Sec. 2. Iran Sanctions Enforcement Fund
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Not later than 15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, there shall be established in the Treasury of the United States a fund, to be known as the Iran Sanctions Enforcement Fund (in this section referred to as the Fund ), to pay expenses relating to seizures and forfeitures of property made with respect to violations by Iran or a covered Iranian proxy of sanctions imposed by the United States. Not later than 15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall appoint an administrator for the Fund (in this section referred to as the Administrator ).
The Administrator may authorize amounts from the Fund to be used, without further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, for payment of all proper expenses relating to a covered seizure or forfeiture, including the following: Investigative costs incurred by a law enforcement agency of the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Justice. Expenses of detention, inventory, security, maintenance, advertisement, or disposal of the property seized or forfeited, and if condemned by a court and a bond for such costs was not given, the costs as taxed by the court.
Costs of— contract services relating to a covered seizure or forfeiture; the employment of outside contractors to operate and manage properties seized or forfeited or to provide other specialized services necessary to dispose of such properties in an effort to maximize the return from such properties; and reimbursing any Federal, State, or local agency for any expenditures made to perform the functions described in this subparagraph. Payments to reimburse any covered Federal agency for investigative costs incurred leading to a covered seizure or forfeiture.
Payments for contracting for the services of experts and consultants needed by the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Justice to assist in carrying out duties related to a covered seizure or forfeiture. Awards of compensation to informers for assistance provided with respect to a violation by Iran or a covered Iranian proxy of sanctions imposed by the United States that leads to a covered seizure or forfeiture. Equitable sharing payments made to other Federal agencies, State and local law enforcement agencies, and foreign governments for expenses incurred with respect to a covered seizure or forfeiture.
Payment of overtime pay, salaries, travel, fuel, training, equipment, and other similar expenses of State or local law enforcement officers that are incurred in joint law enforcement operations with a covered Federal agency relating to covered seizure or forfeiture. The Secretary of Homeland Security may direct the Administrator to authorize the use of amounts in the Fund for the following: Payment of awards for information or assistance leading to a civil or criminal forfeiture made with respect to a violation by Iran or a covered Iranian proxy of sanctions imposed by the United States and involving any covered Federal agency.
Purchases of evidence or information by a covered Federal agency with respect to a violation by Iran or a covered Iranian proxy of sanctions imposed by the United States that leads to a covered seizure or forfeiture. Payment for equipment for any vessel, vehicle, or aircraft available for official use by a covered Federal agency to enable the vessel, vehicle, or aircraft to assist in law enforcement functions relating to a covered seizure or forfeiture, and for other equipment directly related to a covered seizure or forfeiture, including laboratory equipment, protective equipment, communications equipment, and the operation and maintenance costs of such equipment.
Payment for equipment for any vessel, vehicle, or aircraft for official use by a State or local law enforcement agency to enable the vessel, vehicle, or aircraft to assist in law enforcement functions relating to a covered seizure or forfeiture if the vessel, vehicle, or aircraft will be used in joint law enforcement operations with a covered Federal agency. Reimbursement of individuals or organizations for expenses incurred by such individuals or organizations in cooperating with a covered Federal agency in investigations and undercover law enforcement operations relating to a covered seizure or forfeiture.
In allocating amounts from the Fund for the purposes described in paragraphs
(1)and (2), the Administrator shall prioritize activities that result in the seizure and forfeiture of oil or petroleum products or other commodities or methods of exchange that fund the efforts of Iran or covered Iranian proxies to carry out acts of international terrorism or otherwise kill United States citizens. The Fund shall be managed and invested in the same manner as a trust fund is managed and invested under section 9602 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, to remain available until expended. Not later than September 30, 2034, the Administrator shall transfer from the Fund into the general fund of the Treasury an amount equal to $150,000,000, as adjusted pursuant to paragraph (4). The repayment of amounts under clause
(i)shall not be construed as a termination of the authority for operation of the Fund. Subject to subparagraph (B), the net proceeds from the sale of property, forfeited or paid to the United States, arising from a violation by Iran or a covered Iranian proxy of sanctions imposed by the United States, shall be deposited or transferred into the Fund. The deposit or transfer of any net proceeds to the Fund under subparagraph
(A)shall occur after the deposit or transfer of net proceeds into the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund as required by subsection (e)(2)(A)(ii) of the Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act ( 34 U.S.C. 20144 ). If, at the end of a fiscal year, the amount in the Fund exceeds the amount specified in subparagraph (B), the Administrator shall transfer the amount in excess of the amount specified in subparagraph
(B)to the general fund of the Treasury for the payment of the public debt of the United States. The amount specified in this subparagraph is— in fiscal year 2024, $500,000,000; and in any fiscal year thereafter, $500,000,000, as adjusted pursuant to paragraph (4). The amounts described in paragraphs (1)(B)(i) and (3)(B)(ii) shall be adjusted, at the beginning of each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034, to reflect the percentage (if any) of the increase in the average of the Consumer Price Index for the preceding 12-month period compared to the Consumer Price Index for fiscal year 2023. In this paragraph, the term Consumer Price Index means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. Any expenditure of amounts in the Fund, or transfer of amounts from the Fund, not authorized by this section is prohibited. Any Act of Congress to remove money from the Fund shall be reported in the Federal Register not later than 10 days after the enactment of the Act. Not later than September 1, 2024, and annually thereafter through September 1, 2034, the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on— all activities supported by the Fund during the fiscal year during which the report is submitted and the preceding fiscal year; a list of each covered seizure or forfeiture supported by the Fund during those fiscal years and, with respect to each such seizure or forfeiture— the goods seized; the current status of the forfeiture of the goods; an assessment of the impact on the national security of the United States of the seizure or forfeiture, including the estimated loss of revenue to the person from which the goods were seized; and any anticipated response or outcome of the seizure or forfeiture; the financial health and financial data of the Fund as of the date of the report; the amount transferred to the general fund of the Treasury under subsection
(e)or (h); the amount paid to informants for information or evidence under subsection (c); whether the information or evidence led to a seizure; and if so, the cost of the goods seized; the amount remaining to be transferred under subsection (e)(3) and an estimated timeline for transferring the full amount required by that subsection; and any instances during the fiscal years covered by the report of a covered seizure or forfeiture if, after amounts were expended from the Fund to support the seizure or forfeiture, the seizure or forfeiture did not occur as a result of a policy decision made by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the President, or any other official of the United States; and a description of the costs incurred and reasons the seizure or forfeiture did not occur. If a report required by subsection
(g)is not submitted to the appropriate congressional committees by the date that is 180 days after the report is due under subsection (g), the Administrator shall transfer an amount equal to 5 percent of the amounts in the Fund to the general fund of the Treasury for the payment of the public debt of the United States. For each 90-day period thereafter during which the report is not submitted, the Administrator shall transfer an additional amount, equal to 5 percent of the amounts in the Fund, to the general fund of the Treasury for that purpose. If a report submitted under subsection
(g)indicates that amounts in the Fund have not been used for any seizure or forfeiture activity during the fiscal years covered by the report, the Fund shall be terminated and any amounts in the Fund shall transferred to the general fund of the Treasury for the payment of the public debt of the United States. If the President determines that it is in the national security interests of the United States not to terminate the Fund as required by paragraph (2), the President may waive the requirement to terminate the Fund. If the President exercises the waiver authority under subparagraph (A), the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report describing the factors considered in determining that it is in the national security interests of the United States not to terminate the Fund. The report required by subparagraph
(B)shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. Nothing in this section may be construed to affect the requirements of subsection
(e)of the Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act ( 34 U.S.C. 20144(e) ) or the operation of the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund under that subsection. In this section: The term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives. The term covered Federal agency means any Federal agency specified in section 3(b). The term covered Iranian proxy means a violent extremist organization or other organization that works on behalf of or receives financial or material support from Iran, including— the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps–Quds Force; Hamas; Palestinian Islamic Jihad; Hezbollah; Ansar Allah (the Houthis); and Iranian-sponsored militias in Iraq and Syria. The term covered seizure or forfeiture means a seizure or forfeiture of property made with respect to a violation by Iran or a covered Iranian proxy of sanctions imposed by the United States.
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Sec. 2
Iran Sanctions Enforcement Fund
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