Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act

Summary: (This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on April 13, 2016.  Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act (Sec. 2) This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the President should establish an interagency coordinating committee to coordinate and advance executive branch efforts to protect and preserve international cultural property at risk from political instability, armed conflict, or natural or other disasters.  (Sec. 3) The President shall apply specified import restrictions with respect to any archaeological or ethnological material of Syria:   within 90 days;  without regard to whether Syria is a state party to the convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export, and transfer of ownership of cultural property (adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization); and   notwithstanding the requirement that an emergency condition applies.   The President shall at least once a year determine whether at least one of the following conditions is met: (1) Syria is incapable of fulfilling the requirements to request an agreement pursuant to the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act, and (2) it would be against the U.S. national interest to enter into such an agreement.  The President may waive such import restrictions for specified cultural property if the President certifies to Congress that: (1) the foreign owner or custodian of the specified cultural property has requested that the property be temporarily located in the United States for protection purposes, (2) the property shall be returned upon request to the foreign owner or custodian, and (3) the grant of a waiver will not contribute to illegal trafficking in cultural property or financing of criminal or terrorist activities.  Any archaeological or ethnological material that enters the United States pursuant to a waiver shall have immunity from seizure under P.L. 89-259 (which provides immunity from seizure for cultural items imported for temporary exhibition.) (Sec. 4) The President shall report annually to Congress on executive branch efforts to protect and preserve international cultural property.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Protect and Preserve International 
Cultural Property Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
    It is the sense of Congress that the President should establish an 
interagency coordinating committee to coordinate the efforts of the 
executive branch to protect and preserve international cultural 
property at risk from political instability, armed conflict, or natural 
or other disasters. Such committee should--
        (1) be chaired by a Department of State employee of Assistant 
    Secretary rank or higher, concurrent with that employee's other 
    duties;
        (2) include representatives of the Smithsonian Institution and 
    Federal agencies with responsibility for the preservation and 
    protection of international cultural property;
        (3) consult with governmental and nongovernmental 
    organizations, including the United States Committee of the Blue 
    Shield, museums, educational institutions, and research 
    institutions, and participants in the international art and 
    cultural property market on efforts to protect and preserve 
    international cultural property;
        (4) coordinate core United States interests in--
            (A) protecting and preserving international cultural 
        property;
            (B) preventing and disrupting looting and illegal trade and 
        trafficking in international cultural property, particularly 
        exchanges that provide revenue to terrorist and criminal 
        organizations;
            (C) protecting sites of cultural and archaeological 
        significance; and
            (D) providing for the lawful exchange of international 
        cultural property.
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY PROTECTION FOR SYRIAN CULTURAL PROPERTY.
    (a) In General.--The President shall exercise the authority of the 
President under section 304 of the Convention on Cultural Property 
Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2603) to impose import restrictions set 
forth in section 307 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 2606) with respect to any 
archaeological or ethnological material of Syria--
        (1) not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
    this Act;
        (2) without regard to whether Syria is a State Party (as 
    defined in section 302 of that Act (19 U.S.C. 2601)); and
        (3) notwithstanding--
            (A) the requirement of subsection (b) of section 304 of 
        that Act (19 U.S.C. 2603(b)) that an emergency condition (as 
        defined in subsection (a) of that section) applies; and
            (B) the limitations under subsection (c) of that section.
    (b) Annual Determination Regarding Certification.--
        (1) Determination.--
            (A) In general.--The President shall, not less often than 
        annually, determine whether at least 1 of the conditions 
        specified in subparagraph (B) is met, and shall notify the 
        appropriate congressional committees of such determination.
            (B) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in subparagraph 
        (A) are the following:
                (i) The Government of Syria is incapable, at the time a 
            determination under such subparagraph is made, of 
            fulfilling the requirements to request an agreement under 
            section 303 of the Convention on Cultural Property 
            Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2602), including the 
            requirements under subsection (a)(3) of that section.
                (ii) It would be against the United States national 
            interest to enter into such an agreement.
        (2) Termination of restrictions.--
            (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
        the import restrictions referred to in subsection (a) shall 
        terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date on which 
        the President determines that neither of the conditions 
        specified in paragraph (1)(B) are met.
            (B) Request for termination.--If Syria requests to enter 
        into an agreement with the United States pursuant to section 
        303 of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act 
        (19 U.S.C. 2602) on or after the date on which the President 
        determines that neither of the conditions specified in 
        paragraph (1)(B) are met, the import restrictions referred to 
        in subsection (a) shall terminate on the earlier of--
                (i) the date that is 3 years after the date on which 
            Syria makes such a request; or
                (ii) the date on which the United States and Syria 
            enter into such an agreement.
    (c) Waiver.--
        (1) In general.--The President may waive the import 
    restrictions referred to in subsection (a) for specified 
    archaeological and ethnological material of Syria if the President 
    certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the 
    conditions described in paragraph (2) are met.
        (2) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) 
    are the following:
            (A)(i) The owner or lawful custodian of the specified 
        archaeological or ethnological material of Syria has requested 
        that such material be temporarily located in the United States 
        for protection purposes; or
            (ii) if no owner or lawful custodian can reasonably be 
        identified, the President determines that, for purposes of 
        protecting and preserving such material, the material should be 
        temporarily located in the United States.
            (B) Such material shall be returned to the owner or lawful 
        custodian when requested by such owner or lawful custodian.
            (C) There is no credible evidence that granting a waiver 
        under this subsection will contribute to illegal trafficking in 
        archaeological or ethnological material of Syria or financing 
        of criminal or terrorist activities.
        (3) Action.--If the President grants a waiver under this 
    subsection, the specified archaeological or ethnological material 
    of Syria that is the subject of such waiver shall be placed in the 
    temporary custody of the United States Government or in the 
    temporary custody of a cultural or educational institution within 
    the United States for the purpose of protection, restoration, 
    conservation, study, or exhibition, without profit.
        (4) Immunity from seizure.--Any archaeological or ethnological 
    material that enters the United States pursuant to a waiver granted 
    under this section shall have immunity from seizure under Public 
    Law 89-259 (22 U.S.C. 2459). All provisions of Public Law 89-259 
    shall apply to such material as if immunity from seizure had been 
    granted under that Public Law.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
        (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
    ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Finance of the Senate; and
            (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
        (2) Archaeological or ethnological material of syria.--The term 
    ``archaeological or ethnological material of Syria'' means cultural 
    property (as defined in section 302 of the Convention on Cultural 
    Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601)) that is unlawfully 
    removed from Syria on or after March 15, 2011.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
and annually thereafter for the next 6 years, the President shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the 
efforts of the executive branch, during the 12-month period preceding 
the submission of the report, to protect and preserve international 
cultural property, including--
        (1) whether an interagency coordinating committee as described 
    in section 2 has been established and, if such a committee has been 
    established, a description of the activities undertaken by such 
    committee, including a list of the entities participating in such 
    activities;
        (2) a description of measures undertaken pursuant to relevant 
    statutes, including--
            (A) actions to implement and enforce section 3 of this Act 
        and section 3002 of the Emergency Protection for Iraqi Cultural 
        Antiquities Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-429; 118 Stat. 2599), 
        including measures to dismantle international networks that 
        traffic illegally in cultural property;
            (B) a description of any requests for a waiver under 
        section 3(c) of this Act and, for each such request, whether a 
        waiver was granted;
            (C) a list of the statutes and regulations employed in 
        criminal, civil, and civil forfeiture actions to prevent 
        illegal trade and trafficking in cultural property;
            (D) actions undertaken to ensure the consistent and 
        effective application of law in cases relating to illegal trade 
        and trafficking in cultural property; and
            (E) actions undertaken to promote the legitimate commercial 
        and non-commercial exchange and movement of cultural property; 
        and
        (3) actions undertaken in fulfillment of international 
    agreements on cultural property protection, including the 
    Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of 
    Armed Conflict, done at The Hague May 14, 1954.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.