H.R. 6194

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6194 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6194

To limit the availability of civil actions affected by United States 
sanctions.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 20, 2025

Mr. Hunt (for himself, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Gill of Texas, Ms. Lee of 
Florida, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Lieu, and Ms. Kamlager-Dove) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To limit the availability of civil actions affected by United States 
sanctions.

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 ``Protecting Americans from Russian 
Litigation Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to ensure that United States persons are not 
disadvantaged for actions or omissions undertaken to comply 
with United States sanctions or export controls; and
(2) to ensure that foreign persons, or persons acting on 
their behalf, cannot obtain compensation for any action related 
to United States persons attempting in good faith to comply 
with their obligations under United States sanctions or export 
controls.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON CIVIL ACTIONS AFFECTED BY UNITED STATES 
SANCTIONS.

(a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Limitation on civil actions affected by United States 
sanctions
``(a) Limitation.--Notwithstanding any provision of law, no person 
(other than the United States or a person acting on behalf of the 
United States) may bring a civil action in Federal or State court to 
enforce any foreign judgment or foreign arbitral award arising from a 
claim where--
``(1) the underlying conduct or circumstances giving rise 
to the claim resulted from actions to comply with United States 
sanctions impeding the performance of a contract; or
``(2) the court or tribunal issuing the judgment or 
arbitral award asserted jurisdiction based, in whole or in 
part, on the imposition of United States sanctions or export 
controls (or any foreign law enacted in response to the 
imposition of United States sanctions or export controls).
``(b) Removal and Dismissal.--An action to recognize or enforce a 
foreign judgment or foreign arbitral award described in subsection (a) 
may be removed by any defendant to the appropriate United States 
district court, which shall dismiss the action.
``(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
construed to limit--
``(1) the authority of the President, any delegate of the 
President (including the Office of Foreign Assets Control of 
the Department of the Treasury), or any other officer or 
official of the United States to bring any action or exercise 
any responsibility under any applicable State or Federal law;
``(2) any right, remedy, or cause of action available to a 
victim of international terrorism, torture, extrajudicial 
killing, aircraft sabotage, or hostage taking, who is, or was 
at the time of the victim's injury, a national of the United 
States, a member of the United States Armed Forces, an employee 
of the United States Government, or an individual performing a 
contract awarded by the United States Government acting within 
the scope of the individual's employment, or a family member of 
any such victim, under any applicable State or Federal law, 
including--
``(A) chapter 97 of this title;
``(B) chapter 113B of title 18; and
``(C) the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human 
Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et seq.) and any 
other laws providing for the application of sanctions 
with respect to Iran or Syria;
``(3) any right, remedy, or cause of action available to 
any party arising under or relating to the party's contractual 
rights (other than an action to enforce a foreign judgment or 
foreign arbitral award described in subsection (a)) where the 
parties agreed to resolve all disputes by litigation in a State 
or Federal court within the United States or by arbitration 
within the United States; or
``(4) any other right, remedy, or cause of action available 
to any party arising under State or Federal law (other than an 
action to enforce a foreign judgment or foreign arbitral award 
described in subsection (a)) where the underlying conduct or 
circumstances giving rise to the claim resulted from the 
imposition of United States sanctions or export controls.
``(d) United States Sanctions Defined.--In this section:
``(1) In general.--The term `United States sanctions' means 
any prohibition, restriction, or condition on transactions 
involving any property in which any foreign country or national 
thereof has any interest that is imposed by the United States 
to address threats to the national security, foreign policy, or 
economy of the United States pursuant to--
``(A) section 203 of the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702); or
``(B) any other provision of law, including any 
provision of law relating to export controls.
``(2) Duties.--The term `United States sanctions' does not 
include the imposition of a duty on the importation of 
goods.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1659 the 
following new item:

``1660. Limitation on civil actions affected by United States 
sanctions.''.
(c) Application.--Section 1660 of title 28, United States Code, as 
added by subsection (a), applies with respect to civil actions pending 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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