[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 921 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.921

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Sunday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty one


                                 An Act


 
 To amend title 18, United States Code, to further protect officers and 
         employees of the United States, 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 ``Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila 
Federal Officers and Employees Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
    It is the sense of Congress that--
        (1) since the founding of the Nation, officers and employees of 
    the United States Government have dutifully and faithfully served 
    the United States overseas, including in situations that place them 
    at serious risk of death or bodily harm, in order to preserve, 
    protect, and defend the interests of the United States;
        (2) securing the safety of such officers and employees while 
    serving overseas is of paramount importance and is also in 
    furtherance of preserving, protecting, and defending the interests 
    of the United States;
        (3) Federal courts, including the United States Court of 
    Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals 
    for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for 
    the Eleventh Circuit, have correctly interpreted section 1114 of 
    title 18, United States Code, to apply extraterritorially to 
    protect officers and employees of the United States while the 
    officers and employees are serving abroad;
        (4) in a case involving a violent attack against Federal law 
    enforcement officers Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila, a panel of a 
    Federal court of appeals held that section 1114 of title 18, United 
    States Code, does not apply extraterritorially, creating a split 
    among the United States circuit courts of appeals;
        (5) in light of the opinion described in paragraph (4), it has 
    become necessary for Congress to clarify the original intent that 
    section 1114 of title 18, United States Code, applies 
    extraterritorially; and
        (6) it is further appropriate to clarify the original intent 
    that sections 111 and 115 of title 18, United States Code, apply 
    extraterritorially as well.
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED STATES.
    Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
        (1) in section 111, by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.--There is extraterritorial 
jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by this section.'';
        (2) in section 115, by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) There is extraterritorial jurisdiction over the conduct 
prohibited by this section.''; and
        (3) in section 1114--
            (A) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' before ``Whoever''; 
        and
            (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.--There is extraterritorial 
jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by this section.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.