US HB1998

Requires the President to impose sanctions on foreign persons who knowingly engage in piracy, including blocking all property and financial transactions within U.S. jurisdiction

Sanctions include making foreign pirates inadmissible to the United States, revoking existing visas, and denying all immigration benefits

Provides exceptions for compliance with UN Headquarters Agreement obligations, humanitarian assistance transactions (food, medicine, medical devices), and authorized intelligence or law enforcement activities

Allows the President to waive sanctions with 15 days notice to Congress if certified as crucial to national security interests

Cites 2011 statistics of 212 attempted Somali pirate attacks with over 1,000 crew held hostage and 35 killed, and notes surge in piracy beginning fall 2023 coinciding with Houthi attacks in the Red Sea