IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5826 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 17, 2024 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

AN ACT 

To require a report on sanctions under the Robert Levinson 

Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability 

Act, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Paydays for Hos3 tage-Takers Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The Islamic Republic of Iran has a long his7 tory of hostage-taking and wrongful detention of 

8 United States nationals, including its illegal deten9 tion of 52 American diplomats from 1979 to 1981. 

10 (2) The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and 

11 Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 

12 et seq.), named in honor of Robert Levinson, the 

13 longest-held hostage in United States history who is 

14 presumed to have been killed by the regime while in 

15 Iranian custody, authorizes sanctions with respect to 

16 foreign persons who are responsible for or complicit 

17 in hostage-taking or unlawful or wrongful detention 

18 of United States nationals abroad. 

19 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

20 It shall be the policy of the United States to under21 take additional actions and impose strict penalties to deter 

22 the Government of Iran and other hostile governments and 

23 non-state actors from hostage-taking or wrongfully detain24 ing United States nationals. 


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1 SEC. 4. REPORT AND CERTIFICATION ON RESTRICTED IRA2 NIAN FUNDS RELEASED TO QATAR. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days 

5 thereafter for 6 years, the President shall submit to the 

6 Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Fi7 nancial Services of the House of Representatives and the 

8 Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 

9 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate the 

10 following: 

11 (1) A report on the $6,000,000,000 in funds 

12 transferred from restricted Iranian accounts in the 

13 Republic of South Korea to restricted accounts in 

14 Qatar on or after August 9, 2023. 

15 (2) A certification as to whether credible evi16 dence or intelligence exists that any of the funds 

17 transferred have been used for any purpose other 

18 than humanitarian purposes. 

19 (3) A certification as to whether credible evi20 dence or intelligence exists that the funds trans21 ferred have enabled the Government of Iran to in22 crease spending on defense, intelligence, or malign 

23 foreign activities. 

24 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re25 quired by subsection (a)(1) shall include the following: 


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1 (1) An itemized list of all transactions involving 

2 the use of funds transferred, including the value of 

3 such transactions, the parties to such transactions, 

4 the financial institutions involved, the goods pur5 chased in each transaction, the destinations and end 

6 user of such goods, the date on which the United 

7 States was notified of such transaction, and the date 

8 the transaction occurred. 

9 (2) The quantity of funds described in sub10 section (a)(1) in restricted accounts in Qatar at the 

11 beginning and end of each reporting period. 

12 (3) A thorough description of the process the 

13 United States Government utilized during the re14 porting period to review transactions involving the 

15 use of funds transferred in order to verify that such 

16 transactions were humanitarian in nature. 

17 SEC. 5. REVIEW AND DETERMINATION AND REPORTS ON 

18 SANCTIONS UNDER THE ROBERT LEVINSON 

19 HOSTAGE RECOVERY AND HOSTAGE-TAKING 

20 ACCOUNTABILITY ACT. 

21 (a) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.—Not later than 

22 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

23 on an annual basis thereafter for 6 years, the President 

24 shall— 


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1 (1) review all cases of the hostage-taking of a 

2 United States national in Iran or at the direction of 

3 the Government of Iran and all cases of the unlawful 

4 or wrongful detention of a United States national in 

5 Iran or at the direction of the Government of Iran 

6 that have occurred during the preceding 10-year pe7 riod; and 

8 (2) make a determination as to whether any 

9 foreign person, based on credible evidence— 

10 (A) is responsible for or complicit in, or re11 sponsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise 

12 directing, the hostage-taking of the United 

13 States national or the unlawful or wrongful de14 tention of the United States national; or 

15 (B) knowingly provides financial, material, 

16 or technological support for, or goods or serv17 ices in support of, an activity described in sub18 paragraph (A). 

19 (b) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, and on an annual basis 

21 thereafter for 6 years, the President shall submit to the 

22 appropriate congressional committees a report that— 

23 (1) identifies all foreign persons with respect to 

24 which the President has made a determination under 

25 subsection (a)(2); and 


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1 (2) with respect to each such foreign person— 

2 (A) states whether sanctions have been im3 posed under section 306 of the Robert Levinson 

4 Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Ac5 countability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741d) or will be 

6 imposed within 30 days of the date of the sub7 mission of the report; and 

8 (B) for whom sanctions have not been im9 posed or will not be imposed under section 306 

10 of such Act, provides a description of the spe11 cific authority under which otherwise applicable 

12 sanctions are being waived, have otherwise been 

13 determined not to apply, or are not being im14 posed and a complete justification of the deci15 sion to waive or otherwise not apply the sanc16 tions authorized by such sanctions programs 

17 and authorities. 

18 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENT TO LIMIT TRAVEL OF IRANIAN DIP19 LOMATS AT THE UNITED NATIONS. 

20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

21 (1) United States visa restrictions on sanc22 tioned individuals often contain exceptions for activi23 ties in order to permit the United States to comply 

24 with the Agreement regarding the headquarters of 

25 the United Nations signed at Lake Success June 26, 


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1 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, 

2 between the United Nations and the United States. 

3 (2) Section 6 of Public Law 80–357 (commonly 

4 known as the ‘‘United Nations Headquarters Agree5 ment Act’’) provides ‘‘Nothing in the agreement 

6 shall be construed as in any way diminishing, 

7 abridging, or weakening the right of the United 

8 States to safeguard its own security.’’. 

9 (3) Congress has directed the President to use 

10 the President’s authority, including the authorities 

11 contained in section 6 of Public Law 80–357, to 

12 deny any individual’s admission to the United States 

13 as a representative to the United Nations if the 

14 President determines that such individual has been 

15 found to have been engaged in espionage activities 

16 or a terrorist activity directed against the United 

17 States or its allies and may pose a threat to United 

18 States national security interests. 

19 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that Iran’s longstanding hostage-taking and wrong21 ful detention of United States nationals, assassination 

22 plots against United States nationals outside and within 

23 the United States, and intelligence activities are a security 

24 or terrorist threat to the United States and United States 

25 interests and shall be a primary consideration in limiting 


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1 travel of Iranian diplomats seeking admission to the 

2 United States for United Nations activities and their fam3 ily members. 

4 (c) DENIAL OF VISAS.—Section 407(a)(1) of the For5 eign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 

6 1991 (8 U.S.C. 1102 note) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)’’; 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end and inserting 

9 ‘‘or’’; and 

10 (3) by adding further at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) has been sanctioned pursuant to Ex12 ecutive Order 13224 (66 Fed. Reg. 49079; re13 lating to blocking property and prohibiting 

14 transactions with persons who commit, threaten 

15 to commit, or support terrorism) or Executive 

16 Order 13382 (70 Fed. Reg. 38567; relating to 

17 blocking property of weapons of mass destruc18 tion proliferators and their supporters) as of 

19 the date of the enactment of the No Paydays 

20 for Hostage-Takers Act; and’’. 

21 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

23 3 years, the President shall submit to the appropriate con24 gressional committees a report on whether the President 

25 has taken action to restrict the travel of Iranian diplomats 


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1 seeking admission to the United States for United Nations 

2 activities and their family members and identifying each 

3 such instance in which visas were denied or travel was re4 stricted. 

5 SEC. 7. REPORT ON BLOCKED IRANIAN ASSETS. 

6 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the 

8 President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

9 committees a report that includes the following: 

10 (1) An itemized list of any identifiable assets 

11 with a valuation of more than $100,000 belonging to 

12 Iranian individuals and entities that are or have 

13 been blocked or otherwise frozen pursuant to any 

14 sanctions program under any jurisdiction globally, in 

15 the prior 2 years. 

16 (2) Any changes to the status of such assets, 

17 including unblocking, unfreezing, or transferring 

18 such assets, in the prior 2 years. 

19 (3) With respect to any changes identified in 

20 paragraph (2), whether the United States Govern21 ment took any action, including waiving of sanc22 tions, that related to such unblocking or unfreezing, 

23 and a justification for any such United States ac24 tions. 


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1 SEC. 8. REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO FREEZE 

2 AND SEIZE IRANIAN ASSETS. 

3 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the 

5 Treasury, and the Attorney General should, to the extent 

6 practicable— 

7 (1) carry out a coordinated international effort 

8 to find, restrain, freeze, and where appropriate and 

9 legally authorized, seize, confiscate or forfeit the as10 sets of those individuals and entities that have been 

11 sanctioned in connection with Iran’s malign activi12 ties, including hostage-taking, wrongful detention, 

13 and human rights violations; and 

14 (2) work with foreign governments— 

15 (A) to share intelligence of financial inves16 tigations, as appropriate; 

17 (B) to oversee the assets identified pursu18 ant to paragraph (1); and 

19 (C) to provide technical assistance to help 

20 governments establish the necessary legal 

21 framework to carry out asset forfeitures. 

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

23 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

24 3 years, the President shall submit to the appropriate con25 gressional committees a report on actions described in 

26 subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 9. DETERMINATION AND REPORT ON INVALIDATING 

2 UNITED STATES PASSPORTS FOR TRAVEL TO 

3 IRAN. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) The Secretary of State maintains authority 

6 to restrict the use of United States passports for 

7 travel to or use in a country or area which the Sec8 retary has determined is a country or area in which 

9 there is imminent danger to the public health or 

10 physical safety of United States travelers, in accord11 ance with section 51.63 of title 22, Code of Federal 

12 Regulations. 

13 (2) In 2017, the Secretary of State declared 

14 United States passports invalid for travel to, in, or 

15 through North Korea, unless specially validated for 

16 such travel, after United States citizen Otto 

17 Warmbier suffered grievous injuries in North Ko18 rean custody, which led to his death. 

19 (3) The ban on use of United States passports 

20 for travel to North Korea was renewed in 2023. 

21 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that the Secretary of State should declare United 

23 States passports invalid for travel to, in, or through Iran 

24 due to the imminent danger to the public health and phys25 ical safety of United States travelers stemming from the 


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1 threat of wrongful detention or being taken hostage by the 

2 Iranian regime. 

3 (c) DETERMINATION AND REPORT.—Not later than 

4 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act and annu5 ally thereafter for 3 years, the Secretary of State shall 

6 determine and report to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

7 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

8 Foreign Relations of the Senate— 

9 (1) whether the travel of United States persons 

10 to Iran presents an imminent danger to the public 

11 health or physical safety of United States travelers; 

12 and 

13 (2) whether the Secretary is exercising his au14 thority to declare United States passports invalid for 

15 travel to, in, or through Iran. 

16 SEC. 10. STRATEGY TO DETER HOSTAGE-TAKING. 

17 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act, the President shall develop and submit 

19 to Congress a strategy to deter and prevent wrongful de20 tention and hostage-taking by United States adversaries, 

21 including identifying penalties for wrongful detention and 

22 hostage-taking, identifying clear United States Govern23 ment policies barring the payment of ransom or trans24 actions that could be viewed as ransom by the United 


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1 States Government, and detailing plans to coordinate with 

2 United States allies and partners on such strategy. 

3 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT6 TEES.—the term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit7 tees’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

9 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

10 Representatives; and 

11 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

12 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen13 ate. 

14 (2) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per15 son’’— 

16 (A) means an individual or entity that is 

17 not a United States person; and 

18 (B) includes a foreign state (as such term 

19 is defined in section 1603 of title 28, United 

20 States Code). 

21 (3) UNITED STATES NATIONAL.—The term 

22 ‘‘United States national’’ has the meaning given that 

23 term in section 307(2) of the Robert Levinson HosVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:57 Apr 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5826.RFS H5826

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1 tage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability 

2 Act (22 U.S.C. 1741e(2)). 

Passed the House of Representatives April 16, 2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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