H.R. 2619

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2619 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2619

To require a report on sanctions under the Robert Levinson Hostage 
Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 3, 2025

Mr. Baumgartner (for himself, Mr. Moskowitz, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Amodei of 
Nevada, and Ms. Salazar) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To require a report on sanctions under the Robert Levinson Hostage 
Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, and for other purposes.

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 Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) The Islamic Republic of Iran has a long history of 
hostage-taking and wrongful detention of United States 
nationals, including its illegal detention of 52 American 
diplomats from 1979 to 1981.
(2) The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking 
Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.), named in honor of 
Robert Levinson, the longest-held hostage in United States 
history who is presumed to have been killed by the regime while 
in Iranian custody, authorizes sanctions with respect to 
foreign persons who are responsible for or complicit in 
hostage-taking or unlawful or wrongful detention of United 
States nationals abroad.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

It shall be the policy of the United States to undertake additional 
actions and impose strict penalties to deter the Government of Iran and 
other hostile governments and non-state actors from hostage-taking or 
wrongfully detaining United States nationals.

SEC. 4. REPORT AND CERTIFICATION ON RESTRICTED IRANIAN FUNDS RELEASED 
TO QATAR.

(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter for 6 years, the 
President shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
and Urban Affairs of the Senate the following:
(1) A report on the $6,000,000,000 in funds transferred 
from restricted Iranian accounts in the Republic of South Korea 
to restricted accounts in Qatar on or after August 9, 2023.
(2) A certification as to whether credible evidence or 
intelligence exists that any of the funds transferred have been 
used for any purpose other than humanitarian purposes.
(3) A certification as to whether credible evidence or 
intelligence exists that the funds transferred have enabled the 
Government of Iran to increase spending on defense, 
intelligence, or malign foreign activities.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required by subsection 
(a)(1) shall include the following:
(1) An itemized list of all transactions involving the use 
of funds transferred, including the value of such transactions, 
the parties to such transactions, the financial institutions 
involved, the goods purchased in each transaction, the 
destinations and end user of such goods, the date on which the 
United States was notified of such transaction, and the date 
the transaction occurred.
(2) The quantity of funds described in subsection (a)(1) in 
restricted accounts in Qatar at the beginning and end of each 
reporting period.
(3) A thorough description of the process the United States 
Government utilized during the reporting period to review 
transactions involving the use of funds transferred in order to 
verify that such transactions were humanitarian in nature.

SEC. 5. REVIEW AND DETERMINATION AND REPORTS ON SANCTIONS UNDER THE 
ROBERT LEVINSON HOSTAGE RECOVERY AND HOSTAGE-TAKING 
ACCOUNTABILITY ACT.

(a) Review and Determination.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and on an annual basis thereafter 
for 6 years, the President shall--
(1) review all cases of the hostage-taking of a United 
States national in Iran or at the direction of the Government 
of Iran and all cases of the unlawful or wrongful detention of 
a United States national in Iran or at the direction of the 
Government of Iran that have occurred during the preceding 10-
year period; and
(2) make a determination as to whether any foreign person, 
based on credible evidence--
(A) is responsible for or complicit in, or 
responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise 
directing, the hostage-taking of the United States 
national or the unlawful or wrongful detention of the 
United States national; or
(B) knowingly provides financial, material, or 
technological support for, or goods or services in 
support of, an activity described in subparagraph (A).
(b) Reports.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and on an annual basis thereafter for 6 years, 
the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report that--
(1) identifies all foreign persons with respect to which 
the President has made a determination under subsection (a)(2); 
and
(2) with respect to each such foreign person--
(A) states whether sanctions have been imposed 
under section 306 of the Robert Levinson Hostage 
Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 
U.S.C. 1741d) or will be imposed within 30 days of the 
date of the submission of the report; and
(B) for whom sanctions have not been imposed or 
will not be imposed under section 306 of such Act, 
provides a description of the specific authority under 
which otherwise applicable sanctions are being waived, 
have otherwise been determined not to apply, or are not 
being imposed and a complete justification of the 
decision to waive or otherwise not apply the sanctions 
authorized by such sanctions programs and authorities.

SEC. 6. REQUIREMENT TO LIMIT TRAVEL OF IRANIAN DIPLOMATS AT THE UNITED 
NATIONS.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) United States visa restrictions on sanctioned 
individuals often contain exceptions for activities in order to 
permit the United States to comply with 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.
(2) Section 6 of Public Law 80-357 (commonly known as the 
``United Nations Headquarters Agreement Act'') provides 
``Nothing in the agreement shall be construed as in any way 
diminishing, abridging, or weakening the right of the United 
States to safeguard its own security.''.
(3) Congress has directed the President to use the 
President's authority, including the authorities contained in 
section 6 of Public Law 80-357, to deny any individual's 
admission to the United States as a representative to the 
United Nations if the President determines that such individual 
has been found to have been engaged in espionage activities or 
a terrorist activity directed against the United States or its 
allies and may pose a threat to United States national security 
interests.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that Iran's 
longstanding hostage-taking and wrongful detention of United States 
nationals, assassination plots against United States nationals outside 
and within the United States, and intelligence activities are a 
security or terrorist threat to the United States and United States 
interests and shall be a primary consideration in limiting travel of 
Iranian diplomats seeking admission to the United States for United 
Nations activities and their family members.
(c) Denial of Visas.--Section 407(a)(1) of the Foreign Relations 
Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 (8 U.S.C. 1102 note) is 
amended--
(1) by striking ``(1)'' and inserting ``(1)(A)'';
(2) by striking ``and'' at the end and inserting ``or''; 
and
(3) by adding further at the end the following:
``(B) has been sanctioned pursuant to Executive Order 13224 
(66 Fed. Reg. 49079; relating to blocking property and 
prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, threaten to 
commit, or support terrorism) or Executive Order 13382 (70 Fed. 
Reg. 38567; relating to blocking property of weapons of mass 
destruction proliferators and their supporters) as of the date 
of the enactment of the No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act; 
and''.
(d) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the 
President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report on whether the President has taken action to restrict the travel 
of Iranian diplomats seeking admission to the United States for United 
Nations activities and their family members and identifying each such 
instance in which visas were denied or travel was restricted.

SEC. 7. REPORT ON BLOCKED IRANIAN ASSETS.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the President shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes the 
following:
(1) An itemized list of any identifiable assets with a 
valuation of more than $100,000 belonging to Iranian 
individuals and entities that are or have been blocked or 
otherwise frozen pursuant to any sanctions program under any 
jurisdiction globally, in the prior 2 years.
(2) Any changes to the status of such assets, including 
unblocking, unfreezing, or transferring such assets, in the 
prior 2 years.
(3) With respect to any changes identified in paragraph 
(2), whether the United States Government took any action, 
including waiving of sanctions, that related to such unblocking 
or unfreezing, and a justification for any such United States 
actions.

SEC. 8. REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO FREEZE AND SEIZE IRANIAN 
ASSETS.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney 
General should, to the extent practicable--
(1) carry out a coordinated international effort to find, 
restrain, freeze, and where appropriate and legally authorized, 
seize, confiscate or forfeit the assets of those individuals 
and entities that have been sanctioned in connection with 
Iran's malign activities, including hostage-taking, wrongful 
detention, and human rights violations; and
(2) work with foreign governments--
(A) to share intelligence of financial 
investigations, as appropriate;
(B) to oversee the assets identified pursuant to 
paragraph (1); and
(C) to provide technical assistance to help 
governments establish the necessary legal framework to 
carry out asset forfeitures.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the 
President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report on actions described in subsection (a).

SEC. 9. DETERMINATION AND REPORT ON INVALIDATING UNITED STATES 
PASSPORTS FOR TRAVEL TO IRAN.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Secretary of State maintains authority to restrict 
the use of United States passports for travel to or use in a 
country or area which the Secretary has determined is a country 
or area in which there is imminent danger to the public health 
or physical safety of United States travelers, in accordance 
with section 51.63 of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations.
(2) In 2017, the Secretary of State declared United States 
passports invalid for travel to, in, or through North Korea, 
unless specially validated for such travel, after United States 
citizen Otto Warmbier suffered grievous injuries in North 
Korean custody, which led to his death.
(3) The ban on use of United States passports for travel to 
North Korea was renewed in 2023.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretary of State should declare United States passports invalid for 
travel to, in, or through Iran due to the imminent danger to the public 
health and physical safety of United States travelers stemming from the 
threat of wrongful detention or being taken hostage by the Iranian 
regime.
(c) Determination and Report.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for 3 years, the 
Secretary of State shall determine and report to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate--
(1) whether the travel of United States persons to Iran 
presents an imminent danger to the public health or physical 
safety of United States travelers; and
(2) whether the Secretary is exercising his authority to 
declare United States passports invalid for travel to, in, or 
through Iran.

SEC. 10. STRATEGY TO DETER HOSTAGE-TAKING.

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the President shall develop and submit to Congress a strategy to 
deter and prevent wrongful detention and hostage-taking by United 
States adversaries, including identifying penalties for wrongful 
detention and hostage-taking, identifying clear United States 
Government policies barring the payment of ransom or transactions that 
could be viewed as ransom by the United States Government, and 
detailing plans to coordinate with United States allies and partners on 
such strategy.

SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--the term 
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
(2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person''--
(A) means an individual or entity that is not a 
United States person; and
(B) includes a foreign state (as such term is 
defined in section 1603 of title 28, United States 
Code).
(3) United states national.--The term ``United States 
national'' has the meaning given that term in section 307(2) of 
the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking 
Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741e(2)).
<all>