I
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4077
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 17, 2012
Mr. Royce introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of State to pay a reward to combat transnational organized crime and for information concerning foreign nationals wanted by international criminal tribunals, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Department of State Rewards Program
Update and Technical Corrections Act of 2012
.
Findings; Sense of Congress
Findings
Congress finds the following:
The Department of State’s existing rewards programs permit the payment of reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of—
individuals who have committed, or attempted or conspired to commit, certain acts of international terrorism;
individuals who have committed, or attempted or conspired to commit, certain narcotics-related offenses; and
individuals who have been indicted by certain international criminal tribunals.
The Department of
State considers the rewards program to be one of the most valuable
assets the U.S. Government has in the fight against international
terrorism.
. Since the program’s inception in 1984, the United States
has rewarded over 60 people who provided actionable information that, according
to the Department of State, prevented international terrorist attacks or helped
convict individuals involved in terrorist attacks.
The program has been credited with providing information in several high-profile cases, including the arrest of Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein, who United States military forces located and killed in Iraq after receiving information about their locations, and the arrests or deaths of several members of the Abu Sayyaf group, believed to be responsible for the kidnappings and deaths of Americans and Filipinos in the Philippines.
Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that the rewards program of the Department of State should be expanded in order to—
address the growing threat to important United States interests from transnational criminal activity, such as intellectual property rights piracy, money laundering, trafficking in persons, arms trafficking, and cybercrime; and
target other individuals indicted by international, hybrid, or mixed tribunals for genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity.
Enhanced rewards authority
Section 36 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708) is amended—
in subsection
(a)(2), by inserting serious violations of international humanitarian
law, transnational organized crime,
after international
narcotics trafficking,
;
in subsection (b)—
in the matter
preceding paragraph (1), by striking Attorney General
and
inserting heads of other relevant departments or
agencies
;
in paragraphs (4)
and (5), by striking paragraph (1), (2), or (3)
each place it
appears and inserting paragraph (1), (2), (3), (8), or
(9)
;
in paragraph (6)—
by
inserting or transnational organized crime group
after
terrorist organization
; and
by
striking or
at the end;
in paragraph (7)—
in
the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking , including the use
by the organization of illicit narcotics production or international narcotics
trafficking
and inserting or transnational organized crime
group, including the use by such organization or group of illicit narcotics
production or international narcotics trafficking
;
in
subparagraph (A), by inserting or transnational organized crime
after international terrorism
; and
in subparagraph (B)—
by inserting
or transnational organized crime group
after terrorist
organization
; and
by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual for participating in, primarily outside the United States, transnational organized crime;
the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual conspiring to participate in or attempting to participate in transnational organized crime; or
the arrest or conviction in any country, or the transfer to or conviction by an international criminal tribunal (including a hybrid or mixed tribunal), of any foreign national accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, as defined under the statute of such tribunal.
; and
in subsection (k)—
by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; and
by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new paragraphs:
Transnational organized crime
The term
transnational organized crime
means—
racketeering activity (as such term is defined in section 1961 of title 18, United States Code) that involves at least one jurisdiction outside the United States; or
any other criminal offense punishable by a term of imprisonment of at least four years under Federal, State, or local law that involves at least one jurisdiction outside the United States and that is intended to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit.
Transnational organized crime group
The
term transnational organized crime group
means a group of
persons that includes one or more citizens of a foreign country, exists for a
period of time, and acts in concert with the aim of engaging in transnational
organized
crime.
.
Technical correction
Section 36(e)(1) of
the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708) is amended
by striking The Secretary shall authorize a reward of $50,000,000 for
the capture or death or information leading to the capture or death of Osama
bin Laden.
.
Rule of construction
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the use of activity precluded under the American Servicemembers’ Protection Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–206).
