I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9707 

To establish a reporting requirement for cases of transnational repression 

against United States persons, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Ms. LEE of California, 

Ms. NORTON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. 

VALADAO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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 establish a reporting requirement for cases of 

transnational repression against United States persons, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transnational Repres5 sion Reporting Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) There have been allegations of transnational 

2 repression against United States persons or persons 

3 in the United States, including targeting political 

4 and human rights activists, journalists, and mem5 bers of religious and ethnic minority groups. 

6 (2) A large number of diaspora communities 

7 have experienced a rise of incidents of intimidation, 

8 harassment, or, in some cases, violence in the United 

9 States. However, transnational repression against 

10 United States persons or persons in the United 

11 States appear to be on the rise particularly from 

12 India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China. 

13 (3) Preliminary investigations suggest that indi14 viduals associated with the Government of India may 

15 have played a role in orchestrating the 2023 at16 tempted assassination of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, 

17 a prominent Sikh activist living in New York. The 

18 attempted assassination of Pannun appears to have 

19 been an effort to silence his criticism of the Indian 

20 Government for his advocacy for the rights of Sikhs 

21 and the creation of an independent Sikh state, 

22 known as Khalistan, out of the Province of Punjab 

23 in India, for which the Government of India has de24 clared Pannun a terrorist on the basis of sedition 

25 and secessionism. The attempted assassination of 


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1 Pannun followed shortly after the successful assas2 sination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023 in 

3 Canada, for which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 

4 stated that there was credible allegations of Indian 

5 involvement. 

6 (4) Saudi Arabia has engaged in a campaign of 

7 targeting critics, former members of the royal fam8 ily, women fleeing gender-based discrimination, and 

9 journalists, as well as their families. Saudi Arabia 

10 sentenced Prince Abdullah bin Faisal al Saud to 30 

11 years in prison after he discussed the imprisonment 

12 of a royal cousin and fellow prince. Prince Abdullah 

13 made the call from the United States while attend14 ing Northeastern University as a graduate student. 

15 United States citizens are no longer immune to 

16 these repressive measures. Saad al Madi, a United 

17 States citizen, was imprisoned for tweets he posted 

18 that were critical of the regime. Like Prince 

19 Abdullah, Saad al Madi made his comments in the 

20 United States but was arrested in Saudi Arabia 

21 while on a visit. While Saad Al Madi initially re22 ceived a virtual life sentence, he has been released 

23 but remains in Saudi Arabia under a travel ban. 

24 Saudi Arabia was also responsible for the brutal 

25 murder of United States-based Washington Post colVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:18 Oct 04, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9707.IH H9707

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1 umnist Jamal Khasshogi in a Saudi consulate in 

2 Istanbul, Turkey in 2018. 

3 (5) Iran has targeted dissidents and critics in 

4 the United States for decades. Iran attempted to as5 sassinate Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and 

6 rights activist, in 2022. There are also credible alle7 gations that Iran was involved in an assassination 

8 plot against an Iranian-American writer in New 

9 York and an Iranian defector living in Maryland, 

10 both in the early 2020s. In 1980, Iran was involved 

11 in the successful assassination of Ali Akbar 

12 Tabatabai, an Iranian dissident living in Bethesda, 

13 Maryland. His killer, Dawud Salahuddin, fled to 

14 Iran after the assassination, publicly confessing to 

15 the murder and claiming he received $5,000 from 

16 the Iranian Government carry it out. Iran has also 

17 engaged in assassination attempts against officials 

18 of the United States Government who were critical 

19 of the Iranian regime. A member of Iran’s Islamic 

20 Revolutionary Guard Corps allegedly hired an assas21 sin in 2021 to murder former national security ad22 viser John Bolton. And, most recently, Iran was im23 plicated in a plot to assassinate former President 

24 Donald Trump in 2024. Iran was also implicated in 


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1 a plot to murder the Saudi ambassador to the 

2 United States in 2012. 

3 (6) China has attempted to silence its critics by 

4 employing intimidation and harassment, particularly 

5 against members of the Chinese diaspora living in 

6 the United States but having relatives, citizenship, 

7 or financial ties to mainland China or Hong Kong. 

8 In November 2023, supporters of the Chinese Com9 munist Party, with the aid of Chinese diplomats, at10 tacked a group of protesters in San Francisco. The 

11 victims of the attack, most of whom had roots in 

12 China, East Turkestan, Hong Kong, or Tibet, had 

13 gathered to protest President Xi Jinping’s visit to 

14 the city. There is also credible evidence that China 

15 is repressing the freedoms of members of the Falun 

16 Gong, as well as hindering the business operations 

17 of the Shen Yun Performing Arts company. There is 

18 further evidence that China continues to repress 

19 members of Uyghur ethnic communities who are liv20 ing abroad by threatening their relatives with deten21 tion. China has also conducted surveillance against 

22 Tibetan activists, using naturalized U.S. citizens of 

23 Chinese descent or Chinese agents to infiltrate and 

24 spy on members of pro-democracy groups in New 

25 York and other States. 


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1 (7) Notwithstanding the importance of a bilat2 eral relationship to the common interests of a stable 

3 and prosperous region, any such relationship should 

4 be based on an alignment of the shared values held 

5 in democratic institutions, fundamental human 

6 rights, and respect for international laws and norms. 

7 (8) Acts of transnational repression violate the 

8 sovereignty of nations, undermining the values that 

9 are foundational in relationships within the inter10 national community of nations. 

11 (9) Transnational repression results in victims 

12 through the silencing of critics and stifling speech, 

13 making it more difficult for individuals to express 

14 freedoms, and giving pause to the consideration of 

15 the potential costs for doing so. 

16 (10) Transnational repression puts in jeopardy 

17 a country’s standing and reputation within the inter18 national community as well as the bilateral relation19 ship with the United States, requiring actions by the 

20 government committing such offenses that are com21 mensurate with the seriousness of the violation. 

22 SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

23 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

25 the Attorney General, in coordination with the heads of 


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1 other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit a report to 

2 the appropriate congressional committees on cases of 

3 transnational repression. The report shall include, for the 

4 covered period, the following: 

5 (1) A detailed description of each such case re6 ported to the Department of Justice or another rel7 evant Federal agency, including the nature of the 

8 transnational repression, the individuals involved, 

9 and the location of each incident of transnational re10 pression associated with the case. 

11 (2) An assessment of the case, using all avail12 able law enforcement and intelligence resources, in13 cluding an evaluation of the foreign government’s in14 volvement in the case. 

15 (3) The actions taken by the United States 

16 Government in response to each case, including— 

17 (A) diplomatic measures; 

18 (B) law enforcement actions and criminal 

19 prosecutions; 

20 (C) civil and administrative actions, such 

21 as targeted sanctions, fines and penalties, and 

22 entry ineligibility of foreign persons; 

23 (D) protective measures provided to vic24 tims; and 


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1 (E) collaboration of the United States Gov2 ernment with other countries that have experi3 enced similar cases of transnational repression. 

4 (4) The actions taken by the foreign govern5 ment to address the allegations of transnational re6 pression, including any findings of culpability and 

7 the holding of individuals accountable. 

8 (5) An assessment of the trends and patterns of 

9 transnational repression in each foreign country in 

10 which transnational repression has originated. 

11 (b) CASES.—In preparing the first report under sub12 section (a), the Attorney General shall include cases of al13 leged transnational repression originating from the fol14 lowing countries: 

15 (1) India, including the alleged assassination 

16 attempt of Gurpatwant Pannun in 2023, and other 

17 acts of harassment and intimidation against the 

18 Sikh community. 

19 (2) Saudi Arabia, including the acts of harass20 ment, intimidation, and imprisonment against critics 

21 of the government, such as the acts committed 

22 against Prince Abdullah bin Faisal al Saud and 

23 Saad Almadi. 


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1 (3) Iran, including the threat of kidnapping and 

2 the threat of assassination of journalists and rights 

3 activists, such as Masih Alinejad, in 2022. 

4 (4) China, including the harassment and intimi5 dation of human rights and pro-democracy activists, 

6 particularly former residents of the Hong Kong Spe7 cial Administrative Region, Uyghur ethnic commu8 nities, members of the Falun Gong and the Shen 

9 Yun Performing Arts company, and Tibetan activ10 ists. 

11 (c) CLASSIFICATION.—Each report under subsection 

12 (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form and made avail13 able to the public. A classified annex shall be made avail14 able to the Members of the appropriate congressional com15 mittees, as needed, and maintained by the Permanent Se16 lect Committee on Intelligence of the House of Represent17 atives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

18 Senate. 

19 (d) PRIVACY PROTECTION.—In preparing the report 

20 under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall comply 

21 with all applicable privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties 

22 protections when identifying individuals who have been the 

23 target of transnational repression. 

24 (e) COVERED PERIOD.—In this section, the term 

25 ‘‘covered period’’ means— 


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1 (1) for the first report under subsection (a), the 

2 previous 10-year period; and 

3 (2) for each subsequent report under subsection 

4 (a), the previous one-year period. 

5 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

7 as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 

8 Act. 

9 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.—The term 

12 ‘‘transnational repression’’ means any activity of a 

13 foreign government, or an agent of a foreign govern14 ment or a proxy thereof, that— 

15 (A)(i) is any effort to harass, intimidate, 

16 or digitally or physically threaten a person to 

17 either take action or to refrain from taking ac18 tion that would be in the interest of the foreign 

19 government; or 

20 (ii) is an attempt to prevent the person 

21 from exercising any right that is protected 

22 under the First Amendment to the Constitution 

23 of the United States, or to retaliate against a 

24 person for having exercised such a right; and 


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1 (B) targets a United States person or a 

2 person in the United States, including through 

3 the harassment or intimidation of immediate 

4 family members of the person. 

5 (2) RELEVANT FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The term 

6 ‘‘relevant Federal agencies’’ means the Department 

7 of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the 

8 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the 

9 Director of National Intelligence, and any other 

10 agency determined appropriate by the Attorney Gen11 eral. 

12 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com14 mittees’’ means the Committee on the Judiciary of 

15 the House or Representatives, the Committee on 

16 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, the 

17 Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

18 House of Representatives, the Committee on Appro19 priations of the House of Representatives, the Com20 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Com21 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Se22 lect Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, and 

23 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

24 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

25 ‘‘United States person’’ means a citizen of the 


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1 United States or an alien lawfully admitted for per2 manent residence (as defined in section 101(a)(20) 

3 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

4 1101(a)(20))), and includes minors. 

5 SEC. 6. SUNSET. 

6 This Act shall sunset on the earlier of December 31, 

7 2030, or the date that is 6 years after the date of enact8 ment of this Act. 

Æ 


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