Countering Turkish Aggression Act of 2019

To impose sanctions with respect to Turkey, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Countering Turkish Aggression Act of 2019 2. Sense of congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the decision to pull back United States troops along the Turkey-Syria border area has grave consequences for the national security of the United States and allies and partners of the United States; (2) the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, should immediately cease unilateral military action in Northeast Syria and respect existing agreements related to Syria; (3) the United States should continue to support the Syrian Kurdish communities, who have been key partners of the United States in the ongoing fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria; and (4) the President should— (A) call on Turkey to end its offensive operations against the Syrian Kurds and return to the framework agreement between the United States and Turkey to establish a safe zone along the Turkish-Syrian border; (B) withdraw the invitation for the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to travel to the United States for meetings at the White House; and (C) seek unity with European and other key partners to condemn Turkey’s military offensive in northeastern Syria. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) Financial institution The term financial institution (2) Foreign financial institution The term foreign financial institution (3) Foreign person The term foreign person (4) Knowingly The term knowingly (5) United states person The term United States person (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States; or (B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity. 4. Imposition of sanctions with respect to Turkey (a) In general On and after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall— (1) impose the sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to— (A) each official of the Government of Turkey described in subsection (b); (B) any foreign person that the President determines knowingly sells or provides financial, material, or technological support to, or knowingly conducts a transaction with, the Turkish Armed Forces, including— (i) aircraft or aircraft parts or machinery used by the Turkish Air Force; (ii) automotive equipment and services used by the Turkish Land and Naval Forces; and (iii) defense articles, services, technology, or materials used by the Turkish Armed Forces; or (C) any foreign person that the President determines knowingly supplies goods, services, technology, information, or other support that maintains or supports the production of crude oil, natural gas, or refined petroleum or natural gas products, in Turkey for use by the Turkish Armed Forces; and (2) prohibit any United States person from engaging in any transaction with a person described in paragraph (1). (b) Officials described An official of the Government of Turkey described in this subsection is any of the following: (1) The President of Turkey. (2) The Vice President of Turkey. (3) The Minister of National Defense of Turkey. (4) The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. (5) The Minister of Treasury and Finance of Turkey. (6) The Minister of Trade of Turkey. (7) The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey. (8) The Chief of the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey. (c) Sanctions described The sanctions described in this subsection are the blocking and prohibiting, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 5. Imposition of sanctions with respect to financial institutions that facilitate transactions for Turkish Armed Forces (a) In general On and after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall— (1) impose the sanctions described in section 4(c) with respect to Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS or any successor entity; and (2) prohibit any United States person from engaging in any transaction with Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS or any successor entity. (b) Addition financial institutions If the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of National Intelligence, determines that any foreign financial institution (other than a financial institution specified in subsection (a)), has knowingly facilitated transactions for Turkish Armed Forces or defense industry in Turkey relating to the military operations of Turkey in Syria, the President shall, not later than 60 days after that determination— (1) impose the sanctions described in section 4(c) with respect to that financial institution; and (2) prohibit any United States person from engaging in any transaction with that financial institution. 6. Imposition of sanctions with respect to energy production in Syria On and after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall— (1) impose the sanctions described in section 4(c) with respect to any foreign person that knowingly sells or provides significant goods, services, technology, information, or other support that significantly facilitates the maintenance or expansion of the production of natural gas, petroleum, or petroleum products in Syria for use by the Russian Federation, Iran, Turkey, or the Government of Syria; and (2) prohibit any United States person from engaging in any transaction with a person described in paragraph (1). 7. Imposition of CAATSA section 231 sanctions against Turkey (a) Determination For the purposes of section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act ( 22 U.S.C. 9525 (b) Sanctions Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall impose 5 or more of the sanctions described in section 235 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act ( 22 U.S.C. 9529 8. Prohibition on United States military assistance (a) Prohibition No funds may be obligated or expended to sell or transfer any United States defense articles, services, technology, or materials or ammunition to the Turkish Armed Forces. (b) No use of emergency authorities The authority of the President to waive statutory congressional review periods under the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2751 9. Prohibition on purchases of Turkish sovereign debt by United States persons The President shall prescribe regulations prohibiting any United States person from purchasing sovereign debt of the Government of Turkey. 10. Visa restrictions on certain officials of the Government of Turkey (a) In general The Secretary of State may not issue a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall exclude from the United States, an official of the Government of Turkey described in section 4(b). (b) Exception to comply with international obligations Subsection (a) shall not apply to the admission of an official described in section 4(b) if the admission of that official is necessary to comply with United States obligations under the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of America regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, under the Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 19, 1967, or under other international agreements. 11. Report on net worth of Recep Tayyip Erdogan (a) In general Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress a report on the estimated net worth, known sources of income, and assets of the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family members (including spouses, children, and siblings), including assets, investments, other business interests, and relevant beneficial ownership information. (b) Form of report The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex. 12. Report on strategy to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (a) Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The Syrian Democratic Forces (in this section referred to as the SDF ISIS (2) In a June 30, 2019, report of the lead inspector general to Congress on Operation Inherent Resolve, the Inspectors General of the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the United States Agency for International Development reported that ISIS remains a threat in Iraq and Syria [d]espite losing its territorial caliphate, members (3) That report also indicated that conditions at the Al Hol camp in Syria provided uncontested conditions to spread … ISIS ideology (4) General Joseph Votel, who served as the Commander of the United States Central Command from March 2016 to March 2019 and oversaw military operations in Iraq and Syria, has called the alliance between the United States and Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria one of our most successful partnerships the backbone of the fighting force against ISIS in Syria (5) General Votel has also said, A possible invasion from Turkey against the Kurdish elements of the SDF, coupled with a hasty U.S. departure, now threaten to rapidly destabilize an already fragile security situation in Syria’s northeast. (6) The sudden withdrawal of United States forces made way for Turkish offensive operations against the SDF. That withdrawal has serious consequences for United States security, including allowing allies and potential allies in counterterrorism efforts to question the resolve and commitment of the United States to its operations and allowing for the continued resurgence of ISIS in the region as SDF forces defend themselves against the Turkish offensive. (b) Report required Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress a report on the strategy to counter the ISIS resurgence and stabilize the region, including ensuring the secure detention of captured ISIS fighters and stopping recruitment efforts in refugee camps. (c) Form of report The report required by subsection (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex. 13. Report on United States personnel in Turkey (a) In general Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress an interagency report assessing viable alternative military installations or other locations to host personnel and assets of the United States Armed Forces currently stationed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. (b) Form of report The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex. 14. Exceptions (a) Support for people of Turkey This Act shall not apply with respect to— (1) the provision of humanitarian assistance (including medical assistance) to the people of Turkey; or (2) efforts to promote democracy in Turkey, including through providing election assistance. (b) Intelligence activities (1) In general This Act shall not apply with respect to activities subject to the reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3091 (2) Requirement Activities carried out under the exception under paragraph (1) may not be carried out in a manner that provides the Government of Turkey with targeting data regarding the location or disposition of Syrian Democratic Forces. (c) Exception relating to importation of goods (1) In general The authorities and requirements to impose sanctions authorized under this Act shall not include the authority or requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of goods. (2) Good defined In this subsection, the term good 15. Implementation; penalties (a) Implementation The President may exercise all authorities provided to the President under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1702 (b) Penalties A person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this Act or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out this Act shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1705 16. Termination authority (a) In general The President may terminate the application of sanctions, prohibitions, restrictions, and penalties under this Act if the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that— (1) Turkey, and Syrian opposition groups supported by Turkey, have halted attacks against the Syrian Kurdish community and other communities affected by Turkish military operations; (2) Turkish forces, and Syrian opposition groups supported by Turkey, not involved in coordinated operations with members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS have withdrawn from all locations in Syria that Turkey did not occupy before October 09, 2019; and (3) Turkey, and Syrian opposition groups supported by Turkey, are not hindering counterterrorism operations against ISIS. (b) Reimposition If Turkey violates paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) after the submission of a certification described in subsection (a), the President shall reimpose sanctions, prohibitions, restrictions, and penalties as described in this Act. October 21, 2019 Read the second time and placed on the calendar

Summary: Countering Turkish Aggression Act of 2019 This bill directs the President to impose sanctions related to Turkey. The President shall impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions on specified officials of Turkey's government, such as the president and vice president of Turkey. The President shall also impose property-blocking sanctions on (1) Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS, a Turkish state-owned bank; (2) any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates transactions for Turkey's armed forces or defense industry relating to military operations in Syria; (3) any foreign person that knowingly sells to, provides support to, or conducts a transaction with Turkey's armed forces; (4) any foreign person that supplies goods or services that support petroleum production for use by Turkey's armed forces; and (5) any foreign person that sells or provides support that significantly facilitate Syrian energy production for use by Russia, Iran, Turkey, or Syria's government. The President shall also prohibit any U.S. person from (1) engaging in any transaction with such sanctioned persons, or (2) purchasing Turkey's sovereign debt. The President shall impose additional sanctions on Turkey based on Turkey's purchase of a surface-to-air defense system from Russia. No funds may be obligated or expended to transfer to Turkey's armed forces any U.S. defense articles, services, or technology. The President may terminate such sanctions and prohibitions upon certifying to Congress that Turkey and affiliated groups have met certain conditions, such as stopping their attacks on the Syrian Kurdish community and withdrawing from certain locations in Syria.