GovTrack’s Bill Summary
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H.R. 5231 (111th): Drug Trafficking Safe Harbor Elimination Act of 2010
- Introduced:
- May 06, 2010 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
- Sponsor:
- Rep. Lamar Smith [R-TX21]
- Status:
- Died (Referred to Committee)
- See Instead:
- This bill was re-introduced as H.R. 313 (112th) on Jan 18, 2011.
The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.
Library of Congress Summary
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
5/6/2010--Introduced.
Drug Trafficking Safe Harbor Elimination Act of 2010 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that anyone who enters into a conspiracy within the United States to possess or traffic in controlled substances outside the United States, or aids or abets such offenses, shall be subject to the same penalties for conspiracy as if the criminal acts resulting from such conspiracy took place within the United States.
House Republican Conference Summary
The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/2/hr5231.
Background
According to House Committee on Judiciary Republican Staff:
Federal drug laws impose penalties not only for the trafficking and distribution of drugs but also for conspiracy (meetings, negotiations, and arrangements to execute a drug transaction). In a recent appellate court decision, however, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that federal drug laws do not prohibit conspiracies when the drugs are possessed and distributed outside the U.S., even if conduct in furtherance of the conspiracy occurs inside the U.S.
In United States v. Lopez-Vanegas, 493 F.3d 1305 (11th Cir. 2007), the government alleged that Lopez-Vanegas and his co-defendant brokered a deal between a Colombian drug trafficking organization and a Saudi Arabian Prince to transport cocaine on the Prince’s airplane from Caracas, Venezuela, to Paris, France, for distribution in Europe.
Various meetings between the defendants, the Colombian drug trafficker and the Saudi prince to plot the drug deal took place in Miami, Florida, over a series of months. Defendants argued on appeal that their convictions for conspiracy to traffic cocaine from Colombia to Europe could not be sustained because the underlying act itself – transporting drugs from one foreign country to another foreign country – is not a violation of federal drug laws.
Summary
H.R. 5231 would clarify that conspiracy to traffic drugs outside the U.S. is illegal if an act in furtherance of the conspiracy occurs within the U.S.
House Democratic Caucus Summary
The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:
United States Code
The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)
- Title 21: FOOD AND DRUGS
- Chapter 13: DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION AND CONTROL
- Subchapter I: CONTROL AND ENFORCEMENT
- Part D: Offenses and Penalties
- Section 846: Attempt and conspiracy