119-hr4149

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4149 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4149

 To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to foreign 
 persons undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement or threatening the 
 security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 25, 2025

Mrs. Wagner (for herself, Mr. Turner of Ohio, Mr. Auchincloss, and Mr. 
 Bell) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on 
Financial Services, and the Judiciary, 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 provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to foreign 
 persons undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement or threatening the 
 security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and for other purposes.

 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 ``Upholding the Dayton Peace Agreement 
Through Sanctions Act''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

 It is the policy of the United States--

    (1) to support Bosnia and Herzegovina's sovereignty, 
 territorial integrity, multi-ethnic character and the 
 prosperity of the Republika Srpska entity, the Federation of 
 Bosnia and Herzegovina entity, and the Brcko District within 
 one Bosnia and Herzegovina;

    (2) to support Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress towards 
 Euro-Atlantic integration;

    (3) to encourage officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina to 
 resume institutional participation at all levels of government 
 to advance functionality and common-sense reforms for greater 
 prosperity;

    (4) to call on Bosnia and Herzegovina to implement the 
 rulings of the European Court of Human Rights;

    (5) to support the robust use of targeted sanctions against 
 persons who undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement, as well as 
 the democratic institutions and Constitution of Bosnia and 
 Herzegovina, to support peace and stability in that country;

    (6) to urge the European Union to join the United States 
 and United Kingdom in sanctioning Milorad Dodik, a member of 
 the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for his actions that 
 undermine the stability and territorial integrity of Bosnia and 
 Herzegovina;

    (7) to expose and condemn the Government of Russia for its 
 role in fueling instability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 
 undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement, the role of the Office 
 of the High Representative, and the European Union Force in 
 BiH's Operation Althea;

    (8) to work with other regional States, including Serbia 
 and Croatia, to support the territorial integrity and stability 
 of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and

    (9) to encourage the United States to use its voice and 
 vote at the United Nations, the Peace Implementation Council 
 and its Steering Board, and other relevant international bodies 
 to support the Office of the High Representative.

SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN PERSONS 
 UNDERMINING THE DAYTON PEACE AGREEMENT OR THREATENING THE 
 SECURITY OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA.

    (a) Imposition of Sanctions.--

    (1) List required.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
 of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, 
 the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
 committees a list of foreign persons that are determined--
        (A) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 
 have directly or indirectly engaged in, any action or 
 policy that threatens the peace, security, stability, 
 or territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
 including actions that seek to undermine the authority 
 of Bosnia and Herzegovina's state-level institutions, 
 such as forming illegal parallel institutions or 
 actions that threaten the Office of the High 
 Representative;
        (B) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 
 have directly or indirectly engaged in, any action or 
 policy that undermines democratic processes or 
 institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
            (C) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 
 have directly or indirectly engaged in, or to have 
 attempted, a violation of, or an act that has 
 obstructed or threatened the implementation of, the 
 Dayton Peace Agreement or the Conclusions of the Peace 
 Implementation Conference Council held in London in 
 December 1995, including the decisions or conclusions 
 of the Office of the High Representative, the Peace 
 Implementation Council, or its Steering Board;
            (D) to be a member, official, or senior leader of 
 an illegal parallel institution or any other 
 institution that engages in activities described in 
 subparagraph
        (A) ,
        (B) or
            (C) , as determined by the 
 Secretary of State;
        (E) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 
 have directly or indirectly engaged in, or attempted to 
 engage in, corruption related to Bosnia and 
 Herzegovina, including corruption by, on behalf of, or 
 otherwise related to the government in Bosnia and 
 Herzegovina, or a current or former government official 
 at any level of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
 such as the misappropriation of public assets, 
 expropriation of private assets for personal gain or 
 political purposes, corruption related to government 
 contracts or the extraction of natural resources or 
 bribery;
        (F) to be an adult family member of any foreign 
 person described in subparagraph
        (A) ,
        (B) ,
            (C) ,
            (D) , or
        (E) , unless the President determines that the adult 
 family member--
            (i) has condemned the activity or 
 activities of the foreign person described in 
 any such subparagraph; and
            (ii) has taken tangible steps to oppose the 
 activity or activities;
        (G) to have knowingly facilitated a significant 
 transaction or transactions for or on behalf of a 
 foreign person described in subparagraph
        (A) ,
        (B) ,
            (C) ,
            (D) , or
        (E) ;
        (H) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted 
 or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or 
 indirectly, a foreign person described in subparagraph
        (A) ,
        (B) ,
            (C) ,
            (D) , or
        (E) ; or
            (I) to have knowingly materially assisted, 
 sponsored, or provided financial, material, or 
 technological support for, or goods or services to or 
 in support of, a foreign person described in 
 subparagraph
        (A) ,
        (B) ,
            (C) ,
            (D) , or
        (E) .

    (2) Imposition of sanctions.--Upon the submission of each 
 list required by paragraph

    (1) , the President shall impose the 
 sanctions described in subsection
            (c) with respect to each 
 foreign person identified on the list.

    (b) Additional Measure Relating to Facilitation of Transactions.--
The Secretary of the Treasury may, in consultation with the Secretary 
of State, prohibit or impose strict conditions on the opening or 
maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or payable-
through account by a foreign financial institution that the President 
determines has, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
knowingly conducted or facilitated a significant transaction or 
transactions on behalf of a foreign person on the list required by 
subsection

    (a)

    (1) .
            (c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this 
subsection are the following:

    (1) Property blocking.--Notwithstanding the requirements of 
 

section 202 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 
 (50 U.S.C. 1701), the President may exercise of all powers 
 granted to the President by that Act to the extent necessary to 
 block and prohibit all transactions in all 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) Aliens inadmissible for visas, admission, or parole.--
        (A) In general.--An alien on the list required by 
 subsection

    (a)

    (1) is--
            (i) inadmissible to the United States;
            (ii) ineligible for a visa or travel to 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.--The visa or other 
 documentation issued to an alien on the list 
 required by subsection

    (a)

    (1) shall be revoked, 
 regardless of when such visa or other 
 documentation is or was issued.
            (ii) Effect of revocation.--A visa or other 
 entry documentation revoked under clause
            (i) shall, in accordance with 

section 221
            (i) of the 
 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
 1201
            (i) ), no longer be valid for travel to the 
 United States.
            (d) Exceptions.--

    (1) Exception for intelligence, law enforcement, and 
 national security activities.--Sanctions under this section 
 shall not apply to any authorized intelligence, law 
 enforcement, or national security activities of the United 
 States.

    (2) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters 
 agreement.--Sanctions under subsection
            (c) (2) shall not apply 
 with respect to the admission of an alien to the United States 
 if the admission of the alien is necessary 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, the Convention on Consular 
 Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into 
 force March 19, 1967, or other applicable international 
 obligations.

    (3) Exception relating to the provision of humanitarian 
 assistance.--Sanctions under this section may not be imposed 
 with respect to transactions or the facilitation of 
 transactions for--
        (A) the sale of agricultural commodities, food, 
 medicine, or medical devices;
        (B) the provision of humanitarian assistance;
            (C) financial transactions relating to humanitarian 
 assistance or for humanitarian purposes; and
            (D) transporting goods or services that are 
 necessary to carry out operations relating to 
 humanitarian assistance or humanitarian purposes.

    (4) Exception relating to the importation of goods.--
        (A) In general.--The authorities and requirements 
 under this section shall not include the authority or a 
 requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of 
 goods.
        (B) Good defined.--In this section, the term 
 ``good'' means any article, natural or manmade 
 substance, material, supply, or manufactured product, 
 including inspection and test equipment, and excluding 
 technical data.

    (e) Waiver.--The President may, on a case-by-case basis and for 
periods not to exceed 180 days each, waive the application of sanctions 
or restrictions imposed with respect to a foreign person under this 
section if the President certifies to the appropriate congressional 
committees not later than 15 days before such waiver is to take effect 
that the waiver is vital to the national security interests of the 
United States.

    (f) Regulations.--

    (1) In general.--The President shall, not later than 180 
 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, prescribe 
 regulations as necessary for the implementation of this Act.

    (2) Notification to congress.--Not later than 10 days 
 before the prescription of regulations under paragraph

    (1) , the 
 President shall notify the appropriate congressional committees 
 regarding the proposed regulations and the provisions of this 
 Act that the regulations are implementing.

    (g) Implementation.--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) to carry out this Act.

    (h) 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 regulations 
prescribed to carry out this Act to the same extent that such penalties 
apply to a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection

    (a) of such 

section 206.
            (i) Termination of Sanctions.--The President may terminate the 
application of sanctions under this section with respect to a foreign 
person if the President determines and reports to the appropriate 
congressional committees not later than 15 days before the termination 
of the sanctions that--

    (1) credible information exists that the foreign person did 
 not engage in the activity for which sanctions were imposed;

    (2) the foreign person has been prosecuted and sentenced 
 appropriately for the activity for which sanctions were 
 imposed; or

    (3) the foreign person has credibly demonstrated a 
 significant change in behavior, has paid an appropriate 
 consequence for the activity for which sanctions were imposed, 
 and has credibly committed to not engage in an activity 
 described in subsection

    (a)

    (1) in the future.

SEC. 4. CODIFICATION OF SANCTIONS RELATING TO THE WESTERN BALKANS.

    (a) In General.--Each sanction imposed through Executive orders 
described in subsection

    (b) , including each sanction imposed with 
respect to a person under such an Executive order, as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act, shall remain in effect, except as provided 
in subsection
            (c) .

    (b) Executive Orders Specified.--The Executive orders specified in 
this subsection are--

    (1) Executive Order 13219 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to 
 blocking property of persons who threaten international 
 stabilization efforts in the Western Balkans), as in effect on 
 the date of the enactment of this Act; and

    (2) Executive Order 14033 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to 
 blocking property and suspending entry into the United States 
 of certain persons contributing to the destabilizing situation 
 in the Western Balkans), as in effect on such date of 
 enactment.
            (c) Termination of Sanctions.--The President may terminate the 
application of a sanction described in subsection

    (a) with respect to a 
person if the President certifies to the appropriate congressional 
committees that--

    (1) such person--
        (A) is not engaging in the activity that was the 
 basis for such sanctions; or
        (B) has taken significant verifiable steps toward 
 stopping such activity; and

    (2) the President has received reliable assurances that 
 such person will not knowingly engage in activity subject to 
 such sanctions in the future.
            (d) Sanctions Relating to the Importation of Goods Unchanged.--This 
section may not be construed to create any new authorities or 
requirements related to sanctions on the importation of goods.

SEC. 5. CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION IN IMPOSING SANCTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after receiving a request 
from the chairman and ranking member of one of the appropriate 
congressional committees with respect to whether a person or foreign 
person, as the case may be, meets the criteria of a person described in 

section 3

    (a)

    (1) or a person described in Executive Order 13219 or 
Executive Order 14033 as provided for in 

section 4

    (b) , or any Executive 
order issued pursuant to this Act or under the Balkans regulatory 
regime, the President shall--

    (1) determine if the person or foreign person, as the case 
 may be, meets such criteria; and

    (2) submit a classified or unclassified report to such 
 chairman and ranking member with respect to such determination 
 that includes a statement of whether or not the President 
 imposed or intends to impose sanctions with respect to such 
 person or foreign person.

    (b) Sunset.--This section shall terminate on the date that is 5 
years after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien'' 
 have the meanings given those terms in 

section 101 of the 
 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).

    (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
 ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
        (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
 Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
 Representatives; and
        (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
 Senate.

    (3) 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.

    (4) Dayton peace agreement.--The term ``Dayton Peace 
 Agreement'', also known as the ``Dayton Accords'', means the 
 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and 
 Herzegovina, initialed by the parties in Dayton, Ohio, on 
 November 21, 1995, and signed in Paris on December 14, 1995.

    (5) Foreign financial institution.--The term ``foreign 
 financial institution'' has the meaning of that term as 
 determined by the Secretary of the Treasury by regulation.

    (6) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a 
 person that is not a United States person.

    (7) Illegal parallel institution.--The term ``illegal 
 parallel institution'' means an agency, structure, or 
 instrumentality at the Republika Srpska entity level that 
 disrupts the authority of the state-level institutions of 
 Bosnia and Herzegovina and undermines its constitutional order.

    (8) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to 
 conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has 
 actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the 
 circumstance, or the result.

    (9) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or 
 entity.

    (10) United states person.--The term ``United States 
 person'' means--
        (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 
 admitted to the United States for permanent residence;
        (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) any person in the United States.

SEC. 7. SUNSET.

 This Act and the authorities provided by this Act shall terminate 
on the date that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
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