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Congress·Passed House·about 1 year ago

Congress Moves to Sanction International Criminal Court Over Investigations of U.S. and Allies

Also known as: Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act

Legislative Progress

✓ Filed
✓ Review
✓ House

243–140

Senate
President

Impact Analysis

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Key Points

  • This bill requires the government to punish officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC) if they try to investigate, arrest, or put on trial Americans or people from allied countries like Israel. The U.S. argues that because it never joined the court, the court has no legal power over its citizens or its partners.
  • The punishments include freezing any money or property the court officials have in the United States. It also bans those officials and their immediate family members from traveling to the U.S. by canceling their visas and blocking them from entering the country.
  • Congress is taking this action following the court's decision to issue arrest warrants for leaders in Israel. Lawmakers believe these warrants set a dangerous example that could eventually lead to the court targeting U.S. military members or government officials.
  • The law cuts off all U.S. financial support for the court. Any money already set aside for the ICC would be taken back, and the government would be banned from giving the court any money in the future.
  • The President can pause these punishments for 90 days at a time if they can prove it is vital to national security. However, the sanctions are meant to stay in place until the court permanently ends its investigations into the U.S. and its allies.
National Security Foreign Policy

Milestones

5 milestones15 actions
Jan 28, 2025Senate

Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 54 - 45. Record Vote Number: 22. (CR S410)

Jan 23, 2025Senate

Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the measure presented in Senate. (CR S307)

Jan 23, 2025Senate

Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (CR S307)

Jan 13, 2025Senate

Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 3.

Jan 9, 2025Senate

Received in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

Within 60 days of enactment

Sanctions against ICC officials must begin

Within 60 days of the bill becoming law, the President must identify and sanction foreign persons involved in ICC investigations of protected Americans and allies. Their U.S. assets would be frozen and their visas revoked.

Immediately upon enactment

All U.S. funding to the ICC is cut off

Any money already set aside for the ICC would be immediately taken back on the day the bill becomes law, and no future U.S. funds could go to the court. This takes effect the moment the President signs it.

Vote Results

2 votes
HousePassedPassageJan 9, 2025

On Passage

243
140
Democrat
45 – 140 · 30
Republican
198 – 0 · 21
View full roll call
SenateFailedClotureJan 28, 2025

On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed

54
45
Democrat
1 – 43 · 1
Republican
53 – 0
Independent
0 – 2
View full roll call

Related News

4 articles
Politico·about 1 year ago

Senate Dems, GOP negotiate changes to ICC sanctions bill ahead of key vote

Senate negotiators from both parties discussed potential changes to the House-passed ICC sanctions bill. Major concerns were raised by U.S. tech companies fearing the broad language could criminalize their cybersecurity support for the court's investigations into Russian war crimes.

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PBS News·over 1 year ago

House passes proposal sanctioning top war-crimes court after it sought Netanyahu arrest warrant

In a 247-155 vote, the House approved the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act. The bill targets ICC officials with economic sanctions and visa bans if they investigate or prosecute Americans or citizens of U.S. allies like Israel, which do not recognize the court's jurisdiction.

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NBC News·over 1 year ago

U.S. House votes to sanction International Criminal Court over warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli officials

House Republicans, joined by dozens of Democrats, passed a bill to punish the ICC. The legislation came in response to the court's pursuit of war crimes charges against Israeli leaders, which lawmakers argued sets a dangerous precedent for U.S. personnel.

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Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act

Bill NumberHR 23
Congress119th Congress
ChamberHouse of Representatives
Latest ActionCloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 54 - 45. Record Vote Number: 22. (CR S410)

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(38)
R: 38

Analysis generated by AI. While we strive for accuracy, this should not be considered legal or professional advice. Always verify information with official government sources.