[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3525 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.3525
One Hundred Fourth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six
An Act
To amend title 18, United States Code, to clarify the Federal
jurisdiction over offenses relating to damage to religious property.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Church Arson Prevention Act of
1996''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The incidence of arson or other destruction or vandalism of
places of religious worship, and the incidence of violent
interference with an individual's lawful exercise or attempted
exercise of the right of religious freedom at a place of religious
worship pose a serious national problem.
(2) The incidence of arson of places of religious worship has
recently increased, especially in the context of places of
religious worship that serve predominantly African-American
congregations.
(3) Changes in Federal law are necessary to deal properly with
this problem.
(4) Although local jurisdictions have attempted to respond to
the challenges posed by such acts of destruction or damage to
religious property, the problem is sufficiently serious,
widespread, and interstate in scope to warrant Federal intervention
to assist State and local jurisdictions.
(5) Congress has authority, pursuant to the Commerce Clause of
the Constitution, to make acts of destruction or damage to
religious property a violation of Federal law.
(6) Congress has authority, pursuant to section 2 of the 13th
amendment to the Constitution, to make actions of private citizens
motivated by race, color, or ethnicity that interfere with the
ability of citizens to hold or use religious property without fear
of attack, violations of Federal criminal law.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF VIOLENT INTERFERENCE WITH RELIGIOUS WORSHIP.
Section 247 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``subsection (c) of this
section'' and inserting ``subsection (d)'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e), as
subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively;
(3) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that the
offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce.
``(c) Whoever intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys any
religious real property because of the race, color, or ethnic
characteristics of any individual associated with that religious
property, or attempts to do so, shall be punished as provided in
subsection (d).'';
(4) in subsection (d), as redesignated--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by inserting ``to any person, including any public
safety officer performing duties as a direct or proximate
result of conduct prohibited by this section,'' after
``bodily injury''; and
(ii) by striking ``ten years'' and inserting ``20
years'';
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs
(3) and (4), respectively;
(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) if bodily injury results to any person, including any
public safety officer performing duties as a direct or proximate
result of conduct prohibited by this section, and the violation is
by means of fire or an explosive, a fine under this title or
imprisonment for not more that 40 years, or both;'';
(5) in subsection (f), as redesignated--
(A) by striking ``religious property'' and inserting
``religious real property'' both places it appears; and
(B) by inserting ``, including fixtures or religious
objects contained within a place of religious worship'' before
the period; and
(6) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(g) No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any
noncapital offense under this section unless the indictment is found or
the information is instituted not later than 7 years after the date on
which the offense was committed.''.
SEC. 4. LOAN GUARANTEE RECOVERY FUND.
(a) In General.--
(1) In general.--Using amounts described in paragraph (2), the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (referred to as the
``Secretary'') shall make guaranteed loans to financial
institutions in connection with loans made by such institutions to
assist organizations described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 that have been damaged as a result of acts of
arson or terrorism in accordance with such procedures as the
Secretary shall establish by regulation.
(2) Use of credit subsidy.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, for the cost of loan guarantees under this section, the
Secretary may use not more than $5,000,000 of the amounts made
available for fiscal year 1996 for the credit subsidy provided
under the General Insurance Fund and the Special Risk Insurance
Fund.
(b) Treatment of Costs.--The costs of guaranteed loans under this
section, including the cost of modifying loans, shall be as defined in
section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
(c) Limit on Loan Principal.--Funds made available under this
section shall be available to subsidize total loan principal, any part
of which is to be guaranteed, not to exceed $10,000,000.
(d) Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary shall--
(1) establish such terms and conditions as the Secretary
considers to be appropriate to provide loan guarantees under this
section, consistent with section 503 of the Credit Reform Act; and
(2) include in the terms and conditions a requirement that the
decision to provide a loan guarantee to a financial institution and
the amount of the guarantee does not in any way depend on the
purpose, function, or identity of the organization to which the
financial institution has made, or intends to make, a loan.
SEC. 5. COMPENSATION OF VICTIMS; REQUIREMENT OF INCLUSION IN LIST OF
CRIMES ELIGIBLE FOR COMPENSATION.
Section 1403(d)(3) of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C.
10602(d)(3)) is amended by inserting ``crimes, whose victims suffer
death or personal injury, that are described in section 247 of title
18, United States Code,'' after ``includes''.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO ASSIST STATE AND
LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of the
Treasury and the Department of Justice, including the Community
Relations Service, in fiscal years 1996 and 1997 such sums as are
necessary to increase the number of personnel, investigators, and
technical support personnel to investigate, prevent, and respond to
potential violations of sections 247 and 844 of title 18, United States
Code.
SEC. 7. REAUTHORIZATION OF HATE CRIMES STATISTICS ACT.
The first section of the Hate Crimes Statistics Act (28 U.S.C. 534
note) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ``for the calendar year 1990
and each of the succeeding 4 calendar years'' and inserting ``for
each calendar year''; and
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ``1994'' and inserting
``2002''.
SEC. 8. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
The Congress--
(1) commends those individuals and entities that have responded
with funds to assist in the rebuilding of places of worship that
have been victimized by arson; and
(2) encourages the private sector to continue these efforts so
that places of worship that are victimized by arson, and their
affected communities, can continue the rebuilding process with
maximum financial support from private individuals, businesses,
charitable organizations, and other non-profit entities.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.