I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8001 

To impose sanctions on the Houthis for attacks on international shipping, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 15, 2024 

Mr. GREEN of Tennessee (for himself, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. 

WILSON of South Carolina, Ms. SALAZAR, and Mrs. RADEWAGEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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 impose sanctions on the Houthis for attacks on 

international shipping, 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 ‘‘Combating Houthi 

5 Threats and Aggression Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

7 It is the policy of the United States to work with 

8 United States allies and partners to safeguard maritime 


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1 security in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, including 

2 by supporting interdiction efforts and by opposing attacks 

3 on international shipping that threaten the free flow of 

4 commerce, endanger innocent mariners, and violate inter5 national law, as such attacks harm the global economy, 

6 destabilize the Middle East and Africa region, and under7 mine United States national security interests. 

8 SEC. 3. REPORT ON CAPABILITY OF THE HOUTHIS TO 

9 THREATEN UNITED STATES NATIONAL SECU10 RITY AND FOREIGN POLICY GOALS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

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

13 the President shall submit to the appropriate congres14 sional committees a report on the capability of the Houthis 

15 (also known as ‘‘Ansar Allah’’) to threaten United States 

16 national security and foreign policy goals. 

17 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re18 quired by subsection (a) shall include the following: 

19 (1) An assessment of senior Houthi leadership’ 

20 intentions and capacity to conduct and sustain mili21 tary operations from Yemen that target the United 

22 States, Israel, or global shipping. 

23 (2) A description of the funding, materiel, 

24 training, and other forms of support the Houthis re25 ceive from Iran, Hezbollah, or any other entity actVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Apr 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8001.IH H8001

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1 ing for or on behalf of Iran, including contributions 

2 to advance the Houthis’ indigenous weapons produc3 tion capability and existing weapons arsenal. 

4 (3) A description of the Houthis’ ballistic mis5 sile and unmanned delivery systems, including those 

6 that are covered under Category 1 or Category 2 of 

7 the Missile Control Technology Regime and the pre8 cision and reach of such weapons. 

9 (4) A description of the Houthis’ maritime ca10 pabilities, including sea missiles and drones. 

11 (5) An analysis of the Houthi’s current indige12 nous weapons production capabilities and how their 

13 control over the Al-Hudaydah port and Sana’a inter14 national airport enables them to sustain weapons 

15 production. 

16 (6) An assessment of the Houthis’ stockpiles 

17 and employment of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) 

18 dual-use drone technology, and the countries of ori19 gin for these products. 

20 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE21 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres22 sional committees’’ means— 

23 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

24 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep25 resentatives; and 


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1 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

2 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 

3 SEC. 4. REPORT ON HOUTHI ATTACKS THAT THREATEN 

4 FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION IN THE RED SEA 

5 AND GULF OF ADEN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 day of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

8 President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

9 committees a report on the following: 

10 (1) A summary of Houthi (also known as 

11 ‘‘Ansar Allah’’) attacks that threaten freedom of 

12 navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. 

13 (2) An assessment of the impact that Houthi 

14 threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and 

15 Gulf of Aden have on United States security inter16 ests. 

17 (3) An assessment of the impact that Houthi 

18 threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and 

19 Gulf of Aden have on the global economy, including 

20 the United States economy. 

21 (4) An assessment of Iran’s role in the Houthis’ 

22 attacks that threaten freedom of navigation in the 

23 Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including Iran’s provi24 sion of targeting assistance to the Houthis. 


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1 (5) A description of China’s presence in the 

2 Red Sea and Gulf of Aden during the reporting pe3 riod. 

4 (6) An assessment of how the Houthis’ attacks 

5 in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden impact Russia, 

6 China, and Iran’s freedom of navigation in those wa7 terways relative to the United States and our part8 ners’ freedom of navigation. 

9 (b) SCOPE.—The initial report required by subsection 

10 (a) shall address the period beginning on October 7, 2023, 

11 and ending on the date that is 90 days after date of the 

12 enactment of this Act, and each subsequent report shall 

13 address the one-year period following the conclusion of the 

14 prior report. 

15 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE16 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres17 sional committees’’ means— 

18 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

19 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep20 resentatives; and 

21 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

22 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORT ON VIOLATIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS 

2 ARMS EMBARGO AGAINST YEMEN AUTHOR3 IZED UNDER UNITED NATIONS SECURITY 

4 COUNCIL RESOLUTION 2216. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

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

7 the President shall submit to the appropriate congres8 sional committees a report on the following: 

9 (1) A description of violations or attempted vio10 lations of the United Nations arms embargo against 

11 Yemen authorized under United Nations Security 

12 Council Resolution 2216 (2015) and successor reso13 lutions. 

14 (2) A list of incidents in which the United 

15 States or other countries interdicted weapons and 

16 related components believed to be intended for the 

17 Houthis, including— 

18 (A) for each interdiction incident, what 

19 specific entity conducted the interdiction, the 

20 circumstances and location of such interdiction, 

21 what weapons or components were seized and 

22 the believed origins of such components, and 

23 under what authority each such seizure took 

24 place; 

25 (B) a description of what United States 

26 Government resources are currently devoted to 


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1 identifying, disrupting, interdicting, or other2 wise dismantling the flow of illicit weapons in3 tended for the Houthis, and identifying under 

4 what authorities these activities take place; and 

5 (C) United States coordination with inter6 national partners on efforts to identify, disrupt, 

7 dismantle or interdict illicit weapons flows to 

8 the Houthis, including identifying United States 

9 security assistance and cooperation programs 

10 that contribute to the interdiction efforts of 

11 such partners. 

12 (b) SCOPE.—The initial report required by subsection 

13 (a) shall address the period beginning on January 1, 2022, 

14 and ending on the date that is 90 days after date of the 

15 enactment of this Act, and each subsequent report shall 

16 address the one-year period following the conclusion of the 

17 prior report. 

18 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE19 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres20 sional committees’’ means— 

21 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

22 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep23 resentatives; and 

24 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

25 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 


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1 SEC. 6. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO ANY ATTACKS BY 

2 THE HOUTHIS ON INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING 

3 IN THE RED SEA AND GULF OF ADEN AND 

4 OTHER MILITARY SUPPORT TO THE 

5 HOUTHIS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the 

7 sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to any 

8 foreign person the President determines, on or after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act— 

10 (1) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 

11 have directly or indirectly engaged in, any attacks by 

12 the Houthis (also known as ‘‘Ansar Allah’’) that 

13 threaten international shipping in the Red Sea or 

14 Gulf of Aden; 

15 (2) knowingly engages in, or attempts to engage 

16 in, activities or transactions that have materially 

17 contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materi18 ally contributing to the conduct described in para19 graph (1); or 

20 (3) knowingly engages in any activity that ma21 terially contributes to the supply, sale, or transfer 

22 directly or indirectly of arms and related materiel of 

23 all types, including weapons and ammunition, mili24 tary vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equip25 ment, and spare parts for the aforementioned, and 

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1 sistance, to any foreign person engaging in the con2 duct described in paragraph (1). 

3 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de4 scribed in this subsection are the following: 

5 (1) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The President 

6 shall exercise all authorities granted under the Inter7 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

8 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block 

9 and prohibit all transactions in property and inter10 ests in property of the foreign person if such prop11 erty and interests in property are in the United 

12 States, come within the United States, or come with13 in the possession or control of a United States per14 son. 

15 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR

16 PAROLE.— 

17 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—An 

18 alien described in subsection (a) shall be— 

19 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 

20 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

21 documentation to enter the United States; 

22 and 

23 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

24 or paroled into the United States or to re25 ceive any other benefit under the ImmigraVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Apr 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8001.IH H8001

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1 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

2 seq.). 

3 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The visa or other 

5 entry documentation of any alien described 

6 in subsection (a) is subject to revocation 

7 regardless of the issue date of the visa or 

8 other entry documentation. 

9 (ii) IMMEDIATE EFFECT.—A revoca10 tion under clause (i) shall, in accordance 

11 with section 221(i) of the Immigration and 

12 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i))— 

13 (I) take effect immediately; and 

14 (II) cancel any other valid visa or 

15 entry documentation that is in the 

16 possession of the alien. 

17 (c) PENALTIES.—Any person that violates, or at18 tempts to violate, subsection (b) or any regulation, license, 

19 or order issued pursuant to that subsection, shall be sub20 ject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) 

21 of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic 

22 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a per23 son that commits an unlawful act described in subsection 

24 (a) of that section. 

25 (d) WAIVER.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive, 

2 on a case-by-case basis, the application of sanctions 

3 under this section for periods not to exceed 180 days 

4 with respect to a foreign person only if, not later 

5 than 15 days prior to the date on which the waiver 

6 is to take effect, the President submits to the appro7 priate congressional committees a written determina8 tion and justification that the waiver is in the na9 tional security interests of the United States. 

10 (2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 60 days after 

11 the issuance of a waiver under paragraph (1), and 

12 every 180 days thereafter while the waiver remains 

13 in effect, the President shall brief the appropriate 

14 congressional committees on the reasons for the 

15 waiver. 

16 (e) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may exercise 

17 all authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the 

18 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

19 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this section. 

20 (f) REGULATIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall, not 

22 later than 120 days after the date of the enactment 

23 of this Act, promulgate regulations as necessary for 

24 the implementation of this section. 


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1 (2) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

2 than 10 days before the promulgation of regulations 

3 under this subsection, the President shall notify the 

4 appropriate congressional committees of the pro5 posed regulations and the provisions of this section 

6 that the regulations are implementing. 

7 (g) EXCEPTIONS.— 

8 (1) EXCEPTION FOR INTELLIGENCE ACTIVI9 TIES.—Sanctions under this section shall not apply 

10 to any activity subject to the reporting requirements 

11 under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 

12 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any authorized intel13 ligence activities of the United States. 

14 (2) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER15 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS AND FOR LAW ENFORCE16 MENT ACTIVITIES.—Sanctions under this section 

17 shall not apply with respect to an alien if admitting 

18 or paroling the alien into the United States is nec19 essary— 

20 (A) to permit the United States to comply 

21 with the Agreement regarding the Head22 quarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 

23 Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 

24 November 21, 1947, between the United NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Apr 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8001.IH H8001

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1 tions and the United States, or other applicable 

2 international obligations; or 

3 (B) to carry out or assist authorized law 

4 enforcement activity in the United States. 

5 SEC. 7. SUNSET. 

6 This Act shall terminate on the date that is 5 years 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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