[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2795 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2795

   To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect and promote the 
public safety and interstate commerce by establishing Federal criminal 
    penalties and civil remedies for certain violent, threatening, 
   obstructive, and destructive conduct that is intended to injure, 
  intimidate, or interfere with plant or animal enterprises, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2001

    Mr. Nethercutt (for himself, Mr. Chambliss, and Mr. Cunningham) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 18, United States Code, to protect and promote the 
public safety and interstate commerce by establishing Federal criminal 
    penalties and civil remedies for certain violent, threatening, 
   obstructive, and destructive conduct that is intended to injure, 
  intimidate, or interfere with plant or animal enterprises, 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 ``Agroterrorism Prevention Act of 
2001''.

SEC. 2. PLANT ENTERPRISE TERRORISM.

    (a) In General.--Section 43 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) so that the heading for such section reads
``Sec. 43. Animal and plant enterprise terrorism'';
            (2) by striking ``animal enterprise'' each place it appears 
        (other than in subsection (d)(1)) and inserting ``animal or 
        plant enterprise'';
            (3) in subsection (a)(2)--
                    (A) by inserting ``plants,'' after ``including''; 
                and
                    (B) by inserting a comma after ``animals''; and
            (4) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``the term'' and 
                all that follows through the end of such paragraph and 
                inserting the following:
            ``the term `animal or plant enterprise' means--
                    ``(A) a commercial or academic enterprise that uses 
                animals or plants for food or fiber production, 
                agriculture, breeding, processing, research, or 
                testing, or any commercial retail, wholesale or 
                distribution enterprise that uses, purchases, or offers 
                for sale a product that contains animal or plant 
                material;
                    ``(B) a zoo, aquarium, circus, rodeo or other 
                entity that exhibits or uses animals or plants for 
                educational or entertainment purposes;
                    ``(C) any fair or similar event intended to advance 
                agricultural arts and sciences; or
                    ``(D) a facility managed or occupied by an 
                association, federation, foundation, council, or other 
                group or entity of food or fiber producers, processors, 
                or agricultural or biomedical researchers intended to 
                advance agricultural or biomedical arts and sciences, 
                or the offices or facilities of any other enterprise or 
                event described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C);'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``the loss of 
                profits'' and inserting ``the loss of revenue 
                (including costs related to business recovery) directly 
                related to the disruption of a plant or animal 
                enterprise, and the cost of the tuition and expenses of 
                any student to complete an academic program that was 
                disrupted, or to complete a replacement program, when 
                the tutition and expenses are incurred as a result of 
                the damage or loss of the property of an animal or 
                plant enterprise'';
                    (C) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (3);
                    (D) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (4) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) the term `plant' means any plant (including any plant 
        part) used for, or that is capable of, propagation, including a 
        tree, a tissue culture, pollen, a shrub, a vine, a cutting, a 
        graft, a scion, a bud, a bulb, a root, a seed, or any plant 
        genetic material contained in bacteria, plasmids, viruses, 
        viroids, or any vector of biological origin that has been 
        modified for, or is capable of carrying genes into plant cells 
        using transgenic processes, or other biological materials.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The item in the table of sections at the 
beginning of chapter 3 of title 18, United States Code, that relates to 
section 43 is amended to read as follows:

``43. Animal and plant enterprise terrorism.''.

SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF PENALTIES FOR ANIMAL AND PLANT ENTERPRISE 
              TERRORISM.

    Section 43 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``one year'' and 
        inserting ``five years'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph 
                (3);
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2)  Explosives or arson.--Whoever in the course of a 
        violation of subsection (a) maliciously damages or destroys, or 
        attempts to damage or destroy, by means of fire or an 
        explosive, any building, vehicle, or other real or personal 
        property used by the animal or plant enterprise shall be 
        imprisoned for not less than 5 years and not more than 20 
        years, fined under this title, or both.''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``under this title and'' and all that follows 
                through the period and inserting ``under this title, 
                imprisoned for life or for any term of years, or 
                sentenced to death.''; and
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (1);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (2) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) for any other economic damage resulting from the 
        violation of this section.''.

SEC. 4. ANIMAL AND AGROTERRORISM CONSPIRACY PREVENTION.

    Section 1961(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``Section 201'' and inserting ``Section 43 (relating to animal 
and plant enterprise terrorism), section 201''.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL AGROTERRORISM INCIDENT CLEARINGHOUSE.

    (a) In General.--The Director shall establish and maintain a 
national clearinghouse for information on incidents of crime and 
terrorism--
            (1) committed against or directed at any animal or plant 
        enterprise;
            (2) committed against or directed at any commercial 
        activity because of the perceived impact or effect of such 
        commercial activity on the environment; or
            (3) committed against or directed at any person because of 
        such person's perceived connection with or support of any 
        enterprise or activity described in paragraph (1) or (2).
    (b) Clearinghouse.--The clearinghouse established under subsection 
(a) shall--
            (1) accept, collect, and maintain information on incidents 
        described in subsection (a) that is submitted to the 
        clearinghouse by Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
        agencies, by law enforcement agencies of foreign countries, and 
        by victims of such incidents;
            (2) collate and index such information for purposes of 
        cross-referencing; and
            (3) upon request from a Federal, State, or local law 
        enforcement agency, or from a law enforcement agency of a 
        foreign country, provide such information to assist in the 
        investigation of an incident described in subsection (a).
    (c) Scope of Information.--The information maintained by the 
clearinghouse for each incident shall, to the extent practicable, 
include--
            (1) the date, time, and place of the incident;
            (2) details of the incident;
            (3) any available information on suspects or perpetrators 
        of the incident; and
            (4) any other relevant information.
    (d) Design of Clearinghouse.--The clearinghouse shall be designed 
for maximum ease of use by participating law enforcement agencies.
    (e) Publicity.--The Director shall publicize the existence of the 
clearinghouse to law enforcement agencies by appropriate means.
    (f) Resources.--In establishing and maintaining the clearinghouse, 
the Director may--
            (1) through the Attorney General, utilize the resources of 
        any other department or agency of the Federal Government; and
            (2) accept assistance and information from private 
        organizations or individuals.
    (g) Coordination.--The Director shall carry out the Director's 
responsibilities under this section in cooperation with the Director of 
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
    (h) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``animal or plant enterprise'' has the same 
        meaning as in section 43 of title 18, United States Code; and
            (2) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation.
    (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2007 such sums as 
are necessary to carry out this section.

SEC. 6. ANIMAL AND PLANT RESEARCH SECURITY PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Grants authorized.--The Director shall--
                    (A) award grants on a competitive basis to colleges 
                and universities for technical assistance, threat and 
                risk assessments, and other activities related to 
                improving security at individual research universities; 
                and
                    (B) develop a comprehensive security report for 
                universities, colleges and nonprofit organizations 
                which examines the threat posed by animal and plant 
                enterprise terrorism on research activities, and 
                includes strategies for reducing this threat, including 
                education, facility hardening, and coordination with 
                law enforcement.
            (2) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section a college or university shall submit to the 
        Director an application in such form and containing such 
        information as the Director may require, including information 
        relating to the security needs of the institution.
            (3) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
        Director shall give priority to colleges and universities that 
        demonstrate the highest security needs, as reported in the 
        application submitted under paragraph (2).
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2002 and 2003.
    (c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Director'' means the 
Director of the National Science Foundation.
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