I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5833 

To protect Saudi dissidents in the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023 

Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. TITUS, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, 

Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SHERMAN, 

Ms. WILD, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. SCHIFF) introduced the following bill; 

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

to the Committees on Intelligence (Permanent Select), and the Budget, 

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 protect Saudi dissidents in the United States, 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 ‘‘Protection of Saudi 

5 Dissidents Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Jamal Khashoggi, a United States resident, 

2 Saudi journalist, and Washington Post columnist, 

3 was killed and dismembered in the Saudi consulate 

4 in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2, 2018. 

5 (2) At the time of his murder, Khashoggi was 

6 living in Virginia under an ‘‘O’’ visa and was in the 

7 process of applying for a permanent residency. 

8 (3) A report by the Office of the Director of 

9 National Intelligence (ODNI) found that Saudi Ara10 bia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman ap11 proved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture 

12 or kill Khashoggi. 

13 (4) The assessment of the ODNI was based on 

14 ‘‘the Crown Prince’s control of decisionmaking in 

15 the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser 

16 and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s protective 

17 detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince’s sup18 port for using violent measures to silence dissidents 

19 abroad’’. 

20 (5) The report also reiterates that ‘‘the Crown 

21 Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom’s se22 curity and intelligence organizations’’ since 2017. 


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1 SEC. 3. RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFERS OF DEFENSE ARTI2 CLES AND SERVICES, DESIGN AND CON3 STRUCTION SERVICES, AND MAJOR DEFENSE 

4 EQUIPMENT TO SAUDI ARABIA. 

5 (a) INITIAL PERIOD.—During the 120-day period be6 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

7 President may not sell, authorize a license for the export 

8 of, or otherwise transfer any defense articles or defense 

9 services, design and construction services, or major de10 fense equipment under the Arms Export Control Act (22 

11 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) to an intelligence, internal security, 

12 or law enforcement agency or instrumentality of the Gov13 ernment of Saudi Arabia, or to any person acting as an 

14 agent of or on behalf of such agency or instrumentality. 

15 (b) SUBSEQUENT PERIODS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the 120-day period 

17 beginning after the end of the 120-day period de18 scribed in subsection (a), and each 120-day period 

19 thereafter, the President may not sell, authorize a li20 cense for the export of, or otherwise transfer any de21 fense articles or services, design and construction 

22 services, or major defense equipment under the 

23 Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), 

24 regardless of the amount of such articles, services, 

25 or equipment, to an intelligence, internal security, or 

26 law enforcement agency or instrumentality of the 


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1 Government of Saudi Arabia, or to any person act2 ing as an agent of or on behalf of such agency or 

3 instrumentality, unless the President has submitted 

4 to the chairman and ranking member of the appro5 priate congressional committees a certification de6 scribed in paragraph (2). 

7 (2) CERTIFICATION.—A certification described 

8 in this paragraph is a certification that contains a 

9 determination of the President that, during the 120- 

10 day period preceding the date of submission of the 

11 certification, the United States Government has not 

12 determined that the Government of Saudi Arabia 

13 has conducted any of the following activities: 

14 (A) Forced repatriation, intimidation, or 

15 killing of dissidents in other countries. 

16 (B) The unjust imprisonment in Saudi 

17 Arabia of United States citizens or aliens law18 fully admitted for permanent residence or the 

19 prohibition on these individuals and their family 

20 members from exiting Saudi Arabia. 

21 (C) Torture of detainees in the custody of 

22 the Government of Saudi Arabia. 

23 (c) EXCEPTION.—The restrictions in this section 

24 shall not apply with respect to the sale, authorization of 

25 a license for export, or transfer of any defense articles or 


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1 services, design and construction services, or major de2 fense equipment under the Arms Export Control Act (22 

3 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) for use in— 

4 (1) the defense of the territory of Saudi Arabia 

5 from external threats; or 

6 (2) the defense of United States military or dip7 lomatic personnel or United States facilities located 

8 in Saudi Arabia. 

9 (d) WAIVER.— 

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

11 the restrictions in this section if the President sub12 mits to the appropriate congressional committees a 

13 report not later than 15 days before the granting of 

14 such waiver that contains— 

15 (A) a determination of the President that 

16 such a waiver is in the vital national security 

17 interests of the United States; and 

18 (B) a detailed justification for the use of 

19 such waiver and the reasons why the restric20 tions in this section cannot be met. 

21 (2) FORM.—The report required by this sub22 section shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 

23 may contain a classified annex. 


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1 (e) SUNSET.—This section shall terminate on the 

2 date that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of 

3 this Act. 

4 (f) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE5 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres6 sional committees’’ means— 

7 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Per8 manent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the 

9 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep10 resentatives; and 

11 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 

12 Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Com13 mittee on Armed Services of the Senate. 

14 SEC. 4. REPORT ON CONSISTENT PATTERN OF ACTS OF IN15 TIMIDATION OR HARASSMENT DIRECTED 

16 AGAINST INDIVIDUALS IN THE UNITED 

17 STATES. 

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

19 (1) Section 6 of the Arms Export Control Act 

20 (22 U.S.C. 2756) states that ‘‘no transfers or letters 

21 of offer may be issued, no credits or guarantees may 

22 be extended, and no export licenses may be issued 

23 under this Act with respect to any country deter24 mined by the President to be engaged in a consistent 


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1 pattern of acts of intimidation or harassment di2 rected against individuals in the United States’’. 

3 (2) Section 6 of the Arms Export Control Act 

4 further requires the President to report any such de5 termination promptly to the Speaker of the House of 

6 Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

7 of the House of Representatives, and to the chair8 man of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

9 Senate. 

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 

12 to the appropriate congressional committees a report on— 

13 (1) whether any official of the Government of 

14 Saudi Arabia engaged in a consistent pattern of acts 

15 of intimidation or harassment directed against 

16 Jamal Khashoggi or any individual in the United 

17 States; and 

18 (2) whether any United States-origin defense 

19 articles were used in the activities described in para20 graph (1). 

21 (c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (b) 

22 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain 

23 a classified annex. 


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1 (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

2 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con3 gressional committees’’ means— 

4 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

5 Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

6 House of Representatives; and 

7 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

8 the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. 

9 SEC. 5. REPORT AND CERTIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO 

10 SAUDI DIPLOMATS AND DIPLOMATIC FACILI11 TIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 

12 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 

14 to the appropriate congressional committees a report cov15 ering the three-year period preceding such date of enact16 ment regarding whether and to what extent covered per17 sons used diplomatic credentials, visas, or covered facilities 

18 to facilitate monitoring, tracking, surveillance, or harass19 ment of, or harm to, other nationals of Saudi Arabia living 

20 in the United States. 

21 (b) CERTIFICATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and each 

24 120-day period thereafter, the President shall, if the 

25 President determines that such is the case, submit 


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1 to the appropriate congressional committees a cer2 tification that the United States Government has 

3 not determined covered persons to be using diplo4 matic credentials, visas, or covered facilities to facili5 tate serious harassment of, or harm to, other nation6 als of Saudi Arabia living in the United States dur7 ing the time period covered by each such certifi8 cation. 

9 (2) FAILURE TO SUBMIT CERTIFICATION.—If 

10 the President does not submit a certification under 

11 paragraph (1), the President shall— 

12 (A) close one or more covered facilities for 

13 such period of time until the President does 

14 submit such a certification; and 

15 (B) submit to the appropriate congres16 sional committee a report that contains— 

17 (i) a detailed explanation of why the 

18 President is unable to make such a certifi19 cation; 

20 (ii) a list and summary of engage21 ments of the United States Government 

22 with the Government of Saudi Arabia re23 garding the use of diplomatic credentials, 

24 visas, or covered facilities described in 

25 paragraph (1); and 


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1 (iii) a description of actions the 

2 United States Government has taken or in3 tends to take in response to the use of dip4 lomatic credentials, visas, or covered facili5 ties described in paragraph (1). 

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

7 and the certification and report required by subsection (b) 

8 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain 

9 a classified annex. 

10 (d) WAIVER.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 

12 the restrictions in this section if the President sub13 mits to the appropriate congressional committees a 

14 report not later than 15 days before the granting of 

15 such waiver that contains— 

16 (A) a determination of the President that 

17 such a waiver is in the vital national security 

18 interests of the United States; and 

19 (B) a detailed justification for the use of 

20 such waiver and the reasons why the restric21 tions in this section cannot be met. 

22 (2) FORM.—The report required by this sub23 section shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 

24 may contain a classified annex. 


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1 (e) SUNSET.—This section shall terminate on the 

2 date that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of 

3 this Act. 

4 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT6 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

9 the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 

10 of the House of Representatives; and 

11 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

12 and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

13 Senate. 

14 (2) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘‘covered 

15 facility’’ means a diplomatic or consular facility of 

16 Saudi Arabia in the United States. 

17 (3) COVERED PERSON.—The term ‘‘covered 

18 person’’ means a national of Saudi Arabia 

19 credentialed to a covered facility. 

20 SEC. 6. REPORT ON THE DUTY TO WARN OBLIGATION OF 

21 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

22 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that Intelligence 

23 Community Directive 191 provides that— 

24 (1) when an element of the intelligence commu25 nity of the United States collects or acquires credible 


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1 and specific information indicating an impending 

2 threat of intentional killing, serious bodily injury, or 

3 kidnapping directed at a person, the agency must 

4 ‘‘warn the intended victim or those responsible for 

5 protecting the intended victim, as appropriate’’ un6 less an applicable waiver of the duty is granted by 

7 the appropriate official within the element; and 

8 (2) when issues arise with respect to whether 

9 the threat information rises to the threshold of 

10 ‘‘duty to warn’’, the directive calls for resolution in 

11 favor of warning the intended victim. 

12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National In14 telligence, in coordination with the heads of other relevant 

15 United States intelligence agencies, shall submit to the ap16 propriate congressional committees a report with respect 

17 to— 

18 (1) whether and how the intelligence community 

19 fulfilled its duty to warn Jamal Khashoggi of threats 

20 to his life and liberty pursuant to Intelligence Com21 munity Directive 191; and 

22 (2) in the case of the intelligence community 

23 not fulfilling its duty to warn as described in para24 graph (1), why the intelligence community did not 

25 fulfill this duty. 


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1 (c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (b) 

2 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain 

3 a classified annex. 

4 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT6 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

9 the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 

10 of the House of Representatives; and 

11 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

12 and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

13 Senate. 

14 (2) DUTY TO WARN.—The term ‘‘duty to warn’’ 

15 has the meaning given that term in Intelligence 

16 Community Directive 191, as in effect on July 21, 

17 2015. 

18 (3) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term 

19 ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given 

20 such term in section 3(4) of the National Security 

21 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 

22 (4) RELEVANT UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE

23 AGENCY.—The term ‘‘relevant United States intel24 ligence agency’’ means any element of the intel25 ligence community that may have possessed intelVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5833.IH H5833

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1 ligence reporting regarding threats to Jamal 

2 Khashoggi. 

3 SEC. 7. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

4 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

5 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

6 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

7 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

8 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

9 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro10 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

11 vote on passage. 

Æ 


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