II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3197 

To establish and authorize funding for an Iranian Sanctions Enforcement 

Fund to enforce United States sanctions with respect to Iran and its 

proxies and pay off the United States public debt and to codify the 

Export Enforcement Coordination Center. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 1, 2023 

Ms. ERNST (for herself and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish and authorize funding for an Iranian Sanctions 

Enforcement Fund to enforce United States sanctions 

with respect to Iran and its proxies and pay off the 

United States public debt and to codify the Export Enforcement Coordination Center. 

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 ‘‘Iranian Sanctions En5 forcement Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IRAN SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT FUND. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, there shall be estab4 lished in the Treasury of the United States a fund, to be 

5 known as the ‘‘Iran Sanctions Enforcement Fund’’ (in this 

6 section referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’), to pay expenses relat7 ing to seizures and forfeitures of property made with re8 spect to violations by Iran or a covered Iranian proxy of 

9 sanctions imposed by the United States. 

10 (b) DESIGNATION OF ADMINISTRATOR.—Not later 

11 than 15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

12 the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 

13 the Secretary of the Treasury, shall appoint an adminis14 trator for the Fund (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Ad15 ministrator’’). 

16 (c) EXPENDITURES FROM THE FUND.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may au18 thorize amounts from the Fund to be used, without 

19 further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, for 

20 payment of all proper expenses relating to a covered 

21 seizure or forfeiture, including the following: 

22 (A) Investigative costs incurred by a law 

23 enforcement agency of the Department of 

24 Homeland Security or the Department of Jus25 tice. 


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1 (B) Expenses of detention, inventory, secu2 rity, maintenance, advertisement, or disposal of 

3 the property seized or forfeited, and if con4 demned by a court and a bond for such costs 

5 was not given, the costs as taxed by the court. 

6 (C) Costs of— 

7 (i) contract services relating to a cov8 ered seizure or forfeiture; 

9 (ii) the employment of outside con10 tractors to operate and manage properties 

11 seized or forfeited or to provide other spe12 cialized services necessary to dispose of 

13 such properties in an effort to maximize 

14 the return from such properties; and 

15 (iii) reimbursing any Federal, State, 

16 or local agency for any expenditures made 

17 to perform the functions described in this 

18 subparagraph. 

19 (D) Payments to reimburse any covered 

20 Federal agency for investigative costs incurred 

21 leading to a covered seizure or forfeiture. 

22 (E) Payments for contracting for the serv23 ices of experts and consultants needed by the 

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1 partment of Justice to assist in carrying out 

2 duties related to a covered seizure or forfeiture. 

3 (F) Awards of compensation to informers 

4 for assistance provided with respect to a viola5 tion by Iran or a covered Iranian proxy of sanc6 tions imposed by the United States that leads 

7 to a covered seizure or forfeiture. 

8 (G) Equitable sharing payments made to 

9 other Federal agencies, State and local law en10 forcement agencies, and foreign governments 

11 for expenses incurred with respect to a covered 

12 seizure or forfeiture. 

13 (H) Payment of overtime pay, salaries, 

14 travel, fuel, training, equipment, and other 

15 similar expenses of State or local law enforce16 ment officers that are incurred in joint law en17 forcement operations with a covered Federal 

18 agency relating to covered seizure or forfeiture. 

19 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF USE OF FUND FOR AD20 DITIONAL PURPOSES.—The Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security may direct the Administrator to authorize 

22 the use of amounts in the Fund for the following: 

23 (A) Payment of awards for information or 

24 assistance leading to a civil or criminal for25 feiture made with respect to a violation by Iran 


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1 or a covered Iranian proxy of sanctions imposed 

2 by the United States and involving any covered 

3 Federal agency. 

4 (B) Purchases of evidence or information 

5 by a covered Federal agency with respect to a 

6 violation by Iran or a covered Iranian proxy of 

7 sanctions imposed by the United States that 

8 leads to a covered seizure or forfeiture. 

9 (C) Payment for equipment for any vessel, 

10 vehicle, or aircraft available for official use by 

11 a covered Federal agency to enable the vessel, 

12 vehicle, or aircraft to assist in law enforcement 

13 functions relating to a covered seizure or for14 feiture, and for other equipment directly related 

15 to a covered seizure or forfeiture, including lab16 oratory equipment, protective equipment, com17 munications equipment, and the operation and 

18 maintenance costs of such equipment. 

19 (D) Payment for equipment for any vessel, 

20 vehicle, or aircraft for official use by a State or 

21 local law enforcement agency to enable the ves22 sel, vehicle, or aircraft to assist in law enforce23 ment functions relating to a covered seizure or 

24 forfeiture if the vessel, vehicle, or aircraft will 


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1 be used in joint law enforcement operations 

2 with a covered Federal agency. 

3 (E) Reimbursement of individuals or orga4 nizations for expenses incurred by such individ5 uals or organizations in cooperating with a cov6 ered Federal agency in investigations and un7 dercover law enforcement operations relating to 

8 a covered seizure or forfeiture. 

9 (3) PRIORITIZATION OF ACTIVITIES WITHIN

10 THE FUND.—In allocating amounts from the Fund 

11 for the purposes described in paragraphs (1) and 

12 (2), the Administrator shall prioritize activities that 

13 result in the seizure and forfeiture of oil or petro14 leum products or other commodities or methods of 

15 exchange that fund the efforts of Iran or covered 

16 Iranian proxies to carry out acts of international ter17 rorism or otherwise kill United States citizens. 

18 (d) MANAGEMENT OF FUND.—The Fund shall be 

19 managed and invested in the same manner as a trust fund 

20 is managed and invested under section 9602 of the Inter21 nal Revenue Code of 1986. 

22 (e) FUNDING.— 

23 (1) INITIAL FUNDING.— 

24 (A) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA25 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 


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1 to the Fund $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, 

2 to remain available until expended. 

3 (B) REPAYMENT OF INITIAL FUNDING.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Sep5 tember 30, 2034, the Administrator shall 

6 transfer from the Fund into the general 

7 fund of the Treasury an amount equal to 

8 $150,000,000, as adjusted pursuant to 

9 paragraph (4). 

10 (ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The 

11 repayment of amounts under clause (i) 

12 shall not be construed as a termination of 

13 the authority for operation of the Fund. 

14 (2) CONTINUED OPERATION AND FUNDING.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara16 graph (B), the net proceeds from the sale of 

17 property, forfeited or paid to the United States, 

18 arising from a violation by Iran or a covered 

19 Iranian proxy of sanctions imposed by the 

20 United States, shall be deposited or transferred 

21 into the Fund. 

22 (B) TRANSFER OF PROCEEDS AFTER DE23 POSITS INTO THE JUSTICE FOR UNITED STATES

24 VICTIMS OF STATE SPONSORED TERRORISM

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1 ceeds to the Fund under subparagraph (A) 

2 shall occur after the deposit or transfer of net 

3 proceeds into the United States Victims of 

4 State Sponsored Terrorism Fund as required by 

5 subsection (e)(2)(A)(ii) of the Justice for 

6 United States Victims of State Sponsored Ter7 rorism Act (34 U.S.C. 20144). 

8 (3) MAXIMUM END-OF-YEAR BALANCE.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—If, at the end of a fis10 cal year, the amount in the Fund exceeds the 

11 amount specified in subparagraph (B), the Ad12 ministrator shall transfer the amount in excess 

13 of the amount specified in subparagraph (B) to 

14 the general fund of the Treasury for the pay15 ment of the public debt of the United States. 

16 (B) AMOUNT SPECIFIED.—The amount 

17 specified in this subparagraph is— 

18 (i) in fiscal year 2024, $500,000,000; 

19 and 

20 (ii) in any fiscal year thereafter, 

21 $500,000,000, as adjusted pursuant to 

22 paragraph (4). 

23 (4) ADJUSTMENTS FOR INFLATION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amounts described 

25 in paragraphs (1)(B)(i) and (3)(B)(ii) shall be 


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1 adjusted, at the beginning of each of fiscal 

2 years 2025 through 2034, to reflect the per3 centage (if any) of the increase in the average 

4 of the Consumer Price Index for the preceding 

5 12-month period compared to the Consumer 

6 Price Index for fiscal year 2023. 

7 (B) CONSUMER PRICE INDEX DEFINED.— 

8 In this paragraph, the term ‘‘Consumer Price 

9 Index’’ means the Consumer Price Index for All 

10 Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of 

11 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. 

12 (f) PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OF FUNDS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any expenditure of amounts 

14 in the Fund, or transfer of amounts from the Fund, 

15 not authorized by this section is prohibited. 

16 (2) ACTS BY CONGRESS.—Any Act of Congress 

17 to remove money from the Fund shall be reported in 

18 the Federal Register not later than 10 days after 

19 the enactment of the Act. 

20 (g) REPORT.—Not later than September 1, 2024, 

21 and annually thereafter through September 1, 2034, the 

22 Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of 

23 the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit to the appro24 priate congressional committees a report on— 


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1 (1) all activities supported by the Fund during 

2 the fiscal year during which the report is submitted 

3 and the preceding fiscal year; 

4 (2) a list of each covered seizure or forfeiture 

5 supported by the Fund during those fiscal years 

6 and, with respect to each such seizure or for7 feiture— 

8 (A) the goods seized; 

9 (B) the current status of the forfeiture of 

10 the goods; 

11 (C) an assessment of the impact on the na12 tional security of the United States of the sei13 zure or forfeiture, including the estimated loss 

14 of revenue to the person from which the goods 

15 were seized; and 

16 (D) any anticipated response or outcome of 

17 the seizure or forfeiture; 

18 (3) the financial health and financial data of 

19 the Fund as of the date of the report; 

20 (4) the amount transferred to the general fund 

21 of the Treasury under subsection (e) or (h); 

22 (5)(A) the amount paid to informants for infor23 mation or evidence under subsection (c); 

24 (B) whether the information or evidence led to 

25 a seizure; and 


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1 (C) if so, the cost of the goods seized; 

2 (6) the amount remaining to be transferred 

3 under subsection (e)(3) and an estimated timeline 

4 for transferring the full amount required by that 

5 subsection; and 

6 (7)(A) any instances during the fiscal years 

7 covered by the report of a covered seizure or for8 feiture if, after amounts were expended from the 

9 Fund to support the seizure or forfeiture, the seizure 

10 or forfeiture did not occur as a result of a policy de11 cision made by the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

12 the President, or any other official of the United 

13 States; and 

14 (B) a description of the costs incurred and rea15 sons the seizure or forfeiture did not occur. 

16 (h) FAILURE TO REPORT OR UTILIZE THE FUND.— 

17 (1) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT RE18 PORT.—If a report required by subsection (g) is not 

19 submitted to the appropriate congressional commit20 tees by the date that is 180 days after the report is 

21 due under subsection (g), the Administrator shall 

22 transfer an amount equal to 5 percent of the 

23 amounts in the Fund to the general fund of the 

24 Treasury for the payment of the public debt of the 

25 United States. For each 90-day period thereafter 


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1 during which the report is not submitted, the Ad2 ministrator shall transfer an additional amount, 

3 equal to 5 percent of the amounts in the Fund, to 

4 the general fund of the Treasury for that purpose. 

5 (2) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO USE FUND.—If a 

6 report submitted under subsection (g) indicates that 

7 amounts in the Fund have not been used for any 

8 seizure or forfeiture activity during the fiscal years 

9 covered by the report, the Fund shall be terminated 

10 and any amounts in the Fund shall transferred to 

11 the general fund of the Treasury for the payment of 

12 the public debt of the United States. 

13 (3) WAIVER OF TERMINATION OF FUND FOR

14 NATIONAL SECURITY PURPOSES.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the President deter16 mines that it is in the national security inter17 ests of the United States not to terminate the 

18 Fund as required by paragraph (2), the Presi19 dent may waive the requirement to terminate 

20 the Fund. 

21 (B) REPORT REQUIRED.—If the President 

22 exercises the waiver authority under subpara23 graph (A), the President shall submit to the ap24 propriate congressional committees a report de25 scribing the factors considered in determining 


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1 that it is in the national security interests of 

2 the United States not to terminate the Fund. 

3 (C) FORM.—The report required by sub4 paragraph (B) shall be submitted in unclassi5 fied form, but may include a classified annex. 

6 (i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec7 tion may be construed to affect the requirements of sub8 section (e) of the Justice for United States Victims of 

9 State Sponsored Terrorism Act (34 U.S.C. 20144(e)) or 

10 the operation of the United States Victims of State Spon11 sored Terrorism Fund under that subsection. 

12 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT14 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com15 mittees’’ means— 

16 (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

17 and Urban Affairs and the Committee on 

18 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

19 of the Senate; and 

20 (B) the Committee on Financial Services 

21 and the Committee on Homeland Security of 

22 the House of Representatives. 

23 (2) COVERED FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term 

24 ‘‘covered Federal agency’’ means any Federal agency 

25 specified in section 3(b). 


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1 (3) COVERED IRANIAN PROXY.—The term ‘‘cov2 ered Iranian proxy’’ means a violent extremist orga3 nization or other organization that works on behalf 

4 of or receives financial or material support from 

5 Iran, including— 

6 (A) the Iranian Revolutionary Guard 

7 Corps-Quds Force; 

8 (B) Hamas; 

9 (C) Palestinian Islamic Jihad; 

10 (D) Hezbollah; 

11 (E) Ansar Allah (the Houthis); and 

12 (F) Iranian-sponsored militias in Iraq and 

13 Syria. 

14 (4) COVERED SEIZURE OR FORFEITURE.—The 

15 term ‘‘covered seizure or forfeiture’’ means a seizure 

16 or forfeiture of property made with respect to a vio17 lation by Iran or a covered Iranian proxy of sanc18 tions imposed by the United States. 

19 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF EXPORT ENFORCEMENT CO20 ORDINATION CENTER. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Homeland 

22 Security shall operate and maintain, within Homeland Se23 curity Investigations, the Export Enforcement Coordina24 tion Center, as established by Executive Order 13558 (50 


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1 U.S.C. 4601 note) (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Cen2 ter’’). 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The Center shall serve as the pri4 mary center for Federal Government export enforcement 

5 efforts among the following agencies: 

6 (1) The Department of State. 

7 (2) The Department of the Treasury. 

8 (3) The Department of Defense. 

9 (4) The Department of Justice. 

10 (5) The Department of Commerce. 

11 (6) The Department of Energy. 

12 (7) The Department of Homeland Security. 

13 (8) The Office of the Director of National Intel14 ligence. 

15 (9) Such other agencies as the President may 

16 designate. 

17 (c) COORDINATION AUTHORITY.—The Center shall— 

18 (1) serve as a conduit between Federal law en19 forcement agencies and the intelligence community 

20 (as defined in section 3(4) of the National Security 

21 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))) for the exchange 

22 of information related to potential violations of 

23 United States export controls; 


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1 (2) serve as a primary point of contact between 

2 enforcement authorities and agencies engaged in ex3 port licensing; 

4 (3) coordinate law enforcement public outreach 

5 activities related to United States export controls; 

6 (4) serve as the primary deconfliction and sup7 port center to assist law enforcement agencies to co8 ordinate and enhance investigations with respect to 

9 export control violations; 

10 (5) establish integrated, governmentwide statis11 tical tracking and targeting capabilities to support 

12 export enforcement; and 

13 (6) carry out additional duties as assigned by 

14 the Secretary of Homeland Security regarding the 

15 enforcement of United States export control laws. 

16 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—The Executive Associate Di17 rector of Homeland Security Investigations shall— 

18 (1) serve as the administrator of the Center; 

19 and 

20 (2) maintain documentation that describes the 

21 participants in, funding of, core functions of, and 

22 personnel assigned to, the Center. 

23 (e) DIRECTOR; DEPUTY DIRECTORS.— 

24 (1) DIRECTOR.—The Center shall have a Direc25 tor, who shall be— 


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1 (A) a member of the Senior Executive 

2 Service (as defined in section 2101a of title 5, 

3 United States Code) and a special agent within 

4 Homeland Security Investigations; and 

5 (B) designated by the Secretary of Home6 land Security. 

7 (2) DEPUTY DIRECTORS.—The Center shall 

8 have 2 Deputy Directors, as follows: 

9 (A) One Deputy Director, who shall be— 

10 (i) a full-time employee of the Depart11 ment of Commerce; and 

12 (ii) appointed by the Secretary of 

13 Commerce. 

14 (B) One Deputy Director, who shall be— 

15 (i) a full-time employee of the Depart16 ment of Justice; and 

17 (ii) appointed by the Attorney Gen18 eral. 

19 (f) LIAISONS FROM OTHER AGENCIES.— 

20 (1) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY LIAISON.—An 

21 intelligence community liaison shall be detailed to 

22 the Center. The liaison shall be— 

23 (A) a full-time employee of an element of 

24 the intelligence community; and 


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1 (B) designated by the Director of National 

2 Intelligence. 

3 (2) LIAISONS FROM OTHER AGENCIES.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—A liaison shall be de5 tailed to the Center by each agency specified in 

6 subparagraph (B). Such liaisons shall be special 

7 agents, officers, intelligence analysts, or intel8 ligence officers, as appropriate. 

9 (B) AGENCIES SPECIFIED.—The agencies 

10 specified in this subparagraph are the following: 

11 (i) Homeland Security Investigations. 

12 (ii) U.S. Customs and Border Protec13 tion. 

14 (iii) The Office of Export Enforce15 ment of the Bureau of Industry and Secu16 rity of the Department of Commerce. 

17 (iv) The Federal Bureau of Investiga18 tion. 

19 (v) The Defense Criminal Investiga20 tive Service. 

21 (vi) The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 

22 Firearms and Explosives. 

23 (vii) The National Counterintelligence 

24 and Security Center of the Office of the 

25 Director of National Intelligence. 


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1 (viii) The Department of Energy. 

2 (ix) The Office of Foreign Assets Con3 trol of the Department of the Treasury. 

4 (x) The Directorate of Defense Trade 

5 Controls of the Department of State. 

6 (xi) The Office of Export Administra7 tion of the Bureau of Industry and Secu8 rity. 

9 (xii) The Office of Enforcement Anal10 ysis of the Bureau of Industry and Secu11 rity. 

12 (xiii) The Office of Special Investiga13 tions of the Air Force. 

14 (xiv) The Criminal Investigation Divi15 sion of the Army. 

16 (xv) The Naval Criminal Investigative 

17 Service. 

18 (xvi) The Defense Intelligence Agency. 

19 (xvii) The Defense Counterintelligence 

20 and Security Agency. 

21 (xviii) Any other agency, at the re22 quest of the Secretary of Homeland Secu23 rity. 

Æ 


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