[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 17, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7981-S7982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. Inouye, and Mr. Bingaman):
  S. 1271. A bill to enhance the criminal penalties for illegal 
trafficking of archaeological resources, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Enhanced 
Protection of Our Cultural Heritage Act. This legislation was reported 
last year by the Energy Committee, and I hope that this year it will 
become law. The bill would increase the maximum penalties for 
violations of three existing statutes that protect the cultural and 
archaeological history of the American people, particularly Native 
Americans. The United States Sentencing Commission asked Congress last 
year to make these statutory changes, which would complement the 
Commission's strengthening of Federal sentencing

[[Page S7982]]

guidelines to ensure more stringent penalties for criminals who steal 
from our public lands. Senator Inouye joins me as a cosponsor.
  This bill will increase the maximum penalties for the Archaeological 
Resources Protection Act, ARPA, 16 USC Sec. 470ee, the Native American 
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, NAGPRA, 18 USC Sec. 1170, and 
for 18 USC Sec. 1163, which prohibits theft from Indian Tribal 
Organizations. All three statutes currently impose a 5-year maximum 
sentence, 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. In response to comments from the 
administration last year, the bill retains misdemeanor offenses for 
relatively minor offenses.
  The increased 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 also enable the Sentencing Commission's 
2002 sentencing guidelines to be fully implemented. The Commission has 
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. 
The 2002 guidelines had 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 should take the steps necessary to see the 
guidelines take full effect.
  Two of the three laws this bill amends protect Native American lands 
and property. The third, ARPA, protects both public and Indian lands, 
and provides significant protection to my State of Vermont. For 
example, ARPA can be used to prosecute those who would steal artifacts 
from the wrecked military vessels at the bottom of Lake Champlain that 
date to the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. U.S. Attorneys can 
also use ARPA to prosecute criminals who take items that are at least 
100 years old from a protected site on Vermont state property without a 
permit, and then transport those goods into another state. In addition, 
ARPA protects artifacts found on the approximately 5 percent of Vermont 
land that is Federal property, land that includes many ``ghost towns'' 
that have long been abandoned but are an important part of our history.
  Those who would pillage the rich cultural heritage of this nation and 
its people are committing serious crimes. These artifacts are the 
legacy of all Americans and should not be degraded as garage sale 
commodities or as fodder for private enrichment.
  I would like to thank a number of people for their help and advice 
about this legislation. Charlie Tetzlaff, as well as the rest of the 
staff at the Sentencing Commission, helped us understand the importance 
of this issue, and made protecting our cultural heritage a priority 
when he served as United States Attorney for Vermont. Art Cohn, the 
director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, and Giovanna Peebles, 
Vermont's State Archeologist, were very helpful in explaining how our 
laws protect the cultural heritage of Vermont and the rest of the 
nation, and I am grateful for their support for this bill.
  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 common-sense initiative.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1271

       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 of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE CRIMES.

       (a) 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''.
       (b) 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), by striking ``or imprisoned not more 
     than 12 months, or both, and in the case of 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'' and all that follows through the end of the 
     subsection and inserting ``imprisoned not more than 10 years, 
     or both; but if the sum of the commercial and archaeological 
     value of the cultural items involved and the cost of 
     restoration and repair of such items does not exceed $500, 
     such person shall be fined in accordance with this title, 
     imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.''.
       (c) Enhanced Penalty for 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 ``in accordance with title 18, 
     United States Code, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or 
     both; but if the sum of the commercial and archaeological 
     value of the archaeological resources involved and the cost 
     of restoration and repair of such resources does not exceed 
     $500, such person shall be fined in accordance with title 18, 
     United States Code, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or 
     both.''.
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