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IRGC TERRORIST SANCTIONS ACT OF 2015

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, 

NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

H.R. 3693

SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

Serial No. 114–226

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

PAUL COOK, California 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

DANIEL DONOVAN, New York 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE

TED POE, Texas, Chairman 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

PAUL COOK, California 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP ON 

H.R. 3693, To require a report on whether Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard 

Corps is a terrorist entity, and for other purpose ............................................. 2

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 3693 offered by the 

Honorable William Keating, a Representative in Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ........................................................................... 5

APPENDIX 

Markup notice .......................................................................................................... 10

Markup minutes ...................................................................................................... 11

Markup summary .................................................................................................... 12

(1)

IRGC TERRORIST SANCTIONS ACT OF 2015

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2016

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:00 p.m., in room 

2200 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Paul Cook presiding. 

Mr. COOK. The subcommittee will come to order. 

Pursuant to notice, we will meet today and mark up an important piece of terrorist sanctions legislation. 

I now call up the bill H.R. 3693, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard 

Corps Terrorist Sanctions Act of 2015. Without objection, the bill 

is considered read and open for amendment at any point and all 

members may have 5 days to submit statements and materials for 

the record. 

To expedite our consideration, I ask unanimous consent that we 

consider the amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by 

Ranking Member Keating, which is the product of an agreement 

between the Chair and the ranking member and which all members have in front of them as them as the base text. 

Hearing no objection, so ordered. 

[The information referred to follows:]

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Mr. COOK. I now recognize myself to speak on the bill and in 

light of the fact that if called, votes—excuse me—I am going to, if 

there is no objection, just submit that as part of the record and dismiss with my reading. 

And I now recognize the ranking member for his comments on 

today’s measures. 

Mr. KEATING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’ll just try and be very 

quick in my reading of this, given the rollcall that we have in front 

of us. 

I want to thank the chairman for putting forward this bill and 

for highlighting our continued efforts to work together to ensure 

our country is appropriately addressing nefarious actors. 

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps continues to act as a destabilizing force in the Middle East and beyond. Over the years, 

branches of our Government have determined that portions of the 

IRGC support terrorism such as the Quds Force and have since 

designated sponsors—them as sponsors of terrorism. 

H.R. 3693, the IRGC Terrorist Sanctions Act of 2015, requires 

the Treasury Department to report on whether the Revolutionary 

Guard meets requirements for designation of a terrorist entity 

under the Executive order, Executive Order 13224, which targets 

global terrorist activity and whether the IRGC’s control of a company’s board of directors should trigger such designation. 

Already the Corps has been sanctioned to various degrees. For 

example, in 2007, the IRGC was designated by Executive order for 

having engaged in proliferation-related activities. 

Again, in June 2011, Treasury designated the IRGC for its role 

in human rights abuses in Iran following the disputed June 2009 

Presidential election. 

Most recently in April 2012, Treasury designated the IRGC for 

its activity in connection with human rights through the use of information and communication technology. 

While it remains unclear how additional designation would impact IRGC’s activities, there is no mistaking the nefarious role the 

network has played in promoting instability. 

To this end, it is imperative that we continue to hold Iran accountable for its actions and be subject to secondary sanctions. 

Further, I believe it is important that we ensure Congress has 

the complete picture when discussing additional sanctions against 

another country. 

This includes allowing individuals in the intelligence community 

the opportunity to provide unfiltered analysis. My amendment incorporates this amendment in the nature of a substitute, ensuring 


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that classified annex of materials may be provided to the appropriate committees. 

This will significantly aid our receipt of the full picture as would 

be incorporated in the report authorizing this legislation. 

With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time. 

Mr. COOK. Thank you very much, Congressman Keating. 

Do any other members seek recognition to speak on the bill? 

Yes, sir. The Congressman from California, Congressman Sherman. 

Mr. SHERMAN. Clearly, the IRGC is a terrorist organization. It 

ought to be designated as such. 

Congress has been, I think, too shy in failing to pass legislation 

to simply designate entities. But in this case, I am sure the review 

will end up where it should and in the future we may simply designate these rather than go through a—have the State Department 

go through a process that will lead to that same designation. 

I yield back. 

Mr. COOK. Thank you. 

Congressman Perry. 

Seeing no other—I just want to make one final comment. I didn’t 

want to talk much on this but this is something very, very significant because the organization we are talking about had an incident 

a long time ago in 1983. 

It was the Marine barracks in Beirut that was blown up. That 

was my old battalion—1st Battalion 8th Marines—where we lost 

over 260 Marines, sailors and soldiers. 

So, obviously, I support this bill and hearing no further amendments——

Mr. KEATING. Mr. Chairman, I have one other thing. 

Mr. COOK. Yes, sir. 

Mr. KEATING. Just—I did want to comment and thank you, Mr. 

Chairman, and members of the committee, and in his absence I 

wanted to thank Chairman Poe for his work and the work we put 

together dealing with it. 

We did it in a very cooperative and bipartisan manner and although it is great to see you, Mr. Chairman, I know I speak for the 

rest of the committee. We can’t wait to see him back here. 

I yield back. 

Mr. COOK. Well, thank you for your comments. Our thoughts and 

prayers go with Chairman Poe and I know I am not chopped liver 

and can never be. 

But hearing no further amendments, I move that the bill as 

amended be favorably reported to the full committee. 

I have to have a teleprompter and what have you. Okay. 

The vote itself—all those in favor say aye. 

Those opposed say no. 

In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The motion is approved. The bill is reported favorably as amended. 

So now we are going to go and—we are going to adjourn and 

then come back for our hearing at 2:45. So everybody get on their 

starting blocks and make votes. 

[Whereupon, at 2:08 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

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A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

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