[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 126 (Thursday, August 2, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10794-S10798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  By Mr. LEAHY (for himself and Mr. Cornyn):
  S. 1946. A bill to help Federal prosecutors and investigators combat 
public corruption by strengthening and clarifying the law; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with Senator Cornyn to 
introduce the Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements Act of 2007, a 
bill that will strengthen and clarify key aspects of Federal criminal 
law and provide new tools to help investigators and prosecutors attack 
public corruption nationwide. This is the time to restore the faith of 
the American people in their Government. Congress took an important 
step in that direction today in passing long-awaited ethics and 
lobbying reforms that will tighten restrictions on those of us who hold 
public office, and those who seek to lobby us on behalf of private 
industry. But rooting out the kinds of rampant public corruption we 
have seen in recent years requires us to go further and to give 
prosecutors the tools they need to effectively investigate and 
prosecute criminal public corruption offenses.
  The most serious corruption cannot be prevented only by changing our 
own rules. Bribery and extortion are committed by people bent on 
getting around the rules and banking that they will not get caught. 
These offenses are very difficult to detect and even harder to prove. 
Because they attack the core of our democracy, these offenses must be 
found out and punished. Congress must send a signal that it will not 
tolerate this corruption by providing better tools for Federal 
prosecutors to combat it. This b1ll will do exactly that.
  The bill Senator Cornyn and I introduce today, like a bill that I 
introduced in the Senate in January, will provide investigators and 
prosecutors more time and resources to pursue public corruption cases. 
But it goes a step further by amending several key statutes to broaden 
their application in corruption contexts and to prevent corrupt public 
officials and their accomplices from evading or defeating prosecution 
based on existing legal ambiguities.
  The bill will help improve the prosecution of public corruption 
offenses in three fundamental ways. First, the bill would give 
investigators and prosecutors more time and resources to uncover, 
charge, and prove three of the most serious and corrosive public 
corruption offenses. Specifically, it would extend the statute of 
limitations from 5 years to 6 years for prosecutions involving bribery, 
deprivation of honest services by a public official, and extortion by a 
public official. Public corruption cases are among the most difficult 
and time-consuming cases to investigate and prosecute. They often 
require the use of informants and electronic monitoring, as well as 
review of extensive financial and electronic records, techniques which 
take time to develop and implement. Bank fraud, arson and passport 
fraud, among other

[[Page S10796]]

offenses, all have 10-year statutes of limitations. Public corruption 
offenses cut to the heart of our democracy, and a more modest increase 
to the statute of limitations is a reasonable step to help our 
corruption investigators and prosecutors do their jobs.
  The bill would also provide significant additional funding for public 
corruption enforcement. Since 9/11, FBI resources have been shifted 
away from the pursuit of public corruption cases to counterterrorism. 
FBI Director Mueller has recently indicated that public corruption is 
now a top criminal investigative priority; but a September 2005 report 
by Department of Justice Inspector General Fine found that, from 2000 
to 2004, there was an overall reduction in public corruption matters 
handled by the FBI. This must be reversed; our bill will give Offices 
of Inspector General, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Offices, and the 
Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice additional 
resources to hire additional public corruption investigators and 
prosecutors. These offices will finally be able to have the manpower 
they need to track down and prosecute these difficult but crucially 
important cases.
  Second, the bill contains a series of legislative fixes designed to 
improve the clarity and enhance the effectiveness of existing Federal 
corruption statutes, such as the law criminalizing the acceptance of 
bribes and gratuities, and the law that govern mail and wire fraud. The 
bribery-gratuities fix resolves ambiguity in the law by making clear 
that public officials may not accept anything of value, other than what 
is permitted by existing regulations, that is given to them because of 
their official position. Similarly, the bill appropriately expands the 
definition of what it means for a public official to perform an 
``official act'' for the purposes of the bribery statute to include any 
actions that fall within the duties of that official's public office. 
The bill also adds two corruption-related crimes as predicates for the 
Federal wiretap and the racketeering statutes, lowers the transactional 
amount required for Federal prosecution of bribery involving federally-
funded state programs, and expands venue for perjury and obstruction of 
justice prosecutions.
  Third, the bill raises the statutory maximum penalties for theft of 
Government property and Federal bribery to reflect the serious and 
corrosive nature of these crimes, and to harmonize these statutory 
maximums with others for which Congress has already raised penalties. 
Increasing penalties in appropriate cases sends a message to would-be 
criminals and to the public that there will be severe consequences for 
breaching the public trust.
  If we are serious about addressing the kinds of egregious misconduct 
that we have recently witnessed in high-profile public corruption 
cases, Congress must enact meaningful legislation to give investigators 
and prosecutors the tools and resources they need to enforce our laws. 
Passing the ethics and lobbying reform bill is a step in the right 
direction. But we must finish the job by strengthening the criminal law 
to enable Federal investigators and prosecutors to bring those who 
undermine the public trust to justice. I strongly urge Congress to do 
more to restore the public's faith in their Government.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1946

       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 ``Public Corruption 
     Prosecution Improvements Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR SERIOUS 
                   PUBLIC CORRUPTION OFFENSES.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 213 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 3299A. Corruption offenses

       ``Unless an indictment is returned or the information is 
     filed against a person within 6 years after the commission of 
     the offense, a person may not be prosecuted, tried, or 
     punished for a violation of, or a conspiracy or an attempt to 
     violate the offense in--
       ``(1) section 201 or 666;
       ``(2) section 1341 or 1343, when charged in conjunction 
     with section 1346 and where the offense involves a scheme or 
     artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest 
     services of a public official;
       ``(3) section 1951, if the offense involves extortion under 
     color of official right;
       ``(4) section 1952, to the extent that the unlawful 
     activity involves bribery; or
       ``(5) section 1962, to the extent that the racketeering 
     activity involves bribery chargeable under State law, 
     involves a violation of section 201 or 666, section 1341 or 
     1343, when charged in conjunction with section 1346 and where 
     the offense involves a scheme or artifice to deprive another 
     of the intangible right of honest services of a public 
     official, or section 1951, if the offense involves extortion 
     under color of official right.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 213 of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``3299A. Corruption offenses.''.
       (c) Application of Amendment.--The amendments made by this 
     section shall not apply to any offense committed before the 
     date of enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF MAIL AND WIRE FRAUD STATUTES TO 
                   LICENCES AND OTHER INTANGIBLE RIGHTS.

       Sections 1341 and 1343 of title 18, United States Code, are 
     each amended by striking ``money or property'' and inserting 
     ``money, property, or any other thing of value''.

     SEC. 4. VENUE FOR FEDERAL OFFENSES.

       (a) In General.--The second undesignated paragraph of 
     section 3237(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
     by adding before the period at the end the following: ``or in 
     any district in which an act in furtherance of the offense is 
     committed''.
       (b) Section Heading.--The heading for section 3237 of title 
     18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

     ``Sec. 3237. Offense taking place in more than one 
       district''.

       (c) Table of Sections.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 211 of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended so that the item relating to section 3237 reads as 
     follows:

``3237. Offense taking place in more than one district.''.

     SEC. 5. THEFT OR BRIBERY CONCERNING PROGRAMS RECEIVING 
                   FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

       Section 666(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by--
       (A) striking ``anything of value'' and inserting ``any 
     thing or things of value''; and
       (B) striking ``of $5,000 or more'' and inserting ``of 
     $1,000 or more'';
       (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
       ``(2) corruptly gives, offers, or agrees to give any thing 
     or things of value to any person, with intent to influence or 
     reward an agent of an organization or of a State, local or 
     Indian tribal government, or any agency thereof, in 
     connection with any business, transaction, or series of 
     transactions of such organization, government, or agency 
     involving anything of value of $1,000 or more;''; and
       (3) in the matter following paragraph (2), by striking 
     ``ten years'' and inserting ``15 years''.

     SEC. 6. PENALTY FOR SECTION 641 VIOLATIONS.

       Section 641 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``ten years'' and inserting ``15 years''.

     SEC. 7. PENALTY FOR SECTION 201(B) VIOLATIONS.

       Section 201(b) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
     by striking ``fifteen years'' and inserting ``20 years''.

     SEC. 8. INCREASE OF MAXIMUM PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN PUBLIC 
                   CORRUPTION RELATED OFFENSES.

       (a) Solicitation of Political Contributions.--Section 
     602(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``three years'' and inserting ``10 years''.
       (b) Promise of Employment for Political Activity.--Section 
     600 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking 
     ``one year'' and inserting ``10 years''.
       (c) Deprivation of Employment for Political Activity.--
     Section 601(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``one year'' and inserting ``10 years''.
       (d) Intimidation to Secure Political Contributions.--
     Section 606 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``three years'' and inserting ``10 years''.
       (e) Solicitation and Acceptance of Contributions in Federal 
     Offices.--Section 607(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code, 
     is amended by striking ``3 years'' and inserting ``10 
     years''.
       (f) Coercion of Political Activity by Federal Employees.--
     Section 610 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``three years'' and inserting ``10 years''.

     SEC. 9. ADDITION OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO THEFT OF PUBLIC 
                   MONEY OFFENSE.

       Section 641 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     inserting ``the District of Columbia or'' before ``the United 
     States'' each place that term appears.

     SEC. 10. ADDITIONAL RICO PREDICATES.

       Section 1961(1) of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by inserting ``section 641 (relating to embezzlement or 
     theft of public money, property, or records,'' after ``473 
     (relating to counterfeiting),''; and
       (2) by inserting ``section 666 (relating to theft or 
     bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds),'' after 
     ``section 664 (relating to embezzlement from pension and 
     welfare funds),''.

[[Page S10797]]

     SEC. 11. ADDITIONAL WIRETAP PREDICATES.

       Section 2516(1)(C) of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting ``section 641 (relating to embezzlement 
     or theft of public money, property, or records, section 666 
     (relating to theft or bribery concerning programs receiving 
     Federal funds),'' after ``section 224 (relating to bribery in 
     sporting contests),''.

     SEC. 12. CLARIFICATION OF CRIME OF ILLEGAL GRATUITIES.

       Section 201(c)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking the matter before subparagraph (A) and 
     inserting ``otherwise than as provided by law for the proper 
     discharge of official duty, or by regulation--'';
       (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after ``, or person 
     selected to be a public official,'' the following: ``for or 
     because of the official's or person's official position, or 
     for or because of any official act performed or to be 
     performed by such public official, former public official, or 
     person selected to be a public official''; and
       (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking all after ``, anything 
     of value personally,'' and inserting ``for or because of the 
     official's or person's official position, or for or because 
     of any official act performed or to be performed by such 
     official or person;''.

     SEC. 13. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF OFFICIAL ACT.

       Section 201(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(3) the term `official act' means any action within the 
     range of official duty, and any decision or action on any 
     question, matter, cause, suit, proceeding or controversy, 
     which may at any time be pending, or which may by law be 
     brought before any public official, in such public official's 
     official capacity or in such official's place of trust or 
     profit. An official act can be a single act, more than one 
     act, or a course of conduct.''.

     SEC. 14. CLARIFICATION OF COURSE OF CONDUCT BRIBERY.

       Section 201 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``anything of value'' 
     each place it appears and inserting ``any thing or things of 
     value''; and
       (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``anything of value'' 
     each place it appears and inserting ``any thing or things of 
     value''.

     SEC. 15. EXPANDING VENUE FOR PERJURY AND OBSTRUCTION OF 
                   JUSTICE PROCEEDINGS.

       (a) In General.--Section 1512(i) of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by striking ``A prosecution under this 
     section or section 1503'' and inserting ``A prosecution under 
     this chapter''.
       (b) Perjury.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 79 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 1624. Venue

       ``A prosecution under this chapter may be brought in the 
     district in which the oath, declaration, certificate, 
     verification, or statement under penalty of perjury is made 
     or in which a proceeding takes place in connection with the 
     oath, declaration, certificate, verification, or 
     statement.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 79 of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``1624. Venue.''.

     SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO 
                   INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE PUBLIC CORRUPTION 
                   OFFENSES.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to the Offices of 
     the Inspectors General and the Department of Justice, 
     including the United States Attorneys' Offices, the Federal 
     Bureau of Investigation, and the Public Integrity Section of 
     the Criminal Division, $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal 
     years 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, to increase the number of 
     personnel to investigate and prosecute public corruption 
     offenses including sections 201, 203 through 209, 641, 654, 
     666, 1001, 1341, 1343, 1346, and 1951 of title 18, United 
     States Code.

     SEC. 17. AMENDMENT OF THE SENTENCING GUIDELINES RELATING TO 
                   CERTAIN CRIMES.

       (a) Directive to Sentencing Commission.--Pursuant to its 
     authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States 
     Code, and in accordance with this section, the United States 
     Sentencing Commission shall review and amend its guidelines 
     and its policy statements applicable to persons convicted of 
     an offense under sections 201, 641, and 666 of title 18, 
     United States Code, in order to reflect the intent of 
     Congress that such penalties be increased in comparison to 
     those currently provided by the guidelines and policy 
     statements.
       (b) Requirements.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Commission shall--
       (1) ensure that the sentencing guidelines and policy 
     statements reflect Congress' intent that the guidelines and 
     policy statements reflect the serious nature of the offenses 
     described in subsection (a), the incidence of such offenses, 
     and the need for an effective deterrent and appropriate 
     punishment to prevent such offenses;
       (2) consider the extent to which the guidelines may or may 
     not appropriately account for--
       (A) the potential and actual harm to the public and the 
     amount of any loss resulting from the offense;
       (B) the level of sophistication and planning involved in 
     the offense;
       (C) whether the offense was committed for purposes of 
     commercial advantage or private financial benefit;
       (D) whether the defendant acted with intent to cause either 
     physical or property harm in committing the offense;
       (E) the extent to which the offense represented an abuse of 
     trust by the offender and was committed in a manner that 
     undermined public confidence in the Federal, State, or local 
     government; and
       (F) whether the violation was intended to or had the effect 
     of creating a threat to public health or safety, injury to 
     any person or even death;
       (3) assure reasonable consistency with other relevant 
     directives and with other sentencing guidelines;
       (4) account for any additional aggravating or mitigating 
     circumstances that might justify exceptions to the generally 
     applicable sentencing ranges;
       (5) make any necessary conforming changes to the sentencing 
     guidelines; and
       (6) assure that the guidelines adequately meet the purposes 
     of sentencing as set forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, 
     United States Code.

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I am proud to introduce this important 
legislation with Senator Patrick Leahy, the distinguished Chairman of 
the Judiciary Committee. This bill is yet another example of the great 
things that can come from bipartisan cooperation.
  Public corruption is not a Republican or Democratic problem. It is a 
Washington, DC problem. It is a problem in statehouses and city halls 
across this country. Our citizens deserve to be governed by the rule of 
law, not the rule of man. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, 
a few rotten apples have a tendency to spoil the bunch.
  The legislation we introduce today, the Public Corruption Prosecution 
Improvements Act, will strengthen the enforcement of U.S. Federal laws 
aimed at combating betrayals of public dollars and public trust. Our 
bill does this both by making substantive changes to public corruption 
laws and by giving prosecutors new tools to use in their battle against 
corrupt officials.
  The Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements Act increases the 
maximum punishments on several offenses, including theft and 
embezzlement of Federal funds, bribery, and a number of corrupt 
campaign contribution practices. For example, it cracks down on theft 
or bribery related to entities that receive Federal funds, by 
increasing the maximum sentence for a conviction from 10 to 15 year and 
lowering the threshold that prosecutors must prove, from $5,000 to 
$1,000. It clarifies the law in response to several court decisions 
narrowly interpreting the public corruption statutes. For example, the 
bill broadens the definitions of ``illegal gratuities'' and ``official 
acts,'' clarified that an entire ``course of conduct'' can be the 
result of bribery, and clarified that intangible property interests 
such as licenses can now trigger the mail and wire fraud provisions.
  Federal investigators who seek to root out corrupt officials will 
benefit from new tools provided in this legislation. The bill would 
extend the statute of limitations on certain serious public corruption 
offenses, giving prosecutors more time to investigate and build a case. 
It expands the criminal venue provisions, allowing prosecutors to bring 
the case against corrupt officials in any district where any part of 
the corruption occurred. The bill similarly expands the venue for 
perjury and obstruction of justice.
  Finally, the legislation gives Federal law enforcement what they need 
most to prosecute public corruption: more resources. Funding of $25 
million for each of the fiscal years 2008-2011 will help enhance the 
ability of the Department of Justice and the Offices of Inspectors 
General to effectively combat fraud and public corruption.
  Importantly, these improvements to current law come with significant 
input from the career professionals in the Department of Justice.
  But this legislation by itself is only a start if we want to clean up 
Washington, DC. Two additional reforms, in particular, are necessary: 
the OPEN Government Act, and earmark reform. The operations of 
Government should be as transparent as possible. Quite simply, refusing 
to let the public have full access to Government records is a betrayal 
of public trust. This Senate must live up to its duty to provide 
transparent government and pass the crucial FOIA reforms contained in 
the OPEN Government Act.
  Similarly, Congress too often permits its members to walk ethical 
tight-

[[Page S10798]]

ropes through questionable earmarking practices. The public sees these 
for what they too often are: handouts of taxpayer money to special 
interests. I think it is of the utmost importance that we increase 
transparency in the earmarking process, exposing the process to the 
light of the day.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Public Corruption Prosecution 
Improvements Act, as well as these other important reforms. I look 
forward to debating these issues in Committee and here on the Senate 
floor. And I thank Chairman Leahy for his leadership on this and other 
legislation we have crafted together.
                                 ______