTRONG, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mrs. MCCLAIN, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. PFLUGER, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. SCALISE, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Mr. TURNER, Mr. JACKSON, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. LATURNER, Mr. TONY GONZALES of Texas, Mr. STEIL, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. CAWTHORN, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. BARR, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mrs. CAMMACK, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. GARCIA of California, Mr. CARL, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. HUDSON, Mr. HERN, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. BUDD, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. BRADY, Mr. BACON, Mr. BERGMAN, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. FALLON, Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. MOORE of Utah, Mr. OWENS, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. MANN, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. SMUCKER, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. C. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida, Mr. FITZGERALD, Mrs. FISCHBACH, Mr. PALMER, Mr. STAUBER, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. FEENSTRA, Mr. LATTA, Mr. ROY, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. HUIZENGA, Mr. HAGEDORN, Mr. MEUSER, Mr. BAIRD, Ms. CHENEY, Mr. DUNCAN, and Ms. FOXX) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, the Judiciary, Oversight and Reform, Ways and Means, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2718.IH H2718 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2718 IH A BILL To impose additional sanctions with respect to Iran and modify other existing sanctions with respect to Iran, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Maximum Pressure Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Statement of policy. Sec. 4. Severability. TITLE I—MATTERS RELATING TO SANCTIONS AND SANCTION AUTHORITIES Sec. 101. Codification of executive orders and continuation of certain existing sanctions. Sec. 102. Sanctions with respect to the Supreme Leader of Iran. Sec. 103. Sanctions with respect to listed persons involved in international arms sales to Iran. Sec. 104. Additional conditions for termination and elimination of sunset of sanctions under the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996. Sec. 105. Sectoral sanctions on Iran under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Pro- liferation Act of 2012. Sec. 106. Amendments to the comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010. Sec. 107. Congressional review of certain actions relating to sanctions imposed with respect to Iran. Sec. 108. Clarification of guidance relating to Iran’s shipping sector. Sec. 109. Sunset of waiver and license authorities. Sec. 110. Codification and application on transfers of funds involving Iran. Sec. 111. Applicability of congressional review of certain agency rulemaking re- lating to Iran. Sec. 112. Strict liability of parent companies and foreign subsidiaries for viola- tions of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. Sec. 113. Expansion of sanctions with respect to efforts by Iran to acquire bal- listic missile and related technology. Sec. 114. Expansion of sanctions under Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 with re- spect to persons that acquire or develop ballistic missiles. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H2718.IH H2718 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2718 IH Sec. 115. Imposition of sanctions with respect to Ballistic Missile Program of Iran. Sec. 116. Mandatory sanctions with respect to financial institutions that engage in certain transactions on behalf of persons involved in human rights abuses or that export sensitive technology to Iran. Sec. 117. Additional sanctions with respect to foreign persons that support or conduct certain transactions with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps or other sanctioned persons. TITLE II—MATTERS RELATING TO THE FINANCING OF TERRORISM Sec. 201. Prohibitions of International Monetary Fund allocations for Iran. Sec. 202. Certification requirement for removal of designation of Iran as a ju- risdiction of primary money laundering concern. Sec. 203. Requirement to take special measures at domestic financial institu- tions. Sec. 204. Additional sanctions with respect to foreign persons that are officials, agents, or affiliates of, or owned or controlled by, Iran’s Revo- lutionary Guard Corps. Sec. 205. Additional sanctions with respect to foreign persons that support or conduct certain transactions with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps or other sanctioned persons. Sec. 206. Reports on certain Iranian persons and sectors of Iran’s economy that are controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. TITLE III—MATTERS RELATING TO THE DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN ENTITIES Sec. 301. Prohibition on future waivers and licenses connected to the designa- tion of the IRGC. Sec. 302. Prohibition on future waivers and licenses connected to the designa- tion of the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization. Sec. 303. Measures with respect to Ansarallah in Yemen. TITLE IV—DETERMINATIONS AND REPORTS Sec. 401. Determinations with respect to the imposition of sanctions. Sec. 402. Iranian militia watchlists. Sec. 403. Expansion of reporting to include Iranian arms shipments to the Houthis and Iranian backed militias in Iraq and Syria. Sec. 404. Annual report on Iran sanctions violations. Sec. 405. Report on sanctions relief going to terrorism or destabilizing activi- ties. Sec. 406. Supporting human rights for the people of Iran and the victims of Iranian human rights abuses in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Venezuela. Sec. 407. Determination with respect to net worth of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei. Sec. 408. IRGC watch list and report. Sec. 409. Report on Iran’s breakout timeline for uranium enrichment and nu- clear weaponization. Sec. 410. Report on Iranian disinformation campaigns and counter- disinformation efforts. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H2718.IH H2718 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2718 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of 3 terrorism. It seeks ‘‘death to America’’ and the de- 4 struction of the state of Israel. 5 (2) Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, its desta- 6 bilizing behavior in the Middle East, its support of 7 terrorism, its development of ballistic missiles, and 8 its gross violations of human rights against its own 9 people and the peoples of the Middle East are a 10 threat to the national security of the United States, 11 our allies, and international peace and security. 12 (3) Iran and its proxies have planned, directed, 13 sponsored, and funded terrorist plots throughout the 14 world and on United States soil, including the 2011 15 attempted assassination of the Saudi Arabian Am- 16 bassador to the United States in Washington, DC, 17 the 1994 bombing of the Asociacion Mutual Israelita 18 Argentina in Buenos Aires, Argentina which killed 19 over 85 people, and the 2012 bus bombing in 20 Burgas, Bulgaria which killed five Israelis. 21 (4) According to multiple American Directors of 22 National Intelligence, Iran has the largest arsenal of 23 ballistic missiles in the Middle East. Iran is also de- 24 veloping a robust cruise missile arsenal and ad- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2718.IH H2718 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2718 IH vanced drone capability, which threaten American 1 and allied air and missile defenses. 2 (5) Iran tests, transfers, and even uses these 3 systems in military operations abroad. 4 (6) Iran has given ballistic missiles and associ- 5 ated technology to the Houthis in Yemen, Shiite mi- 6 litias in Iraq, the Assad regime in Syria, and 7 Hezbollah in Lebanon, and is also helping to traffic 8 precision-guided munitions parts through the Middle 9 East to upgrade the rocket forces of its chief proxy, 10 Hezbollah. 11 (7) Iran continues to hold Americans hostage, 12 including Baquer and Siamak Namazi, Bob 13 Levinson, and others. 14 (8) The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action 15 negotiated by former President Barack Obama was 16 fatally flawed, did not eliminate Iran’s pathway to a 17 nuclear weapons, and allowed Iran to retain and re- 18 fine its nuclear weapons capability. 19 (9) The verification and compliance mecha- 20 nisms of the failed Iran nuclear deal were weak and 21 insufficient. 22 (10) The failed Iran nuclear agreement did 23 nothing to address Iran’s continued development of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2718.IH H2718 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2718 IH ballistic and cruise missiles capable of delivering nu- 1 clear warheads. 2 (11) The failed Iran nuclear agreement pro- 3 vided Iran with over $100,000,000,000 in sanctions 4 relief that was used by Iran to fuel proxy wars 5 across the Middle East, including supporting the 6 brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and lin- 7 ing the pockets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard 8 Corps, Hizballah, Hamas, the Houthis, and the Ira- 9 nian backed terrorist militias in Iraq. 10 (12) The failed Iran nuclear agreement lifted 11 the United Nations arms embargo on Iran in Octo- 12 ber 2020, permitting Russia and China to engage in 13 international arms sales with Iran. This also allows 14 Iran to proliferate weapons across the world includ- 15 ing to Venezuela and the Assad regime in Syria. 16 (13) A central strategic flaw of the failed Iran 17 nuclear deal was the idea that an agreement with 18 Iran should solely focus on the issue of nuclear 19 weapons alone, and not address non-nuclear issues. 20 (14) On May 21, 2018, two weeks after Presi- 21 dent Trump withdrew from the failed Iran nuclear 22 deal, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made 23 an address at The Heritage Foundation entitled 24 ‘‘After the Deal: A New Iran Strategy’’ where he an- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2718.IH H2718 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2718 IH nounced that the Trump administration would 1 ‘‘apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Ira- 2 nian regime’’ and laid out twelve demands that 3 would need to be met by Iran as part of any agree- 4 ment related to the lifting of sanctions, and the re- 5 establishment of diplomatic and commercial relations 6 with Iran. 7 (15) In his remarks on May 21, 2018, Pompeo 8 stated that ‘‘Iran advanced its march across the 9 Middle East during the JCPOA. Qasem Soleimani 10 has been playing with house money that has become 11 blood money. Wealth created by the West has fueled 12 his campaigns. Strategically, the Obama administra- 13 tion made a bet that the deal would spur Iran to 14 stop its rogue state actions and conform to inter- 15 national norms. That bet was a loser with massive 16 repercussions for all of the people living in the Mid- 17 dle East.’’. 18 (16) Former President Donald J. Trump’s 19 maximum pressure campaign on Iran denied the re- 20 gime unprecedented revenue it would have otherwise 21 spent on terrorism. 22 (17) On December 31, 2019, Iranian President 23 Hassan Rouhani admitted that Iran had lost $200 24 billion in revenue because of U.S. sanctions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2718.IH H2718 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2718 IH (18) Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zanganeh on 1 three separate occasions has likened U.S. sanctions 2 under the maximum pressure campaign to having 3 made the economic situation worse than the Iran- 4 Iraq War (1980–1988). 5 (19) Iran’s 2019 defense budget cut defense 6 spending by 28 percent, including a 17 percent cut 7 to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a 8 designated foreign terrorist organization. 9 (20) The Iranian rial lost around 70 percent of 10 its value since the beginning of President Trump’s 11 maximum pressure campaign. 12 (21) According to the International Monetary 13 Fund (IMF), Iran’s accessible foreign exchange re- 14 serves plunged to $4 billion in 2020 from $123 bil- 15 lion in 2018, or a decrease of over 96 percent. 16 (22) Due to the maximum pressure campaign, 17 Hezbollah terrorists and Iranian backed militias 18 were denied resources and were forced to cut sala- 19 ries of their fighters. 20 (23) During the maximum pressure campaign, 21 the United States was able to achieve the release of 22 two hostages in Iran, Xiyue Wang and Michael 23 White, without lifting sanctions or transferring cash 24 to Iran. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jul 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2718.IH H2718 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2718 IH (24) Former Special Representative for Syria 1 Engagement James Jeffery stated on May 20th, 2 2020, ‘‘We have seen the Iranians pulling in some 3 of their outlying activities and such in Syria because 4 of, frankly, financial problems . . . in terms of the 5 huge success of the Trump administration’s sanc- 6 tions policies against Iran. It’s having a real effect 7 in Syria.’’. 8 (25) President Joe Biden has repeatedly 9 pledged to re-enter the failed Iran nuclear agree- 10 ment and lift sanctions on Iran if Iran comes into 11 compliance with the agreement. 12 (26) On March 2, 2021, the Republican Study 13 Committee’s Steering Committee formally adopted 14 an official position supporting former President 15 Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran and 16 pledged to work to fight against and work to reverse 17 any and all sanctions relief for Iran unless Iran met 18 all 12 demands laid out by former Secretary of State 19 Pompeo. 20 (27) On March 18, 2021, in an interview with 21 BBC Persian, President B [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]