Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB5917 Compare Versions

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Old	New		Differences
	1	+	I
1	2		118THCONGRESS
2		-	2
3		-	DSESSION H. R. 5917
4		-	AN ACT
	3	+	1
	4	+	STSESSION H. R. 5917
	5	+	To amend the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act
	6	+	to modify and extend that Act, and for other purposes.
	7	+	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
	8	+	OCTOBER10, 2023
	9	+	Mr. G
	10	+	ALLAGHER(for himself and Mr. SHERMAN) introduced the following bill
	11	+	O
	12	+	CTOBER25, 2023
	13	+	Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Commit-
	14	+	tees on the Judiciary, and Armed Services, for a period to be subse-
	15	+	quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
	16	+	provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
	17	+	A BILL
5	18		To amend the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defense-
6	19		less Shields Act to modify and extend that Act, and
7	20		for other purposes.
8	21		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
9		-	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2
10		-	•HR 5917 EH
11		-	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1
12		-	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Tools 2
13		-	to Counter the Use of Human Shields Act’’. 3
14		-	SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 4
15		-	It shall be the policy of the United States to fully 5
16		-	implement and enforce sanctions against terrorist organi-6
17		-	zations and other malign actors that use innocent civilians 7
18		-	as human shields. 8
19		-	SEC. 3. MODIFICATION AND EXTENSION OF SANCTIONING 9
20		-	THE USE OF CIVILIANS AS DEFENSELESS 10
21		-	SHIELDS ACT. 11
	22	+	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
	23	+	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
	24	+	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Tools 4
	25	+	to Counter the Use of Human Shields Act’’. 5
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	28	+	•HR 5917 IH
	29	+	SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 1
	30	+	It shall be the policy of the United States to fully 2
	31	+	implement and enforce sanctions against terrorist organi-3
	32	+	zations and other malign actors that use innocent civilians 4
	33	+	as human shields. 5
	34	+	SEC. 3. MODIFICATION AND EXTENSION OF SANCTIONING 6
	35	+	THE USE OF CIVILIANS AS DEFENSELESS 7
	36	+	SHIELDS ACT. 8
22	37		(a) I
23		-	NGENERAL.—Section 3 of the Sanctioning the 12
24		-	Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 13
25		-	115–348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 14
26		-	(1) in subsection (b)— 15
27		-	(A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 16
28		-	paragraph (4); and 17
29		-	(B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 18
30		-	following: 19
31		-	‘‘(3) Each foreign person that the President de-20
32		-	termines, on or after the date of the enactment of 21
33		-	the Strengthening Tools to Counter the Use of 22
34		-	Human Shields Act— 23
35		-	‘‘(A) is a member of Palestine Islamic 24
36		-	Jihad or is knowingly acting on behalf of Pal-25
37		-	estine Islamic Jihad; and 26 3
38		-	•HR 5917 EH
39		-	‘‘(B) knowingly orders, controls, or other-1
40		-	wise directs the use of civilians protected as 2
41		-	such by the law of war to shield military objec-3
42		-	tives from attack.’’; 4
43		-	(2) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), (g), 5
44		-	(h), and (i) as subsections (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j), 6
45		-	respectively; and 7
46		-	(3) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-8
47		-	lowing: 9
	38	+	NGENERAL.—Section 3 of the Sanctioning the 9
	39	+	Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 10
	40	+	115–348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 11
	41	+	(1) in subsection (b)— 12
	42	+	(A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 13
	43	+	paragraph (4); and 14
	44	+	(B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 15
	45	+	following: 16
	46	+	‘‘(3) Each foreign person that the President de-17
	47	+	termines, on or after the date of the enactment of 18
	48	+	the Strengthening Tools to Counter the Use of 19
	49	+	Human Shields Act— 20
	50	+	‘‘(A) is a member of Palestine Islamic 21
	51	+	Jihad or is knowingly acting on behalf of Pal-22
	52	+	estine Islamic Jihad; and 23
	53	+	‘‘(B) knowingly orders, controls, or other-24
	54	+	wise directs the use of civilians protected as 25
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	57	+	•HR 5917 IH
	58	+	such by the law of war to shield military objec-1
	59	+	tives from attack.’’; 2
	60	+	(2) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), (g), 3
	61	+	(h), and (i) as subsections (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j), 4
	62	+	respectively; and 5
	63	+	(3) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-6
	64	+	lowing: 7
48	65		‘‘(e) C
49		-	ONGRESSIONAL REQUESTS.—Not later than 10
50		-	120 days after receiving a request from the chairman and 11
51		-	ranking member of one of the appropriate congressional 12
52		-	committees with respect to whether a foreign person meets 13
53		-	the criteria of a person described in subsection (b) or (c), 14
54		-	the President shall— 15
55		-	‘‘(1) determine if the person meets such cri-16
56		-	teria; and 17
57		-	‘‘(2) submit a written justification to the chair-18
58		-	man and ranking member detailing whether or not 19
59		-	the President imposed or intends to impose sanc-20
60		-	tions described in subsection (b) or (c) with respect 21
61		-	to such person.’’. 22
	66	+	ONGRESSIONAL REQUESTS.—Not later than 8
	67	+	120 days after receiving a request from the chairman and 9
	68	+	ranking member of one of the appropriate congressional 10
	69	+	committees with respect to whether a foreign person meets 11
	70	+	the criteria of a person described in subsection (b) or (c), 12
	71	+	the President shall— 13
	72	+	‘‘(1) determine if the person meets such cri-14
	73	+	teria; and 15
	74	+	‘‘(2) submit a written justification to the chair-16
	75	+	man and ranking member detailing whether or not 17
	76	+	the President imposed or intends to impose sanc-18
	77	+	tions described in subsection (b) or (c) with respect 19
	78	+	to such person.’’. 20
62	79		(b) D
63		-	EFINITIONS.—Section 4 of the Sanctioning the 23
64		-	Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 24
65		-	115–348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 25 4
66		-	•HR 5917 EH
67		-	(1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para-1
68		-	graph (8); and 2
69		-	(2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol-3
70		-	lowing: 4
	80	+	EFINITIONS.—Section 4 of the Sanctioning the 21
	81	+	Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 22
	82	+	115–348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 23
	83	+	(1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para-24
	84	+	graph (8); and 25
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	87	+	•HR 5917 IH
	88	+	(2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol-1
	89	+	lowing: 2
71	90		‘‘(7) P
72		-	ALESTINE ISLAMIC JIHAD .—The term 5
73		-	‘Palestine Islamic Jihad’ means— 6
74		-	‘‘(A) the entity known as Palestine Islamic 7
75		-	Jihad and designated by the Secretary of State 8
76		-	as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to 9
77		-	section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality 10
78		-	Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); or 11
79		-	‘‘(B) any person identified as an agent or 12
80		-	instrumentality of Palestine Islamic Jihad on 13
81		-	the list of specially designated nationals and 14
82		-	blocked persons maintained by the Office of 15
83		-	Foreign Asset Control of the Department of the 16
84		-	Treasury, the property or interests in property 17
85		-	of which are blocked pursuant to the Inter-18
86		-	national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 19
87		-	U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).’’. 20
	91	+	ALESTINE ISLAMIC JIHAD .—The term 3
	92	+	‘Palestine Islamic Jihad’ means— 4
	93	+	‘‘(A) the entity known as Palestine Islamic 5
	94	+	Jihad and designated by the Secretary of State 6
	95	+	as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to 7
	96	+	section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality 8
	97	+	Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); or 9
	98	+	‘‘(B) any person identified as an agent or 10
	99	+	instrumentality of Palestine Islamic Jihad on 11
	100	+	the list of specially designated nationals and 12
	101	+	blocked persons maintained by the Office of 13
	102	+	Foreign Asset Control of the Department of the 14
	103	+	Treasury, the property or interests in property 15
	104	+	of which are blocked pursuant to the Inter-16
	105	+	national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 17
	106	+	U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).’’. 18
88	107		(c) S
89		-	UNSET.—Section 5 of the Sanctioning the Use 21
90		-	of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115– 22
91		-	348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by striking ‘‘De-23
92		-	cember 31, 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2030’’. 24 5
93		-	•HR 5917 EH
94		-	(d) SEVERABILITY.—The Sanctioning the Use of Ci-1
95		-	vilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115–348; 2
96		-	50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by adding at the end 3
97		-	the following: 4
98		-	‘‘SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 5
99		-	‘‘If any provision of this Act, or the application of 6
100		-	such provision to any person or circumstance, is found to 7
101		-	be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or the ap-8
102		-	plication of that provision to other persons or cir-9
103		-	cumstances, shall not be affected.’’. 10
104		-	SEC. 4. REPORT ON COUNTERING THE USE OF HUMAN 11
105		-	SHIELDS. 12
	108	+	UNSET.—Section 5 of the Sanctioning the Use 19
	109	+	of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115– 20
	110	+	348; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by striking ‘‘De-21
	111	+	cember 31, 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2030’’. 22
	112	+	(d) S
	113	+	EVERABILITY.—The Sanctioning the Use of Ci-23
	114	+	vilians as Defenseless Shields Act (Public Law 115–348; 24
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	117	+	•HR 5917 IH
	118	+	50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by adding at the end 1
	119	+	the following: 2
	120	+	‘‘SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 3
	121	+	‘‘If any provision of this Act, or the application of 4
	122	+	such provision to any person or circumstance, is found to 5
	123	+	be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or the ap-6
	124	+	plication of that provision to other persons or cir-7
	125	+	cumstances, shall not be affected.’’. 8
	126	+	SEC. 4. REPORT ON COUNTERING THE USE OF HUMAN 9
	127	+	SHIELDS. 10
106	128		(a) I
107		-	NGENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 13
108		-	date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 14
109		-	shall submit to the congressional defense committees, the 15
110		-	Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa-16
111		-	tives, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen-17
112		-	ate a report that contains the following: 18
113		-	(1) A description of the lessons learned from 19
114		-	the United States and its allies and partners in ad-20
115		-	dressing the use of human shields by terrorist orga-21
116		-	nizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestine Is-22
117		-	lamic Jihad, and any other organization as deter-23
118		-	mined by the Secretary of Defense. 24 6
119		-	•HR 5917 EH
120		-	(2) A description of a specific plan and actions 1
121		-	being taken by the Department of Defense to incor-2
122		-	porate the lessons learned as identified in paragraph 3
123		-	(1) into Department of Defense operating guidance, 4
124		-	relevant capabilities, and tactics, techniques, and 5
125		-	procedures to deter, counter, and address the chal-6
126		-	lenge posed by the use of human shields and hold 7
127		-	accountable terrorist organizations for the use of 8
128		-	human shields. 9
129		-	(3) A description of specific measures being de-10
130		-	veloped and implemented by the United States Gov-11
131		-	ernment to mobilize and leverage allied nations, in-12
132		-	cluding member nations of the North Atlantic Trea-13
133		-	ty Organization (NATO), to deter, counter, and hold 14
134		-	accountable terrorist organizations for the use of 15
135		-	human shields. 16
136		-	(4) The current status of joint exercises, doc-17
137		-	trine development, education, and training on coun-18
138		-	tering the use of human shields in multinational cen-19
139		-	ters of excellence. 20
140		-	(5) The current status of participation of mem-21
141		-	bers of the Armed Forces and Department of De-22
142		-	fense civilian personnel in any multinational center 23
143		-	of excellence for the purposes of countering the use 24
144		-	of human shields. 25 7
145		-	•HR 5917 EH
146		-	(6) The feasibility and advisability of beginning 1
147		-	or continuing participation of members of the Armed 2
148		-	Forces and Department of Defense civilian per-3
149		-	sonnel to promote the integration of joint exercises, 4
150		-	doctrine development, education, and training on 5
151		-	countering the use of human shields into multi-6
152		-	national centers of excellence. 7
	129	+	NGENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 11
	130	+	date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 12
	131	+	shall submit to the congressional defense committees, the 13
	132	+	Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa-14
	133	+	tives, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen-15
	134	+	ate a report that contains the following: 16
	135	+	(1) A description of the lessons learned from 17
	136	+	the United States and its allies and partners in ad-18
	137	+	dressing the use of human shields by terrorist orga-19
	138	+	nizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestine Is-20
	139	+	lamic Jihad, and any other organization as deter-21
	140	+	mined by the Secretary of Defense. 22
	141	+	(2) A description of a specific plan and actions 23
	142	+	being taken by the Department of Defense to incor-24
	143	+	porate the lessons learned as identified in paragraph 25
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	146	+	•HR 5917 IH
	147	+	(1) into Department of Defense operating guidance, 1
	148	+	relevant capabilities, and tactics, techniques, and 2
	149	+	procedures to deter, counter, and address the chal-3
	150	+	lenge posed by the use of human shields and hold 4
	151	+	accountable terrorist organizations for the use of 5
	152	+	human shields. 6
	153	+	(3) A description of specific measures being de-7
	154	+	veloped and implemented by the United States Gov-8
	155	+	ernment to mobilize and leverage allied nations, in-9
	156	+	cluding member nations of the North Atlantic Trea-10
	157	+	ty Organization (NATO), to deter, counter, and hold 11
	158	+	accountable terrorist organizations for the use of 12
	159	+	human shields. 13
	160	+	(4) The current status of joint exercises, doc-14
	161	+	trine development, education, and training on coun-15
	162	+	tering the use of human shields in multinational cen-16
	163	+	ters of excellence. 17
	164	+	(5) The current status of participation of mem-18
	165	+	bers of the Armed Forces and Department of De-19
	166	+	fense civilian personnel in any multinational center 20
	167	+	of excellence for the purposes of countering the use 21
	168	+	of human shields. 22
	169	+	(6) The feasibility and advisability of beginning 23
	170	+	or continuing participation of members of the Armed 24
	171	+	Forces and Department of Defense civilian per-25
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	174	+	•HR 5917 IH
	175	+	sonnel to promote the integration of joint exercises, 1
	176	+	doctrine development, education, and training on 2
	177	+	countering the use of human shields into multi-3
	178	+	national centers of excellence. 4
153	179		(b) D
154		-	EFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘multi-8
155		-	national center of excellence’’ has the meaning given that 9
156		-	term in section 344 of title 10, United States Code. 10
157		-	Passed the House of Representatives April 16, 2024.
158		-	Attest:
159		-	Clerk. 118
160		-	TH
161		-	CONGRESS
162		-	2
163		-	D
164		-	S
165		-	ESSION
166		-
167		-	H. R. 5917
168		-	AN ACT
169		-	To amend the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as
170		-	Defenseless Shields Act to modify and extend
171		-	that Act, and for other purposes.
	180	+	EFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘multi-5
	181	+	national center of excellence’’ has the meaning given that 6
	182	+	term in section 344 of title 10, United States Code. 7
	183	+	Æ
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