Title: Preserving American Justice Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Preserving American Justice Act
This bill requires an investigation to determine whether the Saudi Arabian government helped any Saudi citizen or national leave the United States to escape criminal prosecution. It also establishes certain penalties for foreign governments that assist with such departures.
Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether the Saudi Arabian government materially assisted or facilitated the departure of any Saudi citizen or national in order to escape criminal prosecution in the United States. Further, DOJ must submit a report to Congress and the Department of State if it determines the Saudi Arabian government committed such acts.
The bill generally prohibits the issuance of visas to certain Saudi nationals or citizens if DOJ determines that the Saudi Arabian government assisted any Saudi national or citizen in escaping criminal prosecution.
Additionally, DOJ must annually report on foreign nationals who leave the United States while awaiting trial or sentencing for a criminal offense that was committed in the United States.
DOJ must also maintain a list of countries that it determines have materially assisted or facilitated the departure of foreign nationals. Further, the bill makes foreign governments that are included on this list ineligible for the tax exclusion for certain income received from investments in the United States.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 230 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 230

   To require a report on foreign nationals who flee from the United 
   States while awaiting trial or sentencing for a criminal offense 
 committed in the United States, to establish a list of countries who 
have assisted or facilitated with such departures, to penalize parties 
connected to such departures, and to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 to prohibit the exclusion from gross income from certain 
  investments made by foreign governments who are identified on such 
                                 list.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 25 (legislative day, January 24), 2019

Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require a report on foreign nationals who flee from the United 
   States while awaiting trial or sentencing for a criminal offense 
 committed in the United States, to establish a list of countries who 
have assisted or facilitated with such departures, to penalize parties 
connected to such departures, and to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 to prohibit the exclusion from gross income from certain 
  investments made by foreign governments who are identified on such 
                                 list.

    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 ``Preserving American Justice Act''.

SEC. 2. INVESTIGATION OF CERTAIN FOREIGN NATIONALS.

    (a) Investigation.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall complete an 
investigation of whether the Government of Saudi Arabia materially 
assisted or facilitated any citizen or national of Saudi Arabia, 
including Abdulrahman Noorah, Abdulaziz Al Duways, Waleed Ali Alharthi, 
Suliman Ali Algwaiz, and Ali Hussain Alhamoud, in departing from the 
United States while the citizen or national was awaiting trial or 
sentencing for a criminal offense committed in the United States.
    (b) Report.--If the Attorney General determines that the Government 
of Saudi Arabia did materially assist or facilitate a citizen or 
national of Saudi Arabia as described in subsection (a), the Attorney 
General shall submit a written report to Congress and the Secretary of 
State detailing the findings of the investigation.
    (c) Prohibition on Issuance and Revocation of Certain Visas.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided under paragraph (2), if 
        the Secretary of State receives a report under subsection (b), 
        the Secretary of State may not issue a visa, and shall revoke 
        any visa issued, to a Member of the Council of Ministers of 
        Saudi Arabia, an immediate family member of a Member of the 
        Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia, a descendant of the King 
        of Saudi Arabia, or an immediate family member of such a 
        descendant until the date on which the citizen or national of 
        Saudi Arabia described in the report is extradited to the 
        United States for completion of the trial or sentencing.
            (2) Exception.--The Secretary of State may issue a visa 
        otherwise prohibited under paragraph (1), or not revoke a visa 
        otherwise required to be revoked under such paragraph, if the 
        Secretary determines that it is necessary--
                    (A) to enable the President to receive an 
                Ambassador or other public Minister under Article II, 
                section 3, of the Constitution in a manner consistent 
                with the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular 
                Relations; or
                    (B) 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 with any other 
                applicable international obligations.
            (3) Vienna conventions on diplomatic and consular relations 
        defined.--In this subsection, the term ``Vienna Conventions on 
        Diplomatic and Consular Relations'' means--
                    (A) the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 
                done at Vienna April 18, 1961; and
                    (B) the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 
                done at Vienna April 24, 1963.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF FOREIGN NATIONALS FLEEING THE UNITED STATES DURING 
              CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.

    (a) Foreign National Defined.--In this section, the term ``foreign 
national'' means an individual in the United States who is not a 
citizen of the United States.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and once every year thereafter, the Attorney General, acting 
through the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 
coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall--
            (1) collect information from State courts and law 
        enforcement agencies on any foreign nationals who have, during 
        the reporting period, departed from the United States while 
        awaiting trial or sentencing for a criminal offense committed 
        in the United States; and
            (2) publish a report based on the information collected 
        under paragraph (1).
    (c) List of Countries.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General, in coordination with 
        the Director of National Intelligence, shall establish and 
        maintain a list of countries the governments of which have, in 
        the determination of the Attorney General, materially assisted 
        or facilitated the departure of any foreign national included 
        in the report required under subsection (b).
            (2) Determination.--In establishing and maintaining the 
        list required under paragraph (1), the Attorney General--
                    (A) shall take into account the information in the 
                annual reports published under subsection (b)(2); and
                    (B) may include or remove any country as the 
                Attorney General determines appropriate.
            (3) Report to congress.--Not later than 1 year after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, and once every year thereafter, 
        the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on the 
        procedures used by the Attorney General in determining which 
        countries are on the list maintained under paragraph (1).
    (d) Loss of Tax Exclusion for Foreign Governments Included on 
List.--Section 892 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d) and by inserting after 
subsection (b) the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Exception.--Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply to any foreign 
government which is identified on the list maintained by the Attorney 
General pursuant to section 3(c) of the Preserving American Justice Act 
for any period beginning with the date that is 30 days after the date 
such foreign government is added to such list and ending with the date 
such foreign government is removed from such list.''.
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