KREMLIN Act

II Calendar No. 40 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1617 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 13, 2019 Received; read the first time MARCH 14, 2019 Read the second time and placed on the calendar AN ACT To direct the Director of National Intelligence to submit intelligence assessments of the intentions of the political leadership of the Russian Federation, and for other pur- poses. 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 ‘‘Keeping Russian En- 4 trapments Minimal and Limiting Intelligence Networks 5 Act’’ or the ‘‘KREMLIN Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.PCS H1617 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 1617 PCS (1) Russia continues to engage in information 1 warfare and political interference in the West, in- 2 cluding by undermining democratic systems and ex- 3 ploiting economic and ethnic tensions within member 4 countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 5 (2) Such activities constitute a threat to the 6 United States and to its allies. 7 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 8 It is the sense of Congress that— 9 (1) the Countering America’s Adversaries 10 Through Sanctions Act (Public Law 115–44) au- 11 thorized the United States Government to impose 12 sanctions in response to actions by countries, includ- 13 ing Russia, that undermine the security of the 14 United States; 15 (2) the United States should sustain its con- 16 tribution to the newly deployed enhanced forward 17 presence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 18 (NATO) in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia 19 and encourage Canada, the United Kingdom, and 20 Germany to continue their important leadership 21 roles in the military presence of NATO in those 22 countries; 23 (3) the United States has defensive intentions 24 in pursuing such sanctions and such enhanced mili- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.PCS H1617 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 1617 PCS tary posture in Europe, and does not seek to threat- 1 en Russian territory; 2 (4) the United States does not seek to be an 3 enemy of the Russian people; 4 (5) the United States desires a peaceful, eco- 5 nomically prosperous relationship with Russia based 6 on democratic principles where freedom and the rule 7 of law are upheld for all; and 8 (6) the United States is committed to defending 9 these fundamental beliefs against any Russian ag- 10 gression. 11 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT FOR INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENTS. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 13 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National 14 Intelligence, in consultation with the Secretary of State 15 and the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to the appro- 16 priate congressional committees each of the assessments 17 described in subsection (b). 18 (b) ASSESSMENTS DESCRIBED.—The assessments 19 described in this section are the following with respect to 20 the current intentions of the political leadership of the 21 Russian Federation and based on intelligence obtained 22 from all sources: 23 (1) Potential military action against members 24 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.PCS H1617 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 1617 PCS (2) Potential responses to an enlarged United 1 States or NATO military presence in eastern Europe 2 or to increased United States military support for 3 allies and partners in the region, such as the provi- 4 sion of additional lethal military equipment to 5 Ukraine or Georgia. 6 (3) Potential areas where the Government of 7 the Russian Federation could exploit weaknesses and 8 divisions among the governments of its Western ad- 9 versaries. 10 (c) FORM.—Each assessment required under sub- 11 section (a) may be submitted in classified form but shall 12 also include an unclassified executive summary, consistent 13 with the protection of intelligence sources and methods. 14 (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 15 In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 16 mittees’’ means— 17 (1) the Permanent Select Committee on Intel- 18 ligence, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the 19 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep- 20 resentatives; and 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.PCS H1617 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 1617 PCS (2) the Select Committee on Intelligence, the 1 Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee 2 on Armed Services of the Senate. 3 Passed the House of Representatives March 12, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1617.PCS H1617 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS Calendar No. 40 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1617 AN ACT To direct the Director of National Intelligence to submit intelligence assessments of the intentions of the political leadership of the Russian Federa- tion, and for other purposes. MARCH 14, 2019 Read the second time and placed on the calendar VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H1617.PCS H1617 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS