[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2362 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2362

     To guarantee a republican form of government to the States by 
                   preventing paramilitary violence.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 31, 1997

Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. Condit, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Lofgren, and Ms. 
  Slaughter) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To guarantee a republican form of government to the States by 
                   preventing paramilitary violence.

    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 ``Republican Form of Government 
Guarantee Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) section 4 of article IV of the Constitution provides 
        that the United States shall guarantee a republican form of 
        government to the States;
            (2) organized criminal actions are an increasing threat to 
        the republican form of government in some States;
            (3) people who are responsible for upholding the laws of 
        the United States and the several States, and people who assist 
        them, have been threatened, harassed, and assaulted because of 
        these activities;
            (4) this violence is having a chilling effect on the 
        democratic process because Americans are afraid to participate 
        in town hall meetings, express their views publicly, or take 
        part in the political process;
            (5) most victims are targeted solely because of their views 
        or activism on controversial political issues such as gun 
        control, abortion, environmental matters, or the role of 
        government in society;
            (6) this violence is causing a breakdown of law and order 
        in many parts of the United States;
            (7) this violence has increased in part because of 
        unfounded exaggerations about the impact of recent firearms 
        laws such as the Brady Law and the ban on assault weapons, as 
        well as baseless conspiracy theories regarding the government; 
        and
            (8) the climate of violence created by these criminals 
        threatens to undermine republican government in some States.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION AGAINST ASSAULT.

    Section 111(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``who is an officer or 
        employee of any State or local government, is assisting such an 
        officer or employee in the performance of official duty, or 
        is'' after ``any person''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``designated in section 
        1114'' and inserting ``described in paragraph (1)''.

SEC. 4. INCREASED PENALTIES.

    (a) Assault.--Section 111 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``shall, where'' and all 
        that follows through the end of the subsection and inserting 
        ``shall be punished as is provided in subsection (b)''; and
            (2) so that subsection (b) reads as follows:
    ``(b) Penalties.--Whoever is convicted of an offense under this 
section shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 2 
nor more than 3 years, except that--
            ``(1) in the case of a second or subsequent offense the 
        maximum term or imprisonment shall be not more than 5 years; 
        and
            ``(2) in the case of an offense committed with a deadly 
        weapon, the offender shall be imprisoned not less than 8 nor 
        more than 10 years.''.
    (b) Extortion and Threats.--
            (1) Interstate communications.--Section 875 of title 18, 
        United States Code, is amended in subsection (c), by striking 
        ``not more than five years, or both'' and inserting ``not less 
        than 2 nor more than 5 years''.
            (2) Mailing threatening communications.--Section 876 of 
        title 18, United States Code, is amended in the third 
        undesignated paragraph, by striking ``not more than five years, 
        or both'' and inserting ``not less than 2 nor more than 5 
        years''.

SEC. 5. RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT; 
              ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Reaffirmation of Right.--Each person not otherwise 
disqualified, barred, or disabled by State or Federal law shall have 
the right to participate in a republican form of State government free 
from interference from unlawful violence and the reasonably perceived 
threat of unlawful violence.
    (b) Right To Participate Defined.--As used in subsection (a), the 
term ``right to participate in a republican form of State government'' 
means the right to--
            (1) carry out the duties of a State, county, or local 
        office to which the person has been duly elected or appointed;
            (2) lawfully assist any duly elected or appointed person 
        described in paragraph (1) in carrying out such duties;
            (3) run for elective office, campaign for such office on 
        one's own behalf, or campaign on behalf of another's candidacy, 
        in accordance with applicable State and local laws;
            (4) initiate and campaign for any initiative, referendum, 
        petition, or similar political exercise, in accordance with 
        applicable State and local laws;
            (5) assemble peaceably to petition the Federal, State, or 
        local government, or to attend any public forum concerning such 
        Federal, State, or local government; and
            (6) exercise the rights guaranteed under article IV of the 
        Constitution of the United States, and the 1st and 14th 
        amendments thereto.
    (c) Enforcement.--
            (1) In general.--A person whose right under subsection (a) 
        is violated by any person or organization may bring an action 
        in any United States district court against such other person 
        or organization for damages, injunctive relief, and such other 
        relief as the court deems appropriate.
            (2) Government remedy.--The chief executive officer of any 
        State may bring an action in any United States district court 
        located within that State for damages, injunctive relief, and 
        such other relief as the court deems appropriate against any 
        organization wherever located which unlawfully violates or 
        which conspires, attempts, aids, or abets another person or 
        organization to unlawfully violate the right under subsection 
        (a) of any resident of that State.
            (3) Authority to award a reasonable attorney's fee.--In an 
        action brought under paragraph (1) or (2), the court, in its 
        discretion, may allow the prevailing plaintiff a reasonable 
        attorney's fee as part of the costs.
            (4) Statute of limitations.--An action may not be brought 
        under paragraph (1) or (2) after the 5-year period that begins 
        with the date that the violation described in paragraph (1) is 
        discovered.

SEC. 6. LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING.

    The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretaries of 
Treasury, Agriculture, and the Interior, shall develop and implement a 
training program for Federal law enforcement personnel to enable such 
personnel to deal more effectively with politically motivated violence.

SEC. 7. FEDERAL PAYMENTS WITHHELD.

    (a) Complaint.--If an agency determines that in any county any of 
that agency's employees or agents is being unlawfully physically 
prevented or impeded, by employees or agents of a State, county, or 
local government, from carrying out lawful duties, the agency may file 
a complaint with the Attorney General.
    (b) Escrow.--The Attorney General shall investigate the complaint, 
and if the Attorney General finds the complaint is meritorious, the 
Attorney General may place in escrow any payments that otherwise would 
be made to that county under the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act of 1976 
(31 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), until such time as the Attorney General is 
satisfied that such interference has ceased.
    (c) Rules.--The Attorney General shall make rules governing the 
procedures used to carry out this section.
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