[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4461 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4461
To amend chapter 37 of title 18, United States Code, to improve the
prohibition on espionage.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 30, 2026
Mr. Cotton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend chapter 37 of title 18, United States Code, to improve the
prohibition on espionage.
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 ``Visual Protection of Strategic
Assets Act''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PROHIBITION ON ESPIONAGE.
(a) Gathering, Transmitting, or Losing Defense Information.--
Section 793 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(i)(1) In this subsection--
``(A) the term `country of concern' means--
``(i) the Democratic People's Republic of Korea;
``(ii) the People's Republic of China;
``(iii) the Russian Federation; and
``(iv) the Islamic Republic of Iran;
``(B) the term `covered person' means--
``(i) a citizen or national of a country of
concern; or
``(ii) a person acting on behalf of a citizen or
national of a country of concern;
``(C) the term `high-value asset' means an asset included
on the list maintained under paragraph (3); and
``(D) the term `tier-1 installation' means a military
installation designated as a tier-1 installation by the
Secretary of Defense under paragraph (4).
``(2)(A) For purposes of this section, there shall be a rebuttable
presumption that a covered person who photographs, videos, or tracks a
high-value asset or tier-1 installation photographed, videoed, or
tracked the high-value asset or tier-1 installation with intent or
reason to believe the information would injure the United States or
advantage a foreign nation.
``(B) A covered person may rebut the presumption under subparagraph
(A) by demonstrating, by clear and convincing evidence, that the
covered person photographed, videoed, or tracked the high-value asset
or tier-1 installation with prior approval from the Secretary of
Defense.
``(3) The Secretary of Defense shall maintain a list of high-value
assets of the Department of Defense, which shall include--
``(A) the Boeing E-4B `Nightwatch' aircraft;
``(B) the Boeing RC-135 aircraft;
``(C) the Northrop B-2 `Spirit' aircraft;
``(D) the Rockwell B-1 `Lancer' aircraft; and
``(E) any nuclear command platform.
``(4) The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretaries of the military
departments, shall designate as a tier-1 installation each military
installation that--
``(A) houses, supports, or serves as a primary operating
location for 1 or more high-value assets; or
``(B) is critical to the execution of national strategic
missions, including nuclear deterrence, global strike, or
strategic intelligence collection.
``(5) The Secretary of Defense shall--
``(A) not less frequently than annually, make publicly
available an updated list of high-value assets and tier-1
installations; and
``(B) install signs and other markers--
``(i) identifying high-value assets and tier-1
installations; and
``(ii) stating that photography and other
surveillance of the high-value assets and tier-1
installations are strictly prohibited.''.
(b) Modernizing and Strengthening the Prohibition on Photographing
and Sketching Defense Installations.--
(1) In general.--Section 795 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``photograph,''
and inserting ``photograph (including a digital
photograph), video (including the transmission of video
content over the internet contemporaneously with, or
nearly contemporaneously with, the capturing of the
video content), visual depiction enhanced using
artificial intelligence (as defined in section 5002 of
the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of
2020 (15 U.S.C. 9401)),''; and
(B) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the
following:
``(b)(1) In this subsection, the terms `country of concern', `high-
value asset', and `tier-1 installation' have the meanings given such
terms in section 793(i)(1).
``(2) Whoever violates this section--
``(A) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not
more than 1 year, or both;
``(B) if the violation involved a high-value asset or a
tier-1 installation, shall be fined under this title,
imprisoned for not more than 7 years, or both; or
``(C) if the defendant is a citizen or national of a
country of concern, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned
for not less than 5 years and not more than 10 years, or both.
``(c) Any person who violates this section shall--
``(1) forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision
of State law, any electronic or other device used in the commission of
the violation; and
``(2) be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $100,000.''.
(2) Visa revocation.--Any citizen or national of a country
of concern (as defined in section 793(i)(1) of title 18, United
States Code), as added by subsection (a), who has been
convicted of a violation described in section 795 of title 18,
United States Code, as amended by paragraph (1), shall--
(A) have his or her visa revoked, in accordance
with section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)); and
(B) shall be placed in removal proceedings, in
accordance with sections 239 and 240 of such Act (8
U.S.C. 1229 and 1229a).
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