One Hundred Twelfth Congress of the United States of America
2d Session
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, the third day of January, two thousand and twelve
S. 2318
AN ACT
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 makes the following findings:
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 Government 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 United States citizens 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)
both places 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.
;
in subsection (g), by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
Advance notification for international criminal tribunal rewards
Not less than 15 days before publicly announcing that a reward may be offered for a particular foreign national accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report, which may be submitted in classified form if necessary, setting forth the reasons why the arrest or conviction of such foreign national is in the national interests of the United States.
; 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 or the amendments made by this Act shall be construed as authorizing the use of activity precluded under the American Servicemembers’ Protection Act of 2002 (title II of Public Law 107–206; 22 U.S.C. 7421 et seq.).
Funding
The Secretary of State shall use amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the Emergencies in the Diplomatic and Consular Services account of the Department of State to pay rewards authorized pursuant to this Act and to carry out other activities related to such rewards authorized under section 36 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act (22 U.S.C. 2708).
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate