S. 678 (112th): Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act

Introduced:
Mar 30, 2011 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
Sponsor:
Sen. Herbert “Herb” Kohl [D-WI]
Status:
Died (Reported by Committee)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced on December 8, 2011, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced Mar 30, 2011
Referred to Committee Mar 30, 2011
Reported by Committee Dec 08, 2011
Cosponsors
9 cosponsors (5D, 4R) (show)
Committees

Senate Judiciary

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

A bill to increase the penalties for economic espionage.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

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Last updated Mar 30, 2011.
6 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

12/8/2011--Reported to Senate amended.
Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act - Amends the federal criminal code to increase (from 15 to 20 years) the term of imprisonment for economic espionage (i.e., stealing or obtaining, duplicating or conveying, or buying or possessing trade secrets without authorization intending or knowing that the offense will benefit any foreign government, foreign instrumentality, or foreign agent).
Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend the federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of offenses relating to the transmission of a stolen trade secret outside of the United States or economic espionage to reflect the intent of Congress that penalties for such offenses:
(1) reflect the seriousness of, and potential and actual harm caused by, such offenses; and
(2) provide adequate deterrence.
Directs the Commission to:
(1) consider the extent to which such guidelines and statements appropriately account for the simple misappropriation of a trade secret, including the sufficiency of the existing enhancement for such offenses to address the seriousness of this conduct;
(2) consider additional enhancements to account for any transmission of a stolen trade secret outside of the United States and any such transmission that is committed for the benefit of a foreign government;
(3) consider establishing a minimum offense level for offenses relating to such transmission;
(4) ensure that the guidelines and statements reflect the serious nature of such offenses and the need to deter such conduct;
(5) ensure reasonable consistency with other relevant directives, guidelines and statements, and federal statutes; and
(6) ensure that the guidelines adequately meet the purposes of sentencing.
Directs the Commission to complete its review within 180 days and to issue a report explaining any decision not to adopt any of the specific recommendations.

House Republican Conference Summary

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House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

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