[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 6, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S56-S58]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEAHY (for himself and Mr. Cornyn):
  S. 49. A bill to help Federal prosecutors and investigators combat 
public corruption by strengthening and clarifying the law; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. Presdient, I am pleased to join with Senator Cornyn 
once again to introduce the Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements 
Act of 2009, 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.
  The start of a new Congress presents a unique opportunity to restore 
the faith of the American people in their government. That is why I 
sought to offer an early version of this bill as my first amendment two 
years ago when that new Congress began. Regrettably, a Republican 
objection to it prevented its adoption at that time.
  As we have seen in recent months, public corruption can erode the 
trust the American people have in those who are given the privilege of 
public service. Too often, though, loopholes in existing laws have 
meant that corrupt conduct can go unchecked.
  Make no mistake: The stain of corruption has spread to all levels of 
government. This is a problem that victimizes every American by 
chipping away at the foundations of our democracy. Rooting out the 
kinds of public corruption that have resulted in convictions of members 
of both the Senate and the House, and many others, requires us to give 
prosecutors the tools and resources they need to investigate and 
prosecute criminal public corruption offenses. This bill will do 
exactly that.
  The bill Senator Cornyn and I introduce today will provide 
investigators and prosecutors more time and, even more crucially, more 
resources to pursue public corruption cases. It also amends 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 provides significant and much-needed additional funding for 
public corruption enforcement. Since September 11, 2001, Federal Bureau 
of Investigation, FBI, resources have been shifted away from the 
pursuit of white collar crime to counterterrorism. Director Mueller has 
said that public corruption is among the FBI's top investigative 
priorities, but a September 2005 report by the Department of Justice 
Inspector General found that, from 2000 to 2004, there was an overall 
reduction in public corruption matters handled by the FBI. More 
recently, a study by the research group Transactional Records Access 
Clearinghouse found that the prosecution of all kinds of white collar 
crimes is down 27 percent since 2000, and official corruption cases 
have dropped in the same period by 14 percent. The Wall Street Journal 
reported in 2007 that the investigation of an elected Federal official 
stalled for six months because the investigating U.S. Attorney's Office 
could not afford to replace the prosecutor who had previously handled 
the case. We must reverse this trend and make sure that law enforcement 
has the tools and the resources it needs to confront these serious and 
corrosive crimes.
  Efforts to combat terrorism and public corruption are not mutually 
exclusive. A bribed customs official who allows a terrorist to smuggle 
contraband into our country, or a corrupt consular officer who 
illegally supplies U.S. entry visas to would-be terrorists can cause 
grave harm to our national security.
  The bill also extends the statute of limitations from 5 to 6 years 
for the most serious public corruption offenses. Public corruption 
cases are among the most difficult and time-consuming cases to 
investigate. Bank fraud, arson and passport fraud, among other 
offenses, all have 10-year statutes of limitations. Public corruption 
offenses cut to the heart of our democracy. This modest increase to the 
statute of limitations is a reasonable step to help our corruption 
investigators and prosecutors do their jobs.
  This bill goes further by amending several key statutes to broaden 
their application in corruption and fraud contexts and to eliminate 
legal ambiguities that can hinder prosecution of serious corruption. 
The bill includes a fix to the gratuities statute that makes clear that 
public officials may not accept anything of value, other than what is 
permitted by existing rules and regulations, given to them because of 
their official position. This important provision contains appropriate 
safeguards to ensure that only corrupt conduct is prosecuted, but it 
puts teeth behind the ethical reforms the Senate adopted under the 
leadership of Senator Obama.
  The bill also appropriately clarifies the definition of what it means 
for a public official to perform an ``official act'' for the purposes 
of the bribery statute and closes several other gaps in current law. 
The bill adds two corruption-related crimes as predicates for the 
Federal wiretap and racketeering statutes, lowers the transactional 
amount required for Federal prosecution of bribery involving federally-
funded State programs, and expands the venue for perjury and 
obstruction of justice prosecutions.
  Finally, the bill raises the statutory maximum penalties for several 
laws dealing with official misconduct, including theft of Government 
property and bribery. These increases reflect the serious and corrosive 
nature of these crimes, and would harmonize the punishment for these 
crimes with other similar statutes.
  If we are serious about addressing the kinds of egregious misconduct 
that we have witnessed over the past several years in high-profile 
public corruption cases, Congress should enact meaningful legislation 
to give investigators and prosecutors the tools and resources they need 
to enforce our laws. Passing ethics and lobbying reform in the last 
Congress was a step in the right direction. Now we should 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 am disappointed that Republican objections prevented the 
full Senate from passing this critical bill early in the last Congress. 
I hope that this year all Senators will support this bipartisan bill 
and take firm action to stamp out intolerable corruption.
  Mr. President, 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. 49

       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.''.

[[Page S57]]

       (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.

       (a) In General.--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),''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 
     18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking ``section 641 (relating to public money, 
     property, or records),''; and
       (2) by striking ``section 666 (relating to theft or bribery 
     concerning programs receiving Federal funds),''.

     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 (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 rule or 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 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, 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

[[Page S58]]

       (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.
                                 ______