NIE on Iranian Proxy Forces Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7850 To require a National Intelligence Estimate on Iranian proxy forces, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 29, 2020 Mr. SCHNEIDER (for himself, Mr. ZELDIN, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, Mr. CORREA, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. YOHO, and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Permanent Select Committee on In- telligence, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a pe- riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To require a National Intelligence Estimate on Iranian proxy forces, 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 ‘‘NIE on Iranian Proxy 4 Forces Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7850.IH H7850 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7850 IH (1) Hizballah is Iran’s oldest and most success- 1 ful proxy force. 2 (2) Hizballah has trained militia groups in Iraq. 3 (3) Hizballah is active in Syria and its fighters 4 have helped President Bashar Al-Assad maintain re- 5 gime control. 6 (4) Hizballah fighters are returning to Lebanon 7 more battle-tested and more capable than ever be- 8 fore. 9 (5) In 2006, Hizballah’s rocket and missile ar- 10 senal in Lebanon was approximately 15,000; how- 11 ever, by 2020, this figure has grown ten-fold to more 12 than 150,000. 13 (6) With the assistance of Iran, Hizballah’s 14 weapons arsenal has not only increased in quantity, 15 but also quality, including technologically advanced 16 weapons and more accurate missiles. 17 (7) Iran is reportedly building missile produc- 18 tion facilities in Lebanon to enable an indigenous 19 rocket-producing capability for Hizballah. 20 (8) Iran is actively pursuing its regional inter- 21 ests and challenging United States interests and 22 United States allies through the use of proxy forces 23 in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7850.IH H7850 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7850 IH (b) NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE.—Not later 1 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 2 the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with 3 the Secretary of State, shall produce a National Intel- 4 ligence Estimate— 5 (1) on Iranian support of proxy and other part- 6 ner and militia forces in the Middle East region; and 7 (2) assessing the increased threat posed to 8 Israel, other United States regional allies, and other 9 specified interests of the United States as a result 10 of such support. 11 (c) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The National In- 12 telligence Estimate required under subsection (b) shall in- 13 clude, at a minimum, information relating to the following 14 matters with respect to both the strategic and tactical im- 15 plications for the United States and its allies: 16 (1) A description of Iranian and Iranian-con- 17 trolled personnel, including Hizballah, Shiite mili- 18 tias, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 19 forces, operating in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, in- 20 cluding the number and geographic distribution of 21 such personnel. 22 (2) A description of arms and related material 23 transferred by Iran to such Iranian and Iranian-con- 24 trolled personnel since January 2011, including the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7850.IH H7850 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7850 IH number and type of such arms and related material 1 and whether such transfer was by land, sea, or air, 2 as well as financial and additional technological ca- 3 pabilities. 4 (3) An identification of financial institutions, 5 businesses, and other persons that provide material 6 support, including financial support, to such Iranian 7 and Iranian-controlled personnel. 8 (4) An assessment of the operational and doc- 9 trinal lessons learned and relationships forged by 10 such Iranian and Iranian-controlled personnel based 11 on recent battle experiences in Iraq and Syria, and 12 on the performance of these groups in the aftermath 13 of the killing of Qassem Soleimani and Abu-Mahdi 14 al-Muhandis. 15 (5) A description of any rocket and missile pro- 16 duction and modification facilities in Lebanon and 17 Syria for such Iranian and Iranian-controlled per- 18 sonnel, and whether— 19 (A) such facilities involve precision-guided 20 munitions; 21 (B) such facilities were assessed to be built 22 at the direction of Hizballah leadership, Iranian 23 leadership, or both Hizballah and Iranian lead- 24 ership; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7850.IH H7850 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7850 IH (C) such facilities are connected to the Ira- 1 nian ‘‘landbridge’’ project. 2 (6) An analysis of the foreign and domestic 3 supply chains that significantly facilitate, support, or 4 otherwise aid Hizballah’s acquisition or development 5 of missile production facilities, including the geo- 6 graphic distribution of such foreign and domestic 7 supply chains. 8 (7) An assessment of the provision of goods, 9 services, or technology transferred by Iran or its af- 10 filiates to Hizballah to indigenously manufacture or 11 otherwise produce missiles. 12 (8) The number of arms or related material 13 transferred by Iran or its affiliates to such Iranian 14 and Iranian-controlled personnel in Iraq, Syria, and 15 Lebanon and an identification of the Iranian or Ira- 16 nian-controlled personnel to which the arms or re- 17 lated material were transferred. 18 (9) An identification of foreign persons that 19 are, based on credible information, facilitating the 20 transfer of significant financial support or arms or 21 related material to such Iranian and Iranian-con- 22 trolled personnel. 23 (10) A description of the threat posed to Israel 24 and other United States partners in the Middle East 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7850.IH H7850 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7850 IH by the transfer of arms or related material or other 1 support offered to such Iranian and Iranian-con- 2 trolled personnel. 3 (11) An assessment of the military capabilities 4 of United States partners in the region to address 5 and offset the transfers described in paragraph (10). 6 (d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Upon completion of 7 the National Intelligence Estimate required under sub- 8 section (b), the Director of National Intelligence shall sub- 9 mit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee 10 on Financial Services, the Committee on Armed Services, 11 and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of 12 the House of Representatives and the Committee on For- 13 eign Relations, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 14 Urban Affairs, the Committee on Armed Services, and the 15 Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate a copy of 16 such estimate. 17 (e) ARMS OR RELATED MATERIAL DEFINED.—The 18 term ‘‘arms or related material’’ means— 19 (1) nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological 20 weapons or materials or components of such weap- 21 ons; 22 (2) ballistic or cruise missile weapons or mate- 23 rials or components of such weapons; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7850.IH H7850 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7850 IH (3) destabilizing numbers and types of ad- 1 vanced conventional weapons, as well as unmanned 2 aerial threats such as drones, rockets, and mortars; 3 (4) defense articles or defense services, as those 4 terms are defined in paragraphs (3) and (4), respec- 5 tively, of section 47 of the Arms Export Control Act 6 (22 U.S.C. 2794); 7 (5) defense information, as that term is defined 8 in section 644 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 9 (22 U.S.C. 2403); or 10 (6) items designated by the President for pur- 11 poses of the United States Munitions List under sec- 12 tion 38(a)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 13 U.S.C. 2778(a)(1)). 14 SEC. 3. STRATEGY. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after com- 16 pletion of the National Intelligence Estimate required 17 under section 2(b), the President shall transmit to Con- 18 gress a strategy to prevent Iran from expanding its influ- 19 ence and power in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. 20 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Such strategy 21 shall include plans to— 22 (1) limit Iranian and Iranian-controlled per- 23 sonnel, including Hizballah, Shiite militias, and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7850.IH H7850 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7850 IH Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps forces, operating 1 in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon; and 2 (2) interdict the sale, supply, or transfer of 3 weapons from Iran to such Iranian and Iranian-con- 4 trolled personnel operating in such countries. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:03 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7850.IH H7850 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS