[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 190 (Tuesday, December 15, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H14892-H14894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HUMAN RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2009

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 1472) to establish a section within the Criminal Division of 
the Department of Justice to enforce human rights laws, to make 
technical and conforming amendments to criminal and immigration laws 
pertaining to human rights violations, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1472

       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 ``Human Rights Enforcement Act 
     of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. SECTION TO ENFORCE HUMAN RIGHTS LAWS.

       (a) Repeal.--Section 103(h) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1103(h)) is repealed.
       (b) Section To Enforce Human Rights Laws.--Chapter 31 of 
     title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
     section 509A the following:

     ``Sec. 509B. Section to enforce human rights laws

       ``(a) Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
     enactment of the Human Rights Enforcement Act of 2009, the 
     Attorney General shall establish a section within the 
     Criminal Division of the Department of Justice with 
     responsibility for the enforcement of laws against suspected 
     participants in serious human rights offenses.
       ``(b) The section established under subsection (a) is 
     authorized to--
       ``(1) take appropriate legal action against individuals 
     suspected of participating in serious human rights offenses; 
     and
       ``(2) coordinate any such legal action with the United 
     States Attorney for the relevant jurisdiction.
       ``(c) The Attorney General shall, as appropriate, consult 
     with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of 
     State.
       ``(d) In determining the appropriate legal action to take 
     against individuals who are suspected of committing serious 
     human rights offenses under Federal law, the section shall 
     take into consideration the availability of criminal 
     prosecution under the laws of the United States for such 
     offenses or in a foreign jurisdiction that is prepared to 
     undertake a prosecution for the conduct that forms the basis 
     for such offenses.
       ``(e) The term `serious human rights offenses' includes 
     violations of Federal criminal laws relating to genocide, 
     torture, war crimes, and the use or recruitment of child 
     soldiers under sections 1091, 2340, 2340A, 2441, and 2442 of 
     title 18, United States Code.''.
       (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 31 of the title 28, United States Code, 
     is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
     509A the following:

``Sec. 509B. Section to enforce human rights laws.''.

     SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Genocide.--Section 1091 of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)--
       (A) by striking ``, in a circumstance described in 
     subsection (d)''; and
       (B) by striking ``or attempts to do so,'';
       (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``in a circumstance 
     described in subsection (d)'';
       (3) by striking subsection (d) and (e); and

[[Page H14893]]

       (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
       ``(d) Attempt and Conspiracy.--Any person who attempts or 
     conspires to commit an offense under this section shall be 
     punished in the same manner as a person who completes the 
     offense.
       ``(e) Jurisdiction.--There is jurisdiction over the 
     offenses described in subsections (a), (c), and (d) if--
       ``(1) the offense is committed in whole or in part within 
     the United States; or
       ``(2) regardless of where the offense is committed, the 
     alleged offender is--
       ``(A) a national of the United States (as that term is 
     defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
     (8 U.S.C. 1101));
       ``(B) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in 
     the United States (as that term is defined in section 101 of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101));
       ``(C) a stateless person whose habitual residence is in the 
     United States; or
       ``(D) present in the United States.
       ``(f) Nonapplicability of Certain Limitations.--
     Notwithstanding section 3282, in the case of an offense under 
     this section, an indictment may be found, or information 
     instituted, at any time without limitation.''.
       (b) Immigration and Nationality Act.--Section 
     212(a)(3)(E)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(E)(ii)) is amended by striking ``conduct 
     outside the United States that would, if committed in the 
     United States or by a United States national, be''.
       (c) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsections (b), 
     (c), and (d) of the Child Soldiers Accountability Act of 2008 
     (Public Law 110-340) shall apply to offenses committed 
     before, on, or after the date of the enactment of the Child 
     Soldiers Accountability Act of 2008.
       (d) Material Support for Genocide or Child Soldier 
     Recruitment.--Section 2339A(a) of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended by--
       (1) inserting ``, 1091'' after ``956''; and
       (2) striking ``, or 2340A'' and inserting ``, 2340A, or 
     2442''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Conyers) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CONYERS. I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, S. 1472 is an effort to improve 
our ability to identify and prosecute human rights abusers. It enhances 
the Justice Department's efforts to hold perpetrators of atrocities 
accountable, and it will help ensure that war criminals do not find a 
safe haven in our country.
  This act would combine the two offices in the Justice Department with 
jurisdiction over human rights to create a new, consolidated human 
rights section. It would merge the Office of Special Investigations 
with the domestic security section, which has jurisdiction over human 
rights crimes. This would allow more efficiency and effective 
enforcement in a combination that would improve the use of our 
resources and that would give one section the necessary expertise and 
jurisdiction to prosecute or to denaturalize perpetrators of serious 
human rights crimes. It also amends a section of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, and it makes several technical and conforming 
amendments needed in light of the enactment of other laws.
  I commend the authors of this legislation, Senators Dick Durbin and 
Tom Coburn, who are the chairman and the ranking member of the Senate 
Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee, and the ranking member of the 
Judiciary Committee in the House, Mr. Smith.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I support S. 1472, the Human Rights Enforcement Act of 
2009. This bipartisan legislation was recently passed by unanimous 
consent in the Senate. The bill is now before this body for 
consideration.
  The first goal of this legislation is to provide technical 
corrections to the Genocide Accountability Act, which was signed into 
law by President Bush in 2007.
  Before that act passed, genocide was only a violation of Federal 
criminal law if it was committed within the United States or by a U.S. 
national outside the United States. The act closed this loophole by 
allowing the prosecution of non-U.S. nationals found in the United 
States for genocide perpetrated outside the U.S.
  The second goal of this legislation is to create a new section at the 
Department of Justice to consolidate prosecutorial authority over most 
Federal criminal and immigration human rights offenses.
  Currently, the responsibility for enforcing these statutes rests 
within the Office of Special Investigations, or OSI; OSI was created in 
1979 to hunt down Nazi war criminals who secretly lived in the United 
States. After discovering war criminals within the U.S., OSI used 
administrative procedures to denaturalize, deport or remove them. In 
1994, Congress statutorily directed OSI to also investigate and 
denaturalize individuals who participated in genocide, torture or 
extrajudicial killings.
  Right now, OSI does not have prosecution authority. Instead, it works 
with attorneys and other components of the Department to prosecute 
those cases in which a violation of Federal criminal law can be shown. 
This legislation expands OSI's jurisdiction to enable it to prosecute 
and enforce Federal criminal human rights laws and to consolidate those 
efforts into one office.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand before 
you today in support of S. 1472 to establish a section within the 
Criminal Division of the Department of Justice to enforce human rights 
laws, to make technical and conforming amendments to criminal and 
immigration laws pertaining to human rights violations, and for other 
purposes.
  This bipartisan legislation would make it easier for the Justice 
Department to hold accountable human rights abusers who seek safe haven 
in the United States. The end of the 20th century and the beginning of 
the current 21st century have seen ongoing human rights atrocities all 
over the globe, such as Burma, Sudan, and Bosnia. While an increasing 
number of perpetrators of such human rights abuses are held accountable 
in international or state tribunals, many have escaped accountability 
for their crimes. Some of these human rights abusers have even fled to 
the United States.
  As a representative of the state of Texas, I understand the urgency 
of creating an effective mechanism for investigating human rights 
violators that seek to hide out here in the United States. In a 2008 
report, retired five-star General Barry McCaffrey warned of a refugee 
catastrophe that could greatly affect the state of Texas. General 
McCaffrey warns that ``Mexico is on the edge of abyss'' and that ``it 
could become a narco-state in the coming decade.'' According to General 
McCaffrey's report, there could be a surge of millions of refugees 
crossing the U.S. border. Those millions will almost certainly include 
individuals who have committed human rights violations in Mexico. And 
those individuals must be held accountable for their actions.
  How the United States treats suspected perpetrators of human rights 
abuses sends an important message to the world about our commitment to 
human rights and the rule of law.
  The United States has a rich history of protecting human rights and 
holding violators of such rights accountable. Over 60 years ago, the 
U.S. led efforts to prosecute Nazi perpetrators at the Nuremberg 
Trials. The U.S. also supported the prosecution of human rights crimes 
before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, 
the Special Court of Sierra Leone, and the International Criminal 
Tribunal for Rwanda. But, the United States must do more. The U.S. must 
make a stronger effort to hold those human rights violators who have 
found safe haven in the United States accountable for their atrocities.

  The Human Rights Enforcement Act would seek to build on the 
foundations already laid by creating a section inside the Department of 
Justice's Criminal Division that would focus entirely on enforcing 
human rights laws. The bill combines the Office of Special 
Investigations, whose work includes investigating and denaturalizing 
human rights offenders and the Domestic Security Section, which has 
broad jurisdiction over human rights violations. This consolidation 
allows for the Department of Justice to more effectively utilize law 
enforcement resources to investigate and, where necessary, prosecute, 
denaturalize, or deport human rights offenders.
  The rule of law and human rights are fundamental American values. In 
accordance with those values, the United States has a rich history of 
leading the promotion of human rights worldwide. We have a 
responsibility to set an

[[Page H14894]]

example for the rest of the world by demonstrating our commitment to 
end human rights atrocities and hold perpetrators accountable.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage all of my colleagues to join me in 
support of S. 1472.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, S. 1472.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________