[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S748-S749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Menendez, Mr.
Sanders, Mr. Reed, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Franken):
S. 350. A bill to require restitution for victims of criminal
violations of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, I reintroduce the Environmental
Crimes Enforcement Act, ECEA, to help ensure that those who destroy the
lives and livelihoods of Americans through environmental crime are held
accountable for their actions. This common sense legislation was
reported by the Judiciary Committee with overwhelming support last
year. I hope the Senate will act on it in this Congress.
The tragic explosion of British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig
last year is just one example of why this legislation is needed. Eleven
men died in that explosion, and oil flowed into the Gulf of Mexico for
months, with deadly contaminants washing up on the shores and wetlands
of the Gulf Coast. The catastrophe threatened the livelihood of many
thousands of people throughout the Gulf region, as well as precious
natural resources and habitats. The people responsible for this and
other catastrophes should be held accountable, and wrongdoers--not
taxpayers--should pay for the damage they have done. This bill will
help to deter environmental crime, protect and compensate victims of
environmental crime, and encourage accountability among corporate
actors.
First, the ECEA is drafted to deter schemes by big oil and others
that damage our environment and hurt hardworking Americans by
increasing sentences for environmental crimes. All too often
corporations treat fines and monetary penalties as a mere cost of doing
business to be factored against profits. To deter criminal behavior by
corporations, it is important to have laws that result in prison time.
In that light, this bill directs the United States Sentencing
Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines for environmental crimes
to reflect the seriousness of these crimes.
Criminal penalties for Clean Water Act violations are not as severe
as for other white-collar crimes, despite the widespread harm the
crimes can cause. As last year's crisis in the Gulf of Mexico makes
clear, Clean Water Act offenses can have serious consequences in
people's lives and on their livelihoods. These consequences should be
reflected in the sentences given to the criminals who commit them. This
bill takes a reasonable approach, asking the Sentencing Commission to
study the issue and raise sentencing guidelines appropriately, and it
will have a real deterrent effect.
This bill also aims to help victims of environmental crime--the
people who lose their livelihoods, their communities, and even their
loved ones--reclaim their natural and economic resources. To do that,
ECEA makes restitution mandatory for criminal Clean Water Act
violations.
Currently, restitution in environmental crimes--even crimes that
result in death--is discretionary, and only available under limited
circumstances. Under this bill, those who commit Clean Water Act
offenses would have to compensate the victims of those offenses for
their losses. That restitution could help the people of the Gulf Coast
rebuild their coastline and wetlands, their fisheries, and their
livelihoods should criminal liability be found.
Importantly, this bill will allow the families of those killed to be
compensated for criminal wrongdoing. The explosion on the Deepwater
Horizon oil rig brought to light the arbitrary laws that prevent those
killed in such tragedies from bringing civil lawsuits for compensation.
This bill would ensure that, when a crime is committed, the criminal
justice system can provide for restitution to victims, allowing the
families of those killed to be given the means to carry on.
This bill takes two common sense steps--well-reasoned increases in
sentences and mandatory restitution for environmental crime. These
measures are tough but fair. They are important steps toward deterring
criminal conduct that can cause environmental and economic disaster and
toward helping those who have suffered so much from the wrongdoing of
big oil and other large corporations. I hope all Senators will join me
in supporting this bill and these important reforms.
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. 350
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 ``Environmental Crimes
Enforcement Act of 2011''.
SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES.
(a) Sentencing Guidelines.--
(1) Directive.--Pursuant to its authority under section 994
of title 28, United States
[[Page S749]]
Code, and in accordance with this subsection, the United
States Sentencing Commission shall review and amend the
Federal Sentencing Guidelines and policy statements
applicable to persons convicted of offenses under the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), in
order to reflect the intent of Congress that penalties for
the offenses be increased in comparison to those provided on
the date of enactment of this Act under the guidelines and
policy statements, and appropriately account for the actual
harm to the public and the environment from the offenses.
(2) Requirements.--In amending the Federal Sentencing
Guidelines and policy statements under paragraph (1), the
United States Sentencing Commission shall--
(A) ensure that the guidelines and policy statements,
including section 2Q1.2 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines
(and any successor thereto), reflect--
(i) the serious nature of the offenses described in
paragraph (1);
(ii) the need for an effective deterrent and appropriate
punishment to prevent the offenses; and
(iii) the effectiveness of incarceration in furthering the
objectives described in clauses (i) and (ii);
(B) consider the extent to which the guidelines
appropriately account for the actual harm to public and the
environment resulting from the offenses;
(C) ensure reasonable consistency with other relevant
directives and guidelines and Federal statutes;
(D) make any necessary conforming changes to guidelines;
and
(E) ensure that the guidelines relating to offenses under
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et
seq.) adequately meet the purposes of sentencing, as set
forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code.
(b) Restitution.--Section 3663A(c)(1) of title 18, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) in clause (ii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in clause (iii), by striking ``and'' at the end and
inserting ``or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(iv) an offense under section 309(c) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1319(c)); and''.
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