On April 24, 2024, President Biden signed the Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability (MAHSA) Act into law as part of the national security supplemental package. The bipartisan legislation was a response to Iran’s brutal crackdown on nationwide demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022. Specifically, the MAHSA Act will:
- Require a report to Congress in 90 days regarding each foreign person described as responsible for human rights violations in Iran, the Supreme Leader, the President of Iran, and entities overseen by their offices; and
- Impose applicable sanctions on those identified individuals through sanctions available through various Executive Orders, including EO 13224 on terrorism, 13818 on human rights, and 13553 on Iran’s nuclear programs.
Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) had introduced the bill in the Senate while Representatives Jim Banks (R-IN) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) led companion legislation in the House of Representatives. “Now that President Biden has signed our bill into law, we must hold Iranian leaders accountable for the regime’s ongoing repression, censorship, and abuse against its people,” Padilla said. Rubio encouraged the Biden administration to “move quickly and use these new authorities to punish the violent acts carried out by these entities and help put an end to their cruelty.” The following is the full text of the bill.
Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability Act
To impose sanctions with respect to the Supreme Leader of Iran and the
President of Iran and their respective offices for human rights abuses
and support for terrorism.
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 ``Mahsa Amini Human rights and
Security Accountability Act'' or the ``MAHSA Act''.
SEC. 2. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE OFFICES OF THE
SUPREME LEADER AND PRESIDENT OF IRAN AND AFFILIATED
PERSONS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Determination and report required.--Not later than 90
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually
thereafter, the President shall--
(A) determine whether each foreign person described
in subsection (b) meets the criteria for imposition of
sanctions under one or more of the sanctions programs
and authorities listed in paragraph (2);
(B) impose applicable sanctions with respect to any
foreign person determined to meet the criteria for
imposition of sanctions pursuant to subparagraph (A)
under the sanctions programs and authorities listed in
subparagraph (A) or (F) of paragraph (2);
(C) pursue applicable sanctions with respect to any
foreign person determined to meet the criteria for
imposition of sanctions pursuant to subparagraph (A)
under the sanctions programs and authorities listed in
subparagraph (B), (C), (D), or (E) of paragraph (2);
and
(D) submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report containing--
(i) a list of all foreign persons described
in subsection (b) that meet the criteria for
imposition of sanctions under one or more of
the sanctions programs and authorities listed
in paragraph (2); and
(ii) for each foreign person identified
pursuant to clause (i)--
(I) a list of each sanctions
program or authority listed in
paragraph (2) for which the person
meets the criteria for imposition of
sanctions;
(II) a statement of which, if any,
of the sanctions authorized by any of
the sanctions programs and authorities
identified pursuant to subclause (I)
have been imposed or will be imposed
within 30 days of the submission of the
report; and
(III) with respect to which any of
the sanctions authorized by any of the
sanctions programs and authorities
identified pursuant to subclause (I)
have not been imposed and will not be
imposed within 30 days of the
submission of the report--
(aa) the specific authority
under which otherwise
applicable sanctions are being
waived, have otherwise been
determined not to apply, or are
not being imposed; and
(bb) a complete
justification of the decision
to waive or otherwise not apply
the sanctions authorized by
such sanctions programs and
authorities.
(2) Sanctions programs and authorities listed.--The
sanctions programs and authorities listed in this paragraph are
sanctions programs and authorities pursuant to the following:
(A) Section 105(c) of the Comprehensive Iran
Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010
(22 U.S.C. 8514(c)).
(B) Executive Order 13553 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note;
relating to blocking property of certain persons with
respect to serious human rights abuses by the
Government of Iran).
(C) Executive Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note;
relating to blocking property and prohibiting
transactions with persons who commit, threaten to
commit, or support terrorism).
(D) Executive Order 13818 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note;
relating to blocking the property of persons involved
in serious human rights abuse or corruption).
(E) Executive Order 13876 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note;
relating to imposing sanctions with respect to Iran).
(F) Section 7031(c) of the Department of State,
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations
Act, 2023 (division K of Public Law 117-328).
(3) Form of report.--The report required by paragraph
(1)(D) shall be submitted in an unclassified form but may
contain a classified annex provided separately containing
additional contextual information pertaining to justification
for the issuance of any waiver issued, as described in
paragraph (1)(D)(ii). The unclassified portion of such report
shall be made available on a publicly available internet
website of the Federal Government.
(b) Foreign Persons Described.--The foreign persons described in
this subsection are the following:
(1) The Supreme Leader of Iran and any official in the
Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran.
(2) The President of Iran and any official in the Office of
the President of Iran or the President's cabinet, including
cabinet ministers and executive vice presidents.
(3) Any entity, including foundations and economic
conglomerates, overseen by the Office of the Supreme Leader of
Iran that is complicit in financing or resourcing of human
rights abuses or support for terrorism.
(4) Any official of any entity owned or controlled by the
Supreme Leader of Iran or the Office of the Supreme Leader of
Iran.
(5) Any person determined by the President--
(A) to be a person appointed by the Supreme Leader
of Iran, the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran, the
President of Iran, or the Office of the President of
Iran to a position as a state official of Iran, or as
the head of any entity located in Iran or any entity
located outside of Iran that is owned or controlled by
one or more entities in Iran;
(B) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or
provided financial, material, or technological support
for, or goods or services to or in support of, any
person the property and interests in property of which
are blocked pursuant to any sanctions program or
authority listed in subsection (a)(2);
(C) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted
or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or
indirectly, any person the property and interests in
property of which are blocked pursuant to any sanctions
program or authority listed in subsection (a)(2); or
(D) to be a member of the board of directors or a
senior executive officer of any entity the property and
interests in property of which are blocked pursuant to
any sanctions program or authority listed in subsection
(a)(2).
(c) Congressional Oversight.--
(1) 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
foreign person meets the criteria of a person described in
subsection (b)(5), the President shall--
(A) determine if the person meets such criteria;
and
(B) submit an unclassified report, with a
classified annex provided separately if needed, 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 the person pursuant to any
sanctions program or authority listed in subsection
(a)(2).
(2) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In this
subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives.
SEC. 3. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision
to any person or circumstance, is found to be unconstitutional, the
remainder of this Act, or the application of that provision to other
persons or circumstances, shall not be affected.