I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5576 
To address state-sponsored cyber activities against the United States, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 18, 2018 
Mr. YOHO (for himself, Mr. ROYCE of California, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. SHERMAN, 
Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. 
MEADOWS, and Mr. CASTRO of Texas) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 
to the Committees on Financial Services, Oversight and Government Re-
form, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To address state-sponsored cyber activities against the 
United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cyber Deterrence and 
Response Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) On February 13, 2018, the Director of Na-
tional Intelligence stated in his testimony before the 
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that ‘‘Rus-
sia, China, Iran, and North Korea will pose the 
greatest cyber threats to the United States during 
the next year’’ through the use of cyber operations 
as low-cost tools of statecraft, and assessed that 
these states would ‘‘work to use cyber operations to 
achieve strategic objectives unless they face clear re-
percussions for their cyber operations’’. 
(2) The 2017 Worldwide Threat Assessment of 
the United States Intelligence Community stated 
that ‘‘The potential for surprise in the cyber realm 
will increase in the next year and beyond as billions 
more digital devices are connected—with relatively 
little built-in security—and both nation states and 
malign actors become more emboldened and better 
equipped in the use of increasingly widespread cyber 
toolkits. The risk is growing that some adversaries 
will conduct cyber attacks—such as data deletion or 
localized and temporary disruptions of critical infra-
structure—against the United States in a crisis 
short of war.’’. 
(3) On March 29, 2017, President Donald J. 
Trump deemed it necessary to continue the national 
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emergency declared in Executive Order 13694 as 
‘‘Significant malicious cyber-enabled activities origi-
nating from, or directed by persons located, in whole 
or in substantial part, outside the United States, 
continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary 
threat to the national security, foreign policy, and 
economy of the United States.’’. 
(4) On January 5, 2017, former Director of 
National Intelligence, James Clapper, former Under-
secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Marcel Lettre, 
and the Commander of the United States Cyber 
Command, Admiral Michael Rogers, submitted joint 
testimony to the Committee on Armed Services of 
the Senate that stated ‘‘As of late 2016 more than 
30 nations are developing offensive cyber attack ca-
pabilities’’ and that ‘‘Protecting critical infrastruc-
ture, such as crucial energy, financial, manufac-
turing, transportation, communication, and health 
systems, will become an increasingly complex na-
tional security challenge.’’. 
(5) There is significant evidence that hackers 
affiliated with foreign governments have conducted 
cyber operations targeting companies and critical in-
frastructure sectors in the United States as the De-
partment of Justice has announced that— 
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(A) on March 24, 2016, seven Iranians 
working for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps- 
affiliated entities were indicted for conducting 
distributed denial of service attacks against the 
financial sector in the United States from 2012 
to 2013; and 
(B) on May 19, 2014, five Chinese military 
hackers were charged for hacking United States 
companies in the nuclear power, metals, and 
solar products industries, and engaging in eco-
nomic espionage. 
(6) In May 2017, North Korea released 
‘‘WannaCry’’ pseudo-ransomware, which posed a sig-
nificant risk to the economy, national security, and 
the citizens of the United States and the world, as 
it resulted in the infection of over 300,000 computer 
systems in more than 150 countries, including in the 
healthcare sector of the United Kingdom, dem-
onstrating the global reach and cost of cyber-enabled 
malicious activity. 
(7) In June 2017, Russia carried out the most 
destructive cyber-enabled operation in history, re-
leasing the NotPetya malware that caused billions of 
dollars’ worth of damage within Ukraine and across 
Europe, Asia, and the Americas. 
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SEC. 3. ACTIONS TO ADDRESS STATE-SPONSORED CYBER 
ACTIVITIES AGAINST THE UNITED STATES. 
(a) DESIGNATION AS A CRITICAL CYBER THREAT.— 
(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
President, 
acting 
through the Secretary of State, shall designate as a 
critical cyber threat— 
(A) each foreign person and each agency 
or instrumentality of a foreign state that the 
President determines to be responsible for or 
complicit in, or have engaged in, directly or in-
directly, state-sponsored cyber activities that 
are reasonably likely to result in, or have con-
tributed to, a significant threat to the national 
security, foreign policy, or economic health or 
financial stability of the United States and that 
have the purpose or effect of— 
(i) causing a significant disruption to 
the availability of a computer or network 
of computers; 
(ii) harming, or otherwise significantly 
compromising the provision of service by, a 
computer or network of computers that 
support one or more entities in a critical 
infrastructure sector; 
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(iii) significantly compromising the 
provision of services by one or more enti-
ties in a critical infrastructure sector; 
(iv) causing a significant misappro-
priation of funds or economic resources, 
trade secrets, personal identifiers, or finan-
cial information for commercial or competi-
tive advantage or private financial gain; 
(v) destabilizing the financial sector of 
the United States by tampering with, alter-
ing, or causing a misappropriation of data; 
or 
(vi) interfering with or undermining 
election processes or institutions by tam-
pering with, altering, or causing misappro-
priation of data; 
(B) each foreign person that the President 
has determined to have knowingly materially as-
sisted, sponsored, or provided financial, mate-
rial, or technological support for, or goods or 
services to or in support of, any activities de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) by a foreign person 
or agency or instrumentality of a foreign state 
designated as a critical cyber threat under sub-
paragraph (A); 
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(C) each agency or instrumentality of a 
foreign state that the President has determined 
to have materially assisted, sponsored, or pro-
vided financial, material, or technological sup-
port for, or goods or services to or in support 
of, any activities described in subparagraph (A) 
by a foreign person or agency or instrumen-
tality of a foreign state designated as a critical 
cyber threat under subparagraph (A); 
(D) each foreign person that the President 
has determined to have attempted to engage in 
any of the activities described in subparagraph 
(A) or (B); or 
(E) each agency or instrumentality of a 
foreign state that the President has determined 
to have attempted to engage in any of the ac-
tivities described in subparagraph (A) or (C). 
(2) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER.—The 
President shall— 
(A) publish in the Federal Register a list 
of each foreign person and each agency or in-
strumentality of a foreign state designated as a 
critical cyber threat under this subsection; and 
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(B) regularly update such list not later 
than seven days after making any changes to 
the list. 
(b) NON-TRAVEL-RELATED SANCTIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose 
one or more of the applicable sanctions described in 
paragraph (2) with respect to each foreign person 
and each agency or instrumentality of a foreign 
state designated as a critical cyber threat under sub-
section (a). 
(2) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de-
scribed in this paragraph are the following: 
(A) The President may provide for the 
withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of non-hu-
manitarian United States development assist-
ance under chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961. 
(B) The President may provide for the 
withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of United 
States security assistance under part II of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. 
(C) The President may direct the United 
States executive director to each international 
financial institution to use the voice and vote of 
the United States to oppose any loan from the 
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international financial institution that would 
benefit the designated foreign person or the 
designated agency or instrumentality of a for-
eign state. 
(D) The President may direct the Export- 
Import Bank of the United States, the Overseas 
Private Investment Corporation, or any other 
United States Government agency not to ap-
prove the issuance of any (or a specified num-
ber of) guarantees, insurance, extensions of 
credit, or participations in the extension of 
credit. 
(E) The President may, pursuant to such 
regulations or guidelines as the President may 
prescribe, prohibit any United States person 
from investing in or purchasing significant 
amounts of equity or debt instruments of the 
designated foreign person or the designated 
agency or instrumentality of a foreign state. 
(F) The President may, pursuant to such 
regulations or guidelines as the President may 
prescribe, prohibit any United States agency or 
instrumentality from procuring, or entering into 
any contract for the procurement of, any goods, 
technology, or services, or classes of goods, 
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technology, or services, from the designated for-
eign person or the designated agency or instru-
mentality of a foreign state. 
(G) The President may order the heads of 
the appropriate United States agencies to not 
issue any (or a specified number of) specific li-
censes, and to not grant any other specific au-
thority (or a specified number of authorities), to 
export any goods or technology to the des-
ignated foreign person or the designated agency 
or instrumentality of a foreign state under— 
(i) the Export Administration Act of 
1979 (as continued in effect pursuant the 
International Emergency Economic Powers 
Act); 
(ii) the Arms Export Control Act; 
(iii) the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; 
or 
(iv) any other statute that requires 
the prior review and approval of the 
United States Government as a condition 
for the export or re-export of goods or 
services. 
(H)(i) The President may exercise all of 
the powers granted to the President under the 
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International Emergency Economic Powers Act 
(50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (except that the re-
quirements of section 202 of such Act (50 
U.S.C. 1701) shall not apply) to the extent nec-
essary to block and prohibit all transactions in 
property and interests in property of the des-
ignated foreign person if such property and in-
terests in property are in the United States, 
come within the United States, or are or come 
within the possession or control of a United 
States person. 
(ii) The penalties provided for in sub-
sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter-
national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person that vio-
lates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, 
or causes a violation of regulations prescribed 
under clause (i) to the same extent that such 
penalties apply to a person that commits an un-
lawful act described in subsection (a) of such 
section 206. 
(I) The President may, pursuant to such 
regulations as the President may prescribe, pro-
hibit any transfers of credit or payments be-
tween one or more financial institutions or by, 
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through, or to any financial institution, to the 
extent that such transfers or payments are sub-
ject to the jurisdiction of the United States and 
involve any interest of the designated foreign 
person. 
(c) TRAVEL-RELATED SANCTIONS.— 
(1) ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, 
OR PAROLE.—An alien who is designated as a crit-
ical cyber threat under subsection (a) is— 
(A) inadmissible to the United States; 
(B) ineligible to receive a visa or other doc-
umentation to enter the United States; and 
(C) otherwise ineligible to be admitted or 
paroled into the United States or to receive any 
other benefit under the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 
(2) CURRENT
VISAS
REVOKED.—The issuing 
consular officer, the Secretary of State, or the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security (or a designee of either 
such Secretaries) shall revoke any visa or other 
entry documentation issued to the foreign person 
designated as a critical cyber threat under sub-
section (a) regardless of when issued. A revocation 
under this clause shall take effect immediately and 
shall automatically cancel any other valid visa or 
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entry documentation that is in the possession of 
such foreign person. 
(d) ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT
TO 
FOREIGN STATES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may impose 
any of the sanctions described in paragraph (2) with 
respect to the government of each foreign state that 
the President has determined aided, abetted, or di-
rected a foreign person or agency or instrumentality 
of a foreign state designated as a critical cyber 
threat under subsection (a). 
(2) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) are the following: 
(A) The President may provide for the 
withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of non-hu-
manitarian 
or 
non-trade-related 
assistance 
United States development assistance under 
chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance 
Act of 1961. 
(B) The President may provide for the 
withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of United 
States security assistance under part II of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. 
(C) The President may instruct the United 
States Executive Director to each appropriate 
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international financial institution to oppose, and 
vote against the extension by such institution of 
any loan or financial or technical assistance to 
the government of the foreign state. 
(D) No item on the United States Muni-
tions List (established pursuant to section 38 of 
the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 
2778)) or the Commerce Control List set forth 
in Supplement No. 1 to part 774 of title 15, 
Code of Federal Regulations, may be exported 
to the government of the foreign state. 
(E) The President may, pursuant to such 
regulations as the President may prescribe, pro-
hibit any transactions in foreign exchange that 
are subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
States and in which the government of the for-
eign state has any interest. 
(F) The President may, pursuant to such 
regulations as the President may prescribe, pro-
hibit any transfers of credit or payments be-
tween one or more financial institutions or by, 
through, or to any financial institution, to the 
extent that such transfers or payments are sub-
ject to the jurisdiction of the United States and 
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involve any interest of the government of the 
foreign state. 
(e) EXEMPTIONS, WAIVERS, AND REMOVALS
OF 
SANCTIONS AND DESIGNATIONS.— 
(1) EXEMPTIONS.— 
(A) MANDATORY
EXEMPTIONS.—The fol-
lowing activities shall be exempt from sanctions 
under subsections (b), (c), and (d): 
(i) Activities subject to the reporting 
requirements of title V of the National Se-
curity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 413 et seq.), 
or to any authorized intelligence activities 
of the United States. 
(ii) Any transaction necessary to com-
ply with United States obligations under 
the Agreement between the United Nations 
and the United States of America regard-
ing the Headquarters of the United Na-
tions, signed June 26, 1947, and entered 
into force on November 21, 1947, or under 
the Vienna Convention on Consular Rela-
tions, signed April 24, 1963, and entered 
into force on March 19, 1967, or under 
other international agreements. 
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(2) WAIVER.—The President may waive, on a 
case-by-case basis, the imposition of sanctions for a 
period of not more than one year, and may renew 
that waiver for additional periods of not more than 
one year, any sanction or penalty under this section 
if the President submits to the appropriate congres-
sional committees a written determination that the 
waiver meets one or more of the following require-
ments: 
(A) The waiver is important to the eco-
nomic or national security interests of the 
United States. 
(B) The waiver will further the enforce-
ment of this Act or is for an important law en-
forcement purpose. 
(C) The waiver is for an important human-
itarian purpose. 
(3) REMOVALS OF SANCTIONS AND DESIGNA-
TIONS.—The President may prescribe rules and reg-
ulations for the removal of sanctions under sub-
sections (b), (c), and (d) and the removal of designa-
tions under subsection (a) if the President deter-
mines that a foreign person, agency or instrumen-
tality of a foreign state, or government of a foreign 
state subject to such sanctions, as the case may be, 
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has verifiably ceased its participation in any of the 
conduct with respect to which the foreign person, 
agency or instrumentality of a foreign state, or gov-
ernment of a foreign state, as the case may be, was 
subject to sanctions under this section and has given 
assurances that it will no longer participate in such 
conduct. 
(4) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA-
TIONS
HEADQUARTERS
AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 
under subsection (c) shall not apply to a foreign per-
son if admitting the foreign person into the United 
States is necessary to permit the United States to 
comply with the Agreement regarding the Head-
quarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Suc-
cess June 26, 1947, and entered into force Novem-
ber 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the 
United States, or other applicable international obli-
gations. 
(f) BRIEFING TO CONGRESS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this section, and 
periodically thereafter, the President shall provide to 
the appropriate congressional committees a briefing 
on state-sponsored cyber activities against the 
United States. 
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(C) A summary of any efforts made by the 
Government of the United States to resolve and 
bring an immediate end to state-sponsored 
cyber activities against the United States that 
could result in the designation as a critical 
cyber threat under subsection (a). 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 
and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given such terms in 
section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1101). 
(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Financial Services, the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform, and the 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House 
of Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 
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(3) AGENCY OR INSTRUMENTALITY OF A FOR-
EIGN STATE.—The term ‘‘agency or instrumentality 
of a foreign state’’ has the meaning given such term 
in section 1603(b) of title 28, United States Code. 
(4) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR.—The 
term ‘‘critical infrastructure sector’’ means any of 
the designated critical infrastructure sectors identi-
fied in the Presidential Policy Directive entitled 
‘‘Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience’’, 
numbered 21, and dated February 12, 2013. 
(5) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per-
son’’ means— 
(A) an individual who is not a United 
States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for 
permanent residence to the United States; or 
(B) an entity that is not a United States 
person. 
(6) FOREIGN STATE.—The term ‘‘foreign state’’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 1603(a) 
of title 28, United States Code. 
(7) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 
respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 
means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 
have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 
result. 
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(8) MISAPPROPRIATION.—The term ‘‘misappro-
priation’’ means taking or obtaining by improper 
means, without permission or consent, or under false 
pretenses. 
(9) STATE-SPONSORED
CYBER
ACTIVITIES.— 
The term ‘‘state-sponsored cyber activities’’ means 
any cyber-enabled activities that— 
(A) are carried out by an agency or instru-
mentality of a foreign state; or 
(B) are carried out by a foreign person 
that is aided, abetted, or directed by a foreign 
state or an agency or instrumentality of a for-
eign state. 
(10) UNITED
STATES
PERSON.—The term 
‘‘United States person’’ means— 
(A) a United States citizen or an alien law-
fully admitted for permanent residence to the 
United States; or 
(B) an entity organized under the laws of 
the United States or of any jurisdiction within 
the United States, including a foreign branch of 
such an entity. 
Æ 
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