Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Transportation and Infrastructure, 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.
This bill establishes new tools and procedures to address the wrongful detention of Americans by foreign governments and non-state actors. The legislation allows the Secretary of State to designate countries as "State Sponsors of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention" if they detain Americans for political leverage, fail to release detainees after notification, or support such detention. The bill requires the State Department to brief Congress within 60 days on whether seven specific countries—including Iran, China, Russia, and Venezuela—should receive this designation, and then to conduct comprehensive reviews of available sanctions and other response options. The legislation also mandates that travelers to countries with wrongful detention or terrorism warnings certify they understand the risks before purchasing airline tickets, and requires airlines to provide travel advisory information. Additionally, the bill creates an advisory council with former detainees and their family members to guide federal policy, establishes a 180-day timeline for determining whether detained Americans meet the legal definition of wrongful detention, and authorizes $4 million in funding for fiscal year 2026 to implement the new sanctions and travel advisory initiatives.
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