DEBRIS Act of 2022
Bill: S.3925 | Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco (R-FL)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Deterring Errant Behavior Risking International Space Act of 2022 or the DEBRIS Act of 2022
This bill requires the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on foreign persons (entities or individuals) that deliberately or negligently create space debris without providing prior notification to the U.S. government. The President must also impose such sanctions on foreign persons that provide certain assistance or support to the activity that resulted in the creation of the space debris.

To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons responsible for the 
      negligent creation of space debris, 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 ``Deterring Errant Behavior Risking 
International Space Act of 2022'' or the ``DEBRIS Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Admission; admitted; alien.--The terms ``admission'', 
        ``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 a 
        person that is not a United States person.
            (3) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or 
        entity.
            (4) Space debris.--The term ``space debris'' means any 
        human-made, Earth-orbiting object or fragment of an object that 
        is nonfunctional and for which there is no reasonable 
        expectation of assuming or resuming its intended function.
            (5) 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 an entity; 
                or
                    (C) any person in the United States.

SEC. 3. DETERMINATION BY PRESIDENT.

    (a) In General.--If persuasive information becomes available to the 
executive branch indicating the substantial possibility that a foreign 
person has created space debris without prior notification or warning 
to the United States Government, the President shall, not later than 30 
days after the executive branch receives such information, submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes--
            (1) a determination with respect to whether that foreign 
        person is responsible for creating space debris without prior 
        notification to the United States Government, through--
                    (A) deliberate action, including weapons or 
                technical testing in orbit; or
                    (B) negligence, including through--
                            (i) an unintentional collision of a human-
                        made object that the foreign person failed to 
                        track;
                            (ii) a failure to properly dispose of 
                        human-made objects, such as through deorbiting; 
                        or
                            (iii) other gross negligence; and
            (2) an identification of any other foreign person that the 
        President determines--
                    (A) acted as an agent of or on behalf of the 
                foreign person described in paragraph (1) in a matter 
                relating to the creation of the space debris; or
                    (B) has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided 
                financial, material, or technological support for, or 
                goods or services in support of, an activity resulting 
                in the creation of the space debris.
    (b) Consideration of Certain Information in Making a 
Determination.--In determining whether a foreign person has engaged in 
an activity described in subsection (a), the President shall consider--
            (1) information provided by the chairperson and ranking 
        member of each of the appropriate congressional committees;
            (2) information provided by the Commander of the United 
        States Space Command; and
            (3) credible information obtained by other countries and 
        nongovernmental organizations that monitor space debris.
    (c) Requests by Chairperson and Ranking Member of Appropriate 
Congressional Committees.--Not later than 120 days after receiving a 
written request from the chairperson and ranking member of one of the 
appropriate congressional committees with respect to whether a foreign 
person has engaged in an activity described in subsection (a), the 
President shall--
            (1) determine if that person has engaged in such an 
        activity; and
            (2) submit a report to the chairperson and ranking member 
        of that committee with respect to that determination that 
        includes--
                    (A) a statement of whether or not the President 
                imposed or intends to impose sanctions under section 4 
                with respect to the person; and
                    (B) if the President imposed or intends to impose 
                sanctions, a description of those sanctions.
    (d) Form of Report.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
    (e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
        and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the 
        Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after submitting a report 
under section 3(a), the President shall impose the sanctions described 
in subsection (b) with respect to any foreign person--
            (1) determined under paragraph (1) of section 3(a) to be 
        responsible for creating space debris; or
            (2) identified under paragraph (2) of that section.
    (b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this 
subsection are the following:
            (1) Blocking of property.--
                    (A) In general.--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 described in paragraph (1) 
                or (2) of subsection (a) 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.
                    (B) Inapplicability of national emergency 
                requirement.--The requirements of section 202 of the 
                International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 
                1701) shall not apply for purposes of this section.
            (2) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole.--
                    (A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien 
                described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) 
                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 
                        paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) 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--
                                    (I) take effect immediately; and
                                    (II) automatically cancel any other 
                                valid visa or entry documentation that 
                                is in the alien's possession.
    (c) 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.--A person that violates, attempts to 
        violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this 
        section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry 
        out this section 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) to the same 
        extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in 
        subsection (a) of that section.
    (d) Exceptions.--
            (1) Exception relating to civil space cooperation.--
        Sanctions under subsection (b) shall not apply with respect to 
        a person that is a party to an agreement relating to civil 
        space cooperation with any agency of the United States.
            (2) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters 
        agreement and law enforcement objectives.--Sanctions under 
        subsection (b)(2) shall not apply with respect to an alien if 
        admitting the alien into the United States--
                    (A) would further important law enforcement 
                objectives; or
                    (B) 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 of the United 
                States.
            (3) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
                    (A) In general.--The requirement to block and 
                prohibit all transactions in all property and interests 
                in property under subsection (b)(1) shall not include 
                the authority or a requirement to impose sanctions on 
                the importation of goods.
                    (B) Good.--In this paragraph, the term ``good'' 
                means any article, natural or manmade substance, 
                material, supply or manufactured product, including 
                inspection and test equipment, and excluding technical 
                data.
    (e) Termination of Sanctions.--The President may terminate the 
application of sanctions under this section with respect to a person if 
the President determines and reports to the appropriate congressional 
committees not later than 15 days before the termination of the 
sanctions that--
            (1) credible information exists that the person did not 
        engage in the activity for which sanctions were imposed;
            (2) the person has been prosecuted appropriately for the 
        activity for which sanctions were imposed; or
            (3) the termination of the sanctions is in the vital 
        national security interests of the United States.
    (f) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on 
        Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation, the Committee on Armed Services, and the 
        Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on 
        Financial Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
        Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the Committee on 
        Armed Services, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 
        of Representatives.

SEC. 5. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--The President shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees, in accordance with subsection (b), a report 
that includes--
            (1) a list of each foreign person with respect to which the 
        President imposed sanctions pursuant to section 4 during the 
        year preceding the submission of the report;
            (2) the number of foreign persons with respect to which the 
        President--
                    (A) imposed sanctions under section 4(a) during 
                that year; and
                    (B) terminated sanctions under section 4(e) during 
                that year;
            (3) the dates on which such sanctions were imposed or 
        terminated, as the case may be;
            (4) the reasons for imposing or terminating such sanctions; 
        and
            (5) a description of the efforts of the President to 
        encourage the governments of other countries to impose 
        sanctions that are similar to the sanctions authorized by 
        section 4.
    (b) Dates for Submission.--
            (1) Initial report.--The President shall submit the initial 
        report under subsection (a) not later than 120 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Subsequent reports.--
                    (A) In general.--The President shall submit a 
                subsequent report under subsection (a) on April 12, or 
                the first day thereafter on which both Houses of 
                Congress are in session, of--
                            (i) the calendar year in which the initial 
                        report is submitted if the initial report is 
                        submitted before April 12 of that calendar 
                        year; and
                            (ii) each calendar year thereafter.
                    (B) Form of report.--
                            (i) In general.--Each report required by 
                        subsection (a) shall be submitted in 
                        unclassified form, but may include a classified 
                        annex.
                            (ii) Exception.--The name of a foreign 
                        person to be included in the list required by 
                        subsection (a)(1) may be submitted in the 
                        classified annex authorized by paragraph (1) 
                        only if the President--
                                    (I) determines that it is vital for 
                                the national security interests of the 
                                United States to do so;
                                    (II) uses the annex in a manner 
                                consistent with congressional intent 
                                and the purposes of this Act; and
                                    (III) not later than 15 days before 
                                submitting the name in a classified 
                                annex, provides to the appropriate 
                                congressional committees notice of, and 
                                a justification for, including the name 
                                in the classified annex despite any 
                                publicly available credible information 
                                indicating that the person engaged in 
                                an activity described in section 4(a).
    (c) Public Availability.--
            (1) In general.--The unclassified portion of the report 
        required by subsection (a) shall be made available to the 
        public, including through publication in the Federal Register.
            (2) Nonapplicability of confidentiality requirement with 
        respect to visa records.--The President shall publish the list 
        required by subsection (a)(1) without regard to the 
        requirements of section 222(f) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(f)) with respect to 
        confidentiality of records pertaining to the issuance or 
        refusal of visas or permits to enter the United States.
    (d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on 
        Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation, the Committee on Armed Services, and the 
        Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on 
        Financial Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
        Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the Committee on 
        Armed Services, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 
        of Representatives.
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