Countering Turkish Aggression Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 249 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2644 To impose sanctions with respect to Turkey, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 17, 2019 Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. ERNST, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. COONS, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. ALEX- ANDER, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. PORTMAN, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. ROMNEY, Mr. CARPER, Ms. COLLINS, and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was read the first time OCTOBER 21, 2019 Read the second time and placed on the calendar A BILL To impose sanctions with respect to Turkey, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Turkish 4 Aggression Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2644.PCS S2644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2644 PCS SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 It is the sense of Congress that— 2 (1) the decision to pull back United States 3 troops along the Turkey-Syria border area has grave 4 consequences for the national security of the United 5 States and allies and partners of the United States; 6 (2) the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip 7 Erdogan, should immediately cease unilateral mili- 8 tary action in Northeast Syria and respect existing 9 agreements related to Syria; 10 (3) the United States should continue to sup- 11 port the Syrian Kurdish communities, who have 12 been key partners of the United States in the ongo- 13 ing fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria; and 14 (4) the President should— 15 (A) call on Turkey to end its offensive op- 16 erations against the Syrian Kurds and return to 17 the framework agreement between the United 18 States and Turkey to establish a safe zone 19 along the Turkish-Syrian border; 20 (B) withdraw the invitation for the Presi- 21 dent of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to trav- 22 el to the United States for meetings at the 23 White House; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2644.PCS S2644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2644 PCS (C) seek unity with European and other 1 key partners to condemn Turkey’s military of- 2 fensive in northeastern Syria. 3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘fi- 6 nancial institution’’ means a financial institution 7 specified in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), 8 (F), (G), (H), (I), (J), (M), or (Y) of section 9 5312(a)(2) of title 31, United States Code. 10 (2) FOREIGN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The 11 term ‘‘foreign financial institution’’ has the meaning 12 given that term in regulations prescribed by the Sec- 13 retary of the Treasury. 14 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 15 son’’ means an individual or entity that is not a 16 United States person. 17 (4) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 18 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 19 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 20 have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 21 result. 22 (5) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 23 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2644.PCS S2644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2644 PCS (A) a United States citizen or an alien law- 1 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 2 United States; or 3 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 4 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 5 United States, including a foreign branch of 6 such an entity. 7 SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO TUR- 8 KEY. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of the en- 10 actment of this Act, the President shall— 11 (1) impose the sanctions described in subsection 12 (c) with respect to— 13 (A) each official of the Government of Tur- 14 key described in subsection (b); 15 (B) any foreign person that the President 16 determines knowingly sells or provides financial, 17 material, or technological support to, or know- 18 ingly conducts a transaction with, the Turkish 19 Armed Forces, including— 20 (i) aircraft or aircraft parts or ma- 21 chinery used by the Turkish Air Force; 22 (ii) automotive equipment and services 23 used by the Turkish Land and Naval 24 Forces; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2644.PCS S2644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2644 PCS (iii) defense articles, services, tech- 1 nology, or materials used by the Turkish 2 Armed Forces; or 3 (C) any foreign person that the President 4 determines knowingly supplies goods, services, 5 technology, information, or other support that 6 maintains or supports the production of crude 7 oil, natural gas, or refined petroleum or natural 8 gas products, in Turkey for use by the Turkish 9 Armed Forces; and 10 (2) prohibit any United States person from en- 11 gaging in any transaction with a person described in 12 paragraph (1). 13 (b) OFFICIALS DESCRIBED.—An official of the Gov- 14 ernment of Turkey described in this subsection is any of 15 the following: 16 (1) The President of Turkey. 17 (2) The Vice President of Turkey. 18 (3) The Minister of National Defense of Tur- 19 key. 20 (4) The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. 21 (5) The Minister of Treasury and Finance of 22 Turkey. 23 (6) The Minister of Trade of Turkey. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2644.PCS S2644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2644 PCS (7) The Minister of Energy and Natural Re- 1 sources of Turkey. 2 (8) The Chief of the National Intelligence Orga- 3 nization of Turkey. 4 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de- 5 scribed in this subsection are the blocking and prohibiting, 6 pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Pow- 7 ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), of all transactions in 8 property and interests in property of a person subject to 9 subsection (a) if such property and interests in property 10 are in the United States, come within the United States, 11 or come within the possession or control of a United 12 States person. 13 SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FI- 14 NANCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT FACILITATE 15 TRANSACTIONS FOR TURKISH ARMED 16 FORCES. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of the en- 18 actment of this Act, the President shall— 19 (1) impose the sanctions described in section 20 4(c) with respect to Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS or 21 any successor entity; and 22 (2) prohibit any United States person from en- 23 gaging in any transaction with Turkiye Halk 24 Bankasi AS or any successor entity. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2644.PCS S2644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2644 PCS (b) ADDITION FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.—If the 1 Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Sec- 2 retary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director 3 of National Intelligence, determines that any foreign fi- 4 nancial institution (other than a financial institution spec- 5 ified in subsection (a)), has knowingly facilitated trans- 6 actions for Turkish Armed Forces or defense industry in 7 Turkey relating to the military operations of Turkey in 8 Syria, the President shall, not later than 60 days after 9 that determination— 10 (1) impose the sanctions described in section 11 4(c) with respect to that financial institution; and 12 (2) prohibit any United States person from en- 13 gaging in any transaction with that financial institu- 14 tion. 15 SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO EN- 16 ERGY PRODUCTION IN SYRIA. 17 On and after the date of the enactment of this Act, 18 the President shall— 19 (1) impose the sanctions described in section 20 4(c) with respect to any foreign person that know- 21 ingly sells or provides significant goods, services, 22 technology, information, or other support that sig- 23 nificantly facilitates the maintenance or expansion of 24 the production of natural gas, petroleum, or petro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2644.PCS S2644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2644 PCS leum products in Syria for use by the Russian Fed- 1 eration, Iran, Turkey, or the Government of Syria; 2 and 3 (2) prohibit any United States person from en- 4 gaging in any transaction with a person described in 5 paragraph (1). 6 SEC. 7. IMPOSITION OF CAATSA SECTION 231 SANCTIONS 7 AGAINST TURKEY. 8 (a) DETERMINATION.—For the purposes of section 9 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through 10 Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9525), Turkey’s acquisition of 11 the Russian S–400 air and missile defense system begin- 12 ning July 12, 2019, shall be considered to be a significant 13 transaction described in such section. 14 (b) SANCTIONS.—Not later than 30 days after the 15 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall im- 16 pose 5 or more of the sanctions described in section 235 17 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanc- 18 tions Act (22 U.S.C. 9529) with respect to the Govern- 19 ment of Turkey. 20 SEC. 8. PROHIBITION ON UNITED STATES MILITARY AS- 21 SISTANCE. 22 (a) PROHIBITION.—No funds may be obligated or ex- 23 pended to sell or transfer any United States defense arti- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2644.PCS S2644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2644 PCS cles, services, technology, or materials or ammunition to 1 the Turkish Armed Forces. 2 (b) NO USE OF EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES.—The 3 authority of the President to waive statutory congressional 4 review periods under the Arms Export Control Act (22 5 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) in cases in which an emergency exists 6 shall not apply to the transfer of defense articles or serv- 7 ices to Turkey. 8 SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON PURCHASES OF TURKISH SOV- 9 EREIGN DEBT BY UNITED STATES PERSONS. 10 The President shall prescribe regulations prohibiting 11 any United States person from purchasing sovereign debt 12 of the Government of Turkey. 13 SEC. 10. VISA RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN OFFICIALS OF 14 THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State may not 16 issue a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security 17 shall exclude from the United States, an official of the 18 Government of Turkey described in section 4(b). 19 (b) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTERNATIONAL 20 OBLIGATIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to the ad- 21 mission of an official described in section 4(b) if the ad- 22 mission of that official is necessary to comply with United 23 States obligations under the Agreement between the 24 United Nations and the United States of America regard- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2644.PCS S2644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2644 PCS ing the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at 1 Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force No- 2 vember 21, 1947, under the Convention on Consular Rela- 3 tions, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into 4 force March 19, 1967, or under other international agree- 5 ments. 6 SEC. 11. REPORT ON NET WORTH OF RECEP TAYYIP 7 ERDOGAN. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 9 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall sub- 10 mit to Congress a report on the estimated net worth, 11 known sources of income, and assets of the President of 12 Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family members 13 (including spouses, children, and siblings), including as- 14 sets, investments, other business interests, and relevant 15 beneficial ownership information. 16 (b) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required by sub- 17 section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may 18 include a classified annex. 19 SEC. 12. REPORT ON STRATEGY TO DEFEAT THE ISLAMIC 20 STATE OF IRAQ AND SYRIA. 21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 22 ings: 23 (1) The Syrian Democratic Forces (in this sec- 24 tion referred to as the ‘‘SDF’’) have been the closest 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2644.PCS S2644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2644 PCS and most effective partner of the United States in 1 the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria 2 (in this section referred to as ‘‘ISIS’’) in Syria. 3 (2) In a June 30, 2019, report of the lead in- 4 spector general to Congress on Operation Inherent 5 Resolve, the Inspectors General of the Department 6 of Defense, the Department of State, and the United 7 States Agency for International Development re- 8 ported that ‘‘ISIS remains a threat in Iraq and 9 Syria’’ and that ‘‘[d]espite losing its territorial ‘ca- 10 liphate,’ the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria solidi- 11 fied its insurgent capabilities in Iraq and was re- 12 surging in Syria this quarter’’. The report estimated 13 that ISIS has approximately 14,000 to 18,000 14 ‘‘members’’ in Iraq and Syria, including up to 3,000 15 foreigners. 16 (3) That report also indicated that conditions 17 at the Al Hol camp in Syria provided ‘‘uncontested 18 conditions to spread . . . ISIS ideology’’. ISIS lead- 19 er Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has called on supporters 20 to break fighters out of Al Hol and other detention 21 facilities. 22 (4) General Joseph Votel, who served as the 23 Commander of the United States Central Command 24 from March 2016 to March 2019 and oversaw mili- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Oct 21, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2644.PCS S2644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2644 PCS tary operations in Iraq and Syria, has called the alli- 1 ance between the United States and Kurdish forces 2 in northeastern Syria ‘‘one of our most successful 3 partnerships’’ and called the Kurdish People’s Pro- 4 tection Units ‘‘the backbone of the fighting force 5 against ISIS in Syria’’. 6 (5) General Votel has also said, ‘‘A possible in- 7 vasion from Turkey against the Kurdish elements of 8 the SDF, coupled with a hasty U.S. departure, now 9 threaten to rapidly destabilize an already fragile se- 10 curity situation in Syria’s northeast.’’. 11 (6) The sudden withdrawal of United States 12 forces made way for Turkish offensive operations 13 against the SDF. That withdrawal has serious con- 14 sequences for United States security, including al- 15 lowing allies and potential allies in counterterrorism 16 efforts to question the resolve and commitment of 17 the United States to its op [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]