Transnational Repression Reporting Act of 2024

Bill: 118-hr-9707
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA-28]
Introduced: 2024-09-19
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2024-09-19
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9707 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 19, 2024 Mr. Schiff (for himself, Mr. Goldman of New York , Ms. Lee of California , Ms. Norton , Ms. Omar , Mr. Swalwell , Mr. McGovern , and Mr. Valadao ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary , 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 establish a reporting requirement for cases of transnational repression against United States persons, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Transnational Repression Reporting Act of 2024 . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) There have been allegations of transnational repression against United States persons or persons in the United States, including targeting political and human rights activists, journalists, and members of religious and ethnic minority groups. (2) A large number of diaspora communities have experienced a rise of incidents of intimidation, harassment, or, in some cases, violence in the United States. However, transnational repression against United States persons or persons in the United States appear to be on the rise particularly from India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China. (3) Preliminary investigations suggest that individuals associated with the Government of India may have played a role in orchestrating the 2023 attempted assassination of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a prominent Sikh activist living in New York. The attempted assassination of Pannun appears to have been an effort to silence his criticism of the Indian Government for his advocacy for the rights of Sikhs and the creation of an independent Sikh state, known as Khalistan, out of the Province of Punjab in India, for which the Government of India has declared Pannun a terrorist on the basis of sedition and secessionism. The attempted assassination of Pannun followed shortly after the successful assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023 in Canada, for which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that there was credible allegations of Indian involvement. (4) Saudi Arabia has engaged in a campaign of targeting critics, former members of the royal family, women fleeing gender-based discrimination, and journalists, as well as their families. Saudi Arabia sentenced Prince Abdullah bin Faisal al Saud to 30 years in prison after he discussed the imprisonment of a royal cousin and fellow prince. Prince Abdullah made the call from the United States while attending Northeastern University as a graduate student. United States citizens are no longer immune to these repressive measures. Saad al Madi, a United States citizen, was imprisoned for tweets he posted that were critical of the regime. Like Prince Abdullah, Saad al Madi made his comments in the United States but was arrested in Saudi Arabia while on a visit. While Saad Al Madi initially received a virtual life sentence, he has been released but remains in Saudi Arabia under a travel ban. Saudi Arabia was also responsible for the brutal murder of United States-based Washington Post columnist Jamal Khasshogi in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey in 2018. (5) Iran has targeted dissidents and critics in the United States for decades. Iran attempted to assassinate Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and rights activist, in 2022. There are also credible allegations that Iran was involved in an assassination plot against an Iranian-American writer in New York and an Iranian defector living in Maryland, both in the early 2020s. In 1980, Iran was involved in the successful assassination of Ali Akbar Tabatabai, an Iranian dissident living in Bethesda, Maryland. His killer, Dawud Salahuddin, fled to Iran after the assassination, publicly confessing to the murder and claiming he received $5,000 from the Iranian Government carry it out. Iran has also engaged in assassination attempts against officials of the United States Government who were critical of the Iranian regime. A member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps allegedly hired an assassin in 2021 to murder former national security adviser John Bolton. And, most recently, Iran was implicated in a plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump in 2024. Iran was also implicated in a plot to murder the Saudi ambassador to the United States in 2012. (6) China has attempted to silence its critics by employing intimidation and harassment, particularly against members of the Chinese diaspora living in the United States but having relatives, citizenship, or financial ties to mainland China or Hong Kong. In November 2023, supporters of the Chinese Communist Party, with the aid of Chinese diplomats, attacked a group of protesters in San Francisco. The victims of the attack, most of whom had roots in China, East Turkestan, Hong Kong, or Tibet, had gathered to protest President Xi Jinping’s visit to the city. There is also credible evidence that China is repressing the freedoms of members of the Falun Gong, as well as hindering the business operations of the Shen Yun Performing Arts company. There is further evidence that China continues to repress members of Uyghur ethnic communities who are living abroad by threatening their relatives with detention. China has also conducted surveillance against Tibetan activists, using naturalized U.S. citizens of Chinese descent or Chinese agents to infiltrate and spy on members of pro-democracy groups in New York and other States. (7) Notwithstanding the importance of a bilateral relationship to the common interests of a stable and prosperous region, any such relationship should be based on an alignment of the shared values held in democratic institutions, fundamental human rights, and respect for international laws and norms. (8) Acts of transnational repression violate the sovereignty of nations, undermining the values that are foundational in relationships within the international community of nations. (9) Transnational repression results in victims through the silencing of critics and stifling speech, making it more difficult for individuals to express freedoms, and giving pause to the consideration of the potential costs for doing so. (10) Transnational repression puts in jeopardy a country’s standing and reputation within the international community as well as the bilateral relationship with the United States, requiring actions by the government committing such offenses that are commensurate with the seriousness of the violation. 3. Reporting requirements (a) Annual Report Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees on cases of transnational repression. The report shall include, for the covered period, the following: (1) A detailed description of each such case reported to the Department of Justice or another relevant Federal agency, including the nature of the transnational repression, the individuals involved, and the location of each incident of transnational repression associated with the case. (2) An assessment of the case, using all available law enforcement and intelligence resources, including an evaluation of the foreign government’s involvement in the case. (3) The actions taken by the United States Government in response to each case, including— (A) diplomatic measures; (B) law enforcement actions and criminal prosecutions; (C) civil and administrative actions, such as targeted sanctions, fines and penalties, and entry ineligibility of foreign persons; (D) protective measures provided to victims; and (E) collaboration of the United States Government with other countries that have experienced similar cases of transnational repression. (4) The actions taken by the foreign government to address the allegations of transnational repression, including any findings of culpability and the holding of individuals accountable. (5) An assessment of the trends and patterns of transnational repression in each foreign country in which transnational repression has originated. (b) Cases In preparing the first report under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall include cases of alleged transnational repression originating from the following countries: (1) India, including the alleged assassination attempt of Gurpatwant Pannun in 2023, and other acts of harassment and intimidation against the Sikh community. (2) Saudi Arabia, including the acts of harassment, intimidation, and imprisonment against critics of the government, such as the acts committed against Prince Abdullah bin Faisal al Saud and Saad Almadi. (3) Iran, including the threat of kidnapping and the threat of assassination of journalists and rights activists, such as Masih Alinejad, in 2022. (4) China, including the harassment and intimidation of human rights and pro-democracy activists, particularly former residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Uyghur ethnic communities, members of the Falun Gong and the Shen Yun Performing Arts company, and Tibetan activists. (c) Classification Each report under subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form and made available to the public. A classified annex shall be made available to the Members of the appropriate congressional committees, as needed, and maintained by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. (d) Privacy protection In preparing the report under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall comply with all applicable privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties protections when identifying individuals who have been the target of transnational repression. (e) Covered period In this section, the term covered period means— (1) for the first report under subsection (a), the previous 10-year period; and (2) for each subsequent report under subsection (a), the previous one-year period. 4. Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. 5. Definitions In this Act: (1) Transnational Repression The term transnational repression means any activity of a foreign government, or an agent of a foreign government or a proxy thereof, that— (A) (i) is any effort to harass, intimidate, or digitally or physically threaten a person to either take action or to refrain from taking action that would be in the interest of the foreign government; or (ii) is an attempt to prevent the person from exercising any right that is protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, or to retaliate against a person for having exercised such a right; and (B) targets a United States person or a person in the United States, including through the harassment or intimidation of immediate family members of the person. (2) Relevant Federal Agencies The term relevant Federal agencies means the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and any other agency determined appropriate by the Attorney General. (3) Appropriate Congressional Committees The term appropriate congressional committees means the Committee on the Judiciary of the House or Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. (4) United States person The term United States person means a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20) )), and includes minors. 6. Sunset This Act shall sunset on the earlier of December 31, 2030, or the date that is 6 years after the date of enactment of this Act.