Sec. 5. Strengthening tools to combat authoritarianism
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The President shall consider the use of transnational repression by a foreign person in determining whether to impose sanctions with respect to such foreign person under— the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act ( 22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq. ); section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023 (division K of Public Law 117–328 ; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note); or any other relevant statutory provision granting human rights-related sanctions authority under which a foreign person has been sanctioned.
Section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114–328 ; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) is amended— in subsection (a)— in paragraph (3), by striking or at the end; by striking paragraph (4); and by inserting after paragraph
(3)the following: is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, significant actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions; or has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, an activity described in this subsection. ; and in subsection (d)(2), by striking subparagraph
(B)and inserting the following: A request described in paragraph
(1)with respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in an activity described in paragraph
(3)or
(5)of subsection
(a)shall be submitted to the President in writing jointly by the chairperson and the ranking member of— any of the appropriate congressional committees of the Senate; and any of the appropriate congressional committees of the House of Representatives. A request described in paragraph
(1)with respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in an activity described in subsection (a)(4) shall be submitted in writing to the President jointly by the chairperson and ranking member of any of the appropriate congressional committees. . Except as provided in paragraphs
(2)and (3), a foreign government official shall be ineligible for entry into the United States if the Secretary of State determines that such official was knowingly directly or indirectly involved in— significant corruption, including corruption related to the extraction of natural resources; or a gross violation of human rights, including the wrongful detention of— locally employed staff of a United States diplomatic mission; or a United States citizen or national. Except as provided in paragraphs
(2)and (3), a foreign government official may be ineligible for entry into the United States if the Secretary of State determines that such official was knowingly directly or indirectly involved in significant actions that undermine democratic governance. The immediate family members of an official described in subparagraph
(A)or
(B)may be subject to the same restriction on entry into the United States as such official. The Secretary of State, in implementing this subsection, shall, as appropriate, provide information regarding the actions of officials described in subparagraphs
(A)and
(B)to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury, which shall determine whether to impose sanctions authorized under Federal law to block the transfer of property and interests in property, and all financial transactions, in the United States involving any such official. The Secretary of State shall publicly or privately designate or make the determination that the foreign government officials or party members about whom the Secretary has made such designation or determination regarding significant corruption or gross violations of human rights, and their immediate family members, without regard to whether any such individual has applied for a visa. Individuals are not ineligible for entry into the United States pursuant to paragraph
(1)if such entry— would further important United States law enforcement objectives; or is necessary to permit the United States to fulfill its obligations under the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United States or under other international obligations of the United States. Nothing in paragraph
(1)may be construed to derogate from United States Government obligations under applicable international agreements or obligations. The Secretary of State may waive the application of paragraph
(1)with respect to any individual if the Secretary determines that— such waiver would serve a compelling national interest of the United States; or the circumstances that caused such individual to be ineligible for entry into the United States have sufficiently changed. Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit a report, including a classified annex if necessary, to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives . Each such report shall include— all relevant information relating to corruption, human rights violations, or undermining democratic governance that was a factor in identifying, during the most recent 12-month period— individuals who are ineligible for entry into the United States under paragraph (1)(A); individuals about whom the Secretary has made a designation or determination pursuant to paragraph (1)(E); and individuals who would be ineligible for entry into the United States under paragraph (1)(A), but were excluded from such restriction pursuant to paragraph (2); a list of any waivers granted by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (3); and a description of the justification for each such waiver. The unclassified portion of each report required under subparagraph
(A)shall be posted on a publicly accessible website of the Department of State. For purposes of paragraphs
(1)and (4), the records of the Department of State and of diplomatic and consular offices of the United States pertaining to the issuance or refusal of visas or permits to enter the United States shall not be considered confidential. Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: Except as provided under subsections
(b)and (d), no assistance may be furnished under this Act or under the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2751 ) to the central government of any country in which the duly elected head of government was deposed by a military coup d’état or decree or a coup d’état or decree in which the military played a decisive role. The Secretary of State, after consultation with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, may waive the restriction on assistance described in subsection
(a)if the Secretary certifies and reports to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 30 days before the provision of such assistance to such government, that such waiver is in the national security interest of the United States. Assistance to a foreign government that is subject to the restriction described in subsection
(a)may be resumed if the Secretary of State certifies and reports to the appropriate congressional committees, not fewer than 30 days before the resumption of such assistance, that a democratically elected government has taken office subsequent to the termination of assistance pursuant to subsection (a). The restriction under subsection
(a)shall not apply to any assistance used— to promote democratic elections or public participation in the democratic processes; to support a democratic transition; or for humanitarian purposes. In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate ; the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate ; the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives ; and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives . .
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Sec. 5
Strengthening tools to combat authoritarianism
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