[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 88 (Thursday, June 27, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1170-E1171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE ENHANCED PROTECTION OF OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE ACT OF 
                                  2002

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 26, 2002

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Enhanced 
Protection of Our Cultural Heritage (EPOCH), Act of 2002.
  The legislation that I am introducing today will increase the maximum 
penalties for violations of three existing statutes that protect the 
cultural and archaeological history of the American people, most 
notably, American Indians. This bill also includes language that will 
make any attempt to sell Native American human remains a criminal act 
The United States Sentencing Commission recently recommended the 
statutory changes contained in this bill and these changes complement 
the Commission's strengthening of Federal sentencing guidelines to 
ensure more stringent penalties for criminals who steal from public and 
tribal lands. I am pleased that my colleagues, Representatives Hayworth 
and Representative Mark Udall have joined me in cosponsoring this 
important bill.
  Looting of cultural remains is not a new problem but it has developed 
into a professional business. Today, the casual hiker who lifts an 
arrowhead or a potshard has become less of a problem because of 
increased awareness about the impact of removing such items. Instead, 
we are witnessing carefully planned and prepared theft by well-equipped 
professional looters. Professional looters have devastated individual 
Indians and tribal communities. These communities can do little but sit 
by and watch as their culture is erased, site by site as professional 
looters steal anything that may have value on the black market--
including ancestral remains. The lack of severity in the current laws 
does little to deter these individuals from looting over and over 
again.
  The three statutes that this bill amends currently impose a 5-year 
maximum sentence,

[[Page E1171]]

and each includes a lower maximum for a first offense of the statute 
and/or a violation of the statute involving property of less than a 
specified value. This bill would create a 10-year maximum sentence for 
each statute, while eliminating the lower maximums under ARPA and 
NAGPRA for first offenses.
  Such maximum sentences would be consistent with similar Federal 
statutes. For example, the 1994 law proscribing museum theft carries a 
10-year maximum sentence, as do the general statutes punishing theft 
and the destruction of government property. Moreover, increasing the 
maximum sentences will give judges and the Sentencing Commission 
greater discretion to impose punishments appropriate to the amount of 
destruction a defendant has done.
  Making these changes will enable the Sentencing Commission's recent 
sentencing guidelines to be fully implemented. The Commission increased 
sentencing guidelines for cultural heritage crimes, but the statutory 
maximum penalties contained in current law will prevent judges from 
issuing sentences in the upper range of the new guidelines. Those new 
guidelines have the enthusiastic support of the Justice and Interior 
Departments, the Society for American Archeology, the National Trust 
for Historic Preservation, numerous Native American nations, and many 
others. Congress must take the steps necessary to see that the 
guidelines take full effect.
  The professional looters who pillage the rich cultural heritage of 
this Nation and its people are committing serious crimes. The artifacts 
stolen from both tribal and public lands are the legacy of all 
Americans and should not be robbed and sold for personal gain. Passage 
of this legislation would demonstrate Congress' commitment to 
preserving our Nation's history and our cultural heritage. I urge my 
colleagues to support this much-needed legislation.
  I would ask that the text of this legislation be printed in the 
Record.

                                 H.R.  

       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 ``Enhanced Protection of Our 
     Cultural Heritage Act''.

     SEC. 2. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE CRIMES.

       (a) Enhanced Penalty for Illegal Trafficking in 
     Archaeological Resources.--Section 6(d) of the Archaeological 
     Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470ee(d)) is 
     amended by striking ``not more than $10,000'' and all that 
     follows through the end of the subsection, and inserting 
     ``not more than $100,000, imprisoned not more than 10 years, 
     or both.''.
       (b) Enhanced Penalty for Embezzlement and Theft From Indian 
     Tribal Organizations.--Section 1163 of title 18, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``five years'' and 
     inserting ``10 years''.
       (c) Enhanced Penalty for Illegal Trafficking in Native 
     American Human Remains and Cultural Items.--Section 1170 of 
     title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by inserting ``or attempts to sell, purchase, use for 
     profit, or transport for sale or profit,'' before ``human 
     remains''; and
       (B) by striking ``or imprisoned not more than 12 months, or 
     both, and in the case of a second or subsequent violation, be 
     fined in accordance with this title, or imprisoned not more 
     than 5 years'' and inserting ``imprisoned not more than 10 
     years'' and
       (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``imprisoned not more 
     than one year, or both, and the case of a second or 
     subsequent violation, be fined in accordance with this title, 
     imprisoned not more than 5 years'' and inserting ``imprisoned 
     not more than 10 years.''