Preventing Destabilization of Iraq Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 571 To impose sanctions with respect to Iranian persons that threaten the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 15, 2019 Mr. KINZINGER (for himself, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. DIAZ- BALART) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judi- ciary, 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 impose sanctions with respect to Iranian persons that threaten the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq. 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 ‘‘Preventing Destabiliza- 4 tion of Iraq Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H571.IH H571 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 571 IH SEC. 2. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOR- 1 EIGN PERSONS THREATENING PEACE OR 2 STABILITY IN IRAQ. 3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 4 gress that the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary 5 of State should continue to implement Executive Order 6 13438 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property 7 of certain persons who threaten stabilization efforts in 8 Iraq). 9 (b) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—The President shall 10 impose the sanctions described in subsection (c) with re- 11 spect to any foreign person that the President determines 12 knowingly commits a significant act of violence that has 13 the direct purpose or effect of— 14 (1) threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or 15 the Government of Iraq; 16 (2) undermining the democratic process in Iraq; 17 or 18 (3) undermining significantly efforts to promote 19 economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq 20 or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi 21 people. 22 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions described in 24 this subsection are the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H571.IH H571 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 571 IH (A) ASSET BLOCKING.—The exercise of all 1 powers granted to the President by the Inter- 2 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 3 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to 4 block and prohibit all transactions in all prop- 5 erty and interests in property of a foreign per- 6 son determined by the President to be subject 7 to subsection (b) if such property and interests 8 in property are in the United States, come 9 within the United States, or are or come within 10 the possession or control of a United States 11 person. 12 (B) ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR VISAS, AD- 13 MISSION, OR PAROLE.— 14 (i) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.— 15 An alien who the Secretary of State or the 16 Secretary of Homeland Security (or a des- 17 ignee of one of such Secretaries) deter- 18 mines is subject to subsection (b) is— 19 (I) inadmissible to the United 20 States; 21 (II) ineligible to receive a visa or 22 other documentation to enter the 23 United States; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H571.IH H571 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 571 IH (III) otherwise ineligible to be 1 admitted or paroled into the United 2 States or to receive any other benefit 3 under the Immigration and Nation- 4 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 5 (ii) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 6 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any visa or 7 other documentation issued to an 8 alien who is a foreign person that is 9 described in subsection (b) regardless 10 of when such visa or other docu- 11 mentation was issued, shall be re- 12 voked and such alien shall be denied 13 admission to the United States. 14 (II) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.— 15 A revocation under subclause (I) shall 16 take effect immediately and shall 17 automatically cancel any other valid 18 visa or entry documentation that is in 19 the alien’s possession. 20 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that is subject to 21 sanctions described in paragraph (1)(A) shall be 22 subject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) 23 and (c) of section 206 of the International Emer- 24 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H571.IH H571 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 571 IH same extent as a person that commits an unlawful 1 act described in subsection (a) of that section. 2 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA- 3 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 4 under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to an alien 5 if admitting the alien into the United States is nec- 6 essary to permit the United States to comply with 7 the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 8 United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 9 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, 10 between the United Nations and the United States, 11 or other applicable international obligations. 12 (d) WAIVER.—The President may, on a case-by-case 13 basis and for periods not to exceed 180 days, waive the 14 application of sanctions in this section with respect to a 15 foreign person if the President certifies to the appropriate 16 congressional committees at least 15 days before such 17 waiver is to take effect that such waiver is vital to the 18 national security interests of the United States. 19 (e) IMPLEMENTATION AUTHORITY.—The President 20 may exercise all authorities provided to the President 21 under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emer- 22 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) 23 for purposes of carrying out this section. 24 (f) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H571.IH H571 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 571 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall, not 1 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 2 of this Act, promulgate regulations as necessary for 3 the implementation of this section. 4 (2) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Not less 5 than 10 days before the promulgation of regulations 6 under paragraph (1), the President shall notify and 7 provide to the appropriate congressional committees 8 the proposed regulations and the provisions of this 9 section that the regulations are implementing. 10 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 11 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 12 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 13 section 101(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(3)). 15 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 16 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 17 mittees’’ means— 18 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 19 Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 20 Ways and Means, and the Committee on Finan- 21 cial Services of the House of Representatives; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H571.IH H571 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 571 IH (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 1 and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 2 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 3 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 4 son’’ means a person that is not a United States 5 person. 6 (4) GOVERNMENT OF IRAQ.—The term ‘‘Gov- 7 ernment of Iraq’’ has the meaning given that term 8 in section 576.310 of title 31, Code of Federal Reg- 9 ulations, as in effect on June 22, 2016. 10 (5) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 11 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 12 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 13 have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 14 result. 15 (6) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 16 meaning given that term in section 576.311 of title 17 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 18 June 22, 2016. 19 (7) PROPERTY; PROPERTY INTEREST.—The 20 terms ‘‘property’’ and ‘‘property interest’’ have the 21 meanings given those terms in section 576.312 of 22 title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 23 June 22, 2016. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H571.IH H571 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 571 IH (8) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 1 ‘‘United States person’’ has the meaning given that 2 term in section 576.317 of title 31, Code of Federal 3 Regulations, as in effect on June 22, 2016. 4 (h) SUNSET.—This section shall cease to be effective 5 beginning on January 1, 2022. 6 SEC. 3. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE IMPOSI- 7 TION OF SANCTIONS. 8 (a) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 90 days after 9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 10 State shall submit to the appropriate congressional com- 11 mittees a determination, including a detailed justification, 12 on whether Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Harakat Hizballah al- 13 Nujaba, Liwa Fatemiyoun, Liwa Zainebiyoun, and any 14 foreign person that is an official, agent, affiliate of, or 15 owned or controlled by Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Harakat 16 Hizballah al-Nujaba, Liwa Fatemiyoun, or Liwa 17 Zainebiyoun meets the criteria for— 18 (1) designation as a foreign terrorist organiza- 19 tion pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and 20 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); 21 (2) the application of sanctions pursuant to Ex- 22 ecutive Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating 23 to blocking property and prohibiting transactions 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H571.IH H571 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 571 IH with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or 1 support terrorism); or 2 (3) the application of sanctions pursuant to sec- 3 tion 2 of this Act. 4 (b) ADDITIONAL DETERMINATION.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 6 include in the determination submitted under sub- 7 section (a) an additional determination, including a 8 detailed justification, on whether any of the individ- 9 uals described in paragraph (2) meets the criteria 10 for the application of sanctions described in para- 11 graph (2) or (3) of subsection (a). 12 (2) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—The individuals 13 described in this paragraph are the following: 14 (A) Qais al-Khazali. 15 (B) Laith al-Khazali. 16 (C) Akram Abbas al-Kaabi. 17 (D) Shibl al-Zaydi. 18 (E) Kazim al-Ta’i. 19 (F) Hamid al-Jazairi. 20 (G) Ali al-Yasiri. 21 (c) FORM.—The determination in subsection (a) and 22 the additional determination in subsection (b) shall be 23 submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classi- 24 fied annex. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H571.IH H571 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 571 IH (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES 1 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con- 2 gressional committees’’ means— 3 (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the 4 Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Select 5 Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Finan- 6 cial Services, and the Committee on the Judiciary of 7 the House of Representatives; and 8 (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the 9 Committee on Foreign Relations, the Select Com- 10 mittee on Intelligence, the Committee on Banking, 11 Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on 12 the Judiciary of the Senate. 13 SEC. 4. WATCHLISTS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall an- 15 nually establish, maintain, and publish a list of armed 16 groups, militias, or proxy forces in Iraq receiving 17 logistical, military, or financial assistance from Iran’s Rev- 18 olutionary Guard Corps or over which Iran’s Revolu- 19 tionary Guard Corps exerts any form of control or influ- 20 ence. 21 (b) PUBLICATION.—The lists required under sub- 22 section (a) shall be published at the same time as the De- 23 partment of State’s Annual Country Reports on Ter- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H571.IH H571 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 571 IH rorism, beginning with the first such Country Reports 1 published after the date of the enactment of this Act. 2 (c) FORM.—If the Secretary of State determines that 3 it is appropriate to do so, the Secretary may, not later 4 than 30 days after publication of the Annual Country Re- 5 ports on Terrorism referred to in subsection (b), submit 6 to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep- 7 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of 8 the Senate a classified annex. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Jan 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H571.IH H571 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS