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Editor's
Note:
The
following details of the Saudi Arabia
Accountability Act of 2003 can be found at: Thomas - U.S. Congress
Information on the Internet
-- the official online legislative resource.
To make
your views known regarding this legislative initiative, visit
the Saudi
American Forum's Action Center to contact
your congressman. Also, discuss the Saudi
Arabia Accountability Act on the Saudi-U.S.
Relations Information Service Discussion
Forum.
Executive
Summary
The Saudi
Arabia Accountability Act of 2003 was introduced
by Senator Arlen Specter (R - PA) on November 18,
2003. It was later introduced in the House
on November 21, 2003. This bill seeks to
place sanctions on Saudi Arabia unless the
President makes a certification that Saudi Arabia
is making a maximum effort to fight
terrorism. If a certification is not made,
according to the bill, the President should take
the following actions:
-
Restrict
travel of Saudi diplomats to a 25-radius of the
city in which their offices are located (would
apply to the Saudi Embassy in DC, the Saudi UN
mission in New York, and the Saudi Consulates in
Houston and Los Angeles).
However,
the President is not required to impose sanctions
on Saudi Arabia if he certifies that Saudi Arabia
is fully cooperating with the United States in
investigating and preventing terrorist
attacks. In addition, sanctions would not be
imposed if it were certified that Saudi Arabia has
permanently closed all Saudi-based terror
organizations and has ended any funding or other
support by the kingdom's government for any
offshore terror organizations.
In the
bill, offshore terror organizations are defined as
``charities, schools, and any other organization
or institution outside of Saudi Arabia that train,
incite, encourage, or in any other way aid and
abet terrorism anywhere in the world.'' In other
words, a religious school or madrassah that
incites its students to terror would be defined as
a terrorist organization for the purposes of this
bill. The term Saudi-based terror
organizations is defined as the same types of
organizations located within the kingdom of Saudi
Arabia.
Even it the
President has not made the above certifications,
he may waive the application of the sanctions
against Saudi Arabia if he determines that it is
in the national security interest of the United
States to do so.
Saudi Arabia
Accountability Act of 2003
Senate - General
Information
-
Senate bill number:
S.1888.
-
Sponsor:
Senator Arlen Specter, (R -
PA)
-
Bill status:
Read twice and referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations on November 18,
2003.
-
Committees:
Senate Foreign
Relations
-
Co-Sponsors:
-
Senator
Evan Bayh (D - IN)
-
Senator
Susan M. Collins (R - ME)
-
Senator
Bob Graham (D - FL)
-
Senator
Lindsey O. Graham (R - SC)
-
Senator
Charles E. Schumer (D - NY)
-
Senator
Ron Wyden (D - OR)
House - General
Information
-
House
bill number:
H.R. 3643
-
Sponsor
: Representative Anthony D.
Weiner (D - NY-9th)
-
Bill status:
Referred to House Committee on
International Relations on November 21,
2003.
-
Committees:
House International
Relations
-
Co-Sponsors:
-
Representative
Robert E. Andrews (D - NJ-1st)
-
Representative
Shelley Berkley (D - NV-1st)
-
Representative
Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D - GA-2nd)
-
Representative
Dennis A. Cardoza (D - CA-18th)
-
Representative
Joseph Crowley (D - NY-7th)
-
Representative
Peter Deutsch (D - FL-20th)
-
Representative
Rahm Emanuel (D - IL-5th)
-
Representative
Mike Ferguson (R - NJ-7th)
-
Representative
Mark Foley (R - FL-16th)
-
Representative
Barney Frank (D - MA-4th)
-
Representative
Scott Garrett (R - NJ-5th)
-
Representative
Baron P. Hill (D - IN-9th)
-
Representative
Steve Israel (D - NY-2nd)
-
Representative
Carolyn B. Maloney (D - NY-14th)
-
Representative
Edward J. Markey (D - MA-7th)
-
Representative
Robert T. Matsui (D - CA-5th)
-
Representative
Carolyn McCarthy (D - NY-4th)
-
Representative
Michael R. McNulty (D - NY-21st)
-
Representative
Jerrold Nadler (D - NY-8th)
-
Representative
Bobby L. Rush (D - IL-1st)
-
Representative
Max Sandlin (D - TX-1st)
-
Representative
Ted Strickland (D - OH-6th)
-
Representative
Ellen O. Tauscher (D - CA-10th)
-
Representative
Henry A. Waxman (D - CA-30th)
Below is the
text of the
Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2003, which was
entered into the Congressional record:
A BILL
To
halt Saudi support for institutions that fund,
train, incite, encourage, or in any other way aid
and abet terrorism, and to secure full Saudi
cooperation in the investigation of terrorist
incidents.
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 `Saudi Arabia
Accountability Act of 2003'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress
makes the following findings:
(1)
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373
(2001) mandates that all states `refrain from
providing any form of support, active or passive,
to entities or persons involved in terrorist
acts', take `the necessary steps to prevent the
commission of terrorist acts', and `deny safe
haven to those who finance, plan, support, or
commit terrorist acts'.
(2)
The Council on Foreign Relations concluded in an
October 2002 report on terrorist financing that `[f]or years, individuals and charities based in
Saudi Arabia have been the most important source
of funds for al-Qaeda, and for years, Saudi
officials have turned a blind eye to this
problem'.
(3)
The Middle East Media Research Institute concluded
in a July 3, 2003, report on Saudi support for
Palestinian terrorists that `for decades, the
royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has
been the main financial supporter of Palestinian
groups fighting Israel'. The report notes
specifically that Saudi -sponsored organizations
have funneled over $4,000,000,000 to finance the
Palestinian intifada that began in September
2000.
(4)
Much of this Saudi money has been directed to
Hamas and to the families of suicide bombers,
directly funding and rewarding suicide bombers. In
December 2000, former Palestinian Prime Minister
Mahmoud Abbas wrote to the Saudis to complain
about their support for Hamas.
(5)
The New York Times, citing United States and
Israeli sources, reported on September 17, 2003,
that at least 50 percent of the current operating
budget of Hamas comes from `people in Saudi
Arabia'.
(6)
Many Saudi -funded religious institutions and the
literature they distribute teach a message of hate
and intolerance that provides an ideological basis
for anti-Western terrorism. The effects of these
teachings are evidenced by the fact that Osama bin
Laden himself and 15 of the 19 September 11th
hijackers were Saudi citizens.
(7)
After the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers
housing complex at Dahran, Saudi Arabia, which
killed 19 United States Air Force personnel and
wounded approximately 400 people, the Government
of Saudi Arabia refused to allow United States
officials to question individuals held in
detention by the Saudis in connection with the
attack.
(8)
During an October 2002 hearing on financing of
terrorism before the Committee on the Judiciary of
the Senate, the Undersecretary for Enforcement of
the Department of the Treasury testified that the
Government of Saudi Arabia had taken only `baby
steps' toward stemming the financing of terrorist
activities.
(9)
During a July 2003 hearing on terrorism before the
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland
Security of the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate, David Aufhauser, General Counsel of the
Treasury Department, stated that Saudi Arabia is,
in many cases, the `epicenter' of financing for
terrorism.
(10)
A joint committee of the Select Committee on
Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives issued a report on July 24, 2003,
that quotes various United States Government
personnel who complained that the Saudis refused
to cooperate in the investigation of Osama bin
Laden and his network both before and after the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
(11)
There are indications that, since the May 12,
2003, suicide bombings in Riyadh, the Government
of Saudi Arabia is making a more serious effort to
combat terrorism.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF
CONGRESS.
It
is the sense of Congress that--
(1)
it is imperative that the Government of Saudi
Arabia immediately and unconditionally--
(A)
provide complete, unrestricted, and unobstructed
cooperation to the United States, including the
unsolicited sharing of relevant intelligence in a
consistent and timely fashion, in the
investigation of groups and individuals that are
suspected of financing, supporting, plotting, or
committing an act of terror against United States
citizens anywhere in the world, including within
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;
(B)
permanently close all charities, schools, or other
organizations or institutions in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia that fund, train, incite, encourage,
or in any other way aid and abet terrorism
anywhere in the world (hereafter in this Act
referred to as `Saudi -based terror
organizations'), including by means of providing
support for the families of individuals who have
committed acts of terrorism;
(C)
end funding or other support by the Government of
Saudi Arabia for charities, schools, and any other
organizations or institutions outside the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia that train, incite, encourage, or
in any other way aid and abet terrorism anywhere
in the world (hereafter in this Act referred to as
`offshore terror organizations'), including by
means of providing support for the families of
individuals who have committed acts of terrorism;
and
(D)
block all funding from private Saudi citizens and
entities to any Saudi -based terror organization
or offshore terrorism organization; and
(2)
the President, in deciding whether to make the
certification under section 4, should judge
whether the Government of Saudi Arabia has
continued and sufficiently expanded the efforts to
combat terrorism that it redoubled after the May
12, 2003, bombing in Riyadh.
SEC. 4.
SANCTIONS.
(a)
RESTRICTIONS ON EXPORTS AND DIPLOMATIC TRAVEL-
Unless the President makes the certification
described in subsection (c), the President shall
take the following actions:
(1)
Prohibit the export to the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia, and prohibit the issuance of a license for
the export to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
of--
(A)
any defense articles or defense services on the
United States Munitions List under section 38 of
the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778) for
which special export controls are warranted under
such Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.); and
(B)
any item identified on the Commerce Control List
maintained under part 774 of title 15, Code of
Federal Regulations.
(2)
Restrict travel of Saudi diplomats assigned to
Washington, District of Columbia, New York, New
York, the Saudi Consulate General in Houston, or
the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles to a 25-mile
radius of Washington, District of Columbia, New
York, New York, the Saudi Consulate General in
Houston, or the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles,
respectively.
(b)
WAIVER- The President may waive the application of
subsection (a) if the President--
(1)
determines that it is in the national security
interest of the United States to do so; and
(2)
submits to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that contains the reasons for
such determination.
(c)
CERTIFICATION- The President shall transmit to the
appropriate congressional committees a
certification of any determination made by the
President after the date of the enactment of this
Act that the Government of Saudi Arabia--
(1)
is fully cooperating with the United States in
investigating and preventing terrorist
attacks;
(2)
has permanently closed all Saudi -based terror
organizations;
(3)
has ended any funding or other support by the
Government of Saudi Arabia for any offshore terror
organization; and
(4)
has exercised maximum efforts to block all funding
from private Saudi citizens and entities to
offshore terrorist organizations.
SEC. 5. REPORT.
(a)
REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT- Not later than 6 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and
every 12 months thereafter until the President
makes the certification described in section 4(c),
the Secretary of State shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on
the progress made by the Government of Saudi
Arabia toward meeting the conditions described in
paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 4(c).
(b)
FORM- The report submitted under subsection (a)
shall be in unclassified form but may include a
classified annex.
SEC. 6. DEFINITION OF
APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.
In
this Act, the term `appropriate congressional
committees' means the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
International Relations of the House of
Representatives.
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