[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1557 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  2d Session
                                S. 1557

To prohibit economic espionage, to provide for the protection of United 
 States vital proprietary economic information, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 1, 1996

 Mr. Specter (for himself and Mr. Kohl) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Select Committee on 
                              Intelligence

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit economic espionage, to provide for the protection of United 
 States vital proprietary economic information, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Economic Security Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) economic security is an integral part of national 
        security;
            (2) the development of new ideas and technical innovation 
        is critical to sustaining a healthy and competitive national 
        economy;
            (3) encouraging innovation and creativity requires adequate 
        protection of vital economic proprietary information, both 
        tangible and intangible;
            (4) over 50 countries have covertly tried to obtain 
        advanced technologies from United States industries;
            (5) the theft, wrongful destruction or alteration, 
        misappropriation, or wrongful conversion by foreign governments 
        or their agents of vital economic proprietary information 
        belonging to United States owners directly and substantially 
        threatens the health and competitiveness of critical segments 
        of the United States economy and, consequently, the Nation's 
        security; and
            (6) current laws are inadequate to protect against economic 
        espionage by foreign governments or those acting on their 
        behalf.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to protect the national 
security by preventing economic espionage and furthering the 
development and lawful utilization of United States vital proprietary 
economic information by protecting it from theft, wrongful destruction 
or alteration, misappropriation, and conversion by foreign governments 
and their agents or instrumentalities. This Act is intended to protect 
the vital proprietary economic information of the United States 
Government and United States firms, businesses, industries, and 
individuals both domestically and abroad by punishing individuals, 
corporations, and institutions that engage in economic espionage with 
the intent or purpose of aiding foreign nations or governments and 
their instrumentalities and agents.

SEC. 3. PREVENTION OF ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE AND PROTECTION OF VITAL 
              PROPRIETARY ECONOMIC INFORMATION.

    (a) In General.--The National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 421 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new title:

  ``TITLE IX--ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE AND PROTECTION OF VITAL PROPRIETARY 
                          ECONOMIC INFORMATION

``SEC. 901. DEFINITIONS.

    ``As used in this title:
            ``(1) The term `foreign corporation, institution, or 
        instrumentality' means any corporation, agency, component, 
        institution, association, instrumentality, or legal, 
        commercial, or business entity that is substantially owned, 
        controlled, sponsored, commanded, managed, or dominated by a 
        foreign government or subdivision of a foreign government.
            ``(2) The term `foreign agent' means any officer, employee, 
        proxy, servant, delegate, or representative of a foreign nation 
        or government.
            ``(3) The term `person' means a natural person, 
        corporation, agency, association, institution, or any other 
        legal, commercial, or business entity.
            ``(4) The term `vital proprietary economic information' 
        means all forms and types of financial, business, scientific, 
        technical, economic, or engineering information, including 
        data, plans, tools, mechanisms, compounds, formulas, designs, 
        prototypes, processes, procedures, programs, codes, or 
        commercial strategies, whether tangible or intangible, and 
        however stored, compiled, or memorialized, if--
                    ``(A) the owner has taken reasonable measures to 
                keep such information confidential; and
                    ``(B) the information derives independent economic 
                value, actual or potential, from not being generally 
                known to, and not being readily ascertainable, 
                acquired, or developed by legal means by the public.
            ``(5) The term `owner' means the United States person or 
        persons in whom, or United States Government component, 
        department, or agency in which, rightful legal, beneficial, or 
        equitable title to, or license in, vital proprietary economic 
        information is reposed.
            ``(6) The term `United States person' means--
                    ``(A) in the case of a natural person, a United 
                States citizen or permanent resident alien; and
                    ``(B) in the case of a nonnatural person, an entity 
                substantially owned or controlled by the United States 
                Government or by United States citizens or permanent 
                resident aliens, or incorporated in the United States.

``SEC. 902. ENGAGING IN ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE TO AID FOREIGN NATIONS, 
              GOVERNMENTS, CORPORATIONS, INSTITUTIONS, 
              INSTRUMENTALITIES, OR AGENTS.

    ``(a) In General.--Any person who, with intent to, or reason to 
believe that it will, injure any owner and benefit any foreign nation, 
government, corporation, institution, instrumentality, or agent--
            ``(1) steals, wrongfully appropriates, takes, carries away, 
        or conceals, or by fraud, artifice, or deception obtains vital 
        proprietary economic information;
            ``(2) wrongfully copies, duplicates, sketches, draws, 
        photographs, downloads, uploads, alters, destroys, photocopies, 
        replicates, transmits, delivers, sends, mails, communicates, or 
        conveys vital proprietary economic information;
            ``(3) receives, buys, or possesses vital proprietary 
        economic information, knowing the vital proprietary economic 
        information to have been obtained by any of the means described 
        in paragraph (1) or (2);
            ``(4) attempts to commit any offense described in 
        paragraphs (1) through (3);
            ``(5) wrongfully solicits another to commit any offense 
        described in paragraphs (1) through (3); or
            ``(6) conspires with one or more other persons to commit 
        any offense described in paragraphs (1) through (3), and one or 
        more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the 
        conspiracy,
shall, except as provided in subsection (b), be fined not more than 
$500,000 or imprisoned not more than 25 years, or both.
    ``(b) Corporations.--Any corporation that commits any offense 
described in subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $10,000,000.

``SEC. 903. CRIMINAL FORFEITURE.

    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any provision of State law, any 
person convicted of a violation under this title shall forfeit to the 
United States--
            ``(1) any property constituting or derived from, any 
        proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly, as the 
        result of such violation; and
            ``(2) any of the person's property used, or intended to be 
        used, in any manner or part to commit or facilitate the 
        commission of such violation.
    ``(b) Court Order.--The court, in imposing a sentence on such 
person, shall order, in addition to any other sentence imposed pursuant 
to this title, that the person forfeit to the United States all 
property described in this section.
    ``(c) Applicable Law.--Property subject to forfeiture under this 
section, any seizure and disposition thereof, and any administrative or 
judicial proceeding in relation thereto, shall be governed by section 
413 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 
(21 U.S.C. 853), except for subsection 413(d) which shall not apply to 
forfeitures under this section.
    ``(d) Crime Victims Fund.--Notwithstanding section 524(c) of title 
28, United States Code, there shall be deposited in the Crime Victims 
Fund established under section 1402 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 
(42 U.S.C. 10601) all amounts from the forfeiture of property under 
this section remaining after the payment of the expenses for forfeiture 
and sale authorized by law.

``SEC. 904. IMPORT AND EXPORT SANCTIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--The President may prohibit, for a period of up 
to 5 years, the importation into, or exportation from, the United 
States of any product produced, made, assembled, or manufactured by a 
person convicted of any offense described in section 902.
    ``(b) Civil Penalties.--The Attorney General may impose a civil 
penalty not to exceed 5 times the value of the exports or imports 
involved or $100,000, whichever is greater, against any person who 
knowingly violates any order of the President issued under the 
authority of this title. Such penalty may be imposed only after notice 
and opportunity for a hearing on the record in accordance with sections 
554 through 557 of title 5.

``SEC. 905. EXTRATERRITORIALITY.

    ``(a) Conduct Occurring in the United States.--This title applies 
to conduct occurring within the territorial and special maritime 
jurisdiction of the United States.
    ``(b) Conduct Occurring Outside the United States.--This title 
applies to conduct occurring outside the United States if--
            ``(1) the offender is a United States person; or
            ``(2) the victim of the offense is an owner, as defined in 
        section 901, and the offense was intended to have or had a 
        substantial or direct effect on the United States.

``SEC. 906. CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER LAWS.

    ``This title shall not be construed to preempt or displace any 
other Federal or State remedies, whether civil or criminal, for the 
misappropriation of vital proprietary economic information, or to 
affect the otherwise lawful disclosure of information by any government 
employee under section 552 of title 5 (commonly known as the Freedom of 
Information Act).

``SEC. 907. PRESERVATION OF CONFIDENTIALITY.

    ``In any prosecution under this title, the court may enter such 
orders and take such other action as may be necessary and appropriate 
to preserve the confidentiality of vital proprietary economic 
information, consistent with rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Criminal 
Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, and other applicable laws. An 
interlocutory appeal by the United States shall lie from a decision or 
order of a district court authorizing the disclosure of vital 
proprietary economic information.

``SEC. 908. LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES.

    ``This title does not prohibit any lawfully authorized 
investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law 
enforcement agency of the United States, a State, or a political 
subdivision of a State, or an intelligence agency of the United 
States.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--The table of contents of the National 
Security Act of 1947 is amended by adding at the end the following:

  ``TITLE IX--ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE AND PROTECTION OF VITAL PROPRIETARY 
                          ECONOMIC INFORMATION

``Sec. 901. Definitions.
``Sec. 902. Engaging in economic espionage to aid foreign nations, 
                            governments, corporations, institutions, 
                            instrumentalities, or agents.
``Sec. 903. Criminal forfeiture.
``Sec. 904. Import and export sanctions.
``Sec. 905. Extraterritoriality.
``Sec. 906. Construction with other laws.
``Sec. 907. Preservation of confidentiality.
``Sec. 908. Law enforcement and intelligence activities.''.

SEC. 4. WIRE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS INTERCEPTION AND 
              INTERCEPTION OF ORAL COMMUNICATIONS.

    Section 2516(1)(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting ``title IX of the National Security Act of 1947 (relating to 
economic espionage and protection of vital proprietary economic 
information in interstate and foreign commerce),'' after ``fuel),''.
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