[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 94 (Friday, May 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3930-S3931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




JAIME ZAPATA AND VICTOR AVILA FEDERAL OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES PROTECTION 
                                  ACT

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 61, S. 921.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 921) to amend title 18, United States Code, to 
     further protect officers and employees of the United States, 
     and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on the Judiciary, with an 
amendment to strike all after the enacting clause and insert the part 
printed in italic, as follows

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Jaime Zapata and Victor 
     Avila Federal Officers and Employees Protection Act''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) since the founding of the Nation, officers and 
     employees of the United States Government have dutifully and 
     faithfully served the United States overseas, including in 
     situations that place them at serious risk of death or bodily 
     harm, in order to preserve, protect, and defend the interests 
     of the United States;
       (2) securing the safety of such officers and employees 
     while serving overseas is of paramount importance and is also 
     in furtherance of preserving, protecting, and defending the 
     interests of the United States;
       (3) Federal courts, including the United States Court of 
     Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United States Court of 
     Appeals for the Ninth

[[Page S3931]]

     Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the 
     Eleventh Circuit, have correctly interpreted section 1114 of 
     title 18, United States Code, to apply extraterritorially to 
     protect officers and employees of the United States while the 
     officers and employees are serving abroad;
       (4) in a case involving a violent attack against Federal 
     law enforcement officers Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila, a 
     panel of a Federal court of appeals held that section 1114 of 
     title 18, United States Code, does not apply 
     extraterritorially, creating a split among the United States 
     circuit courts of appeals;
       (5) in light of the opinion described in paragraph (4), it 
     has become necessary for Congress to clarify the original 
     intent that section 1114 of title 18, United States Code, 
     applies extraterritorially; and
       (6) it is further appropriate to clarify the original 
     intent that sections 111 and 115 of title 18, United States 
     Code, apply extraterritorially as well.

     SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED 
                   STATES.

       Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in section 111, by adding at the end the following:
       ``(c) Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.--There is 
     extraterritorial jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by 
     this section.'';
       (2) in section 115, by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) There is extraterritorial jurisdiction over the 
     conduct prohibited by this section.''; and
       (3) in section 1114--
       (A) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' before ``Whoever''; 
     and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b) Extraterritorial Jurisdiction.--There is 
     extraterritorial jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by 
     this section.''.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I further ask that the committee-
reported substitute amendment be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be 
considered read a third time and passed; and that motion to reconsider 
be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action 
or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
agreed to.
  The bill (S. 921), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

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