H.R. 23

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 23 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]

<DOC>

Calendar No. 3
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 23

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

January 9, 2025

Received; read the first time

January 13, 2025

Read the second time and placed on the calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

To impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court 
engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any 
protected person of the United States and its allies.

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 ``Illegitimate Court Counteraction 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States and Israel are not parties to the 
Rome Statute or members of the International Criminal Court 
(ICC), and therefore the ICC has no legitimacy or jurisdiction 
over the United States or Israel.
(2) On May 20, 2024, the Prosecutor of the International 
Criminal Court, Karim Khan, announced arrest warrant 
applications for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 
Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and should be condemned in the 
strongest possible terms.
(3) On November 21, 2024, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber 
issued warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant, which 
should be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
(4) The bipartisan American Servicemembers' Protection Act 
was enacted in 2002 to protect United States military 
personnel, United States officials, and officials and military 
personnel of certain allied countries against criminal 
prosecution by an international criminal court to which the 
United States is not party, stating, ``In addition to exposing 
members of the Armed Forces of the United States to the risk of 
international criminal prosecution, the Rome Statute creates a 
risk that the President and other senior elected and appointed 
officials of the United States Government may be prosecuted by 
the International Criminal Court.''.
(5) The ICC's actions against Israel, including the 
preliminary examination and investigation of Israel and 
issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli officials, are 
illegitimate and baseless and create a damaging precedent that 
threatens the United States, Israel, and all United States 
partners who have not consented to the ICC's jurisdiction.
(6) The United States must oppose any action by the ICC 
against the United States, Israel, or any other ally of the 
United States that has not consented to ICC jurisdiction or is 
not a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC.

SEC. 3. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT.

(a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and on an ongoing basis thereafter, if the International 
Criminal Court is engaging in any attempt to investigate, arrest, 
detain, or prosecute any protected person, the President shall impose--
(1) the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect 
to any foreign person the President determines--
(A) has directly engaged in or otherwise aided any 
effort by the International Criminal Court to 
investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected 
person;
(B) has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided 
financial, material, or technological support for, or 
goods or services to or in support of any effort by the 
International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, 
detain, or prosecute a protected person; or
(C) is owned or controlled by, or is currently 
acting or purports to have acted, directly or 
indirectly, for or on behalf of any person that 
directly engages in any effort by the International 
Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain, or 
prosecute a protected person; and
(2) the sanctions described in subsection (b)(2) with 
respect to the immediate family members of each foreign person 
who is subject to sanctions pursuant to paragraph (1).
(b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this 
subsection with respect to a foreign person described in subsection (a) 
are the following:
(1) Property blocking.--The President shall exercise all of 
the powers granted by the International Emergency Economic 
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to 
block and prohibit all transactions in all property and 
interests in property of any foreign person described in 
subsection (a)(1) 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.
(2) Aliens inadmissible for visas, admission, or parole.--
(A) Visas, admission, or parole.--In the case of an 
alien described in subsection (a), the alien is--
(i) inadmissible to the United States;
(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 
documentation to enter the United States; and
(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 
or paroled into the United States or to receive 
any other benefit under the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
(B) Current visas revoked.--
(i) In general.--The visa or other entry 
documentation of an alien described in 
subparagraph (A) shall be revoked, regardless 
of when such visa or other entry documentation 
was issued.
(ii) Immediate effect.--A revocation under 
clause (i) shall--
(I) take effect immediately; and
(II) automatically cancel any other 
valid visa or entry documentation that 
is in the alien's possession.
(c) Implementation; Penalties.--
(1) Implementation.--The President may exercise all 
authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the 
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 
1704) to carry out this section.
(2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to 
violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this 
section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry 
out this section 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) Notification to Congress.--Not later than 10 days after any 
imposition of sanctions pursuant to subsection (a), the President shall 
brief and provide written notification to the appropriate congressional 
committees regarding the imposition of sanctions that shall include--
(1) a description of the foreign person or persons subject 
to the imposition of such sanctions, including the foreign 
person's role at or relation to the International Criminal 
Court;
(2) a description of any activity undertaken by such 
foreign person or persons in support of efforts to investigate, 
arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person; and
(3) the specific sanctions imposed on such foreign person 
or persons.
(e) Waiver.--
(1) In general.--The President may, on a case-by-case basis 
and for periods not to exceed 90 days each, waive the 
application of sanctions imposed or maintained with respect to 
a foreign person under this section if the President submits to 
the appropriate congressional committees before the waiver is 
to take effect a report that contains a determination of the 
President that the waiver is vital to the national security 
interests of the United States.
(2) Contents.--Each report required by paragraph (1) with 
respect to a waiver of the application of sanctions imposed or 
maintained with respect to a foreign person under this section, 
or the renewal of such a waiver, shall include--
(A) a specific and detailed rationale for the 
determination that the waiver is vital to the national 
security interests of the United States;
(B) a description of the activity that resulted in 
the foreign person being subject to sanctions;
(C) a detailed description and list of actions the 
United States has taken to stop the International 
Criminal Court from engaging in any effort to 
investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute all protected 
persons; and
(D) a detailed description and list of actions the 
International Criminal Court has taken to permanently 
close, withdraw, end, or otherwise terminate any 
preliminary examination, investigation, or any other 
effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute all 
protected persons.
(3) Form.--Each report required by paragraph by paragraph 
(1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a 
classified annex.
(f) Special Rule.--The President may terminate the sanctions with 
respect to the foreign persons described in subsection (a) if the 
President certifies in writing to the appropriate congressional 
committees that the International Criminal Court--
(1) has ceased engaging in any effort to investigate, 
arrest, detain, or prosecute all protected persons; and
(2) has permanently closed, withdrawn, ended, and otherwise 
terminated any preliminary examination, investigation, or any 
other effort by the International Criminal Court to 
investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute all protected 
persons.

SEC. 4. RESCISSION OF FUNDS FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT.

(a) In General.--Effective on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, any amounts appropriated for the International Criminal Court and 
available for obligation as of such date of enactment are hereby 
rescinded.
(b) Prohibition on Future Appropriations.--On and after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, no appropriated funds may be used for the 
International Criminal Court.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Admitted alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien'' 
have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
(2) Ally of the united states.--The term ``ally of the 
United States'' means--
(A) a government of a member country of the North 
Atlantic Treaty Organization; or
(B) a government of a major non-NATO ally, as that 
term is defined by section 2013(7) of the American 
Service-Members' Protection Act (22 U.S.C. 7432(7)).
(3) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--The term 
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee 
on Financial Services, and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and 
the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
(4) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a 
person that is not a United States person.
(5) Immediate family member.--The term ``immediate family 
member'', with respect to a foreign person, means the spouse, 
parent, sibling, or adult child of the person.
(6) International criminal court; rome statute.--The terms 
``International Criminal Court'' and ``Rome Statute'' have the 
meaning given those terms in section 2013 of the American 
Service-Members' Protection Act (22 U.S.C. 7432).
(7) Protected person.--The term ``protected person'' 
means--
(A) any United States person, unless the United 
States provides formal consent to International 
Criminal Court jurisdiction and is a state party to the 
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 
including--
(i) current or former members of the Armed 
Forces of the United States;
(ii) current or former elected or appointed 
officials of the United States Government; and
(iii) any other person currently or 
formerly employed by or working on behalf of 
the United States Government;
(B) any foreign person that is a citizen or lawful 
resident of an ally of the United States that has not 
consented to International Criminal Court jurisdiction 
or is not a state party to the Rome Statute of the 
International Criminal Court, including--
(i) current or former members of the Armed 
Forces of such ally of the United States;
(ii) current or former elected or appointed 
government officials of such ally of the United 
States; and
(iii) any other person currently or 
formerly employed by or working on behalf of 
such a government.
(8) United states person.--The term ``United States 
person'' means--
(A) an individual who is a United States citizen or 
an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to 
the United States;
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the 
United States or any jurisdiction within the United 
States, including a foreign branch of such an entity; 
or
(C) any person in the United States.

Passed the House of Representatives January 9, 2025.

Attest:

KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

Clerk.
Calendar No. 3

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 23

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

To impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court 
engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any 
protected person of the United States and its allies.

_______________________________________________________________________

January 13, 2025

Read the second time and placed on the calendar