I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10255 

To provide the United States Government with additional tools to deter 

state and non-state actors from wrongfully detaining United States nationals for political leverage, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 22, 2024 

Ms. STEVENS (for herself and Mr. HILL) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 

Committees on the Judiciary, and Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 provide the United States Government with additional 

tools to deter state and non-state actors from wrongfully 

detaining United States nationals for political leverage, 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2024’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—DETERRING AND PREVENTING UNLAWFUL OR 

WRONGFUL DETENTION 

Sec. 101. Designation of a foreign country as a State Sponsor of Unlawful or 

Wrongful Detention. 

Sec. 102. Options and strategies for reducing likelihood of United States nationals being unlawfully or wrongfully detained or taken hostage. 

Sec. 103. Additional funding for sanctions implementation. 

Sec. 104. Enhancing United States travel advisories. 

Sec. 105. Required certification regarding international travel advisories. 

Sec. 106. Privacy Act written consent and passport renewals. 

TITLE II—STRENGTHENING PROCESSES AND SERVICES FOR 

HOSTAGES AND UNLAWFUL OR WRONGFUL DETAINEES 

Sec. 201. Timeline for unlawful or wrongful detention determinations. 

Sec. 202. Declarations of invalidity. 

Sec. 203. Advisory Council on Hostage Taking and Unlawful or Wrongful Detention. 

Sec. 204. Chairmanship of the Hostage Response Group. 

3 TITLE I—DETERRING AND PRE4 VENTING UNLAWFUL OR 

5 WRONGFUL DETENTION 

6 SEC. 101. DESIGNATION OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY AS A 

7 STATE SPONSOR OF UNLAWFUL OR WRONG8 FUL DETENTION. 

9 The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage10 Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.) is 

11 amended by inserting after section 306 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 306A. DESIGNATION OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY AS A 

2 STATE SPONSOR OF UNLAWFUL OR WRONG3 FUL DETENTION. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in con5 sultation with the heads of other relevant Federal agen6 cies, may designate a foreign country that has provided 

7 support for or directly engaged in the unlawful or wrong8 ful detention of a United States national as a State Spon9 sor of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention based on any of 

10 the following criteria: 

11 ‘‘(1) The unlawful or wrongful detention of a 

12 United States national occurs in the foreign country. 

13 ‘‘(2) The government of the foreign country has 

14 failed to release an unlawfully or wrongfully detained 

15 United States national after having been notified by 

16 the Department of State. 

17 ‘‘(3) Actions taken by the government of the 

18 foreign country indicate that the government is re19 sponsible for, complicit in, or materially supports the 

20 unlawful or wrongful detention of a United States 

21 national, including by acting as described in para22 graph (2) after having been notified by the Depart23 ment of State. 

24 ‘‘(4) The actions of a state or nonstate actor in 

25 the foreign country, including any previous action 

26 relating to unlawful or wrongful detention or hostage 


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1 taking of a United States national, pose a risk to 

2 the safety and security of United States nationals 

3 abroad sufficient to warrant designation of the for4 eign country as a State Sponsor of Unlawful or 

5 Wrongful Detention, as determined by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(b) TERMINATION OF DESIGNATION.—The Sec7 retary may terminate the designation of a foreign country 

8 under subsection (a) if the Secretary certifies to Congress 

9 that the government of the foreign country— 

10 ‘‘(1) has released the United States nationals 

11 unlawfully or wrongfully detained within the terri12 tory of the foreign country; 

13 ‘‘(2) has positively contributed to the release of 

14 United States nationals taken hostage within the 

15 territory of the foreign country or from the custody 

16 of a nonstate entity; 

17 ‘‘(3) has demonstrated changes in leadership or 

18 policies with respect to unlawful or wrongful deten19 tion and hostage taking; or 

20 ‘‘(4) has provided assurances that the govern21 ment of the foreign country will not engage or be 

22 complicit in or support acts described in subsection 

23 (a). 

24 ‘‘(c) BRIEFING AND REPORTS TO CONGRESS; PUBLI25 CATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

3 submit to Congress a report on— 

4 ‘‘(i) each designation of a foreign 

5 country as a State Sponsor of Unlawful or 

6 Wrongful Detention under subsection (a) 

7 not later than 5 days after such designa8 tion is made; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) each termination of a designation 

10 under subsection (b) not later than 30 

11 days after such termination is made. 

12 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) DESIGNATION REPORT.—In each 

14 report submitted under subparagraph 

15 (A)(i) with respect to the designation of a 

16 foreign country as a State Sponsor of Un17 lawful or Wrongful Detention, the Sec18 retary shall include— 

19 ‘‘(I) the justification for the des20 ignation; and 

21 ‘‘(II) a description of any action 

22 taken by the United States Govern23 ment, including the Secretary of State 

24 or the head of any other relevant Fed25 eral agency, in response to the desVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:23 Dec 06, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10255.IH H10255

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1 ignation to deter the unlawful or 

2 wrongful detention or hostage-taking 

3 of foreign nationals in the country. 

4 ‘‘(ii) TERMINATION REPORT.—In each 

5 report submitted under clause (i)(II) with 

6 respect to the termination of a designation 

7 of a foreign country as a State Sponsor of 

8 Unlawful or Wrongful Detention, the Sec9 retary shall provide the justification for the 

10 termination, including the factor described 

11 in subsection (b) that supports the termi12 nation. 

13 ‘‘(2) BRIEFING REQUIRED.—Not later than 60 

14 days after the date of the enactment of this section, 

15 the Secretary shall brief Congress on the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) Whether any of the following coun17 tries should be designated as a State Sponsor 

18 of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention under sub19 section (a): 

20 ‘‘(i) Afghanistan. 

21 ‘‘(ii) Eritrea. 

22 ‘‘(iii) The Islamic Republic of Iran. 

23 ‘‘(iv) The People’s Republic of China. 

24 ‘‘(v) The Russian Federation. 

25 ‘‘(vi) Syria. 


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1 ‘‘(vii) Venezuela under the regime of 

2 Nicola ́s Maduro. 

3 ‘‘(B) The steps taken by the Secretary of 

4 State and the heads of other relevant Federal 

5 agencies to deter the unlawful and wrongful de6 tention of United States nationals and to re7 spond to such detentions, including— 

8 ‘‘(i) any engagement with private sec9 tor search engine companies to optimize 

10 the distribution of travel advisories; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) any engagement with private 

12 tourism companies responsible for pro13 moting travel to foreign countries engaged 

14 in the unlawful or wrongful detention of 

15 United States nationals. 

16 ‘‘(C) An assessment of a possible expan17 sion of chapter 97 of title 28, United States 

18 Code (commonly known as the ‘Foreign Sov19 ereign Immunities Act of 1976’) to include an 

20 exception from asset seizure immunity for State 

21 Sponsors of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention. 

22 ‘‘(D) A detailed plan on the manner by 

23 which a geographic travel restriction could be 

24 instituted against State Sponsors of Unlawful 

25 or Wrongful Detention. 


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1 ‘‘(E) The progress made in multilateral 

2 fora, including the United Nations and other 

3 international organizations, to address the un4 lawful and wrongful detention of United States 

5 nationals, in addition to nationals of partners 

6 and allies of the United States in foreign coun7 tries. 

8 ‘‘(3) BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 year after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

10 thereafter for 5 years, the Assistant Secretary of 

11 State for Consular Affairs and the Special Presi12 dential Envoy for Hostage Affairs shall brief the ap13 propriate congressional committees on the countries 

14 listed under paragraph (2)(A) and actions taken by 

15 the Secretary of State and the heads of other rel16 evant Federal agencies to deter the wrongful deten17 tion of United States nationals, including any steps 

18 taken in accordance with paragraph (2)(B). 

19 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

20 available on a publicly accessible website of the De21 partment of State, and regularly update, a list of 

22 foreign countries designated as State Sponsors of 

23 Unlawful or Wrongful Detention under subsection 

24 (a). 


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1 ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF AVAILABLE RESPONSES TO STATE

2 SPONSORS OF UNLAWFUL OR WRONGFUL DETENTION.— 

3 Upon designation of a foreign country as a State Sponsor 

4 of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention under subsection (a), 

5 the Secretary, in consultation with the heads of other rel6 evant Federal agencies, shall conduct a comprehensive re7 view of the use of existing authorities to respond to and 

8 deter the unlawful or wrongful detention of United States 

9 nationals in the foreign country, including— 

10 ‘‘(1) sanctions available under the International 

11 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 

12 et seq.); 

13 ‘‘(2) visa restrictions available under section 

14 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Oper15 ations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 

16 2024 (division F of Public Law 118–47; 8 U.S.C. 

17 1182 note) or any other provision of Federal law; 

18 ‘‘(3) sanctions available under the Immigration 

19 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.); 

20 ‘‘(4) imposition of a geographic travel restric21 tion on citizens of the United States; 

22 ‘‘(5) restrictions on assistance provided to the 

23 government of the country under the Foreign Assist24 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or any 

25 other provision of Federal law; 


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1 ‘‘(6) restrictions on the export of certain goods 

2 to the country under the Arms Export Control Act 

3 (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), the Export Control Re4 form Act of 2018 ( 50 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.), or any 

5 other Federal law; and 

6 ‘‘(7) designating the government of the country 

7 as a government that has repeatedly provided sup8 port for acts of international terrorism pursuant 

9 to— 

10 ‘‘(A) section 1754(c)(1)(A)(i) of the Ex11 port Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 

12 4813(c)(1)(A)(i)); 

13 ‘‘(B) section 620A of the Foreign Assist14 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371); 

15 ‘‘(C) section 40(d) of the Arms Export 

16 Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)); or 

17 ‘‘(D) any other provision of law. 

18 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec19 tion shall be construed to imply that the United States 

20 Government formally recognizes any particular country or 

21 the government of such country as legitimate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. OPTIONS AND STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING LIKE2 LIHOOD OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS 

3 BEING UNLAWFULLY OR WRONGFULLY DE4 TAINED OR TAKEN HOSTAGE. 

5 The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage6 Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.) is 

7 amended by inserting after section 305 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 305A. REPORT ON STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING LIKE9 LIHOOD OF UNITED STATES NATIONALS 

10 BEING UNLAWFULLY OR WRONGFULLY DE11 TAINED OR TAKEN HOSTAGE. 

12 ‘‘Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact13 ment of the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2024, 

14 the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, in co15 ordination with the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, the 

16 Hostage Response Group, and relevant agencies, as appro17 priate, shall submit to the President and the appropriate 

18 congressional committees a report that identifies and rec19 ommends options and strategies to reduce the likelihood 

20 of United States nationals being unlawfully or wrongfully 

21 detained abroad or taken hostage.’’. 

22 SEC. 103. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR SANCTIONS IMPLE23 MENTATION. 

24 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec25 retary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury for fiscal 

26 year 2026 $2,000,000 to implement the sanctions authoriVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:23 Dec 06, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10255.IH H10255

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1 ties provided by section 306 of the Robert Levinson Hos2 tage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 

3 U.S.C. 1741d) and Executive Order 14078 (22 U.S.C. 

4 1741 note prec.; relating to bolstering efforts to bring hos5 tages and wrongfully detained United States nationals 

6 home). 

7 SEC. 104. ENHANCING UNITED STATES TRAVEL 

8 ADVISORIES. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 to the Assistant 

11 Secretary of State for Consular Affairs to expend on travel 

12 advisory advertisement campaigns regarding travel made 

13 by United States nationals to countries under Level 4 ‘‘Do 

14 Not Travel’’ advisories issued by the Department of State 

15 Travel Advisory System. 

16 (b) BRIEFING.—If less than the $2,000,000 author17 ized in subsection (a) is expended on travel advisory adver18 tisement campaigns during fiscal year 2025, the Assistant 

19 Secretary of State for Consular Affairs shall brief Con20 gress on the justification of the amount expended for such 

21 purpose. 


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1 SEC. 105. REQUIRED CERTIFICATION REGARDING INTER2 NATIONAL TRAVEL ADVISORIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 423 of title 49, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new section: 

6 ‘‘§ 42309. Required certification regarding inter7 national travel advisories 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An air carrier, foreign air car9 rier, or ticket agent who sells, in the United States, a tick10 et for foreign air transportation of a passenger to a coun11 try or other geographic area with a ‘D’ or ‘K’ indicator 

12 issued by the Department of State Travel Advisory Sys13 tem shall require the passenger listed on the ticket to cer14 tify that the passenger— 

15 ‘‘(1) has reviewed the travel advisory of the De16 partment of State applicable to such country or 

17 other geographic area; and 

18 ‘‘(2) understands the risks involved with trav19 eling to such country or other geographic area. 

20 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) ‘D’ INDICATOR.—The term ‘‘ ‘D’’ indi22 cator’ means a travel advisory issued by the Depart23 ment of State that indicates a risk of wrongful de24 tention of a United States national. 

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1 ment of State that indicates a criminal or terrorist 

2 individual or group has threatened to seize, detain, 

3 kill, or injure individuals (or has seized, detained, 

4 killed, or injured individuals) to compel a third party 

5 (including a governmental organization) to meet cer6 tain requirements as a condition of release.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap8 ter 423 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

9 inserting after the item relating to section 42308 the fol10 lowing: 

‘‘42309. Required certification regarding international travel advisories.’’. 

11 SEC. 106. PRIVACY ACT WRITTEN CONSENT AND PASSPORT 

12 RENEWALS. 

13 (a) REQUIREMENT TO INCLUDE TRAVEL ADVISORY

14 INFORMATION ON UNITED STATES PASSPORTS.—Section 

15 6103 of the Department of State Authorization Act of 

16 2023 (division F of Public Law 118–31; 22 U.S.C. 211a 

17 note) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

18 by striking ‘‘should’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’. 

19 (b) INCLUSION OF PRIVACY ACT WRITTEN CONSENT

20 FORM IN PASSPORT APPLICATION.—Section 1 of title IX 

21 of the Act of June 15, 1917 (22 U.S.C. 213) is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Each passport appli23 cation made available to potential applicants (DS–11) and 

24 each passport renewal application made available to cur25 rent passport holders (DS–82) shall include a form that, 


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1 if completed, indicates the applicant’s consent for the dis2 closure of information otherwise protected under section 

3 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 

4 the ‘Privacy Act of 1974’) in the event such applicant is 

5 determined to be unlawfully or wrongfully detained by a 

6 foreign government. Declining to complete such form shall 

7 not impact the issuance of a passport to a qualified appli8 cant or diplomatic efforts to secure the release of a United 

9 States national from the custody of a foreign government 

10 or entity.’’. 

11 TITLE II—STRENGTHENING 

12 PROCESSES AND SERVICES 

13 FOR HOSTAGES AND UNLAW14 FUL OR WRONGFUL DETAIN15 EES 

16 SEC. 201. TIMELINE FOR UNLAWFUL OR WRONGFUL DE17 TENTION DETERMINATIONS. 

18 Section 302 of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recov19 ery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 

20 1741) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (d)(8), by striking ‘‘In this 

22 subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘In this section’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(e) TIMELINE FOR UNLAWFUL OR WRONGFUL DE25 TENTION DETERMINATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) CREDIBLE INFORMATION DETERMINA2 TIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 

4 than every 180 days, the Assistant Secretary of 

5 State for Consular Affairs and the Special 

6 Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs shall re7 view the cases, identified through official gov8 ernment channels to either bureau, for which 

9 there is potential credible information that a 

10 United States national is being unlawfully or 

11 wrongfully detained abroad. 

12 ‘‘(B) REPORT OF FINDINGS.—Not later 

13 than 30 days after each review under subpara14 graph (A), the Assistant Secretary of State for 

15 Consular Affairs and the Special Presidential 

16 Envoy for Hostage Affairs shall jointly submit 

17 to Congress a classified report identifying each 

18 United States national whose case was reviewed 

19 under subparagraph (A) but who has not, as of 

20 the date of the submission of the report, been 

21 determined by the Secretary to be unlawfully or 

22 wrongfully detained under subsection (a). 

23 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION TO FAMILY MEM24 BERS.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

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1 graph (B), the Assistant Secretary of State for 

2 Consular Affairs shall notify a family member 

3 or legal representative of each United States 

4 national identified in the report. 

5 ‘‘(2) STATUS DETERMINATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B), and to the extent practical, 

8 not later than 180 days after the date on which 

9 the Secretary of State receives an assessment 

10 from the Special Presidential Envoy for Hos11 tage Affairs or the head of any other relevant 

12 bureau of the Department of State that credible 

13 information exists that a United States national 

14 is being detained unlawfully or wrongfully, the 

15 Secretary shall determine whether the United 

16 States national is in fact being unlawfully or 

17 wrongfully detained. 

18 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

20 may waive the requirement under subpara21 graph (A) to make an unlawful or wrong22 ful detention determination if the Sec23 retary— 

24 ‘‘(I) determines that making such 

25 a determination may jeopardize the 


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1 safety or interests of the United 

2 States national being detained abroad 

3 or the national security interests of 

4 the United States; and 

5 ‘‘(II) submits to Congress a re6 port describing the reasons for the 

7 waiver. 

8 ‘‘(ii) TIMING.—A waiver under clause 

9 (i) shall expired on the date that is 180 

10 days after the date on which the Secretary 

11 submits the report on the waiver to Con12 gress pursuant to clause (i)(II). 

13 ‘‘(iii) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may 

14 renew a waiver granted pursuant to clause 

15 (i) in the manner provided under such 

16 clause.’’. 

17 SEC. 202. DECLARATIONS OF INVALIDITY. 

18 Section 302 of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recov19 ery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 

20 1741), as amended by sections 201 and 202, is further 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(f) DECLARATIONS OF INVALIDITY.—Upon the re23 lease of a United States national taken hostage or deter24 mined to be unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad and 

25 the return of that national, the President shall issue to 


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1 that national a letter, to be known as a ‘declaration of 

2 invalidity’, that officially declares the detention abroad of 

3 the national as invalid for the purpose of completing any 

4 documentation that warrants a background investigation 

5 or review of prior offenses, such as a conviction.’’. 

6 SEC. 203. ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HOSTAGE TAKING AND 

7 UNLAWFUL OR WRONGFUL DETENTION. 

8 The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage9 Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.), as 

10 amended by section 102, is further amended by inserting 

11 after section 305A the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 305B. ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HOSTAGE TAKING AND 

13 UNLAWFUL OR WRONGFUL DETENTION. 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall estab15 lish an advisory council, to be known as the ‘Advisory 

16 Council on Hostage Taking and Unlawful or Wrongful De17 tention’ (in this section referred to as the ‘Advisory Coun18 cil’), to advise the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage 

19 Affairs, the Hostage Response Group, and the Hostage 

20 Recovery Fusion Cell with respect to Federal policies re21 garding hostage-taking and unlawful or wrongful deten22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall invite 

2 individuals to the Advisory Council, which shall be 

3 comprised of— 

4 ‘‘(A) United States nationals who have 

5 been unlawfully or wrongfully detained or taken 

6 hostage abroad; 

7 ‘‘(B) family members of such United 

8 States nationals; and 

9 ‘‘(C) not fewer than 2 experts on areas in10 cluding hostage taking, wrongful detention, 

11 international relations, rule of law, and counter12 terrorism who have been recommended by the 

13 Secretary of State. 

14 ‘‘(2) TERMS.—The term of a member of the 

15 Advisory Council shall be 3 years. 

16 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EX17 PENSES.—A member of the Advisory Council shall 

18 not be considered a Federal employee and shall not 

19 be compensated for service on the Advisory Council, 

20 but may be allowed travel expenses, including per 

21 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sub22 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 

23 Code. 

24 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

25 the date of the enactment of this section, and annually 


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1 thereafter, the Advisory Council shall submit to the Presi2 dent and the appropriate congressional committees a re3 port setting forth the recommendations of the Advisory 

4 Council. 

5 ‘‘(d) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Council shall ter6 minate on the date that is 10 years after the date of the 

7 enactment of this section.’’. 

8 SEC. 204. CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE HOSTAGE RESPONSE 

9 GROUP. 

10 Section 305(a) of the Robert Levinson Hostage Re11 covery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 

12 1741c(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be a Hostage 

15 Response Group, which shall be— 

16 ‘‘(A) chaired by the Special Presidential 

17 Envoy for Hostage Affairs; and 

18 ‘‘(B) convened on a regular basis at the 

19 White House, and as needed at the request of 

20 the National Security Council, to further the 

21 safe recovery of United States nationals held 

22 unlawfully or wrongfully abroad. 

23 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION OF GOVERNMENT RE24 SPONSE.—The Hostage Response Group may also be 

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1 ment response to other hostage takings abroad in 

2 which the United States has a national interest as 

3 specifically referred to the Hostage Recovery Fusion 

4 Cell by the National Security Council Deputies Com5 mittee.’’. 

Æ 


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