S.Amdt. 720

SA 720. Mr. CORNYN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 2810, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2018 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end title XII, add the following:

Subtitle H--Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability

SEC. 1291. SHORT TITLE.

This subtitle may be cited as the ``Iraq and Syria Genocide
Emergency Relief and Accountability Act of 2017''.

SEC. 1292. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) On March 17, 2016, Secretary of State John Kerry
stated, ``in my judgment, Daesh is responsible for genocide
against groups in areas under its control, including Yezidis,
Christians, and Shia Muslims . . . the United States will
strongly support efforts to collect, document, preserve, and
analyze the evidence of atrocities, and we will do all we can
to see that the perpetrators are held accountable''.
(2) Secretary of State Kerry stated in the ``Atrocities
Prevention Report'', transmitted to Congress on March 17,
2016, ``The Department of State has a longstanding commitment
to providing support for the urgent humanitarian needs of
conflict-affected populations in Iraq, Syria, and across the
world, including but not limited to members of ethnic and
religious minorities.''.
(3) The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on
the Syrian Arab Republic stated in its February 3, 2016,
report, ``The Government has committed the crimes against
humanity of extermination, murder, rape or other forms of
sexual violence, torture, imprisonment, enforced
disappearance and other inhuman acts. Based on the same
conduct, war crimes have also been committed. Both Jabhat Al-
Nusra and some anti-Government armed groups have committed
the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, and torture.''.
(4) The International Criminal Investigative Training
Assistance Program and the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial
Development Assistance and Training of the Department of
Justice have provided technical assistance to governmental
judicial and law enforcement entities in Iraq, including with
funding support from the Department of State.
(5) There were an estimated 800,000 to 1,400,000 Christians
in Iraq in 2002, 500,000 in 2013, and less than 250,000 in
2015, according to the annual International Religious Freedom
Reports of the Department of State.
(6) Although Christians were an estimated 8 to 10 percent
of the 21,000,000 person population of Syria in 2010, ``media
and other reports of Christians fleeing the country as a
result of the civil war suggest the Christian population is
now considerably lower'' as of 2015, according to the annual
International Religious Freedom Reports of the Department of
State.
(7) The Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil (Iraq) is an
example of an entity that has not received funding from any
government and has been providing assistance to internally
displaced families of Yezidis, Muslims, and Christians,
including food, resettlement from tents to permanent housing,
and rent for Yezidis, medical care and education for Yezidis
and Muslims through clinics, schools, and a university that
are open to all, and some form of these types of assistance
to all of the estimated 10,500 internally displaced Christian
families, more than 70,000 people, in the greater Erbil
region.
(8) In fiscal year 2015, the United States Government
admitted to the United States through the United States
Refugee Admissions Program persons from Priority 2 groups of
special humanitarian concern, as designated by Congress,
including--
(A) Jews, Evangelical Christians, Ukrainian Catholics, and
Ukrainian Orthodox, from the former Soviet Union;
(B) Iraqis at risk because they were, or are, employed in
Iraq by the United States Government, a media or
nongovernmental organization headquartered in the United
States, or an organization or entity that received funding
from the United States Government, or are related to someone
who is, or was, so employed;
(C) religious minorities in Iran; and
(D) members of other groups designated by the United States
Government, including--
(i) former political prisoners, active members of
persecuted religious minorities, human rights activists, and
forced labor conscripts in Cuba;
(ii) minors in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala;
(iii) ethnic minorities from Burma in Malaysia;
(iv) Bhutanese in Nepal; and
(v) Congolese in Rwanda.
(9) Through the United States Refugee Admissions Program,
the United States Government--
(A) admitted 12,676 Iraqi refugees in fiscal year 2015,
including at least 2,113 Christians and 213 Yezidis;
(B) admitted 9,880 Iraqi refugees in fiscal year 2016,
including at least 1,524 Christians and 393 Yezidis;

[[Page S4602]]

(C) admitted 1,682 Syrian refugees in fiscal year 2015,
including at least 30 Christians; and
(D) admitted 12,587 Syrian refugees in fiscal year 2016,
including at least 64 Christians and 24 Yezidis.

SEC. 1293. DEFINITIONS.

In this subtitle:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(E) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives; and
(F) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Capacity-building.--The term ``capacity-building'',
with respect to cases of genocide, crimes against humanity,
war crimes, and terrorism in Iraq or Syria, means developing
domestic skills to efficiently adjudicate such cases,
consistent with due process and respect for the rule of law,
through the use of experts in international criminal
investigations and experts in international criminal law to
partner with, mentor, provide technical advice for, formally
train, and provide equipment and infrastructure where
necessary and appropriate to, investigators and judicial
personnel in Iraq, including the Kurdistan region of Iraq,
and domestic investigators and lawyers in Syria.
(3) Foreign terrorist organization.--The term ``foreign
terrorist organization'' mean 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)).
(4) Humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs.--The
term ``humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs'',
with respect to an individual, includes water, sanitation,
hygiene, food security, nutrition, shelter, housing, medical,
education, and psychosocial needs.
(5) Hybrid court.--The term ``hybrid court'' means a court
with a combination of domestic and international lawyers,
judges, and personnel.
(6) Internationalized domestic court.--The term
``internationalized domestic court'' means a domestic court
with the support of international advisers.

SEC. 1294. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE ACCOUNTABILITY IN IRAQ AND
SYRIA.

(a) Assistance To Support Certain Entities.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, acting through the
Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,
the Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs, and Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, shall provide
assistance, including financial assistance, to support
entities that are taking the actions described in paragraph
(2) with respect to individuals who are suspected to have
committed genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes in
Iraq since January 2014 or in Syria since March 2011.
(2) Actions described.--The actions described in this
paragraph are--
(A) conducting criminal investigations;
(B) developing investigative and judicial capacities;
(C) collecting evidence;
(D) preserving the chain of evidence for prosecution in
domestic courts, hybrid courts, and internationalized
domestic courts; and
(E) capacity building.
(3) Availability of amounts.--Amounts authorized to be
appropriated or otherwise made available for programs,
projects, and activities carried out by the Assistant
Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the
Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs are authorized to be made available to
carry out this subsection.
(b) Actions by Foreign Governments.--The Secretary of
State, in consultation with the Attorney General, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall encourage governments
of foreign countries--
(1) to include information in appropriate security
databases and security screening procedures of such countries
to identify individuals who are suspected to have committed
genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq
since January 2014 or in Syria since March 2011, including
individuals who are suspected to be members of foreign
terrorist organizations operating within Iraq or Syria; and
(2) to prosecute individuals described in paragraph (1) for
genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes, as
appropriate.
(c) Review of Certain Criminal Statutes.--The Attorney
General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall
conduct a review of existing criminal statutes concerning
genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes to
determine--
(1) the extent to which United States courts are currently
authorized by statute to exercise jurisdiction over such
crimes where the direct perpetrators, accomplices, or victims
are United States nationals, United States residents, or
persons physically present in the territory of the United
States either during the commission of the crime or
subsequent to the commission of the crime;
(2) the statutes currently in effect that would apply to
conduct constituting war crimes or crimes against humanity,
including--
(A) whether such statutes provide for extraterritorial
jurisdiction;
(B) the statute of limitations for offenses under such
statutes;
(C) the applicable penalties under such statutes; and
(D) whether offenders would be subject to extradition or
mutual legal assistance treaties;
(3) the extent to which the absence of criminal statutes
defining the crimes, or granting jurisdiction, would impede
the prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war
crimes in United States courts, including when United States
military forces capture persons outside the United States who
are known to have committed such crimes in a third country
that is either unable or unwilling to prosecute the crimes;
and
(4) whether additional statutory authorities are necessary
to prosecute a United States person or a foreign person
within the territory of the United States for genocide,
crimes against humanity, or war crimes.
(d) Consultation.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
Secretary of State shall consult with, and consider credible
information from, entities described in subsection (a)(1).
(e) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that an
appropriate amount of the additional amount made available
under the heading ``Economic Support Fund'' in title II of
division B of the Further Continuing and Security Assistance
Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 114-254) should be made
available to carry out subsection (a).

SEC. 1295. IDENTIFICATION OF AND ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS
HUMANITARIAN, STABILIZATION, AND RECOVERY NEEDS
OF CERTAIN PERSONS IN IRAQ AND SYRIA.

(a) Identification.--The Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Ambassador at
Large for International Religious Freedom, the Special
Advisor for Religious Minorities in the Near East and South/
Central Asia, the Assistant Secretary for Population,
Refugees, and Migration, the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development, and the Director
of National Intelligence, shall identify--
(1) the threats of persecution and other warning signs of
genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against
individuals--
(A) who--
(i) are or were nationals and residents of Iraq or of
Syria; and
(ii) are members of a religious or ethnic group that is a
minority religious or ethnic group in Iraq or in Syria
against which the Secretary of State has determined the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has committed
genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq or
in Syria since January 2014; or
(B) who are members of another religious or ethnic group
that is a minority religious or ethnic group in Iraq or in
Syria that has been identified by the Secretary of State (or
the Secretary's designee) as a persecuted group;
(2) the humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs of
individuals described in paragraph (1);
(3) the minority religious and ethnic groups in Iraq and in
Syria--
(A) against which the Secretary of State has determined
ISIS has committed genocide, crimes against humanity, or war
crimes in Iraq or in Syria since January 2014; or
(B) that the Secretary of State (or the Secretary's
designee) has identified as a persecuted group at risk of
forced migration, within or across the borders of Iraq,
Syria, or a country of first asylum, and the primary reasons
for such risk;
(4) the assistance provided by the United States to address
humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs of
individuals described in paragraph (1) and groups described
in paragraph (3), including assistance to mitigate the risks
of forced migration of such persons and groups from Iraq or
from Syria;
(5) the mechanisms used by the United States Government to
identify, assess, and respond to humanitarian, stabilization,
and recovery needs, and risks of forced migration, of
individuals described in paragraph (1) and groups described
in paragraph (3);
(6) the assistance provided by or through the United
Nations, including the Funding Facility for Immediate
Stabilization and the Funding Facility for Expanded
Stabilization, to address humanitarian, stabilization, and
recovery needs of individuals described in paragraph (1) and
groups described in paragraph (3), including assistance to
mitigate the risks of forced migration of such individuals
and groups within or across the borders of Iraq, Syria, or a
country of first asylum from Iraq or from Syria;
(7) the entities, including faith-based entities, that are
providing assistance to address humanitarian, stabilization,
and recovery needs of individuals described in paragraph (1)
and groups described in paragraph (3); and
(8) if the United States Government is funding entities
described in paragraph (7) for purposes of providing
assistance described in such paragraph, the sources of such
funding; and

[[Page S4603]]

(9) if the United States Government is not funding entities
described in paragraph (7) for purposes of providing
assistance described in such paragraph, a justification for
not funding such entities, including whether funding such
entities is prohibited under United States law.
(b) Additional Consultation.--In carrying out subsection
(a), the Secretary of State shall consult with, and consider
credible information from, individuals described in
subsection (a)(1) and entities described in subsection
(a)(7).
(c) Assistance.--The Secretary of State and Administrator
of the United States Agency for International Development
shall provide assistance, including cash assistance, to
support entities described in subsection (a)(7) that the
Secretary and the Administrator determine are effectively
providing assistance described in subsection (a)(7),
including entities that received funding from the United
States Government for such purposes before the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that an
appropriate amount of the additional amount made available
under the heading ``Economic Support Fund'' in title II of
division B of the Further Continuing and Security Assistance
Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 114-254) should be made
available to carry out subsection (c).

SEC. 1296. REFUGEE ADMISSIONS OF NATIONALS AND RESIDENTS OF
IRAQ OR OF SYRIA.

(a) In General.--Aliens who are, or were, a national and a
resident of Iraq or of Syria, and who share common
characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution
on account of membership in a religious or ethnic minority in
that country, particularly survivors of genocide, crimes
against humanity, or war crimes, or the surviving spouse or
child of an individual who was killed by a perpetrator of
such a crime--
(1) are deemed to be of special humanitarian concern to the
United States; and
(2) shall be eligible for Priority 2 processing under the
refugee resettlement priority system.
(b) In-country and Out-of-country Processing.--Aliens
described in subsection (a) shall be allowed to apply, and
interview, for admission to the United States through refugee
processing mechanisms in countries where aliens may apply,
and interview, for admission to the United States as
refugees.
(c) Applicability of Other Requirements.--Aliens who
qualify under this section for Priority 2 processing under
the refugee resettlement priority system may only be admitted
to the United States after--
(1) satisfying the requirements under section 207 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157); and
(2) clearing a background check and appropriate screening,
as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
(d) Waiver of Certain Grounds of Inadmissibility.--The
Secretary of State, after consultation with the Attorney
General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the
Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation with the
Secretary of State and the Attorney General, may waive, in
such Secretary's sole and unreviewable discretion, the
application of paragraph (3)(B) (other than clause (i)(II))
of section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1182(a)) with respect to activities undertaken by an
alien described in subsection (a) in the course of avoiding
or evading persecution by a terrorist organization (as
defined in section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi) of such Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(a)(3)(B)(vi))).
(e) Categorical Eligibility.--The Foreign Operations,
Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,
1990 (Public Law 101-167) is amended--
(1) in section 599D (8 U.S.C. 1157 note)--
(A) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ``for each of fiscal
years 1990'' and all that follows through ``2017'' and
inserting ``each of the fiscal years 1990 through 2018''; and
(B) in subsection (e), by striking ``2017.'' each place it
appears and inserting ``2018.''; and
(2) in section 599E(b)(2) (8 U.S.C. 1255 note), by striking
``2017,'' and inserting ``2018,''.
(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to lessen the protections under United States law
for bona fide refugees who are not described in this section.

SEC. 1297. REPORTS.

(a) Support for the Investigation and Prosecution of War
Crimes.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a
report to the appropriate congressional committees that
includes--
(1) a detailed description of the efforts taken, and
efforts proposed to be taken, by the Secretary of State to
implement subsections (a) and (b) of section 1294; and
(2) an assessment of--
(A) the feasibility and advisability of prosecuting
individuals who are suspected to have committed genocide,
crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq since January
2014, or in Syria since March 2011, in domestic courts in
Iraq, hybrid courts, and internationalized domestic courts;
and
(B) the capacity building, and other measures, needed to
ensure effective criminal investigations of such individuals.
(b) Criminal Statute Review.--Not later than 120 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General
shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees that includes--
(1) the results of the review conducted under section
1294(c); and
(2) such recommendations for legislative and administrative
actions to implement the results of such review as the
Attorney General determines appropriate.
(c) Assistance for Persecuted Minorities in Iraq or in
Syria.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a
report to the appropriate congressional committees that
includes a detailed description of--
(1) the efforts taken, and proposed to be taken, by the
Secretary of State to implement section 1295;
(2) the matters identified under section 1295(a); and
(3) the efforts taken, and proposed to be taken, by the
Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to
implement section 1296.
(d) Form.--Each report required under this section shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex, if necessary.
______