[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 80 (Monday, June 6, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3500-S3502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Franken):
  S. 1145. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to clarify and 
expand Federal criminal jurisdiction over Federal contractors and 
employees outside the United States, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, I reintroduce the Civilian 
Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, CEJA. The United States has 
dramatically more Government employees and contractors working overseas 
than ever before, but the legal framework governing them is unclear and 
outdated. To promote accountability, Congress must make sure that our 
criminal laws reach serious misconduct by American Government employees 
and contractors wherever they act. The Civilian Extraterritorial 
Jurisdiction Act accomplishes this important and common sense goal by 
allowing United States contractors and employees working overseas who 
commit specific crimes to be tried and sentenced under U.S. law.
  Tragic events in Iraq and Afghanistan highlight the need to 
strengthen the laws providing for jurisdiction over American Government 
employees and contractors working abroad. In September 2007, Blackwater 
security contractors working for the State Department shot more than 20 
unarmed civilians on the streets of Baghdad, killing at least 14 of 
them, and causing a rift in our relations with the Iraqi government. 
Efforts to prosecute those responsible for these shootings have been 
fraught with difficulties, and our ability to hold the wrongdoers in 
this case accountable remains in doubt.
  I worked with Senator Sessions and others in 2000 to pass the 
Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, MEJA, and then, again, to 
amend it in 2004, so that U.S. criminal laws would extend to all 
members of the U.S. military, to those who accompany them, and to 
contractors who work with the military. That law provides criminal 
jurisdiction over Defense Department employees and contractors, but it 
does not explicitly cover people working for other Federal agencies, 
like the Blackwater security contractors. Had jurisdiction in the 
tragic Blackwater incident been clear, FBI agents likely would have 
been on the scene immediately, which could well have prevented some of 
the problems that have plagued the case.
  Other incidents have made all too clear that the Blackwater case was 
not an isolated incident. Private security contractors have been 
involved in violent incidents and serious misconduct in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, including other shooting incidents in which civilians have 
been seriously injured or killed. As the military missions in Iraq and 
Afghanistan wind down, MEJA will no longer cover the thousands of 
contractors and employees who stay on. The legislation I introduce 
today fills this gap.
  Last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from the 
Justice Department and from experts in the area of contractor 
accountability about the many diplomatic and national security benefits 
of expanding criminal jurisdiction over American employees and 
contractors overseas. The hearing also explored how best to ensure that 
our Nation's intelligence activities would not be impaired by CEJA. The 
legislation I propose today has been carefully crafted to ensure that 
the intelligence community can continue its activities unimpeded.

[[Page S3501]]

  This bill would also provide greater protection to Americans, as it 
would lead to more accountability for crimes committed by U.S. 
government contractors and employees against Americans working abroad. 
In the last Congress, the Committee heard testimony from Jamie Leigh 
Jones, a young woman from Texas who took a job with Halliburton in Iraq 
in 2005 when she was 20 years old. In her first week on the job, she 
was drugged and gang-raped by coworkers. When she reported this 
assault, her employers moved her to a locked trailer, where she was 
kept by armed guards and freed only when the State Department 
intervened.
  Ms. Jones testified about the arbitration clause in her contract that 
prevented her from suing Halliburton for this outrageous conduct, and 
Congress has moved to change the civil law to prevent that kind of 
injustice. Criminal jurisdiction over these kinds of atrocious crimes 
abroad, however, remains complicated and depends too greatly on the 
specific location of the crime, which makes prosecutions inconsistent 
and sometimes impossible. We must fix the law to help avoid arbitrary 
injustice and ensure that victims will not see their attackers escape 
accountability.
  Ensuring criminal accountability will also improve our national 
security and protect Americans overseas. Importantly, in those 
instances where the local justice system may be less than fair, this 
explicit jurisdiction will also protect Americans by providing the 
option of prosecuting them in the United States, rather than leaving 
them subject to hostile and unpredictable local courts. Our allies, 
including those countries most essential to our counter-terrorism and 
national security efforts, work best with us when we hold our own 
accountable.
  In the past, legislation in this area has been bipartisan. I hope 
Senators of both parties will work together to pass this important 
reform.
  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. 1145

       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 ``Civilian Extraterritorial 
     Jurisdiction Act (CEJA) of 2011''.

     SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION AND EXPANSION OF FEDERAL JURISDICTION 
                   OVER FEDERAL CONTRACTORS AND EMPLOYEES.

       (a) Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Over Federal Contractors 
     and Employees.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 212A of title 18, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (A) by transferring the text of section 3272 to the end of 
     section 3271, redesignating such text as subsection (c) of 
     section 3271, and, in such text, as so redesignated, by 
     striking ``this chapter'' and inserting ``this section'';
       (B) by striking the heading of section 3272; and
       (C) by adding after section 3271, as amended by this 
     paragraph, the following new sections:

     ``Sec. 3272. Offenses committed by Federal contractors and 
       employees outside the United States

       ``(a) Whoever, while employed by or accompanying any 
     department or agency of the United States other than the 
     Department of Defense, knowingly engages in conduct (or 
     conspires or attempts to engage in conduct) outside the 
     United States that would constitute an offense enumerated in 
     subsection (c) had the conduct been engaged in within the 
     United States or within the special maritime and territorial 
     jurisdiction of the United States shall be punished as 
     provided for that offense.
       ``(b) No prosecution for an offense may be commenced 
     against a person under this section if a foreign government, 
     in accordance with jurisdiction recognized by the United 
     States, has prosecuted or is prosecuting such person for the 
     conduct constituting the offense, except upon the approval of 
     the Attorney General or the Deputy Attorney General (or a 
     person acting in either such capacity), which function of 
     approval may not be delegated.
       ``(c) The offenses covered by subsection (a) are the 
     following:
       ``(1) Any offense under chapter 5 (arson) of this title.
       ``(2) Any offense under section 111 (assaulting, resisting, 
     or impeding certain officers or employees), 113 (assault 
     within maritime and territorial jurisdiction), or 114 
     (maiming within maritime and territorial jurisdiction) of 
     this title, but only if the offense is subject to a maximum 
     sentence of imprisonment of one year or more.
       ``(3) Any offense under section 201 (bribery of public 
     officials and witnesses) of this title.
       ``(4) Any offense under section 499 (military, naval, or 
     official passes) of this title.
       ``(5) Any offense under section 701 (official badges, 
     identifications cards, and other insignia), 702 (uniform of 
     armed forces and Public Health Service), 703 (uniform of 
     friendly nation), or 704 (military medals or decorations) of 
     this title.
       ``(6) Any offense under chapter 41 (extortion and threats) 
     of this title, but only if the offense is subject to a 
     maximum sentence of imprisonment of three years or more.
       ``(7) Any offense under chapter 42 (extortionate credit 
     transactions) of this title.
       ``(8) Any offense under section 924(c) (use of firearm in 
     violent or drug trafficking crime) or 924(o) (conspiracy to 
     violate section 924(c)) of this title.
       ``(9) Any offense under chapter 50A (genocide) of this 
     title.
       ``(10) Any offense under section 1111 (murder), 1112 
     (manslaughter), 1113 (attempt to commit murder or 
     manslaughter), 1114 (protection of officers and employees of 
     the United States), 1116 (murder or manslaughter of foreign 
     officials, official guests, or internationally protected 
     persons), 1117 (conspiracy to commit murder), or 1119 
     (foreign murder of United States nationals) of this title.
       ``(11) Any offense under chapter 55 (kidnapping) of this 
     title.
       ``(12) Any offense under section 1503 (influencing or 
     injuring officer or juror generally), 1505 (obstruction of 
     proceedings before departments, agencies, and committees), 
     1510 (obstruction of criminal investigations), 1512 
     (tampering with a witness, victim, or informant), or 1513 
     (retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant) of 
     this title.
       ``(13) Any offense under section 1951 (interference with 
     commerce by threats or violence), 1952 (interstate and 
     foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering 
     enterprises), 1956 (laundering of monetary instruments), 1957 
     (engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from 
     specified unlawful activity), 1958 (use of interstate 
     commerce facilities in the commission of murder for hire), or 
     1959 (violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity) of this 
     title.
       ``(14) Any offense under section 2111 (robbery or burglary 
     within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction) of this 
     title.
       ``(15) Any offense under chapter 109A (sexual abuse) of 
     this title.
       ``(16) Any offense under chapter 113B (terrorism) of this 
     title.
       ``(17) Any offense under chapter 113C (torture) of this 
     title.
       ``(18) Any offense under chapter 115 (treason, sedition, 
     and subversive activities) of this title.
       ``(19) Any offense under section 2442 (child soldiers) of 
     this title.
       ``(20) Any offense under section 401 (manufacture, 
     distribution, or possession with intent to distribute a 
     controlled substance) or 408 (continuing criminal enterprise) 
     of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841, 848), or 
     under section 1002 (importation of controlled substances), 
     1003 (exportation of controlled substances), or 1010 (import 
     or export of a controlled substance) of the Controlled 
     Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 952, 953, 960), 
     but only if the offense is subject to a maximum sentence of 
     imprisonment of 20 years or more.
       ``(d) In this section:
       ``(1) The term `employed by any department or agency of the 
     United States other than the Department of Defense' means--
       ``(A) employed as a civilian employee, a contractor 
     (including a subcontractor at any tier), an employee of a 
     contractor (or a subcontractor at any tier), a grantee 
     (including a contractor of a grantee or a subgrantee or 
     subcontractor at any tier), or an employee of a grantee (or a 
     contractor of a grantee or a subgrantee or subcontractor at 
     any tier) of any department or agency of the United States 
     other than the Department of Defense;
       ``(B) present or residing outside the United States in 
     connection with such employment;
       ``(C) in the case of such a contractor, contractor 
     employee, grantee, or grantee employee, such employment 
     supports a program, project, or activity for a department or 
     agency of the United States; and
       ``(D) not a national of or ordinarily resident in the host 
     nation.
       ``(2) The term `accompanying any department or agency of 
     the United States other than the Department of Defense' 
     means--
       ``(A) a dependant, family member, or member of household 
     of--
       ``(i) a civilian employee of any department or agency of 
     the United States other than the Department of Defense; or
       ``(ii) a contractor (including a subcontractor at any 
     tier), an employee of a contractor (or a subcontractor at any 
     tier), a grantee (including a contractor of a grantee or a 
     subgrantee or subcontractor at any tier), or an employee of a 
     grantee (or a contractor of a grantee or a subgrantee or 
     subcontractor at any tier) of any department or agency of the 
     United States other than the Department of Defense, which 
     contractor, contractor employee, grantee, or grantee employee 
     is supporting a program, project, or activity for a 
     department or agency of the United States other than the 
     Department of Defense;
       ``(B) residing with such civilian employee, contractor, 
     contractor employee, grantee, or grantee employee outside the 
     United States; and
       ``(C) not a national of or ordinarily resident in the host 
     nation.

[[Page S3502]]

       ``(3) The term `grant agreement' means a legal instrument 
     described in section 6304 or 6305 of title 31, other than an 
     agreement between the United States and a State, local, or 
     foreign government or an international organization.
       ``(4) The term `grantee' means a party, other than the 
     United States, to a grant agreement.
       ``(5) The term `host nation' means the country outside of 
     the United States where the employee or contractor resides, 
     the country where the employee or contractor commits the 
     alleged offense at issue, or both.

     ``Sec. 3273. Regulations

       ``The Attorney General, after consultation with the 
     Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the 
     Director of National Intelligence, shall prescribe 
     regulations governing the investigation, apprehension, 
     detention, delivery, and removal of persons described in 
     sections 3271 and 3272 of this title.''.
       (2) Conforming amendment.--Subparagraph (A) of section 
     3267(1) of such title is amended to read as follows:
       ``(A) employed as a civilian employee, a contractor 
     (including a subcontractor at any tier), or an employee of a 
     contractor (or a subcontractor at any tier) of the Department 
     of Defense (including a nonappropriated fund instrumentality 
     of the Department);''.
       (b) Venue.--Chapter 211 of such title is amended by adding 
     at the end the following new section:

     ``Sec. 3245. Optional venue for offenses involving Federal 
       employees and contractors overseas

       ``In addition to any venue otherwise provided in this 
     chapter, the trial of any offense involving a violation of 
     section 3261, 3271, or 3272 of this title may be brought--
       ``(1) in the district in which is headquartered the 
     department or agency of the United States that employs the 
     offender, or any one of two or more joint offenders, or
       ``(2) in the district in which is headquartered the 
     department or agency of the United States that the offender 
     is accompanying, or that any one of two or more joint 
     offenders is accompanying.''.
       (c) Suspension of Statute of Limitations.--Chapter 213 of 
     such title is amended by inserting after section 3287 the 
     following new section:

     ``Sec. 3287A. Suspension of limitations for offenses 
       involving Federal employees and contractors overseas

       ``The time during which a person who has committed an 
     offense constituting a violation of section 3272 of this 
     title is outside the United States, or is a fugitive from 
     justice within the meaning of section 3290 of this title, 
     shall not be taken as any part of the time limited by law for 
     commencement of prosecution of the offense.''.
       (d) Clerical Amendments.--
       (1) Heading amendment.--The heading of chapter 212A of such 
     title is amended to read as follows:

    ``CHAPTER 212A--EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OVER OFFENSES OF 
    CONTRACTORS AND CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT''.

       (2) Tables of sections.--(A) The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 211 of such title is amended by adding 
     at the end the following new item:

``3245. Optional venue for offenses involving Federal employees and 
              contractors overseas.''.

       (B) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 212A 
     of such title is amended by striking the item relating to 
     section 3272 and inserting the following new items:

``3272. Offenses committed by Federal contractors and employees outside 
              the United States.
``3273. Regulations.''.

       (C) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 213 
     of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating 
     to section 3287 the following new item:

``3287A. Suspension of limitations for offenses involving Federal 
              employees and contractors overseas.''.

       (3) Table of chapters.--The item relating to chapter 212A 
     in the table of chapters at the beginning of part II of such 
     title is amended to read as follows:

``212A. Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Over Offenses of Contractors and 
    Civilian Employees of the Federal Government............3271''.....

     SEC. 3. INVESTIGATIVE TASK FORCES FOR CONTRACTOR AND EMPLOYEE 
                   OVERSIGHT.

       (a) Establishment of Investigative Task Forces for 
     Contractor and Employee Oversight.--
       (1) In general.--The Attorney General, in consultation with 
     the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the 
     Secretary of Homeland Security, and the heads of any other 
     departments or agencies of the Federal Government responsible 
     for employing contractors or persons overseas shall assign 
     adequate personnel and resources, including through the 
     creation of task forces, to investigate allegations of 
     criminal offenses under chapter 212A of title 18, United 
     States Code (as amended by section 2(a) of this Act), and may 
     authorize the overseas deployment of law enforcement agents 
     and other government personnel for that purpose.
       (2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall 
     be construed to limit any authority of the Attorney General 
     or any Federal law enforcement agency to investigate 
     violations of Federal law or deploy personnel overseas.
       (b) Responsibilities of Attorney General.--
       (1) Investigation.--The Attorney General shall have 
     principal authority for the enforcement of chapter 212A of 
     title 18, United States Code (as so amended), and shall have 
     the authority to initiate, conduct, and supervise 
     investigations of any alleged offenses under such chapter.
       (2) Law enforcement authority.--With respect to violations 
     of sections 3271 and 3272 of title 18, United States Code (as 
     so amended), the Attorney General may authorize any person 
     serving in a law enforcement position in any other department 
     or agency of the Federal Government, including a member of 
     the Diplomatic Security Service of the Department of State or 
     a military police officer of the Armed Forces, to exercise 
     investigative and law enforcement authority, including those 
     powers that may be exercised under section 3052 of title 18, 
     United States Code, subject to such guidelines or policies as 
     the Attorney General considers appropriate for the exercise 
     of such powers.
       (3) Prosecution.--The Attorney General may establish such 
     procedures the Attorney General considers appropriate to 
     ensure that Federal law enforcement agencies refer offenses 
     under section 3271 or 3272 of title 18, United States Code 
     (as so amended), to the Attorney General for prosecution in a 
     uniform and timely manner.
       (4) Assistance on request of attorney general.--
     Notwithstanding any statute, rule, or regulation to the 
     contrary, the Attorney General may request assistance from 
     the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, or the head 
     of any other Executive agency to enforce section 3271 or 3272 
     of title 18, United States Code (as so amended). The 
     assistance requested may include the following:
       (A) The assignment of additional personnel and resources to 
     task forces established by the Attorney General under 
     subsection (a).
       (B) An investigation into alleged misconduct or arrest of 
     an individual suspected of alleged misconduct by agents of 
     the Diplomatic Security Service of the Department of State 
     present in the nation in which the alleged misconduct occurs.
       (5) Annual report.--Not later than one year after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 
     five years, the Attorney General shall, in consultation with 
     the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State, submit 
     to Congress a report containing the following:
       (A) The number of prosecutions under chapter 212A of title 
     18, United States Code (as so amended), including the nature 
     of the offenses and any dispositions reached, during the 
     previous year.
       (B) The actions taken to implement subsection (a)(1), 
     including the organization and training of personnel and the 
     use of task forces, during the previous year.
       (C) Such recommendations for legislative or administrative 
     action as the President considers appropriate to enforce 
     chapter 212A of title 18, United States Code (as so amended), 
     and the provisions of this section.
       (c) Executive Agency.--In this section, the term 
     ``Executive agency'' has the meaning given that term in 
     section 105 of title 5, United States Code.

     SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       (a) Immediate Effectiveness.--This Act and the amendments 
     made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
       (b) Implementation.--The Attorney General and the head of 
     any other department or agency of the Federal Government to 
     which this Act applies shall have 90 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act to ensure compliance with the 
     provisions of this Act.

     SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

       (a) In General.--Nothing in this Act or any amendment made 
     by this Act shall be construed--
       (1) to limit or affect the application of extraterritorial 
     jurisdiction related to any other Federal law; or
       (2) to limit or affect any authority or responsibility of a 
     Chief of Mission as provided in section 207 of the Foreign 
     Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3927).
       (b) Intelligence Activities.--Nothing in this Act or any 
     amendment made by this Act shall be construed--
       (1) to apply to authorized intelligence activities that are 
     carried out by or on behalf of any element of the 
     intelligence community (as that term is defined in section 
     3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)) 
     and conducted in accordance with the United States laws, 
     authorities, and regulations governing such intelligence 
     activities; or
       (2) to provide immunity or an affirmative defense to an 
     individual solely on the basis that the individual is working 
     for or on behalf of the intelligence community.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       For each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2017, there are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General such 
     sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.
                                 ______