I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8463 

To deter foreign interference in United States elections, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 

Mr. SCHNEIDER (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. 

KATKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Intelligence (Permanent Select), the Judiciary, Financial Services, Ways and 

Means, and Rules, 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 deter foreign interference in United States elections, 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 ‘‘Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Red6 lines Act of 2020’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 8463 IH

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—DETERMINATION OF FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN 

UNITED STATES ELECTIONS 

Sec. 101. Determination of foreign interference in United States elections. 

Sec. 102. Updated report on oligarchs and parastatal entities of the Russian 

Federation. 

TITLE II—DETERRING INTERFERENCE IN UNITED STATES 

ELECTIONS BY THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION 

Sec. 201. Report on estimated net worth of President Vladimir Putin and other 

senior foreign political figures of the Russian Federation. 

Sec. 202. Imposition of sanctions. 

Sec. 203. Congressional review of waiver, suspension, and termination of sanctions. 

Sec. 204. Sense of Congress on strategy on coordination with European Union. 

TITLE III—DETERRING INTERFERENCE IN UNITED STATES 

ELECTIONS BY OTHER FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS 

Sec. 301. Briefing on interference in United States elections. 

Sec. 302. Sense of Congress on deterrence strategies for interference in United 

States elections by foreign governments of concern. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ACCOUNT; CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT; PAY4 ABLE-THROUGH ACCOUNT.—The terms ‘‘account’’, 

5 ‘‘correspondent account’’, and ‘‘payable-through ac6 count’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec7 tion 5318A of title 31, United States Code. 

8 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT9 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com10 mittees’’ means— 

11 (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

12 and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Foreign 

13 Relations, the Committee on Finance, the Se14 lect Committee on Intelligence, and the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8463.IH H8463

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 8463 IH

1 mittee on Rules and Administration of the Sen2 ate; and 

3 (B) the Committee on Financial Services, 

4 the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Com5 mittee on Ways and Means, the Permanent Se6 lect Committee on Intelligence, and the Com7 mittee on House Administration of the House 

8 of Representatives. 

9 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT10 TEES AND LEADERSHIP.—The term ‘‘appropriate 

11 congressional committees and leadership’’ means— 

12 (A) the appropriate congressional commit13 tees; 

14 (B) the majority leader and minority lead15 er of the Senate; and 

16 (C) the Speaker, the majority leader, and 

17 the minority leader of the House of Representa18 tives. 

19 (4) ELECTION AND CAMPAIGN INFRASTRUC20 TURE.—The term ‘‘election and campaign infra21 structure’’ means information and communications 

22 technology and systems used by or on behalf of— 

23 (A) the Federal Government or a State or 

24 local government in managing the election proc25 ess, including voter registration databases, votVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8463.IH H8463

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 8463 IH

1 ing machines, voting tabulation equipment, 

2 equipment for the secure transmission of elec3 tion results, and other systems; or 

4 (B) a principal campaign committee or na5 tional committee (as those terms are defined in 

6 section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign 

7 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101)) with respect to 

8 strategy or tactics affecting the conduct of a 

9 political campaign, including electronic commu10 nications, and the information stored on, proc11 essed by, or transiting such technology and sys12 tems. 

13 (5) FEDERAL ELECTION CYCLE.—The term 

14 ‘‘Federal election cycle’’ means the period beginning 

15 on the day after the date of the most recent election 

16 for members of the House of Representatives and 

17 ending on the date of the next election for members 

18 of the House of Representatives. 

19 (6) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per20 son’’ means a person that is not a United States 

21 person. 

22 (7) GOOD.—The term ‘‘good’’ means any arti23 cle, natural or manmade substance, material, supply 

24 or manufactured product, including inspection and 

25 test equipment, and excluding technical data. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 8463 IH

1 (8) INTERFERENCE IN UNITED STATES ELEC2 TIONS.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

4 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘interference’’, 

5 with respect to a United States election, means 

6 any of the following actions of the government 

7 of a foreign country, or any person acting as an 

8 agent of or on behalf of such a government, un9 dertaken with the intent to influence the elec10 tion: 

11 (i) Obtaining unauthorized access to 

12 election and campaign infrastructure or re13 lated systems or data and releasing such 

14 data or modifying such infrastructure, sys15 tems, or data. 

16 (ii) Unlawfully blocking or degrading 

17 otherwise legitimate and authorized access 

18 to election and campaign infrastructure or 

19 related systems or data. 

20 (iii) Significant unlawful contributions 

21 or expenditures for advertising, including 

22 on the internet. 

23 (iv) Using social, other internet-based, 

24 or traditional media to spread information 

25 to individuals in the United States without 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 8463 IH

1 disclosing that such information is being 

2 disseminated by a foreign government or a 

3 foreign person acting on behalf of a foreign 

4 government. 

5 (B) EXCEPTIONS.— 

6 (i) EXCEPTION FOR PUBLICLY IDEN7 TIFIED STATEMENTS.—The term ‘‘inter8 ference’’, with respect to a United States 

9 election, does not include— 

10 (I) any public statement by a for11 eign leader, official, or government 

12 agency with respect to a candidate for 

13 office, official of the United States 

14 Government, or policy of the United 

15 States, if it is clear that the statement 

16 is made by that foreign leader, gov17 ernment official, or government agen18 cy and no effort has been made to 

19 conceal the individual or entity mak20 ing the statement; or 

21 (II) any other statement if a for22 eign government is readily and pub23 licly identifiable as the source of the 

24 statement. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 8463 IH

1 (ii) EXCEPTION FOR FOREIGN GOV2 ERNMENT BROADCASTS.—The term ‘‘inter3 ference’’, with respect to a United States 

4 election, does not include the broadcast of 

5 views of a foreign government through 

6 broadcast channels owned or controlled by 

7 that government, if that ownership or con8 trol is readily and publicly identifiable. 

9 (9) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 

10 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 

11 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 

12 have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 

13 result. 

14 (10) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means indi15 vidual or entity. 

16 (11) UNITED STATES ELECTION.—The term 

17 ‘‘United States election’’ means any United States 

18 Federal election. 

19 (12) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

20 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

21 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law22 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

23 United States; or 

24 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

25 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 8463 IH

1 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

2 such an entity. 

3 TITLE I—DETERMINATION OF 

4 FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN 

5 UNITED STATES ELECTIONS 

6 SEC. 101. DETERMINATION OF FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN 

7 UNITED STATES ELECTIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after a 

9 United States election, the Director of National Intel10 ligence, in consultation with the Director of the Federal 

11 Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the National Se12 curity Agency, the Director of the Central Intelligence 

13 Agency, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treas14 ury, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland 

15 Security, shall— 

16 (1) determine with a high level of confidence 

17 whether or not the government of a foreign country, 

18 or any foreign person acting as an agent of or on 

19 behalf of that government, knowingly engaged in in20 terference in the election; and 

21 (2) submit to the appropriate congressional 

22 committees and leadership a report on that deter23 mination, including, if the Director determines that 

24 interference did occur— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 8463 IH

1 (A) an identification of the government or 

2 foreign person that engaged in such inter3 ference; and 

4 (B) if the Government of the Russian Fed5 eration, or any foreign person acting as an 

6 agent of or on behalf of that Government, en7 gaged in such interference, a list of any senior 

8 foreign political figures or oligarchs in the Rus9 sian Federation identified under section 

10 241(a)(1)(A) of the Countering Russian Influ11 ence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017 (title 

12 II of Public Law 115–44; 131 Stat. 922) who 

13 directly or indirectly contributed to such inter14 ference. 

15 (b) ADDITIONAL REPORTING.—If the Director of Na16 tional Intelligence determines and reports under sub17 section (a) that neither the government of a foreign coun18 try nor any foreign person acting as an agent of or on 

19 behalf of that government knowingly engaged in inter20 ference in a United States election, and the Director sub21 sequently determines that that government, or such a for22 eign person, did engage in such interference, the Director 

23 shall, not later than 60 days after making that determina24 tion, submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

25 and leadership— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 8463 IH

1 (1) a report on the subsequent determination; 

2 and 

3 (2) if the Director determines that the Govern4 ment of the Russian Federation, or any foreign per5 son acting as an agent of or on behalf of that Gov6 ernment, engaged in such interference, a list of any 

7 senior foreign political figures or oligarchs in the 

8 Russian Federation identified under section 

9 241(a)(1)(A) of the Countering Russian Influence in 

10 Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017 (title II of Public 

11 Law 115–44; 131 Stat. 922) who directly or indi12 rectly contributed to such interference. 

13 (c) FORM OF REPORT.—Each report required by sub14 section (a) or (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form 

15 but may include a classified annex. 

16 SEC. 102. UPDATED REPORT ON OLIGARCHS AND 

17 PARASTATAL ENTITIES OF THE RUSSIAN 

18 FEDERATION. 

19 Section 241 of the Countering America’s Adversaries 

20 Through Sanctions Act (Public Law 115–44; 131 Stat. 

21 922) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

23 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; 

24 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol25 lowing: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 8463 IH

1 ‘‘(b) UPDATED REPORT.—Not later than one year 

2 after the date of the enactment of the Defending Elections 

3 from Threats by Establishing Redlines Act of 2020, and 

4 annually thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury, in con5 sultation with the Director of National Intelligence and 

6 the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate 

7 congressional committees an updated report on oligarchs 

8 and parastatal entities of the Russian Federation that 

9 builds on the report submitted under subsection (a) on 

10 January 29, 2018, and that includes the matters described 

11 in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a).’’; and 

12 (3) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para13 graph (1), by striking ‘‘The report required under 

14 subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘The reports required 

15 by subsections (a) and (b)’’. 

16 TITLE II—DETERRING INTER17 FERENCE IN UNITED STATES 

18 ELECTIONS BY THE RUSSIAN 

19 FEDERATION 

20 SEC. 201. REPORT ON ESTIMATED NET WORTH OF PRESI21 DENT VLADIMIR PUTIN AND OTHER SENIOR 

22 FOREIGN POLITICAL FIGURES OF THE RUS23 SIAN FEDERATION. 

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

25 date of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 8463 IH

1 than biannually thereafter, the President shall submit to 

2 the appropriate congressional committees a report that 

3 contains— 

4 (1) the estimated total net worth of each indi5 vidual described in subsection (b); and 

6 (2) a description of how the funds of each such 

7 individual were acquired and how such funds have 

8 been used or employed. 

9 (b) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—The individuals de10 scribed in this subsection are the following: 

11 (1) President Vladimir Putin. 

12 (2) Any other senior foreign political figure of 

13 the Russian Federation identified in the report 

14 under subsection (a)(1)(A) of section 241 of the 

15 Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eur16 asia Act of 2017 (title II of Public Law 115–44; 131 

17 Stat. 922), or any update to that report under sub18 section (b) of such section, as added by section 103. 

19 (c) FORM OF REPORT; PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

20 (1) FORM.—The report required under sub21 section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form 

22 but may contain a classified annex. 

23 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The unclassified 

24 portion of the report required under subsection (a) 

25 shall be made available to the public in precomVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8463.IH H8463

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 8463 IH

1 pressed, easily downloadable versions that are made 

2 available in all appropriate formats. 

3 (d) SOURCES OF INFORMATION.—In preparing the 

4 report required under subsection (a), the President may 

5 use any credible publication, database, or web-based re6 source, and any credible information compiled by any gov7 ernment agency, nongovernmental organization, or other 

8 entity provided to or made available to the President. 

9 (e) FUNDS DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

10 ‘‘funds’’ means— 

11 (1) cash; 

12 (2) equity; 

13 (3) any other intangible asset the value of 

14 which is derived from a contractual claim, including 

15 bank deposits, bonds, stocks, a security (as defined 

16 in section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 

17 U.S.C. 77b(a))), or a security or an equity security 

18 (as those terms are defined in section 3(a) of the Se19 curities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))); 

20 and 

21 (4) anything else of value that the Secretary of 

22 the Treasury determines to be appropriate. 

23 SEC. 202. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the Director of National Intel25 ligence determines under section 101 that the Government 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 8463 IH

1 of the Russian Federation, or any foreign person acting 

2 as an agent of or on behalf of that Government, knowingly 

3 engaged in interference in a United States election, the 

4 President shall, not later than 30 days after such deter5 mination is made, impose the following sanctions: 

6 (1) BLOCKING THE ASSETS OF CERTAIN STATE7 OWNED RUSSIAN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND RE8 STRICTING ACCOUNTS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

10 Treasury shall impose one or more of the fol11 lowing sanctions on 2 or more entities specified 

12 in subparagraph (B): 

13 (i) Pursuant to the International 

14 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

15 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), blocking and prohib16 iting all transactions in all property and 

17 interests in property of the entity if such 

18 property and interests in property are in 

19 the United States, come within the United 

20 States, or are or come within the posses21 sion or control of a United States person. 

22 (ii) Prohibiting, or imposing strict 

23 conditions on, the opening or maintaining 

24 in the United States of a correspondent acVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8463.IH H8463

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 8463 IH

1 count or payable-through account by the 

2 entity. 

3 (B) ENTITIES SPECIFIED.—The entities 

4 specified in this subparagraph are the following: 

5 (i) Sberbank. 

6 (ii) VTB Bank. 

7 (iii) Gazprombank. 

8 (iv) Vnesheconombank. 

9 (v) Rosselkhozbank. 

10 (2) PROHIBITION ON NEW INVESTMENTS IN EN11 ERGY SECTOR OF RUSSIA.— 

12 (A) PROHIBITION.—The President shall 

13 prohibit any new investment made in the 

14 United States or by a United States person in 

15 the energy sector of the Russian Federation or 

16 an energy company of the Russian Federation. 

17 (B) SANCTIONS.—The President shall, 

18 pursuant to the International Emergency Eco19 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), 

20 block and prohibit all transactions in all prop21 erty and interests in property of any foreign 

22 person that makes a new investment in the en23 ergy sector of the Russian Federation or an en24 ergy company of the Russian Federation if such 

25 property and interests in property are in the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 8463 IH

1 United States, come within the United States, 

2 or are or come within the possession or control 

3 of a United States person. 

4 (C) NEW INVESTMENT DEFINED.—Not 

5 later than 60 days after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the President shall prescribe 

7 regulations to define, for purposes of this para8 graph, the term ‘‘new investment’’ in a manner 

9 that— 

10 (i) includes significant upgrades or ex11 pansions to projects and construction un12 derway as of the date of the enactment of 

13 this Act; and 

14 (ii) does not include routine mainte15 nance of such projects and construction. 

16 (3) BLOCKING THE ASSETS OF ENTITIES IN

17 RUSSIAN DEFENSE AND INTELLIGENCE SECTORS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

19 Treasury shall, pursuant to the International 

20 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 

21 1701 et seq.), block and prohibit all trans22 actions in all property and interests in property 

23 of any entity described in subparagraph (B) if 

24 such property and interests in property are in 

25 the United States, come within the United 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 8463 IH

1 States, or are or come within the possession or 

2 control of a United States person. 

3 (B) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—An entity de4 scribed in this subparagraph is— 

5 (i) an entity that the President deter6 mines pursuant to section 231 of the 

7 Countering Russian Influence in Europe 

8 and Eurasia Act of 2017 (22 U.S.C. 9525) 

9 is part of, or operates for or on behalf of, 

10 the defense or intelligence sectors of the 

11 Government of the Russian Federation; or 

12 (ii) an entity in which an entity de13 scribed in clause (i) has an ownership in14 terest of 50 percent or more. 

15 (4) PROHIBITION ON TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING

16 CERTAIN RUSSIAN DEBT.—The Secretary of the 

17 Treasury shall, pursuant to such regulations as the 

18 Secretary may prescribe, prohibit all transactions 

19 within the United States or by a United States per20 son, in— 

21 (A) sovereign debt of the Government of 

22 the Russian Federation issued on or after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act, including 

24 governmental bonds; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 8463 IH

1 (B) debt of any entity owned or controlled 

2 by the Russian Federation issued on or after 

3 such date of enactment, including bonds. 

4 (5) BLOCKING THE ASSETS OF SENIOR POLIT5 ICAL FIGURES AND OLIGARCHS AND EXCLUSION

6 FROM THE UNITED STATES.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall im8 pose with respect to any senior foreign political 

9 figure or oligarch in the Russian Federation 

10 identified under subsection (a)(2)(B) or (b)(2) 

11 of section 101 the following sanctions: 

12 (i) Pursuant to the International 

13 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

14 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the President shall 

15 block and prohibit all transactions in all 

16 property and interests in property of the 

17 individual if such property and interests in 

18 property are in the United States, come 

19 within the United States, or are or come 

20 within the possession or control of a 

21 United States person. 

22 (ii) The President shall deny a visa to, 

23 and exclude from the United States, the 

24 individual, and revoke in accordance with 

25 section 221(i) of the Immigration and NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8463.IH H8463

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 8463 IH

1 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)) any visa 

2 or other documentation of the individual. 

3 (B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMA4 TION.—Information about the denial or revoca5 tion of a visa or other documentation under 

6 subparagraph (A)(ii) shall be made available to 

7 the public. 

8 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an11 nually thereafter, the President shall submit to the 

12 committees specified in paragraph (2) a report iden13 tifying the 5 largest financial institutions owned or 

14 controlled by the Government of the Russian Fed15 eration, determined by estimated net assets. 

16 (2) COMMITTEES SPECIFIED.—The committees 

17 specified in this paragraph are— 

18 (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

19 and Urban Affairs and the Committee on For20 eign Relations of the Senate; and 

21 (B) the Committee on Financial Services 

22 and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

23 House of Representatives. 

24 (c) EXCEPTIONS.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 8463 IH

1 (1) IMPORTATION OF GOODS.—The requirement 

2 to impose sanctions under subsection (a) shall not 

3 include the authority to impose sanctions with re4 spect to the importation of goods. 

5 (2) COMPLIANCE WITH UNITED NATIONS HEAD6 QUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Subsection (a)(5)(A)(ii) 

7 shall not apply with respect to the admission of an 

8 alien to the United States if such admission is nec9 essary to comply with United States obligations 

10 under the Agreement between the United Nations 

11 and the United States of America regarding the 

12 Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 

13 Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force No14 vember 21, 1947, under the Convention on Consular 

15 Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and en16 tered into force March 19, 1967, or under other 

17 international agreements. 

18 (3) ACTIVITIES OF NASA.—The requirement to 

19 impose sanctions under subsection (a) shall not 

20 apply with respect to activities of the National Aero21 nautics and Space Administration. 

22 (d) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

23 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex24 ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 

25 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 8463 IH

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

2 this section. 

3 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at4 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

5 violation of this section or any regulation, license, or 

6 order issued to carry out this section shall be subject 

7 to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) 

8 of section 206 of the International Emergency Eco9 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same ex10 tent as a person that commits an unlawful act de11 scribed in subsection (a) of that section. 

12 (e) EXTENSION OF PERIOD TO ALLOW CESSATION

13 OF PROHIBITED BUSINESS.—The President may extend 

14 the 30-day period specified in subsection (a), except with 

15 respect to sanctions under paragraph (5) of that sub16 section, for an additional period not to exceed 180 days 

17 if the President certifies to the appropriate congressional 

18 committees that the extension— 

19 (1) is in the national security interest of the 

20 United States; and 

21 (2) is necessary to enable non-Russian persons 

22 impacted by sanctions under subsection (a) to wind 

23 down business prohibited as a result of those sanc24 tions. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 8463 IH

1 (f) NATIONAL SECURITY WAIVER.—The President 

2 may waive the application of sanctions under subsection 

3 (a) with respect to a person, except sanctions under para4 graph (5) of that subsection, if the President submits to 

5 the appropriate congressional committees a determination 

6 in writing that— 

7 (1) the waiver is in the vital national security 

8 interest of the United States; and 

9 (2) failing to use the waiver will cause signifi10 cant adverse harm to the vital national security in11 terests of the United States. 

12 (g) SUSPENSION.— 

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

14 sanctions imposed under subsection (a) on or after 

15 the date on which the Director of National Intel16 ligence, in consultation with the Director of the Fed17 eral Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the Na18 tional Security Agency, the Director of the Central 

19 Intelligence Agency, the Secretary of State, the Sec20 retary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General, 

21 submits to the appropriate congressional committees 

22 and leadership a certification that the Government 

23 of the Russian Federation has not engaged in inter24 ference in United States elections for at least one 

25 Federal election cycle. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 8463 IH

1 (2) REIMPOSITION.— 

2 (A) REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later than 

3 90 days after a suspension of sanctions under 

4 paragraph (1) takes effect, and every 90 days 

5 thereafter, the President shall submit to the ap6 propriate congressional committees and leader7 ship a report on whether the Government of the 

8 Russian Federation is taking measures to— 

9 (i) improve the oversight of and pros10 ecutions relating to interference in United 

11 States elections; and 

12 (ii) credibly demonstrate a significant 

13 change in behavior and credibly commit to 

14 not engaging in such interference in the 

15 future. 

16 (B) REIMPOSITION.—If the President de17 termines under subparagraph (A) that the Gov18 ernment of the Russian Federation is not tak19 ing measures described in that subparagraph, 

20 the President shall reimpose the sanctions sus21 pended under paragraph (1). 

22 (h) TERMINATION.—The President may terminate 

23 sanctions imposed under subsection (a) on or after the 

24 date on which the Director of National Intelligence, in 

25 consultation with the Director of the Federal Bureau of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 8463 IH

1 Investigation, the Director of the National Security Agen2 cy, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the 

3 Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the 

4 Attorney General, submits to the appropriate congres5 sional committees and leadership a certification that— 

6 (1) the Government of the Russian Federation 

7 has not engaged in interference in United States 

8 elections for at least 2 Federal election cycles; and 

9 (2) the President has received credible commit10 ments from the Government of the Russian Federa11 tion that that Government will not engage in such 

12 interference in the future. 

13 SEC. 203. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF WAIVER, SUSPEN14 SION, AND TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS. 

15 Section 216(a)(2) of the Countering America’s Ad16 versaries Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9511(a)(2)) 

17 is amended— 

18 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting ‘‘or 

19 suspend the application of sanctions described in 

20 subparagraph (B)(i)(IV)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’; 

21 and 

22 (2) in subparagraph (B)(i)— 

23 (A) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

24 and inserting a semicolon; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 8463 IH

1 (B) in subclause (III), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(IV) section 202 of the Defend5 ing Elections from Threats by Estab6 lishing Redlines Act of 2020; and’’. 

7 SEC. 204. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON STRATEGY ON COORDI8 NATION WITH EUROPEAN UNION. 

9 It is the sense of Congress that, not later than 180 

10 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi11 dent should submit to the appropriate congressional com12 mittees and leadership a strategy on how the United 

13 States will— 

14 (1) work in concert with the European Union 

15 and member countries of the European Union to 

16 deter interference by the Government of the Russian 

17 Federation in elections; and 

18 (2) coordinate with the European Union and 

19 member countries of the European Union to enact 

20 legislation similar to this Act. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 8463 IH

1 TITLE III—DETERRING INTER2 FERENCE IN UNITED STATES 

3 ELECTIONS BY OTHER FOR4 EIGN GOVERNMENTS 

5 SEC. 301. BRIEFING ON INTERFERENCE IN UNITED STATES 

6 ELECTIONS. 

7 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter, the Presi9 dent, or a designee of the President, shall brief the appro10 priate congressional committees and leadership on any 

11 government of a foreign country, or person acting as an 

12 agent of or on behalf of that government, that is deter13 mined by the President to have engaged in or to be likely 

14 to engage in interference in a United States election. 

15 SEC. 302. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON DETERRENCE STRATE16 GIES FOR INTERFERENCE IN UNITED STATES 

17 ELECTIONS BY FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS OF 

18 CONCERN. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that, not later than 90 

20 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi21 dent should submit to the appropriate congressional com22 mittees and leadership a report that includes— 

23 (1) a strategy of the President to deter inter24 ference in a United States election by the Govern25 ment of the People’s Republic of China, the GovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8463.IH H8463

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 8463 IH

1 ment of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 

2 the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and 

3 any other foreign government determined by the 

4 President to have engaged in or to be likely to en5 gage in interference in a United States election, in6 cluding any person acting as an agent of or on be7 half of such a government; 

8 (2) proposed sanctions if that government en9 gages in such interference and any authorities the 

10 President may require from Congress to impose such 

11 sanctions; 

12 (3) other actions undertaken by Federal agen13 cies or in cooperation with other countries to deter 

14 such interference; and 

15 (4) a plan for communicating such deterrence 

16 actions to those governments. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS