Foreign Extortion Prevention Technical Corrections Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 4548) to make a technical correction to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 by repealing section 5101 and enacting an updated version of the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 4548.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 4548 makes technical and conforming changes to the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, which was enacted as part of last year's National Defense Authorization Act.

The FEPA was introduced to create a Federal offense that would contemplate a Foreign Corruption Practices Act. Again, the Foreign Corruption Practices Act, which has been in place for many years, is the act that the American people rely on to make sure that Americans, no matter where they are doing business, abide by U.S. practices, no bribes, and no mislaid funds. In fact, it is the reason that the United States is the envy of the world when it comes to contracting with our companies.

While the FCPA prohibits the paying of a bribe to a foreign official, the FEPA prohibits the demanding of a bribe by a foreign official. However, the FEPA text that was enacted last year in the NDAA had several flaws.

First, the law was added to the domestic bribery statute in title 18, creating an inconsistency in the sections that are being defined in the elements of the crime. These inconsistencies may prevent the FEPA and the domestic bribery statute from operating in the way that Congress intended.

Second, there were inconsistencies between the language of the FCPA and the FEPA. Because these statutes are intended to be complementary, with parts of them addressing the same problem, we need to harmonize it.

For that reason, this technical and conforming change has been brought to the committee's attention. We stand for it, we have reviewed it, and in fact, we hope that all will vote on it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the bill before us isn't just another example of the hardworking Sheila Jackson Lee that both of us served with for more than two decades.

In closing, I take a moment to pay tribute to the gentlewoman, not on my side of the aisle, not always on my side of a vote, but never has our committee had a harder working, more dedicated Member, a Member who I had the honor of traveling with to many places, including the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere.

She would get up early. She would work late. She would add meetings on top of meetings, even on congressional delegations that seemed to be filled beyond the possibility of doing it all.

I don't remember a piece of legislation on which she wasn't prepared to opine with accuracy and proper briefing, and I don't remember an opportunity missed to offer an amendment or a need for greater transparency.

I join my colleague, Mr. Nadler, in saying she will be missed. She will be missed because nobody could have had somebody more interested in transparency, in proper reporting, and quite frankly, the importance of this body. She was a person of the House, and she will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 4548, the Foreign Extortion Prevention Technical Corrections Act.

Last year, we enacted the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, or FEPA, landmark legislation that would combat kleptocracy and help protect the rule of law.

FEPA was the first expansion of our country's antibribery and anticorruption laws in nearly 50 years. This law provides another useful tool to combat corruption and stop it at its source by making it a crime for any foreign official to solicit or accept a bribe from any American person or American company.

It was already the law that U.S. persons who offer to pay bribes overseas could be prosecuted, but there was no corresponding law prohibiting foreign entities and officials from demanding or accepting bribes.

Foreign corrupt officials too often demand bribes from companies hoping to do business with them. This unethical practice unfairly benefits dishonest companies, granting them a competitive advantage, and placing law-abiding companies and citizens, including American ones, at a disadvantage.

FEPA changed that by stopping corruption at its source. The passage of FEPA was a watershed moment for our

democracy, particularly because research shows that the vast majority of bribe-demanding foreign officials never face consequences in their own countries. FEPA makes it much harder for these foreign officials to cultivate a culture where corruption and bribery are the norm.

After FEPA was enacted into law, it became clear that certain technical corrections were necessary to fully effectuate the law. This legislation would make those necessary changes to ensure that our fight to end corruption is well equipped. I was proud to vote for FEPA last year, and I am proud to vote for it again through this bill.

I must observe that consideration of this bill is bittersweet today because the House sponsor of FEPA was our late, beloved colleague, Sheila Jackson Lee, who we lost just this past weekend.

Her impact on this Chamber was immeasurable, and she was the champion of so many issues from criminal justice to voting rights to civil rights and civil liberties and so much more.

She was also passionate about fighting against corruption, both at home and abroad, and passage of today's bill would be a small tribute to the mark that she has left on this country and on all of us.

This legislation simply makes technical corrections to the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, important bipartisan anticorruption legislation, which was enacted last year. This bill has already passed the Senate.

I urge all Members to support the bill and send it to the President's desk, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 4548 introduced earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.