The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S3173-S3175 on May 25, 2016.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. CORNYN:
S. 2984. A bill to impose sanctions in relation to violations by Iran of the Geneva Convention (III) or the right under international law to conduct innocent passage, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 2984
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``No Impunity for Iranian Aggression at Sea Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE
COMPLICIT IN VIOLATIONS OF THE GENEVA
CONVENTION OR THE RIGHT UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW
TO CONDUCT INNOCENT PASSAGE.
(a) Report Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes--
(A) a determination with respect to whether, during or after the incident that began on January 12, 2016, in which forces of Iran boarded two United States Navy riverine combat vessels and detained at gunpoint the crews of those vessels, any of the actions of the forces of Iran constituted a violation of--
(i) the Geneva Convention; or
(ii) the right under international law to conduct innocent passage; and
(B) a certification with respect to whether or not Federal funds, including the $1,700,000,000 payment that was announced by the Secretary of State on January 17, 2016, were paid to Iran, directly or indirectly, to effect the release of--
(i) the members of the United States Navy who were detained in the incident described in subparagraph (A); or
(ii) other United States citizens, including Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, and Matthew Trevithick, the release of whom was announced on January 16, 2016.
(2) Actions to be assessed.--In assessing actions of the forces of Iran under paragraph (1)(A), the President shall consider, at a minimum, the following actions:
(A) The stopping, boarding, search, and seizure of the two United States Navy riverine combat vessels in the incident described in paragraph (1)(A).
(B) The removal from their vessels and detention of members of the United States Armed Forces in that incident.
(C) The theft or confiscation of electronic navigational equipment or any other equipment from the vessels.
(D) The forcing of one or more members of the United States Armed Forces to apologize for their actions.
(E) The display, videotaping, or photographing of members of the United States Armed Forces and the subsequent broadcasting or other use of those photographs or videos.
(F) The forcing of female members of the United States Armed Forces to wear head coverings.
(3) Description of actions.--In the case of each action that the President determines under paragraph (1)(A) is a violation of the Geneva Convention or the right under international law to conduct innocent passage, the President shall include in the report required by that paragraph a description of the action and an explanation of how the action violated the Geneva Convention or the right to conduct innocent passage, as the case may be.
(4) Form of report.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
(b) List of Certain Persons Who Have Been Complicit in Violations of the Geneva Convention or the Right to Conduct Innocent Passage.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the submission of the report required by subsection (a), if the President has determined that one or more actions of the forces of Iran constituted a violation of the Geneva Convention or the right under international law to conduct innocent passage, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a list of persons who are officials of the Government of Iran or were acting on behalf of that Government that, based on credible evidence, are responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, any such violation.
(2) Updates of list.--The President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an updated list under paragraph (1) as new information becomes available.
(3) Public availability.--To the maximum extent practicable, the list required by paragraph (1) shall be made available to the public and posted on publicly accessible Internet websites of the Department of Defense and the Department of State.
(c) Imposition of Sanctions.--
(1) In general.--The President shall impose the sanctions described in paragraph (2) with respect to each person on the list required by subsection (b).
(2) Sanctions.--
(A) Prohibition on entry and admission to the united states.--An alien on the list required by subsection (b) may not--
(i) be admitted to, enter, or transit through the United States;
(ii) receive any lawful immigration status in the United States under the immigration laws; or
(iii) file any application or petition to obtain such admission, entry, or status.
(B) Blocking of property.--
(i) In general.--The President shall, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property of a person on the list required by subsection (b) if such property and interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person.
(ii) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
(I) In general.--The authority to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property under clause (i) shall not include the authority to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.
(II) Good.--In this subparagraph, the term ``good'' has the meaning given that term in section 16 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4618) (as continued in effect pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)).
(iii) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of clause (i) or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out clause (i) shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Admitted; alien; immigration laws.--The terms
``admitted'', ``alien'', and ``immigration laws'' have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
(3) Forces of iran.--The term ``forces of Iran'' means the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, members of other military or paramilitary units of the Government of Iran, and other agents of that Government.
(4) Geneva convention.--The term ``Geneva Convention'' means the Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, done at Geneva on August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3316)
(commonly referred to as the ``Geneva Convention (III))''.
(5) Innocent passage.--The term ``innocent passage'' means the principle under customary international law that all vessels have the right to conduct innocent passage through another country's territorial waters for the purpose of continuous and expeditious traversing.
(6) United states person.--The term ``United States person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States; or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.
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By Mr. KAINE (for himself and Mr. Murphy):
S. 2988. A bill to extend the sunset of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 in order to effectuate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in guaranteeing that all nuclear material in Iran remains in peaceful activities; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce with my colleague Senator Murphy, a bill that extends the sunset of the Iran Sanctions Act, ISA, of 1996 until the President certifies to Congress that the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency has reached a broader conclusion that all nuclear material in Iran remains in peaceful activities.
Currently, ISA expires on December 31st, 2016. Tying ISA's extension to Iran's compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA, will provide the administration additional leverage to ensure that a ``snap back'' of sanctions would have significant effect on Iran's economy. Since its enactment in 1996, ISA has been a pivotal component of U.S. sanctions against Iran's energy sector and other industries and remains a critical foundation of our overall sanctions architecture.
Administration officials have indicated that extending ISA, with its current waiver authorities, would not violate the JCPOA, as it imposes no new sanctions. Additionally, ISA is about more than Iran's nuclear program, but also its support for international terrorism, which endangers the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and those countries with which the United States shares common strategic and foreign policy objectives. ISA addresses this issue by denying Iran money to finance international terrorism.
By specifying in the bill that the extension of ISA ``effectuates the JCPOA,'' the intent is to support Congressional actions in line with the deal negotiated by the P5+1 and Iran, particularly following Congress's comprehensive review of the deal and decision to move forward under the Iran Nuclear Review Agreement Act of 2015.
I am proud to introduce this bill with Senator Murphy to make sure that ISA is in place during the JCPOA to signal to the commitment of Congress to vigorously enforce Iran's compliance and to make clear that should Iran break the terms of the agreement, there will be clear consequences, including the re-imposition of sanctions.
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By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. King):
S. 2990. A bill to prohibit the President from preventing foreign air carriers traveling to or from Cuba from making transit stops in the United States for refueling and other technical services based on the Cuban Assets Control Regulations; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr President, I rise to introduce bipartisan legislation with my colleague from Maine, Senator King, to permit foreign air carriers traveling to or from Cuba to make non-traffic, transit stops in the United States. Enactment of this legislation will create new opportunities for U.S. workers and airports.
For decades U.S. airports, including Bangor International Airport in Maine, have lost out on additional revenue because the current travel ban on Cuba prevents them from providing transit stop services to flights departing from or en route to Cuba.
During these transit stops, passengers do not disembark the plane and no new passengers board the aircraft. Yet, these stops are valuable for airports and their employees who can offer fuel, de-icing, catering, and crew services. Under the current travel ban, however, foreign air carriers are forced to make transit stops in Canada rather than the United States, and any potential profit for U.S. airports flies right across the border along with the planes.
The current disparity means that airports like Bangor not only lose revenue related to flights to or from Cuba, but also from transit stops for European flights to and from many other destinations in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. That is because if foreign airlines cannot use Bangor for all of their flights, it is simply easier and more efficient for them to refuel at one airport that can meet all of their needs.
The purpose of economic sanctions was to limit hard currency to Cuba--not to harm American workers and cities. Allowing U.S. airports to provide these services could support additional jobs for families in Maine and other areas throughout the country.
Allowing such transit stops would also be consistent with existing international air transportation agreements. For example, in 2007 the U.S. and the EU signed an Air Transport Agreement that granted airlines of one party the right to make stops in the territory of the other party for non-traffic, transit purposes.
Likewise, the Chicago Convention, to which there are 191 parties, recognizes the right to refuel or carry out maintenance in a foreign country, including the United States. The United States should fulfill its obligations and permit such transit stops at U.S. airports, no matter the destination.
Our bill would provide American airports and workers the opportunity to compete with Canadian airports and would bring the United States into compliance with international air travel agreements.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this commonsense, bipartisan bill.
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