II 

Calendar No. 159 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2129 

To promote freedom of information and counter censorship and surveillance 

in North Korea, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2021 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. COONS, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

OCTOBER 28, 2021 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To promote freedom of information and counter censorship 

and surveillance in North Korea, 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 ‘‘Otto Warmbier Coun5 tering North Korean Censorship and Surveillance Act of 

6 2021’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2129 RS

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) The information landscape in North Korea 

5 is the most repressive in the world, consistently 

6 ranking last or near-last in the annual World Press 

7 Freedom Index. 

8 (2) Under the brutal rule of Kim Jung Un, the 

9 country’s leader since 2012, the North Korean re10 gime has tightened controls on access to informa11 tion, as well as enacted harsh punishments for con12 sumers of outside media, including sentencing to 

13 time in a concentration camp and a maximum pen14 alty of death. 

15 (3) Such repressive and unjust laws sur16 rounding information in North Korea resulted in the 

17 death of 22-year-old United States citizen and uni18 versity student Otto Warmbier, who had traveled to 

19 North Korea in December 2015 as part of a guided 

20 tour. 

21 (4) Otto Warmbier was unjustly arrested, sen22 tenced to 15 years of hard labor, and severely mis23 treated at the hands of North Korean officials. 

24 While in captivity, Otto Warmbier suffered a serious 

25 medical emergency that placed him into a comatose 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2129 RS

1 state. Otto Warmbier was comatose upon his release 

2 in June 2017 and died 6 days later. 

3 (5) Despite increased penalties for possession 

4 and viewership of foreign media, the people of North 

5 Korean have increased their desire for foreign media 

6 content, according to a survey of 200 defectors con7 cluding that 90 percent had watched South Korean 

8 or other foreign media before defecting. 

9 (6) On March 23, 2021, in an annual resolu10 tion, the United Nations General Assembly con11 demned ‘‘the long-standing and ongoing systematic, 

12 widespread and gross violations of human rights in 

13 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’’ and ex14 pressed grave concern at, among other things, ‘‘the 

15 denial of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, 

16 and religion . . . and of the rights to freedom of 

17 opinion, expression, and association, both online and 

18 offline, which is enforced through an absolute mo19 nopoly on information and total control over orga20 nized social life, and arbitrary and unlawful state 

21 surveillance that permeates the private lives of all 

22 citizens’’. 

23 (7) In 2018, Typhoon Yutu caused extensive 

24 damage to 15 broadcast antennas used by the 

25 United States Agency for Global Media in Asia, reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2129.RS S2129

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 2129 RS

1 sulting in reduced programming to North Korea. 

2 The United States Agency for Global Media has re3 built 5 of the 15 antenna systems as of June 2021. 

4 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that— 

6 (1) in the event of a crisis situation, particu7 larly where information pertaining to the crisis is 

8 being actively censored or a false narrative is being 

9 put forward, the United States should be able to 

10 quickly increase its broadcasting capability to deliver 

11 fact-based information to audiences, including those 

12 in North Korea; and 

13 (2) the United States International Broad14 casting Surge Capacity Fund is already authorized 

15 under section 316 of the United States International 

16 Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6216), and ex17 panded authority to transfer unobligated balances 

18 from expired accounts of the United States Agency 

19 for Global Media would enable the Agency to more 

20 nimbly respond to crises. 

21 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

22 It is the policy of the United States— 

23 (1) to provide the people of North Korea with 

24 access to a diverse range of fact-based information; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 2129 RS

1 (2) to develop and implement novel means of 

2 communication and information sharing to ensure 

3 that audiences in North Korea can safely create, ac4 cess, and share digital and non-digital news without 

5 fear of repressive censorship, surveillance, or pen6 alties under law; and 

7 (3) to foster and innovate new technologies to 

8 counter North Korea’s state-sponsored repressive 

9 surveillance and censorship by advancing internet 

10 freedom tools, technologies, and new approaches. 

11 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO COMBAT NORTH KO12 REA’S REPRESSIVE INFORMATION ENVIRON13 MENT. 

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

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall de16 velop and submit to Congress a strategy on combating 

17 North Korea’s repressive information environment. 

18 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by subsection 

19 (a) shall include the following: 

20 (1) An assessment of the challenges to the free 

21 flow of information into North Korea created by the 

22 censorship and surveillance technology apparatus of 

23 the Government of North Korea. 

24 (2) A detailed description of the agencies and 

25 other government entities, key officials, and security 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 2129 RS

1 services responsible for the implementation of North 

2 Korea’s repressive laws regarding foreign media con3 sumption. 

4 (3) A detailed description of the agencies and 

5 other government entities and key officials of foreign 

6 governments that assist, facilitate, or aid North Ko7 rea’s repressive censorship and surveillance state. 

8 (4) An assessment of the feasibility of new pub9 lic-private sponsorships to increase free expression, 

10 circumvent censorship, and obstruct repressive sur11 veillance in North Korea. 

12 (5) A description of and funding levels required 

13 for current United States Government programs and 

14 activities to provide access for the people of North 

15 Korea to a diverse range of fact-based information. 

16 (6) Guidance for the relevant Federal agencies, 

17 including the Department of State, on how agencies 

18 should work together and with other federally fund19 ed entities like the United States Agency for Global 

20 Media, to combat North Korea’s repressive censor21 ship and surveillance apparatus by utilizing all avail22 able means. 

23 (7) A detailed assessment of how the United 

24 States International Broadcasting Surge Capacity 

25 Fund authorized under section 316 of the United 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 2129 RS

1 States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 

2 U.S.C. 6216) has operated to respond to crisis situa3 tions in the past, and how authority to transfer un4 obligated balances from expired accounts would help 

5 the United States Agency for Global Media in crisis 

6 situations in the future. 

7 (8) A detailed plan for how the authorization of 

8 appropriations under section 6 will operate alongside 

9 and augment existing programming from the rel10 evant Federal agencies and facilitate the develop11 ment of new tools to assist that programming. 

12 (c) FORM OF STRATEGY.—The strategy required by 

13 subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 

14 may include the matters required by paragraphs (2) and 

15 (3) of subsection (b) in a classified annex. 

16 SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PER17 SONS RESPONSIBLE FOR NORTH KOREA’S RE18 PRESSIVE CENSORSHIP AND SURVEILLANCE 

19 STATE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may impose the 

21 following sanctions with respect to each person identified 

22 under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 4(b): 

23 (1) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The exercise of 

24 all powers granted to the President by the Inter25 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 2129 RS

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

2 and prohibit all transactions in all property and in3 terests in property of the person if such property 

4 and interests in property are in the United States, 

5 come within the United States, or are or come with6 in the possession or control of a United States per7 son. 

8 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR

9 PAROLE.— 

10 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—In 

11 the case of an alien, the alien may be— 

12 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 

13 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

14 documentation to enter the United States; 

15 and 

16 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

17 or paroled into the United States or to re18 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra19 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

20 seq.). 

21 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—An alien described 

23 in subparagraph (A) may be subject to rev24 ocation of any visa or other entry docu25 mentation regardless of when the visa or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 2129 RS

1 other entry documentation is or was 

2 issued. 

3 (ii) EFFECT.—A revocation under 

4 clause (i) shall— 

5 (I) take effect consistent with 

6 section 221 of the Immigration and 

7 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201); and 

8 (II) cancel any other valid visa or 

9 entry documentation that is in the 

10 alien’s possession. 

11 (b) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

12 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex13 ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 

14 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 

15 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out 

16 this section. 

17 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at18 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

19 violation of subsection (a)(1) or any regulation, li20 cense, or order issued to carry out that subsection 

21 shall be subject to the penalties set forth in sub22 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter23 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

24 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 2129 RS

1 commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) 

2 of that section. 

3 (c) NATIONAL SECURITY WAIVER.—The President 

4 may waive the imposition of sanctions under subsection 

5 (a) with respect to a person if the President— 

6 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na7 tional security interests of the United States; and 

8 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 

9 committees a notification of the waiver and the rea10 sons for the waiver. 

11 (d) EXCEPTIONS.— 

12 (1) INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES.—This section 

13 shall not apply with respect to activities subject to 

14 the reporting requirements under title V of the Na15 tional Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) 

16 or any authorized intelligence activities of the United 

17 States. 

18 (2) LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES.—Sanc19 tions under this section shall not apply with respect 

20 to any authorized law enforcement activities of the 

21 United States. 

22 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER23 NATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—Subsection (a)(2) shall 

24 not apply with respect to the admission of an alien 

25 to the United States if such admission is necessary 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 2129 RS

1 to comply with the obligations of the United States 

2 under the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of 

3 the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 

4 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 

5 1947, between the United Nations and the United 

6 States, under the Convention on Consular Relations, 

7 done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into 

8 force March 19, 1967, or under other international 

9 agreements. 

10 (4) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF

11 GOODS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The authority or a re13 quirement to impose sanctions under this sec14 tion shall not include the authority or a require15 ment to impose sanctions on the importation of 

16 goods. 

17 (B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this paragraph, 

18 the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or 

19 manmade substance, material, supply, or manu20 factured product, including inspection and test 

21 equipment, and excluding technical data. 

22 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) ADMISSION; ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms 

24 ‘‘admission’’, ‘‘admitted’’, and ‘‘alien’’ have the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 2129 RS

1 meanings given those terms in section 101 of the 

2 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

3 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

7 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

8 Urban Affairs, and the Select Committee on In9 telligence of the Senate; and 

10 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

11 Committee on Financial Services, and the Per12 manent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

13 House of Representatives. 

14 (3) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

15 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

16 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law17 fully admitted to the United States for perma18 nent residence; or 

19 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

20 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

21 United States. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 2129 RS

1 SEC. 6. PROMOTING FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND 

2 COUNTERING CENSORSHIP AND SURVEIL3 LANCE IN NORTH KOREA. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the United States 

6 Agency for Global Media $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 

7 years 2022 through 2026 to provide increased broad8 casting and grants for the following purposes: 

9 (1) To promote the development of internet 

10 freedom tools, technologies, and new approaches, in11 cluding both digital and non-digital means of infor12 mation sharing related to North Korea. 

13 (2) To explore public-private partnerships to 

14 counter North Korea’s repressive censorship and 

15 surveillance state. 

16 (3) To develop new means to protect the pri17 vacy and identity of individuals receiving media from 

18 the United States Agency for Global Media and 

19 other outside media outlets from within North 

20 Korea. 

21 (4) To bolster existing programming from the 

22 United States Agency for Global Media by restoring 

23 the broadcasting capacity of damaged antennas 

24 caused by Typhoon Yutu in 2018. 

25 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than one year 

26 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 2129 RS

1 thereafter for the following 4 years, the Secretary of State, 

2 in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer of the 

3 United States Agency for Global Media, shall submit to 

4 Congress a report that describes the activities carried out 

5 using amounts authorized to be appropriated under sub6 section (a) during the year preceding submission of the 

7 report. 

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Otto Warmbier Coun10 tering North Korean Censorship and Surveillance Act of 

11 2021’’. 

12 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: 

14 (1) The information landscape in North Korea is 

15 the most repressive in the world, consistently ranking 

16 last or near-last in the annual World Press Freedom 

17 Index. 

18 (2) Under the brutal rule of Kim Jung Un, the 

19 country’s leader since 2012, the North Korean regime 

20 has tightened controls on access to information, as 

21 well as enacted harsh punishments for consumers of 

22 outside media, including sentencing to time in a con23 centration camp and a maximum penalty of death. 

24 (3) Such repressive and unjust laws surrounding 

25 information in North Korea resulted in the death of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 2129 RS

1 22-year-old United States citizen and university stu2 dent Otto Warmbier, who had traveled to North Korea 

3 in December 2015 as part of a guided tour. 

4 (4) Otto Warmbier was unjustly arrested, sen5 tenced to 15 years of hard labor, and severely mis6 treated at the hands of North Korean officials. While 

7 in captivity, Otto Warmbier suffered a serious med8 ical emergency that placed him into a comatose state. 

9 Otto Warmbier was comatose upon his release in 

10 June 2017 and died 6 days later. 

11 (5) Despite increased penalties for possession 

12 and viewership of foreign media, the people of North 

13 Korean have increased their desire for foreign media 

14 content, according to a survey of 200 defectors con15 cluding that 90 percent had watched South Korean or 

16 other foreign media before defecting. 

17 (6) On March 23, 2021, in an annual resolution, 

18 the United Nations General Assembly condemned ‘‘the 

19 long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread 

20 and gross violations of human rights in the Demo21 cratic People’s Republic of Korea’’ and expressed 

22 grave concern at, among other things, ‘‘the denial of 

23 the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and reli24 gion . . . and of the rights to freedom of opinion, ex25 pression, and association, both online and offline, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 2129 RS

1 which is enforced through an absolute monopoly on 

2 information and total control over organized social 

3 life, and arbitrary and unlawful state surveillance 

4 that permeates the private lives of all citizens’’. 

5 (7) In 2018, Typhoon Yutu caused extensive 

6 damage to 15 broadcast antennas used by the United 

7 States Agency for Global Media in Asia, resulting in 

8 reduced programming to North Korea. The United 

9 States Agency for Global Media has rebuilt 5 of the 

10 15 antenna systems as of June 2021. 

11 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

12 that— 

13 (1) in the event of a crisis situation, particularly 

14 where information pertaining to the crisis is being 

15 actively censored or a false narrative is being put for16 ward, the United States should be able to quickly in17 crease its broadcasting capability to deliver fact-based 

18 information to audiences, including those in North 

19 Korea; and 

20 (2) the United States International Broadcasting 

21 Surge Capacity Fund is already authorized under 

22 section 316 of the United States International Broad23 casting Act of 1994 (22 U.S.C. 6216), and expanded 

24 authority to transfer unobligated balances from ex25 pired accounts of the United States Agency for Global 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 2129 RS

1 Media would enable the Agency to more nimbly re2 spond to crises. 

3 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 It is the policy of the United States— 

5 (1) to provide the people of North Korea with ac6 cess to a diverse range of fact-based information; 

7 (2) to develop and implement novel means of 

8 communication and information sharing that in9 crease opportunities for audiences in North Korea to 

10 safely create, access, and share digital and non-digital 

11 news without fear of repressive censorship, surveil12 lance, or penalties under law; and 

13 (3) to foster and innovate new technologies to 

14 counter North Korea’s state-sponsored repressive sur15 veillance and censorship by advancing internet free16 dom tools, technologies, and new approaches. 

17 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO COMBAT NORTH KO18 REA’S REPRESSIVE INFORMATION ENVIRON19 MENT. 

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

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall develop 

22 and submit to Congress a strategy on combating North Ko23 rea’s repressive information environment. 

24 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by subsection 

25 (a) shall include the following: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 2129 RS

1 (1) An assessment of the challenges to the free 

2 flow of information into North Korea created by the 

3 censorship and surveillance technology apparatus of 

4 the Government of North Korea. 

5 (2) A detailed description of the agencies and 

6 other government entities, key officials, and security 

7 services responsible for the implementation of North 

8 Korea’s repressive laws regarding foreign media con9 sumption. 

10 (3) A detailed description of the agencies and 

11 other government entities and key officials of foreign 

12 governments that assist, facilitate, or aid North Ko13 rea’s repressive censorship and surveillance state. 

14 (4) A review of existing public-private partner15 ships that provide circumvention technology and an 

16 assessment of the feasibility and utility of new tools 

17 to increase free expression, circumvent censorship, 

18 and obstruct repressive surveillance in North Korea. 

19 (5) A description of and funding levels required 

20 for current United States Government programs and 

21 activities to provide access for the people of North 

22 Korea to a diverse range of fact-based information. 

23 (6) An update of the plan required by section 

24 104(a)(7)(A) of the North Korean Human Rights Act 

25 of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 7814(a)(7)(A)). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 2129 RS

1 (7) A description of Department of State pro2 grams and funding levels for programs that promote 

3 internet freedom in North Korea, including moni4 toring and evaluation efforts. 

5 (8) A description of grantee programs of the 

6 United States Agency for Global Media in North 

7 Korea that facilitate circumvention tools and broad8 casting, including monitoring and evaluation efforts. 

9 (9) A detailed assessment of how the United 

10 States International Broadcasting Surge Capacity 

11 Fund authorized under section 316 of the United 

12 States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 

13 U.S.C. 6216) has operated to respond to crisis situa14 tions in the past, and how authority to transfer unob15 ligated balances from expired accounts would help the 

16 United States Agency for Global Media in crisis situ17 ations in the future. 

18 (10) A detailed plan for how the authorization of 

19 appropriations under section 7 will operate alongside 

20 and augment existing programming from the relevant 

21 Federal agencies and facilitate the development of 

22 new tools to assist that programming. 

23 (c) FORM OF STRATEGY.—The strategy required by 

24 subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 2129 RS

1 may include the matters required by paragraphs (2) and 

2 (3) of subsection (b) in a classified annex. 

3 SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PER4 SONS RESPONSIBLE FOR NORTH KOREA’S RE5 PRESSIVE CENSORSHIP AND SURVEILLANCE 

6 STATE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may impose the fol8 lowing sanctions with respect to any foreign person that 

9 the President determines knowingly engaged in, facilitated, 

10 or was responsible for censorship by the Government of 

11 North Korea or the Workers’ Party of Korea identified 

12 under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 4(b): 

13 (1) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The President 

14 may exercise all of the powers granted to the Presi15 dent under the International Emergency Economic 

16 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent nec17 essary to block and prohibit all transactions in prop18 erty and interests in property of the foreign person if 

19 such property and interests in property are in the 

20 United States, come within the United States, or are 

21 or come within the possession or control of a United 

22 States person. 

23 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PA24 ROLE.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 2129 RS

1 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—In the 

2 case of an alien, the alien may be— 

3 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 

4 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

5 documentation to enter the United States; 

6 and 

7 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

8 or paroled into the United States or to re9 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra10 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

11 seq.). 

12 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—An alien described 

14 in subparagraph (A) may be subject to rev15 ocation of any visa or other entry docu16 mentation regardless of when the visa or 

17 other entry documentation is or was issued. 

18 (ii) EFFECT.—A revocation under 

19 clause (i) shall— 

20 (I) take effect consistent with sec21 tion 221 of the Immigration and Na22 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201); and 

23 (II) cancel any other valid visa or 

24 entry documentation that is in the 

25 alien’s possession. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 2129 RS

1 (b) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

2 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may exer3 cise all authorities provided under sections 203 and 

4 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers 

5 Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this sec6 tion. 

7 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at8 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a vio9 lation of subsection (a)(1) or any regulation, license, 

10 or order issued to carry out that subsection shall be 

11 subject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and 

12 (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency 

13 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same 

14 extent as a person that commits an unlawful act de15 scribed in subsection (a) of that section. 

16 (c) NATIONAL SECURITY WAIVER.—The President may 

17 waive the imposition of sanctions under subsection (a) with 

18 respect to a person if the President— 

19 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na20 tional security interests of the United States; and 

21 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 

22 committees a notification of the waiver and the rea23 sons for the waiver. 

24 (d) EXCEPTIONS.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 2129 RS

1 (1) INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES.—This section 

2 shall not apply with respect to activities subject to the 

3 reporting requirements under title V of the National 

4 Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any 

5 authorized intelligence activities of the United States. 

6 (2) LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES.—Sanctions 

7 under this section shall not apply with respect to any 

8 authorized law enforcement activities of the United 

9 States. 

10 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER11 NATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—Subsection (a)(2) shall not 

12 apply with respect to the admission of an alien to the 

13 United States if such admission is necessary to com14 ply with the obligations of the United States under 

15 the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 

16 United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 

17 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, be18 tween the United Nations and the United States, 

19 under the Convention on Consular Relations, done at 

20 Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 

21 19, 1967, or under other international agreements. 

22 (4) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF

23 GOODS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The authority or a re25 quirement to impose sanctions under this section 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 2129 RS

1 shall not include the authority or a requirement 

2 to impose sanctions on the importation of goods. 

3 (B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this paragraph, 

4 the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or 

5 manmade substance, material, supply, or manu6 factured product, including inspection and test 

7 equipment, and excluding technical data. 

8 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ADMISSION; ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms 

10 ‘‘admission’’, ‘‘admitted’’, and ‘‘alien’’ have the mean11 ings given those terms in section 101 of the Immigra12 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

13 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT14 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit15 tees’’ means— 

16 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 

17 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af18 fairs, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of 

19 the Senate; and 

20 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

21 Committee on Financial Services, and the Per22 manent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

23 House of Representatives. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 2129 RS

1 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per2 son’’ means any person that is not a United States 

3 person. 

4 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term ‘‘United 

5 States person’’ means— 

6 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law7 fully admitted to the United States for perma8 nent residence; 

9 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

10 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

11 United States; or 

12 (C) any person in the United States. 

13 SEC. 6. REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT OF SANCTIONS WITH 

14 RESPECT TO NORTH KOREA. 

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

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

17 through 2024, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 

18 the Treasury shall jointly submit to the appropriate con19 gressional committees (as defined in section 5(e)) a report 

20 on sanctions-related activities and enforcement undertaken 

21 by the United States Government with respect to North 

22 Korea during the period described in subsection (b) that in23 cludes— 

24 (1) an assessment of activities conducted by per25 sons in North Korea or the Government of North 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 2129 RS

1 Korea that would require mandatory designations 

2 pursuant to the North Korea Sanctions and Policy 

3 Enhancement Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.); 

4 and 

5 (2) sanctions-related enforcement or other sanc6 tions-related actions undertaken by the United States 

7 Government pursuant to that Act. 

8 (b) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—The period described in this 

9 subsection is— 

10 (1) in the case of the first report required by sub11 section (a), the period beginning on January 1, 2021, 

12 and ending on the date on which the report is re13 quired to be submitted; and 

14 (2) in the case of each subsequent report required 

15 by subsection (a), the one-year period preceding sub16 mission of the report. 

17 SEC. 7. PROMOTING FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AND 

18 COUNTERING CENSORSHIP AND SURVEIL19 LANCE IN NORTH KOREA. 

20 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

21 authorized to be appropriated to the United States Agency 

22 for Global Media $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

23 through 2026 to provide increased broadcasting and grants 

24 for the following purposes: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 2129 RS

1 (1) To promote the development of internet free2 dom tools, technologies, and new approaches, includ3 ing both digital and non-digital means of information 

4 sharing related to North Korea. 

5 (2) To explore public-private partnerships to 

6 counter North Korea’s repressive censorship and sur7 veillance state. 

8 (3) To develop new means to protect the privacy 

9 and identity of individuals receiving media from the 

10 United States Agency for Global Media and other out11 side media outlets from within North Korea. 

12 (4) To bolster existing programming from the 

13 United States Agency for Global Media by restoring 

14 the broadcasting capacity of damaged antennas 

15 caused by Typhoon Yutu in 2018. 

16 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 104(a)(7)(B) of the 

17 North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 (22 U.S.C. 

18 7814(a)(7)(B)) is amended— 

19 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘1 year after the date of the 

21 enactment of this paragraph’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘September 30, 2022’’; and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘Broadcasting Board of 

24 Governors’’ and inserting ‘‘Chief Executive OffiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Oct 29, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2129.RS S2129

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 2129 RS

1 cer of the United States Agency for Global 

2 Media’’; and 

3 (2) in clause (i), by inserting after ‘‘this section’’ 

4 the following: ‘‘and sections 4 and 7 of the Otto 

5 Warmbier Countering North Korean Censorship and 

6 Surveillance Act of 2021’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 159 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2129 

A BILL 

To promote freedom of information and counter 

for other purposes. censorship and surveillance in North Korea, and 

OCTOBER 28, 2021 

Reported with an amendment 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS