Havana Syndrome Attacks Response Act

Havana Syndrome Attacks Response Act

This bill requires the President to sanction foreign persons and governments for carrying out clandestine attacks on U.S. personnel that have caused brain injury.

Specifically, the President must impose visa- and asset-blocking sanctions on any foreign person that has directed or carried out such an attack.

If the President determines a foreign government carried out such an attack, the President must notify Congress and sanction that country by

• terminating any foreign assistance (except for humanitarian aid or food or agricultural commodities or products) and arms transactions,
• restricting commercial exports, and
• denying access to U.S. credit or other financial assistance.

The President must remove these sanctions after 12 months, provided that (1) the country's government gives reliable assurances that it will not conduct future attacks, and (2) the executive branch does not have persuasive information indicating an attack occurred in the preceding six months.

The bill also requires a congressional briefing and report about suspected clandestine attacks on U.S. personnel that have caused brain injury, including hypotheses concerning the identity of the perpetrators and the technical methods used to carry out the attacks.