To amend title 46, United States Code, to provide greater flexibility to the Coast Guard in deciding the Federal district court in which to prosecute individuals engaged in drug trafficking.

SA 879. Mr. JOHNSON (for himself and Mr. Flake) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2810, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. VENUE FOR PROSECUTION OF MARITIME DRUG TRAFFICKING.

(a) In General.--Section 70504(b) of title 46, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Venue.--A person violating section 70503 or 70508--
``(1) shall be tried in the district in which such offense
was committed; or
``(2) if the offense was begun or committed upon the high
seas, or elsewhere outside the jurisdiction of any particular
State or district, may be tried in any district.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1009(d) of the
Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C.
959(d)) is amended--
(1) in the subsection title, by striking ``; Venue''; and
(2) by striking ``Any person who violates this section
shall be tried in the United States district court at the
point of entry where such person enters the United States, or
in the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia.''.
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