,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #bebh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #h1 #bjah ,mr4 ,hatch 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cornyn1 ,mr4 ,lankford1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 and ,mr4 ,manchin7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to call on the ,united ,states and its partners to continue support for the ,iranian people in their fight for freedom and prosperity4 #a4 ,short title2 table of contents 7a7 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,continued ,support for the ,iranian ,people ,act of #bjah4 7b7 ,table of contents ,the table of contents for this ,act is as follows3 ,sec4 #a4 ,short title2 table of contents4 ,sec4 #b4 ,findings4 ,sec4 #c4 ,sense of ,congress4 ,sec4 #d4 ,statement of ,united ,states policy4 ,sec4 #e4 ,requirements4 ,sec4 #f4 ,appropriate congressional committees defined4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the protests that began on ,december #bh1 #bjag1 in ,iran 7in this ,act referred to as the protests7 were instigated and supported by a diverse demographic of ,iranian citizens1 especially including the poor and economically disenfranchised populations across the country1 located in both rural and urban areas4 7#b7 ,rather than invest in the legitimate economy and future of the ,iranian people1 the ,government of ,iran budgeted billions of dollars to continue supporting illegitimate armed groups and terrorists in the region1 primarily through its ,islamic ,revolutionary ,guard ,corps 7,,irgc74 7#c7 ,the ,government of ,iran has arrested at least #d1ejj individuals for participating in the protests1 at least #dij of whom remain in custody1 according to news reports4 7#d7 ,according to ,reuters1 ,iranian ,deputy ,interior ,minister ,hossein ,zolfaghari stated on ,january #a1 #bjah1 that more than #ij percent of the people arrested in these unrests were young people and teenagers under the age of #be and virtually none of them have any arrest history4 7#e7 ,on ,january #h1 #bjah1 ,hamid ,shahriari1 deputy head of the ,government of ,iran's judiciary1 said that those who organized and led the unrest against the establishment can expect the maximum penalty1 according to the ,iranian ,students ,news ,agency 7,,isna71 as reported by ,radio ,free ,europe_/,radio ,liberty4 7#f7 ,three detained prisoners were reported to have committed suicide in ,iranian prisons since their incarceration1 including ,iranian-,canadian academic ,kavous ,seyed-,emami4 7#g7 ,the ,iranian ,security ,forces have killed over #bj individuals during the protests1 including #ac-year-old ,armin ,sadeghi4 7#h7 ,the ,government of ,iran has consistently blocked ,internet access and use of communications applications like ,telegram and ,instagram4 ,as of ,january #ca1 #bjah1 protests continue throughout ,iran1 with demonstrations in the city of ,ahvaz on ,january #bc1 #bjah1 and four more cities in the days since4 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,congress-- 7#a7 strongly condemns the ,government of ,iran for its human rights violations against the people of ,iran during and in the wake of the protests2 7#b7 urges the ,president to continue to publicly-- 7,a7 condemn the ,government of ,iran for its human rights abuses against the ,iranian people2 and 7,b7 support the human rights1 economic prosperity1 and democratic aspirations of the ,iranian people2 7#c7 reaffirms the right of the people of ,iran to the freedom of speech and assembly in the face of oppression perpetrated by the ,government of ,iran2 and 7#d7 supports the right of the people of ,iran to a democratic system of governance4 #d4 ,statement of ,united ,states policy ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states-- 7#a7 to condemn the ,government of ,iran's violations of its citizens' human rights1 freedom of religious expression1 and freedom of speech1 including state-sanctioned violence against peaceful protestors2 7#b7 to support1 through appropriate actions and official public statements1 the people of ,iran in their fight for freedom and prosperity2 and 7#c7 to work with international allies and partners to monitor and effectively respond to the protests in ,iran in a manner that supports the human rights and democratic aspirations of the people of ,iran and deters the ,government of ,iran from committing continued acts of oppression and persecution against its citizens4 #e4 ,requirements 7a7 ,use of social media 7#a7 ,archive ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,commerce1 shall work with relevant social media companies to build an anonymized and public comprehensive archive of all social media communications1 whether successfully transmitted or blocked by the ,government of ,iran1 to and from protesters in ,iran since ,december #bh1 #bjag4 7#b7 ,strategy ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,commerce and the ,office of the ,director of ,national ,intelligence1 shall work with relevant social media and telecommunications companies1 ,internet service providers1 and expert public stakeholders1 as appropriate1 to develop a strategy consisting of potential government and private sector actions and best practices for preventing the ,government of ,iran from shutting down ,internet access and blocking access to social media applications4 7#c7 ,report required ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an unclassified report1 which may contain a classified annex1 consisting of the archive described in paragraph 7#a7 and the strategy described in paragraph 7#b74 7b7 ,modification of annual human rights report 7#a7 ,report required ,as part of the first ,annual ,country ,report on ,human ,rights submitted after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state and the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 in consultation with other appropriate ,federal agencies1 shall include an unclassified report documenting the actions of the ,government of ,iran1 the ,iranian ,revolutionary ,court1 the ,iranian ,revolutionary ,guard ,corps1 and their proxies in response to the protests that began on ,december #bh1 #bjag4 7#b7 ,elements ,the report required under paragraph 7#a7 shall include-- 7,a7 an appendix detailing the circumstances of the incarcerations undertaken by the ,government of ,iran during this period and the treatment of prisoners2 and 7,b7 an appendix1 which may contain a classified annex1 detailing the sources and mechanisms used by the ,government of ,iran1 the ,,irgc1 and its proxies to fund its actions in response to the protests4 7#c7 ,required briefing ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act and upon publication of the report described in paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary of ,state and the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall brief1 in an unclassified and classified format1 if necessary1 the appropriate congressional committees on the information required by the report described in paragraph 7#a74 #f4 ,appropriate congressional committees defined ,in this ,act1 the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7#a7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations1 the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation1 and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate2 and 7#b7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives4