I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5826 

To require a report on sanctions under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery 

and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself and Mr. MOSKOWITZ) 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 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Paydays for Hos5 tage-Takers Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Islamic Republic of Iran has a long his2 tory of hostage-taking and wrongful detention of 

3 United States nationals, including its illegal deten4 tion of 52 American diplomats from 1979 to 1981. 

5 (2) The Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and 

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

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

8 longest-held hostage in United States history who is 

9 presumed to have been killed by the regime while in 

10 Iranian custody, authorizes sanctions with respect to 

11 foreign persons who are responsible for or complicit 

12 in hostage-taking or unlawful or wrongful detention 

13 of United States nationals abroad. 

14 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

15 It shall be the policy of the United States to under16 take additional actions and impose strict penalties to deter 

17 the Government of Iran and other hostile governments and 

18 non-state actors from hostage-taking or wrongfully detain19 ing United States nationals. 

20 SEC. 4. REPORT AND CERTIFICATION ON RESTRICTED IRA21 NIAN FUNDS RELEASED TO QATAR. 

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

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

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

25 Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on FiVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:24 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5826.IH H5826

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1 nancial Services of the House of Representatives and the 

2 Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 

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

4 following: 

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

6 transferred from restricted Iranian accounts in the 

7 Republic of South Korea to restricted accounts in 

8 Qatar on or after August 9, 2023. 

9 (2) A certification as to whether credible evi10 dence or intelligence exists that any of the funds 

11 transferred have been used for any purpose other 

12 than humanitarian purposes. 

13 (3) A certification as to whether credible evi14 dence or intelligence exists that the funds trans15 ferred have enabled the Government of Iran to in16 crease spending on defense, intelligence, or malign 

17 foreign activities. 

18 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.— The report re19 quired by subsection (a)(1) shall include the following: 

20 (1) An itemized list of all transactions involving 

21 the use of funds transferred, including the value of 

22 such transactions, the parties to such transactions, 

23 the financial institutions involved, the goods pur24 chased in each transaction, the destinations and end 

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


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1 States was notified of such transaction, and the date 

2 the transaction occurred. 

3 (2) The quantity of funds described in sub4 section (a)(1) in restricted accounts in Qatar at the 

5 beginning and end of each reporting period. 

6 (3) A thorough description of the process the 

7 United States Government utilized during the re8 porting period to review transactions involving the 

9 use of funds transferred in order to verify that such 

10 transactions were humanitarian in nature. 

11 SEC. 5. REVIEW AND DETERMINATION AND REPORTS ON 

12 SANCTIONS UNDER THE ROBERT LEVINSON 

13 HOSTAGE RECOVERY AND HOSTAGE-TAKING 

14 ACCOUNTABILITY ACT. 

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

16 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

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

18 shall— 

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

20 United States national in Iran or at the direction of 

21 the Government of Iran and all cases of the unlawful 

22 or wrongful detention of a United States national in 

23 Iran or at the direction of the Government of Iran 

24 that have occurred during the preceding 10-year pe25 riod; and 


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1 (2) make a determination as to whether any 

2 foreign person, based on credible evidence— 

3 (A) is responsible for or complicit in, or re4 sponsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise 

5 directing, the hostage-taking of the United 

6 States national or the unlawful or wrongful de7 tention of the United States national; or 

8 (B) knowingly provides financial, material, 

9 or technological support for, or goods or serv10 ices in support of, an activity described in sub11 paragraph (A). 

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

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

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

15 appropriate congressional committees a report that— 

16 (1) identifies all foreign persons with respect to 

17 which the President has made a determination under 

18 subsection (a)(2); and 

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

20 (A) states whether sanctions have been im21 posed under section 306 of the Robert Levinson 

22 Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Ac23 countability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741d) or will be 

24 imposed within 30 days of the date of the sub25 mission of the report; and 


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1 (B) for whom sanctions have not been im2 posed or will not be imposed under section 306 

3 of such Act, provides a description of the spe4 cific authority under which otherwise applicable 

5 sanctions are being waived, have otherwise been 

6 determined not to apply, or are not being im7 posed and a complete justification of the deci8 sion to waive or otherwise not apply the sanc9 tions authorized by such sanctions programs 

10 and authorities. 

11 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENT TO LIMIT TRAVEL OF IRANIAN DIP12 LOMATS AT THE UNITED NATIONS. 

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

14 (1) United States visa restrictions on sanc15 tioned individuals often contain exceptions for activi16 ties in order to permit the United States to comply 

17 with the Agreement regarding the headquarters of 

18 the United Nations signed at Lake Success June 26, 

19 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, 

20 between the United Nations and the United States. 

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

22 known as the ‘‘United Nations Headquarters Agree23 ment Act’’) provides ‘‘Nothing in the agreement 

24 shall be construed as in any way diminishing, 


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1 abridging, or weakening the right of the United 

2 States to safeguard its own security.’’. 

3 (3) Congress has directed the President to use 

4 the President’s authority, including the authorities 

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

6 deny any individual’s admission to the United States 

7 as a representative to the United Nations if the 

8 President determines that such individual has been 

9 found to have been engaged in espionage activities 

10 or a terrorist activity directed against the United 

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

12 States national security interests. 

13 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con14 gress that Iran’s longstanding hostage-taking and wrong15 ful detention of United States nationals, assassination 

16 plots against United States nationals outside and within 

17 the United States, and intelligence activities are a security 

18 or terrorist threat to the United States and United States 

19 interests and shall be a primary consideration in limiting 

20 travel of Iranian diplomats seeking admission to the 

21 United States for United Nations activities and their fam22 ily members. 

23 (c) DENIAL OF VISAS.—Section 407(a)(1) of the For24 eign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 

25 1991 (8 U.S.C. 1102 note) is amended— 


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

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

3 ‘‘or’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(B) has been sanctioned pursuant to Executive 

6 Order 13224 (66 Fed. Reg. 49079; relating to block7 ing property and prohibiting transactions with per8 sons who commit, threaten to commit, or support 

9 terrorism) or Executive Order 13382 (70 Fed. Reg. 

10 38567; relating to blocking property of weapons of 

11 mass destruction proliferators and their supporters) 

12 as of the date of the enactment of the No Paydays 

13 for Hostage-Takers Act; and’’. 

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

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

16 6 years, the President shall submit to the appropriate con17 gressional committees a report on whether the President 

18 has taken action to restrict the travel of Iranian diplomats 

19 seeking admission to the United States for United Nations 

20 activities and their family members and identifying each 

21 such instance in which visas were denied or travel was re22 stricted. 

23 SEC. 7. REPORT ON BLOCKED IRANIAN ASSETS. 

24 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 6 years, the 


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1 President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

2 committees a report that includes the following: 

3 (1) An itemized list of any identifiable assets 

4 with a valuation of more than $10,000 belonging to 

5 Iranian individuals and entities that are or have 

6 been blocked or otherwise frozen pursuant to any 

7 sanctions program under any jurisdiction globally, in 

8 the prior 2 years. 

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

10 including unblocking, unfreezing, or transferring 

11 such assets, in the prior 2 years. 

12 (3) With respect to any changes identified in 

13 paragraph (2), whether the United States Govern14 ment took any action, including waiving of sanc15 tions, that related to such unblocking or unfreezing, 

16 and a justification for any such United States ac17 tions. 

18 SEC. 8. REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO FREEZE 

19 AND SEIZE IRANIAN ASSETS. 

20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the 

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

23 practicable— 

24 (1) carry out a coordinated international effort 

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1 priate, confiscate or forfeit the assets of those indi2 viduals and entities that have been sanctioned in 

3 connection with Iran’s malign activities, including 

4 hostage-taking, wrongful detention, and human 

5 rights violations; and 

6 (2) work with foreign governments— 

7 (A) to share intelligence of financial inves8 tigations, as appropriate; 

9 (B) to oversee the assets identified pursu10 ant to paragraph (1); and 

11 (C) to provide technical assistance to help 

12 governments establish the necessary legal 

13 framework to carry out asset forfeitures. 

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

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

16 6 years, the President shall submit to the appropriate con17 gressional committees a report on actions described in 

18 subsection (a). 

19 SEC. 9. DETERMINATION AND REPORT ON INVALIDATING 

20 UNITED STATES PASSPORTS FOR TRAVEL TO 

21 IRAN. 

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

23 (1) The Secretary of State maintains authority 

24 to restrict the use of United States passports for 

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1 retary has determined is a country or area in which 

2 there is imminent danger to the public health or 

3 physical safety of United States travelers, in accord4 ance with section 51.63 of title 22, Code of Federal 

5 Regulations. 

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

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

8 through North Korea, unless specially validated for 

9 such travel, after United States citizen Otto 

10 Warmbier suffered grievous injuries in North Ko11 rean custody, which led to his death. 

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

13 for travel to North Korea was renewed in 2023. 

14 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that the Secretary of State should declare United 

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

17 due to the imminent danger to the public health and phys18 ical safety of United States travelers stemming from the 

19 threat of wrongful detention or being taken hostage by the 

20 Iranian regime. 

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

22 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act and annu23 ally thereafter for 6 years, the Secretary of State shall 

24 determine and report to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 


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1 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

2 Foreign Relations of the Senate— 

3 (1) whether the travel of United States persons 

4 to Iran presents an imminent danger to the public 

5 health or physical safety of United States travelers; 

6 and 

7 (2) whether the Secretary is exercising his au8 thority to declare United States passports invalid for 

9 travel to, in, or through Iran. 

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

11 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact12 ment of this Act, the President shall develop and submit 

13 to Congress a strategy to deter and prevent wrongful de14 tention and hostage-taking by United States adversaries, 

15 including identifying penalties for wrongful detention and 

16 hostage-taking, identifying clear United States Govern17 ment policies barring the payment of ransom or trans18 actions that could be viewed as ransom, and detailing 

19 plans to coordinate with United States allies and partners 

20 on such strategy. 

21 SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT24 TEES.—the term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit25 tees’’ means— 


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1 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

2 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

3 Representatives; and 

4 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

5 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen6 ate. 

7 (2) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per8 son’’— 

9 (A) means an individual or entity that is 

10 not a United States person; and 

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

12 is defined in section 1603 of title 28, United 

13 States Code). 

14 (3) UNITED STATES NATIONAL.—The term 

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

16 term in section 307(2) of the Robert Levinson Hos17 tage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability 

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

Æ 


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