I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1464 

To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons listed in the Office 

of the Director of National Intelligence report titled ‘‘Assessing the 

Saudi Government’s Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi’’, dated 

February 11, 2021. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 1, 2021 

Mr. MALINOWSKI (for himself, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, and Mr. MCGOVERN) 

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 with respect to foreign persons listed 

in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence 

report titled ‘‘Assessing the Saudi Government’s Role 

in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi’’, dated February 

11, 2021. 

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 ‘‘Saudi Arabia Account5 ability for Gross Violations of Human Rights Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) On October 2, 2018, Washington Post jour4 nalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi gov5 ernment agents in Istanbul, having reportedly been 

6 lured out of the United States by Saudi diplomatic 

7 officials in Washington, DC, and monitored through 

8 surveillance spyware. 

9 (2) On July 25, 2019, the House of Represent10 atives passed by a margin of 405–7 the Saudi Ara11 bia Human Rights and Accountability Act of 2019, 

12 which required— 

13 (A) an unclassified report by the Director 

14 of National Intelligence on parties responsible 

15 for Khashoggi’s murder, a requirement ulti16 mately inserted into and passed as part of the 

17 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

18 Year 2020; 

19 (B) visa sanctions on all persons identified 

20 in such report; and 

21 (C) a report on human rights on Saudi 

22 Arabia. 

23 (3) On February 26, 2021, the Director of Na24 tional Intelligence released the report produced pur25 suant to congressional direction, directly implicating 

26 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and 


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1 other senior Saudi officials in the planning and di2 rection of Khashoggi’s murder. 

3 (4) Section 7031(c) of division K of the Con4 solidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 

5 116–260) requires the Secretary of State to deny 

6 entry into the United States of ‘‘officials of foreign 

7 governments and their immediate family members 

8 about whom the Secretary of State has credible in9 formation have been involved, directly or indirectly, 

10 in . . . a gross violation of human rights’’. 

11 (5) The Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 

12 2751 et seq.) prohibits weapons transfers to foreign 

13 countries determined by the President to be engaged 

14 in a ‘‘pattern of acts of intimidation or harassment 

15 directed against individuals in the United States’’. 

16 (6) The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

17 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) directs the President to formu18 late and conduct international security assistance 

19 programs of the United States in a manner which 

20 will ‘‘avoid identification of the United States, 

21 through such programs, with governments which 

22 deny to their people internationally recognized 

23 human rights and fundamental freedoms’’. 

24 (7) Secretary of State Antony Blinken has af25 firmed the United States national interest in preVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Apr 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1464.IH H1464

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1 venting authoritarian foreign governments from 

2 reaching beyond their borders to intimidate or harm 

3 persons within the United States, stating that: ‘‘As 

4 a matter of safety for all within our borders, per5 petrators targeting perceived dissidents on behalf of 

6 any foreign government should not be permitted to 

7 reach American soil. . . . We have made absolutely 

8 clear that extraterritorial threats and assaults by 

9 Saudi Arabia against activists, dissidents, and jour10 nalists must end.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN PERSONS 

12 LISTED IN THE REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 

13 NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ON THE MURDER 

14 OF JAMAL KHASHOGGI. 

15 (a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—On and after the 

16 date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of 

17 this Act, the sanctions described in subsection (b) shall 

18 be imposed with respect to each foreign person listed in 

19 the Office of the Director of National Intelligence report 

20 titled ‘‘Assessing the Saudi Government’s Role in the Kill21 ing of Jamal Khashoggi’’, dated February 11, 2021. 

22 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions described in 

24 this subsection are the following: 


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1 (A) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS AND ADMIS2 SION TO THE UNITED STATES.— 

3 (i) Inadmissibility to the United 

4 States. 

5 (ii) Ineligibility to receive a visa or 

6 other documentation to enter the United 

7 States. 

8 (iii) Ineligibility to otherwise be ad9 mitted or paroled into the United States or 

10 to receive any other benefit under the Im11 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

12 110 et seq.). 

13 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

14 (i) Revocation of any visa or other 

15 entry documentation regardless of when 

16 the visa or other entry documentation is or 

17 was issued. 

18 (ii) A revocation under clause (i) 

19 shall— 

20 (I) take effect immediately; and 

21 (II) automatically cancel any 

22 other valid visa or entry documenta23 tion that is in the foreign person’s 

24 possession. 


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1 (2) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER2 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.—Sanctions under para3 graph (1) shall not apply with respect to a foreign 

4 person if admitting or paroling the person into the 

5 United States is necessary to permit the United 

6 States to comply with the Agreement regarding the 

7 Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 

8 Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force No9 vember 21, 1947, between the United Nations and 

10 the United States, or other applicable international 

11 obligations. 

12 (3) WAIVER IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL

13 SECURITY.—The President may waive for an indi14 vidual entry into the United States the application 

15 of this section with respect to a foreign person who 

16 is A–1 visa eligible and who is present in or seeking 

17 admission into the United States for purposes of of18 ficial business if the President determines and trans19 mits to the appropriate congressional committees an 

20 unclassified written notice and justification not later 

21 than 15 days before the granting of such waiver, 

22 that such a waiver is in the national security inter23 ests of the United States. 

24 (c) SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may suspend 

2 in whole or in part the imposition of sanctions other3 wise required under this section if the President cer4 tifies to the appropriate congressional committees 

5 that the following criteria have been met in Saudi 

6 Arabia: 

7 (A) The Government of Saudi Arabia is 

8 not arbitrarily detaining citizens or legal resi9 dents of the United States or any other third 

10 country for arbitrary political reasons, including 

11 criticism of Saudi government policies, peaceful 

12 advocacy of political beliefs, or the pursuit of 

13 United States citizenship. 

14 (B) The Government of Saudi Arabia is 

15 cooperating in outstanding criminal proceedings 

16 in the United States in which a Saudi citizen or 

17 national departed from the United States while 

18 the citizen or national was awaiting trial or sen19 tencing for a criminal offense committed in the 

20 United States. 

21 (C) The Government of Saudi Arabia has 

22 made significant numerical reductions in indi23 viduals detained for peaceful political reasons, 

24 including activists, journalists, bloggers, law25 yers, or critics. 


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1 (D) The Government of Saudi Arabia has 

2 disbanded any units of its intelligence or secu3 rity apparatus dedicated to the forced repatri4 ation of dissidents or critical voices in other 

5 countries. 

6 (E) The Government of Saudi Arabia has 

7 made meaningful commitments to a multilateral 

8 framework on the lawful use, sale, transfer of 

9 digital surveillance items and services that can 

10 be used to abuse human rights. 

11 (F) The Government of Saudi Arabia has 

12 instituted meaningful legal reforms to protect 

13 the rights of freedom of expression, religion, 

14 women’s rights, and due process in its judicial 

15 system. 

16 (2) REPORT.—Accompanying the certification 

17 described in paragraph (1), the President shall sub18 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a 

19 report that contains a detailed description of Saudi 

20 Arabia’s adherence to the criteria described in the 

21 certification. 

22 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 

24 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 


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1 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

2 (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

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

6 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

7 Committee on the Judiciary, and the Perma8 nent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

9 House of Representatives; and 

10 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

11 the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Select 

12 Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. 

13 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per14 son’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

15 595.304 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations (as 

16 in effect on the day before the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act), except that such term does not include 

18 an entity (as such term is described in such section). 

19 (4) FOREIGN PERSON WHO IS A–1 VISA ELIGI20 BLE.—The term ‘‘foreign person who is A–1 visa eli21 gible’’ means an alien described in section 

22 101(a)(15)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 

23 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(A)(i)). 

24 (5) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

25 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 


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1 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law2 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

3 United States; or 

4 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

5 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

6 United States, including a foreign branch of 

7 such an entity. 

8 SEC. 4. REPORT AND SUSPENSION OF ASSISTANCE FOR IN9 CIDENTS OF ARBITRARY DETENTION, VIO10 LENCE, AND STATE-SANCTIONED HARASS11 MENT BY THE GOVERNMENT OF SAUDI ARA12 BIA AGAINST UNITED STATES CITIZENS AND 

13 THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS. 

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

15 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 6 months 

16 thereafter, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 

17 Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the 

18 Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall submit to the ap19 propriate congressional committees a report on incidents 

20 of arbitrary detention, violence, and state-sanctioned har21 assment by the Government of Saudi Arabia against 

22 United States citizens and their family members who are 

23 not United States citizens, in the United States and for24 eign countries. 


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1 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re2 quired by subsection (a) shall include— 

3 (1) a detailed description of such incidents in 

4 the past 5 years; 

5 (2) a certification of whether Saudi Arabia is 

6 engaging in a ‘‘pattern of acts of intimidation or 

7 harassment directed against individuals in the 

8 United States’’ pursuant to section 6 of the Arms 

9 Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2756); and 

10 (3) any other actions taken to deter incidents of 

11 intimidation or harassment against Americans and 

12 their families by such government’s security agen13 cies. 

14 (c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 

15 shall be submitted in unclassified form. 

16 (d) SUSPENSION OF ASSISTANCE.—If the President 

17 determines in any report issued pursuant to subsection (a) 

18 that the Government of Saudi Arabia has engaged in a 

19 pattern of acts of intimidation or harassment directed 

20 against individuals in the United States, the President 

21 shall cancel or suspend any letters of offer, credits, guar22 antees, or export licenses with such government, in compli23 ance with section 6 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 

24 U.S.C. 2756) until such time as the President determines 


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1 that the pattern of acts of intimidation or harassment has 

2 ceased. 

3 (e) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE4 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres5 sional committees’’ means— 

6 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

7 Committee on Armed Services, and the Permanent 

8 Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 

9 Representatives; and 

10 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 

11 Committee on Armed Services, and the Select Com12 mittee on Intelligence of the Senate. 

13 SEC. 5. MEASURES TO DISASSOCIATE UNITES STATES SE14 CURITY ASSISTANCE FROM HUMAN RIGHTS 

15 ABUSES BY THE GOVERNMENT OF SAUDI 

16 ARABIA. 

17 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall issue draft 

19 regulations to be promulgated in the Foreign Affairs Man20 ual that each individual concurrence by the Department 

21 of State for an instance of United States security assist22 ance, including military-to-military activities and arms 

23 transfers, with the Government of Saudi Arabia shall be 

24 accompanied by the publication on a text-searchable 

25 website of an unclassified report that describes whether 


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1 and how the provision of such assistance will ‘‘avoid identi2 fication of the United States, through such programs, with 

3 governments which deny to their people internationally 

4 recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, in 

5 violation of international law or in contravention of the 

6 policy of the United States’’ in accordance with section 

7 502B the Foreign Assistance Act (22 U.S.C. 2304). 

Æ 


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