Title: Iran Payments Accountability Act of 2018
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Iran Payments Accountability Act of 2018
This bill requires the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to determine if the Government of Iran uses certain funds to: (1) sponsor any foreign terrorist organization or Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, (2) engage in violence or hostilities against U.S. civilians or service members, (3) conduct military operations in Syria, or (4) facilitate illicit narcotics activities. The applicable funds are those received by Iran as sanction relief or as a cash payment from the United States in 2016.
The Department of State must demand repayment of funds from the Government of Iran if the ODNI determines funds were used for such actions.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6774 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6774

 To require the Director of National Intelligence to seek to determine 
if the Government of Iran has used certain funds received by reason of 
sanctions relief pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or 
 cash payments conveyed by the United States in early 2016 to sponsor 
     foreign terrorist organizations, facilitate illicit narcotics 
  activities, or conduct military operations in Syria, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 12, 2018

  Mr. Bishop of Michigan (for himself and Mr. Conaway) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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 require the Director of National Intelligence to seek to determine 
if the Government of Iran has used certain funds received by reason of 
sanctions relief pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or 
 cash payments conveyed by the United States in early 2016 to sponsor 
     foreign terrorist organizations, facilitate illicit narcotics 
  activities, or conduct military operations in Syria, 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 ``Iran Payments Accountability Act of 
2018''.

SEC. 2. DETERMINATION AND REPORT ON USE OF FUNDS RECEIVED BY THE 
              GOVERNMENT OF IRAN BY REASON OF SANCTIONS RELIEF PURSUANT 
              TO THE JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF ACTION OR CASH 
              PAYMENTS CONVEYED BY THE UNITED STATES IN EARLY 2016.

    (a) Determination.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of National Intelligence 
        shall seek to determine if the Government of Iran has used any 
        of the funds described in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) to sponsor any foreign terrorist organization, 
                including Hamas, Hezbollah, or Iran's Revolutionary 
                Guard Corps;
                    (B) to engage in violence or hostilities against 
                United States nationals or members of the United States 
                Armed Forces;
                    (C) to conduct military operations in Syria; or
                    (D) to facilitate illicit narcotics activities.
            (2) Funds described.--Funds described in this paragraph 
        are--
                    (A) funds received by reason of any action 
                involving any measure of statutory sanctions relief by 
                the United States pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive 
                Plan of Action; and
                    (B) cash payments totaling$1,700,000,000 conveyed 
                by the United States Government to the Government of 
                Iran in early 2016.
    (b) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Director of National 
        Intelligence shall submit to Congress a report that contains--
                    (A) the determination of the Director required 
                under subsection (a) and a justification for the 
                determination; and
                    (B) a description of whether the cash payments 
                described in subsection (a)(2)(B)--
                            (i) constituted an exchange of cash 
                        payments for hostages; or
                            (ii) were discussed as part of negotiations 
                        for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
            (2) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be 
        submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified 
        annex.

SEC. 3. ACTIONS TO DEMAND REPAYMENT OF FUNDS FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF 
              IRAN.

    (a) Initial Actions.--If the determination of the Director of 
National Intelligence contained in the report submitted to Congress 
under section 2 is an affirmative determination, the Secretary of State 
shall immediately demand repayment of funds described in section 
2(a)(2) from the Government of Iran.
    (b) Subsequent Actions.--Until such time as funds described in 
section 2(a)(2) are repaid by the Government of Iran, the Secretary of 
State shall continue to take actions to prioritize repayment of such 
funds, including actions to leverage repayment of such funds in future 
diplomatic engagements with the Government of Iran and through 
imposition of new or increased sanctions against Iran.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Action involving any measure of statutory sanctions 
        relief by the united states.--The term ``action involving any 
        measure of statutory sanctions relief by the United States'' 
        has the meaning given such term in section 135(c)(3) of the 
        Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended by the Iran Nuclear 
        Agreement Review Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-17; 129 Stat. 
        201).
            (2) Foreign terrorist organization.--The term ``foreign 
        terrorist organization'' means an organization designated by 
        the Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization 
        pursuant to section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 
        Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)).
            (3) Joint comprehensive plan of action.--The term ``Joint 
        Comprehensive Plan of Action'' means the Joint Comprehensive 
        Plan of Action, agreed to at Vienna July 14, 2015, by Iran and 
        by the People's Republic of China, France, Germany, the Russian 
        Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the 
        High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs 
        and Security Policy, and all implementing materials and 
        agreements, including side agreements, related to the Joint 
        Comprehensive Plan of Action, and transmitted by the President 
        to Congress on July 19, 2015, pursuant to section 135(a) of the 
        Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended by the Iran Nuclear 
        Agreement Review Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-17; 129 Stat. 
        201).
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