Congress delegates sweeping Red Sea sanctions power to the President
H.R. 2052 — Combating Houthi Threats and Aggression Act · Filed by Mark Green (R-TN) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 11, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the President to impose economic and immigration sanctions on foreign persons and entities that attack international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, support the Houthis militarily, or supply them with weapons. It also requires annual reports to Congress on Houthi military capabilities, their attacks on shipping, violations of UN arms embargoes against Yemen, and Iran's role in supporting the group. The sanctions include asset freezes, visa revocations, and penalties for violations, with a 5-year sunset.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a sanctions regime targeting foreign actors supporting Houthi attacks on shipping, paired with mandatory intelligence reporting to Congress. This is a straightforward national security and foreign policy tool, not a hidden carve-out or subsidy.
What the text implies
- The definition of sanctionable conduct includes anyone who 'materially contributes' to supply or transfer of arms to Houthis—a standard broad enough to potentially capture shipping companies, insurers, or logistics firms that unknowingly facilitate dual-use goods or provide services in regions where Houthi support networks operate.
- The bill grants the President unilateral authority to impose sanctions without explicit congressional approval for each designation, subject only to a 180-day waiver mechanism requiring post-hoc notification. This concentrates foreign policy power in the executive branch with limited real-time legislative oversight.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
defense contractors (increased military operations/interdiction); maritime security firms; shipping insurers (reduced risk premium if sanctions effective)