Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom Accountability Act of 2021
Bill: S.226 | Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom Accountability Act of 2021
This bill establishes measures to protect the human rights of journalists.
Specifically, the bill (1) expands the scope of required reports related to violations of the human rights of journalists, (2) requires the President to impose certain property- and visa-blocking sanctions on persons responsible for gross violations of the human rights of journalists, and (3) prohibits certain foreign assistance to a governmental entity of a country if an official acting under authority of the entity has committed a gross violation of human rights against a journalist.

To protect journalists and other members of the press from gross 
 violations of internationally recognized human rights, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom 
Accountability Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) A free and independent press is necessary for citizens 
        to make informed choices on issues of public concern, to have 
        the information necessary to recognize truth from falsehood, 
        and to hold the powerful and government officials to account.
            (2) As reflected in the First Amendment to the United 
        States Constitution, a free press is essential to safeguard 
        democracy.
            (3) The suppression of the press is historically associated 
        with authoritarian rule.
            (4) As provided in Article 19 of the United Nations 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International 
        Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all people enjoy the 
        right to freedom of opinion and expression, which includes the 
        right to seek, receive, and impart information.
            (5) An informed public is fundamental to a free society.
            (6) In accordance with a long United States history of 
        championing freedom of the press around the globe, the Daniel 
        Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-166; 124 
        Stat. 1186) was enacted into law.
            (7) Since the passage of the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the 
        Press Act of 2009, the global environment for a free and 
        independent press has become more repressive.
            (8) According to 2020 data from the Committee to Protect 
        Journalists, for the fifth consecutive year, at least 250 
        journalists were imprisoned globally in 2020, and there was 
        complete impunity in an estimated 86 percent of cases of 
        murdered journalists in the last decade.
            (9) According to 2019 data from Freedom House, in 7 of the 
        preceding 10 years, more countries saw declines in press 
        freedom scores than improvements. In the preceding 5 years, 
        nearly 50 percent more countries saw a net decline in press 
        freedom.
            (10) According to 2019 data from Reporters Without Borders, 
        63 percent of the journalists killed in 2019 were deliberately 
        targeted and 59 percent were killed outside war zones.
            (11) In 2018, the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the 
        hands of Saudi intelligence officers acting on explicit orders 
        of the Government of Saudi Arabia underscored the extent to 
        which those in power will go to stifle the freedom of 
        expression, silence their critics, and eliminate the threat 
        they believe independent journalists pose to their rule.

SEC. 3. EXPANDING SCOPE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS WITH RESPECT TO 
              VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS 
              AGAINST JOURNALISTS.

    The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is 
amended--
            (1) in section 116(d)(12) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)(12))--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``direct 
                physical attacks'' and all that follows through 
                ``pressure,'' and inserting the following: ``gross 
                violations of internationally recognized human rights 
                (as defined in section 502B), direct physical attacks, 
                online harassment, imprisonment, indirect sources of 
                pressure, surveillance,''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking ``ensure 
                the prosecution'' and all that follows through the end 
                period and inserting ``ensure the investigation, 
                prosecution, and proper punishment of government 
                officials or private individuals who engage in or 
                facilitate murder, unlawful imprisonment, bodily harm, 
                digital or physical attacks, including hacking, 
                censorship, surveillance, or harassment against 
                journalists and others who perform, or provide 
                administrative support to, the dissemination of print, 
                broadcast, internet-based, or social media intended to 
                communicate facts or opinion.''; and
            (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)--
                    (A) in the first subsection (i), in paragraph (2), 
                by striking ``direct physical attacks'' and all that 
                follows through ``pressure,'' and inserting the 
                following: ``gross violations of internationally 
                recognized human rights, direct physical attacks, 
                online harassment, imprisonment, indirect sources of 
                pressure, surveillance,''; and
                    (B) by redesignating the second subsection (i) as 
                subsection (j).

SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR 
              THE COMMISSION OF GROSS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY 
              RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS AGAINST JOURNALISTS.

    (a) Identification.--
            (1) In general.--The President shall identify foreign 
        persons that the President determines, based on credible 
        information, have perpetrated, ordered, or otherwise directly 
        or indirectly participated in the extrajudicial killing of or 
        other gross violation of internationally recognized human 
        rights committed against a journalist or other person who 
        performs, or provides administrative support to, the 
        dissemination of print, broadcast, internet-based, or social 
        media intended to report newsworthy activities or information 
        or communicate facts or fact-based opinions.
            (2) Publication of list.--The Secretary of State shall--
                    (A) publish on a publicly available website of the 
                Department of State a list of each foreign person 
                identified under paragraph (1); and
                    (B) update that list not less frequently than 
                annually.
    (b) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President shall impose the 
sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each foreign 
person included in the list published under subsection (a)(2) on and 
after the date on which the person is first included in that list.
    (c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this 
subsection are the following:
            (1) Asset blocking.--The President shall exercise all of 
        the powers granted to the President under the International 
        Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the 
        extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in 
        property and interests in property of a foreign person included 
        in the list published under subsection (a)(2) if such property 
        and interests 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.
            (2) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole.--
                    (A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien 
                described in subsection (a)(1) is--
                            (i) inadmissible to the United States;
                            (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 
                        documentation to enter the United States; and
                            (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 
                        or paroled into the United States or to receive 
                        any other benefit under the Immigration and 
                        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
                    (B) Current visas revoked.--
                            (i) In general.--An alien described in 
                        subsection (a)(1) is subject to revocation of 
                        any visa or other entry documentation 
                        regardless of when the visa or other entry 
                        documentation is or was issued.
                            (ii) Immediate effect.--A revocation under 
                        clause (i) shall take effect immediately and 
                        automatically cancel any other valid visa or 
                        entry documentation that is in the alien's 
                        possession.
    (d) Implementation; Penalties.--
            (1) Implementation.--The President may exercise all 
        authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the 
        International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 
        1704) to carry out this section.
            (2) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections 
        (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency 
        Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person 
        that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or 
        causes a violation of this section to the same extent that such 
        penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act 
        described in subsection (a) of such section 206.
    (e) Waiver and Termination of Sanctions.--
            (1) In general.--The President may waive the requirement to 
        include a foreign person on the list published under subsection 
        (a)(2) and to impose sanctions with respect to that person, or 
        may remove a foreign person from the list and terminate any 
        sanctions imposed with respect to that person, if the President 
        submits to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
        Senate a certification that--
                    (A) the waiver or removal is in the national 
                interest of the United States; or
                    (B) appropriate foreign government officials have--
                            (i) credibly and thoroughly investigated 
                        the foreign person and, as appropriate, brought 
                        the person to justice for perpetrating, 
                        ordering, or otherwise directly or indirectly 
                        participating in acts described in subsection 
                        (a)(1);
                            (ii) publicly condemned such acts and 
                        violations of freedom of the press; and
                            (iii) complied with any requests from the 
                        United States Government for information with 
                        respect to such acts.
            (2) Form of certification.--Each certification submitted 
        under paragraph (1)--
                    (A) shall be submitted in unclassified form and 
                include an unclassified description of the factual 
                basis supporting the certification; and
                    (B) may include a classified annex.
    (f) Exceptions.--
            (1) Exception for intelligence activities.--The sanctions 
        described in subsection (c) shall not apply to any activity 
        subject to the reporting requirements under title V of the 
        National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any 
        authorized intelligence activities of the United States.
            (2) Exception to comply with international obligations.--
        The sanctions described in subsection (c)(2) shall not apply 
        with respect to an alien if admitting or paroling the alien 
        into the United States is necessary to permit the United States 
        to comply with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 
        United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 
        entered into force November 21, 1947, between the United 
        Nations and the United States, or other applicable 
        international obligations.
            (3) Exception relating to the importation of goods.--
                    (A) In general.--The authorities and requirements 
                to impose sanctions under this section shall not 
                include any authority or requirement to impose 
                sanctions on the importation of goods.
                    (B) Good defined.--In this subsection, the term 
                ``good'' means any article, natural or manmade 
                substance, material, supply, or manufactured product, 
                including inspection and test equipment and excluding 
                technical data.
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien'' 
        have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
            (2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an 
        individual who is not a United States citizen or an alien 
        lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States.
            (3) Gross violation of internationally recognized human 
        rights.--The term ``gross violation of internationally 
        recognized human rights'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
        2304).
            (4) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means--
                    (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 
                admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
                    (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 entity; or
                    (C) any person in the United States.

SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Prohibition.--Assistance authorized under the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or the Arms Export 
Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) may not be made available to any 
governmental entity of a country if the Secretary of State or the 
Director of National Intelligence has credible information that one or 
more senior officials acting under the authority of such entity has 
committed, ordered, or otherwise directly or indirectly participated in 
a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights against a 
journalist or other person who performs, or provides administrative 
support to, the dissemination of print, broadcast, internet-based, or 
social media intended to report newsworthy activities or information, 
or communicate facts or fact-based opinions. To the maximum extent 
practicable, a list of such governmental entities shall be published on 
publicly available websites of the Department of State and of the 
Office of the Director of National Intelligence and shall be updated on 
a regular basis.
    (b) Prompt Information.--The Secretary of State shall promptly 
inform appropriate officials of the government of a country from which 
assistance is withheld in accordance with the prohibition under 
subsection (a).
    (c) Exception.--The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not 
apply with respect to the following:
            (1) Humanitarian assistance or disaster relief authorized 
        under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
            (2) Assistance the Secretary determines would assist the 
        government of a country to bring the responsible members of the 
        relevant governmental entity to justice for the acts described 
        in subsection (a).
    (d) Waiver.--
            (1) In general.--The President may waive the prohibition 
        under subsection (a) with respect to a governmental entity of a 
        country if--
                    (A) the President, acting through the Secretary of 
                State and the Director of National Intelligence, 
                determines that such a waiver is in the national 
                interest of the United States; or
                    (B) the Secretary of State has received credible 
                information that the government of that country has--
                            (i) performed a credible and thorough 
                        investigation of the acts described in 
                        subsection (a) and is taking effective steps to 
                        bring responsible members of the relevant 
                        governmental entity to justice;
                            (ii) condemned violations of freedom of the 
                        press and the acts described in subsection (a); 
                        and
                            (iii) complied with United States 
                        Government requests for information with 
                        respect to the acts described in subsection 
                        (a).
            (2) Certification.--A waiver described in paragraph (1) may 
        only take effect if--
                    (A) the President certifies, not later than 30 days 
                before the effective date of the waiver, to the 
                Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
                Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 
                Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
                Appropriations of the Senate that such waiver is 
                warranted and includes an unclassified description of 
                the factual basis supporting the certification, which 
                may contain a classified annex; and
                    (B) the Director of National Intelligence, not 
                later than 30 days before the effective date of the 
                waiver, submits to the Permanent Select Committee on 
                Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the 
                Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate a report 
                detailing any underlying information that the 
                intelligence community (as such term is defined in 
                section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 
                U.S.C. 3003)) has regarding the perpetrators of the 
                acts described in subsection (a), which shall be 
                submitted in unclassified form but may contain a 
                classified annex.
                                 <all>