I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4695 

To impose sanctions with respect to Turkey, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 16, 2019 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 

Committees on Financial Services, Oversight and Reform, Ways and 

Means, the Judiciary, and Armed Services, 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 Turkey, 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 ‘‘Protect Against Con5 flict by Turkey Act’’ or the ‘‘PACT Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) the United States and Turkey have been 

9 treaty allies since 1952, when Turkey became a 


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1 member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

2 (NATO); 

3 (2) being a NATO member means that Turkey 

4 is treaty bound to safeguard the principles of democ5 racy, individual liberty, and the rule of law, and im6 portantly, should be united with other NATO allies 

7 in efforts for collective defense and the preservation 

8 of peace and security; 

9 (3) Turkey’s military invasion of northern Syria 

10 on October 9, 2019, is an unacceptable and unneces11 sary escalation of tensions with the potential to 

12 cause a severe humanitarian crisis and undo the col13 lective gains made in the fight against the Islamic 

14 State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) by the United States 

15 and the 81 countries and organizations of Global 

16 Coalition to Defeat ISIS, including NATO and the 

17 European Union (EU); 

18 (4) Turkey should immediately cease attacks 

19 against the Syrian Democratic Forces, Kurdish and 

20 Arab civilians, and other religious and ethnic minor21 ity communities in northern Syria and recall its 

22 forces back to Turkey; 

23 (5) targeted sanctions against Turkey are an 

24 appropriate response in order for Turkey to be held 


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1 accountable for its military invasion of northern 

2 Syria; 

3 (6) Turkey’s military invasion of northern Syria 

4 is the latest example of the weakening and problem5 atic United States-Turkey bilateral relationship and 

6 undermines the security of the United States and its 

7 NATO allies, including that of Turkey; and 

8 (7) the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have 

9 been critical partners to the United States and allied 

10 counter-ISIS and broader counterterrorism efforts in 

11 Syria. 

12 SEC. 3. SANCTIONS AGAINST SENIOR TURKISH OFFICIALS. 

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

14 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall im15 pose the sanctions described in section 11 with respect to 

16 the following foreign persons in connection with Turkey’s 

17 military invasion of northern Syria on October 9, 2019: 

18 (1) The Minister of National Defense of Tur19 key. 

20 (2) The Chief of the General Staff of the Turk21 ish Armed Forces. 

22 (3) The Commander of the 2nd Army of the 

23 Turkish Armed Forces. 

24 (4) The Minister of Treasury and Finance of 

25 Turkey. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS.— 

2 (1) LIST.—Not later than 30 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

4 State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense 

5 and the Director of National Intelligence, shall sub6 mit to the President and appropriate congressional 

7 committees a list of the following foreign persons in 

8 connection with Turkey’s military invasion of north9 ern Syria on October 9, 2019: 

10 (A) Senior Turkish defense officials in11 volved in the decision to invade northern Syria. 

12 (B) Senior Turkish military officials lead13 ing attacks against the Syrian Democratic 

14 Forces, Kurdish and Arab civilians, or other re15 ligious or ethnic minority communities in north16 ern Syria. 

17 (C) Turkish officials significantly facili18 tating Turkey’s military invasion of northern 

19 Syria. 

20 (D) Any Turkish official or member of the 

21 Turkish Armed Forces who is responsible for, 

22 complicit in, or has directly or indirectly en23 gaged, or has attempted to engage in any of the 

24 following relating to Turkey’s invasion of north25 ern Syria: 


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1 (i) A violation of the law of armed 

2 conflict. 

3 (ii) A gross violation of internationally 

4 recognized human rights. 

5 (2) UPDATES.—The list required under para6 graph (1) shall be updated every 60 days, until the 

7 sanctions under this section are terminated in ac8 cordance with section 7. 

9 (3) IMPOSITION.—Not later than 15 days after 

10 submission of the list required under paragraph (1) 

11 and each update relating thereto in accordance with 

12 paragraph (2), the President shall impose the sanc13 tions described in section 11 with respect to foreign 

14 persons identified in such list and related updates. 

15 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON ARMS TRANSFERS TO TURKISH 

16 MILITARY UNITS IN SYRIA. 

17 (a) PROHIBITION.—No United States defense arti18 cles, defense services, or technology under the Arms Ex19 port Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) may be trans20 ferred to the Government of Turkey if such articles, serv21 ices, or technology could be used in operations by the 

22 Turkish Armed Forces in northern Syria. 

23 (b) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition under subsection 

24 (a) shall not apply to transfers for ultimate end use by 


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1 the United States military or in military operations ap2 proved by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

3 (c) NO USE OF EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.—The au4 thority of the President to waive statutory congressional 

5 review periods under the Arms Export Control Act in 

6 cases in which an emergency exists shall not apply to the 

7 transfer of defense articles, defense services, or technology 

8 to the Government of Turkey. 

9 SEC. 5. SANCTIONS AGAINST FOREIGN PERSONS PRO10 VIDING ARMS TO TURKISH ARMED FORCES 

11 IN SYRIA. 

12 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 

14 consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Direc15 tor of National Intelligence, shall submit to the President 

16 and appropriate congressional committees a list of any for17 eign persons determined to knowingly have provided, on 

18 or after such date of enactment, defense articles, defense 

19 services, or technology to the Government of Turkey if 

20 such articles, services, or technology could be used in oper21 ations by the Turkish Armed Forces in northern Syria. 

22 Such list shall be updated every 60 days or as new infor23 mation becomes available, until the sanctions under this 

24 section are terminated in accordance with section 7. 


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1 (b) SANCTIONS.—The President shall impose the 

2 sanctions described in section 11 with respect to any for3 eign persons identified on the list and related updates re4 quired under subsection (a). 

5 (c) EXCEPTION.—The sanctions imposed pursuant to 

6 this section shall not apply to transfers for ultimate end 

7 use by the United States military or in military operations 

8 approved by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 

9 (d) WAIVER.— 

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

11 on a case-by-case basis and for a period of not more 

12 than 90 days, the imposition of sanctions under this 

13 section with respect to a foreign person if the Presi14 dent determines it is important to the national secu15 rity interests of the United States to do so and, not 

16 later than 15 days before issuing such a waiver, sub17 mits to the appropriate congressional committees a 

18 justification relating to such determination. 

19 (2) RENEWAL OF WAIVERS.—The President 

20 may, on a case-by-case basis, renew a waiver under 

21 paragraph (1) for an additional period of not more 

22 than 90 days if, not later than 15 days before such 

23 a waiver expires, the President determines it is im24 portant to the national security interests of the 

25 United States to do so and submits to the approVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:09 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4695.IH H4695

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1 priate congressional committees a justification relat2 ing to such determination. 

3 SEC. 6. TARGETED FINANCIAL SANCTIONS. 

4 (a) HALK BANKAS( OR HALKBANK.—Not later than 

5 15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Presi6 dent shall impose the sanctions described in section 11(1) 

7 with respect to Halk Bankas( or Halkbank or any suc8 cessor entity thereof. 

9 (b) FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.—If the Secretary of 

10 State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, Sec11 retary of Treasury, and Director of National Intelligence, 

12 determines that any financial institution, in addition to 

13 the financial institutions specified in subsection (a), has 

14 knowingly facilitated significant transactions for the Turk15 ish Armed Forces or defense industry relating to Turkey’s 

16 invasion of northern Syria, the President shall, not later 

17 than 60 days after any such determination, impose the 

18 sanctions described in section 11(1) with respect to any 

19 such financial institution. 

20 SEC. 7. TERMINATION AUTHORITY. 

21 (a) SECTIONS 3, 4, AND 5.—The authority to impose 

22 sanctions under sections 3 and 5 (and the sanctions im23 posed pursuant to such sections) and the prohibitions 

24 under section 4 shall terminate if the President determines 


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1 and submits to the appropriate congressional committees 

2 a finding that— 

3 (1) Turkey has halted attacks against the Syr4 ian Democratic Forces, Kurdish and Arab civilians, 

5 and other religious and ethnic minority communities 

6 in northern Syria; 

7 (2) Turkish forces not involved in coordinated 

8 operations with NATO allies or the Global Coalition 

9 to Defeat ISIS have withdrawn from northern Syria; 

10 and 

11 (3) Turkey is not hindering counter-terrorism 

12 operations against ISIS. 

13 (b) SECTION 6.—The authority to impose financial 

14 sanctions under section 6 (and the sanctions imposed pur15 suant to such section) shall terminate if the President de16 termines and submits to the appropriate congressional 

17 committees the finding described in subsection (a)(1). 

18 SEC. 8. IMPOSITION OF CAATSA SECTION 231 SANCTIONS 

19 AGAINST TURKEY. 

20 (a) DETERMINATION.—For the purposes of section 

21 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through 

22 Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9525), Turkey’s acquisition of 

23 the Russian S–400 air and missile defense system begin24 ning July 12, 2019, shall be considered to be a significant 

25 transaction described in such section. 


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1 (b) SANCTIONS.—Not later than 30 days after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall im3 pose five or more of the sanctions described in section 235 

4 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanc5 tions Act (22 U.S.C. 9529) with respect to the Govern6 ment of Turkey. 

7 SEC. 9. PLANS AND REPORTS TO ADDRESS NATIONAL SE8 CURITY THREATS CAUSED BY TURKEY’S IN9 VASION OF NORTHERN SYRIA. 

10 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act— 

12 (1) the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the 

13 appropriate congressional committees— 

14 (A) a plan to ensure that ISIS detainees 

15 and families held in Syria remain under proper 

16 custody and do not threaten United States se17 curity interests; and 

18 (B) a report on the impact that the Turk19 ish invasion is having on counterterrorism oper20 ations in Syria and a plan for how to adapt 

21 counter-ISIS operations in light of such im22 pacts; and 

23 (2) the Secretary of State shall submit to the 

24 appropriate congressional committees a plan for how 

25 the United States will assist the Syrian Democratic 


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1 Forces, Kurdish and Arab civilians, and other reli2 gious and ethnic minority communities affected by 

3 Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria. 

4 SEC. 10. REPORT ON NET WORTH OF PRESIDENT RECEP 

5 TAYYIP ERDOG ̆ AN. 

6 Not later than 120 days after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation 

8 with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of 

9 National Intelligence, shall submit to the appropriate con10 gressional committees a report on the estimated net worth 

11 and known sources of income of Turkish President Recep 

12 Tayyip Erdog ̆an and his family members (including 

13 spouse, children, parents, and siblings), including assets, 

14 investments, other business interests, and relevant bene15 ficial ownership information. 

16 SEC. 11. SANCTIONS DESCRIBED. 

17 The sanctions described in this section are the fol18 lowing: 

19 (1) ASSET BLOCKING.—The President shall ex20 ercise all of the powers granted by the International 

21 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 

22 et seq.) (except that the requirements of section 202 

23 of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1701) shall not apply) to the 

24 extent necessary to block and prohibit all trans25 actions in all property and interests in property of 


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1 a person if such property and interests in property 

2 are in the United States, come within the United 

3 States, or are or come within the possession or con4 trol of a United States person. 

5 (2) ALIENS INADMISSIBLE FOR VISAS, ADMIS6 SION, OR PAROLE.— 

7 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—A 

8 foreign person is— 

9 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 

10 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

11 documentation to enter the United States; 

12 and 

13 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

14 or paroled into the United States or to re15 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra16 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

17 seq.). 

18 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.—The visa 

19 or other entry documentation of a foreign per20 son shall be revoked, regardless of when such 

21 visa or other entry documentation is or was 

22 issued. A revocation under this subparagraph 

23 shall take effect immediately and automatically 

24 cancel any other valid visa or entry documenta25 tion that is in the foreign person’s possession. 


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1 (C) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED

2 NATIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanc3 tions under this paragraph shall not apply to an 

4 individual if admitting such individual into the 

5 United States is necessary to permit the United 

6 States to comply with the Agreement regarding 

7 the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 

8 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered 

9 into force November 21, 1947, between the 

10 United Nations and the United States, or other 

11 applicable international obligations of the 

12 United States. 

13 SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President— 

15 (1) may exercise all authorities provided to the 

16 President under sections 203 and 205 of the Inter17 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

18 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this Act; and 

19 (2) shall issue such regulations, licenses, and 

20 orders as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

21 (b) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in sub22 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International 

23 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall 

24 apply to any person who violates, attempts to violate, con25 spires to violate, or causes a violation of any prohibition 


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1 of this Act, or an order or regulation prescribed under this 

2 Act, to the same extent that such penalties apply to a per3 son that commits an unlawful act described in subsection 

4 (a) of that section. 

5 SEC. 13. EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF 

6 GOODS. 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and require8 ments to impose sanctions under this Act or any 

9 amendments made by this Act shall not include the 

10 authority or requirement to impose sanctions on the 

11 importation of goods. 

12 (2) GOOD DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

13 ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or man-made sub14 stance, material, supply or manufactured product, 

15 including inspection and test equipment and exclud16 ing technical data. 

17 SEC. 14. HUMANITARIAN WAIVER. 

18 The President may waive the application of any pro19 vision of this Act for the purpose of providing humani20 tarian assistance if the President certifies to the appro21 priate congressional committees that such a waiver is im22 portant to address a humanitarian need and consistent 

23 with the national security interests of the United States, 

24 not later than 15 days before issuing such a waiver, the 


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1 President submits to such committees a justification relat2 ing to such determination. 

3 SEC. 15. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

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

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

7 meanings given such terms in section 101 of the Im8 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

9 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT10 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com11 mittees’’ means— 

12 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

13 Committee on Armed Services, and the Com14 mittee on Financial Services of the House of 

15 Representatives; and 

16 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

17 the Committee on Armed Services, and the 

18 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

19 Affairs of the Senate. 

20 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per21 son’’ means an individual or entity that is not a 

22 United States person. 

23 (4) GROSS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY

24 RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS.—The term ‘‘gross vio25 lations of internationally recognized human rights’’ 


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1 has the meaning given such term in section 

2 502B(d)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

3 (22 U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)). 

4 (5) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’ with 

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

6 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 

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

8 result. 

9 (6) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

10 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

11 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law12 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

13 United States; or 

14 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

15 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

16 United States, including a foreign branch of 

17 such an entity. 

18 SEC. 16. SUNSET. 

19 This Act shall terminate on the date that is three 

20 years after the date on which sanctions imposed pursuant 

21 to this Act have terminated. 

Æ 


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