PLO and PA Terror Payments Accountability Act of 2025

Bill: 119-s-198
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR]
Introduced: 2025-01-22
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2025-01-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 198 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 22, 2025 Mr. Cotton (for himself, Mr. Cramer , Mr. Budd , Mr. Scott of Florida , Mr. Hagerty , Mr. Graham , Mr. Ricketts , Mr. Cruz , and Mr. Schmitt ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To impose sanctions with respect to the system of compensation of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority that supports acts of terrorism.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the PLO and PA Terror Payments Accountability Act of 2025 . 2. Findings; statement of policy (a) Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority provide hundreds of millions of dollars per year in payments, salaries, and benefits to terrorists and the families of terrorists as part of a system compensation that incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and supports acts of terrorism. (2) The Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority policies, laws, and regulations that direct, authorize, enact, facilitate, and implement a system of compensation in support of acts of terrorism require payments, salaries, and benefits to terrorists including those who are members and part of organizations designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Secretary of State under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1189 ), including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that receive direct support including financial and military assistance from Iran, the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world. (3) In 2018, Congress passed the Taylor Force Act (title X of division S of Public Law 115–141 ; 132 Stat. 1143) into law that calls on the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority to end their system of compensation that incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and supports acts of terrorism and restricts United States assistance that directly benefits the Palestinian Authority unless the Secretary of State certifies to Congress that the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority have met specific conditions including terminating that system of compensation and revoking the policies, laws, and regulations that authorize and implement the system of compensation. (4) Despite the enactment of the Taylor Force Act, the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority have continued their system of compensation that incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and supports acts of terrorism. (5) On October 7, 2023, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Gaza-based terrorist organizations attacked Israel on Shabbat and during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, committing the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. (6) On October 7, 2023, Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel, deliberately targeting Israeli civilians, and thousands of terrorists invaded Israeli communities—massacring, raping, torturing, decapitating, burning alive, seriously injuring, and kidnapping Israelis and Americans, including men, women, children, babies, and grandparents, and including Holocaust survivors, with children being murdered in front of their parents and parents being murdered in front of their children. (7) On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered more than 1,200 who were mostly civilians, and kidnapped more than 240, including Israeli and American men, women, children, babies, and grandparents, and took them to Gaza as hostages. (b) Statement of policy It shall be the policy of the United States to hold the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority accountable including through the imposition of sanctions for providing payments, salaries, and benefits to terrorists and the families of terrorists as part of a system compensation that incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and supports acts of terrorism. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) Act of terrorism The term act of terrorism — (A) means an act of international terrorism (as defined in section 2331 of title 18, United States Code); and (B) includes the meanings given the terms terrorist activity and engage in terrorist activity by section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B) ). (2) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate. (3) Foreign person The term foreign person means any person or entity that is not a United States person. (4) Knowingly The term knowingly , with respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person had actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the result. (5) System of compensation The term system of compensation , with respect to the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, means the payments described in subparagraph (B) of section 1004(a)(1) of the Taylor Force Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2378c–1(a)(1) ) and the system of compensation described in subparagraph (C) of that section. (6) 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 any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity; or (C) a person in the United States. 4. Imposition of sanctions on certain foreign persons supporting terrorism (a) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an ongoing basis thereafter, the President shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) on— (1) any foreign person that— (A) has served in a position as a representative, minister, official, or employee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Palestinian Authority, or any other foreign person that has directed, authorized, been responsible for, materially assisted with, enacted, implemented, or otherwise facilitated the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority system of compensation supporting acts of terrorism; or (B) has provided payments, salaries, and benefits to terrorists and the families of terrorists as part of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority system of compensation supporting acts of terrorism; (2) any entity that directly or indirectly has operated, ordered, controlled, directed, or otherwise facilitated the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority system of compensation supporting acts of terrorism including the Commission of Prisoners and Released Prisoners, the Institute for the Care of the Families of the Martyrs and the Wounded, the Palestine National Fund, National Association of the Families of the Martyrs of Palestine, or any successor, agency, instrumentality, organization, or affiliated entities thereof; or (3) any foreign person that has knowingly provided significant financial, technological, or material support and resources support to, or knowingly engaged in a significant transaction with a foreign person described in subparagraphs (1) or (2). (b) Sanctions described The sanctions that shall be imposed with respect to a foreign person described in subsection (a) are the following: (1) Blocking of property 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 the foreign person 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) 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) 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. (iii) 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 or any regulations promulgated to carry out this section to the same extent that such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act described in section 206(a) of that Act. (c) Congressional requests Not later than 30 days after receiving a request from the chairman or ranking member of one of the appropriate congressional committees with respect to whether a person meets the criteria of a person described in subsection (a), the President shall— (1) determine if the person meets such criteria; and (2) submit a classified or unclassified report to the chairman or ranking member, that submitted the request with respect to that determination that includes a statement of whether or not the President imposed or intends to impose sanctions with respect to the person. (d) Implementation; regulations (1) In general 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) for purposes of carrying out this section. (2) Regulations Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall issue such regulations or other guidance as may be necessary for the implementation of this section. (e) Material support or resources defined In this section, the term material support or resources has the meaning given that term in section 2339A(b) of title 18, United States Code. 5. Imposition of sanctions with respect to financial institutions that facilitate transactions supporting terrorism (a) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and on an ongoing basis thereafter, the President shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each foreign financial institution that engages in the activities described in subsection (b). (b) Activities described A foreign financial institution engages in an activity described in this subsection if the institution— (1) processes, participates in, facilitates, or provides a transaction that are payments, salaries, or benefits, or any other conduct described in section 4(a); or (2) knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant financial transaction with any foreign person subject to sanctions under section 4(a). (c) Sanctions described The President shall prohibit the opening, and prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintaining, in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial institution described in subsection (a). (d) Definitions In this section: (1) Correspondent account; payable-through account The terms correspondent account and payable-through account have the meanings given those terms in section 5318A of title 31, United States Code. (2) Foreign financial institution The term foreign financial institution has the meaning of that term as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 104(i) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 ( 22 U.S.C. 8513(i) ). 6. Termination The provisions of this Act shall have no force or effect only if the Secretary of State certifies in writing to the appropriate congressional committees that the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority system of compensation providing payments, salaries, and benefits to terrorists and the families of terrorists that incentivizes, encourages, rewards, and supports acts of terrorism as described in this Act, has ceased to be in effect and is no longer taking place.