[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18407-18409]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 DEPARTMENT OF STATE REWARDS PROGRAM UPDATE AND TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS 
                              ACT OF 2012

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (S. 2318) to authorize the Secretary of State to pay a reward 
to combat transnational organized crime and for information concerning 
foreign nationals wanted by international criminal tribunals, and for 
other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 2318

       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 ``Department of State Rewards 
     Program Update and Technical Corrections Act of 2012''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The Department of State's existing rewards programs 
     permit the payment of reward for information leading to the 
     arrest or conviction of--
       (A) individuals who have committed, or attempted or 
     conspired to commit, certain acts of international terrorism;
       (B) individuals who have committed, or attempted or 
     conspired to commit, certain narcotics-related offenses; and
       (C) individuals who have been indicted by certain 
     international criminal tribunals.
       (2) The Department of State considers the rewards program 
     to be ``one of the most valuable assets the U.S. Government 
     has in the fight against international terrorism''. Since the 
     program's inception in 1984, the United States Government has 
     rewarded over 60 people who provided actionable information 
     that, according to the Department of State, prevented 
     international terrorist attacks or helped convict individuals 
     involved in terrorist attacks.
       (3) The program has been credited with providing 
     information in several high-profile cases, including the 
     arrest of Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted in the 1993 bombing 
     of the World Trade Center, the deaths of Uday and Qusay 
     Hussein, who United States military forces located and killed 
     in Iraq after receiving information about their locations, 
     and the arrests or deaths of several members of the Abu 
     Sayyaf group, believed to be responsible for the kidnappings 
     and deaths of United States citizens and Filipinos in the 
     Philippines.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the rewards program of the Department of State should be 
     expanded in order to--
       (1) address the growing threat to important United States 
     interests from transnational criminal activity, such as 
     intellectual property rights piracy, money laundering, 
     trafficking in persons, arms trafficking, and cybercrime; and
       (2) target other individuals indicted by international, 
     hybrid, or mixed tribunals for genocide, war crimes, or 
     crimes against humanity.

     SEC. 3. ENHANCED REWARDS AUTHORITY.

       Section 36 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 
     1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ``serious violations 
     of international humanitarian law, transnational organized 
     crime,'' after ``international narcotics trafficking,'';
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
     ``Attorney General'' and inserting ``heads of other relevant 
     departments or agencies'';
       (B) in paragraphs (4) and (5), by striking ``paragraph (1), 
     (2), or (3)'' both places it appears and inserting 
     ``paragraph (1), (2), (3), (8), or (9)'';
       (C) in paragraph (6)--
       (i) by inserting ``or transnational organized crime group'' 
     after ``terrorist organization''; and
       (ii) by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (D) in paragraph (7)--
       (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
     ``, including the use by the organization of illicit 
     narcotics production or international narcotics trafficking'' 
     and inserting ``or transnational organized crime group, 
     including the use by such organization or group of illicit 
     narcotics production or international narcotics 
     trafficking'';
       (ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``or transnational 
     organized crime'' after ``international terrorism''; and
       (iii) in subparagraph (B)--

       (I) by inserting ``or transnational organized crime group'' 
     after ``terrorist organization''; and
       (II) by striking the period at the end and inserting a 
     semicolon; and

       (E) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
       ``(8) the arrest or conviction in any country of any 
     individual for participating in, primarily outside the United 
     States, transnational organized crime;

[[Page 18408]]

       ``(9) the arrest or conviction in any country of any 
     individual conspiring to participate in or attempting to 
     participate in transnational organized crime; or
       ``(10) the arrest or conviction in any country, or the 
     transfer to or conviction by an international criminal 
     tribunal (including a hybrid or mixed tribunal), of any 
     foreign national accused of war crimes, crimes against 
     humanity, or genocide, as defined under the statute of such 
     tribunal.'';
       (3) in subsection (g), by adding at the end the following 
     new paragraph:
       ``(3) Advance notification for international criminal 
     tribunal rewards.--Not less than 15 days before publicly 
     announcing that a reward may be offered for a particular 
     foreign national accused of war crimes, crimes against 
     humanity, or genocide, the Secretary of State shall submit to 
     the appropriate congressional committees a report, which may 
     be submitted in classified form if necessary, setting forth 
     the reasons why the arrest or conviction of such foreign 
     national is in the national interests of the United 
     States.''; and
       (4) in subsection (k)--
       (A) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as paragraphs 
     (7) and (8), respectively; and
       (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 
     paragraphs:
       ``(5) Transnational organized crime.--The term 
     `transnational organized crime' means--
       ``(A) racketeering activity (as such term is defined in 
     section 1961 of title 18, United States Code) that involves 
     at least one jurisdiction outside the United States; or
       ``(B) any other criminal offense punishable by a term of 
     imprisonment of at least four years under Federal, State, or 
     local law that involves at least one jurisdiction outside the 
     United States and that is intended to obtain, directly or 
     indirectly, a financial or other material benefit.
       ``(6) Transnational organized crime group.--The term 
     `transnational organized crime group' means a group of 
     persons that includes one or more citizens of a foreign 
     country, exists for a period of time, and acts in concert 
     with the aim of engaging in transnational organized crime.''.

     SEC. 4. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.

       Section 36(e)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities 
     Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708) is amended by striking ``The 
     Secretary shall authorize a reward of $50,000,000 for the 
     capture or death or information leading to the capture or 
     death of Osama bin Laden.''.

     SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

       Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act 
     shall be construed as authorizing the use of activity 
     precluded under the American Servicemembers' Protection Act 
     of 2002 (title II of Public Law 107-206; 22 U.S.C. 7421 et 
     seq.).

     SEC. 6. FUNDING.

       The Secretary of State shall use amounts appropriated or 
     otherwise made available to the Emergencies in the Diplomatic 
     and Consular Services account of the Department of State to 
     pay rewards authorized pursuant to this Act and to carry out 
     other activities related to such rewards authorized under 
     section 36 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act (22 
     U.S.C. 2708).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Berman) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material in the Record on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in strong support of S. 2318, the Department of State Rewards 
Program Update and Technical Corrections Act of 2012. This bipartisan 
bill is Senator Kerry's Senate companion to H.R. 4077, the House bill 
introduced 2 months prior by my good friend from California (Mr. 
Royce).
  Since the 1980s, the State Department has had authority to offer 
rewards leading to the arrests and convictions for international 
narcotics trafficking, acts of terrorism, and war crimes. These reward 
programs have proven to be effective tools for disrupting and 
dismantling terrorist cells and drug cartels around the world, enjoying 
both high-profile and quiet successes in locating many dangerous 
individuals, including Ramzi Yousef, one of the perpetrators of the 
1993 World Trade Center attack, Saddam Hussein's sons, and 
narcotrafficking commanders of the FARC in Colombia.
  This bill is a critical tool in our ongoing efforts to locate Joseph 
Kony, the murderous head of the predatory Lord's Resistance Army, LRA, 
in Central Africa. This bill is a responsible, bipartisan bill that 
will significantly enhance our ability to fight transnational organized 
crime and grave human rights abuses. I urge unanimous support.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of S. 2318. I want to join my chairman in 
commending the author of this legislation, Senator Kerry, and my friend 
and colleague, Ed Royce, the incoming chairman of the House Foreign 
Affairs Committee, who authored the House version of this bill and 
fought long and hard for it.
  The chairman has described the legislation and the existing law. The 
bill makes two key changes in existing law. They're small, but they're 
very important modifications to the rewards program.
  It would authorize payments for the arrest or conviction of those 
engaged in transnational criminal activity, including intellectual 
property, piracy, money laundering, trafficking in persons and arms 
trafficking.
  Transnational organized crime poses a growing threat to U.S. economic 
and national security interests. According to U.N. estimates, these 
criminal enterprises generate hundreds of billions of dollars in 
illicit revenues every year. Expanding the rewards program to cover 
this activity is manifestly in our interest.
  Second, this legislation would expand the universe of individuals 
targeted for their involvement in gross violations of international 
humanitarian law, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against 
humanity. Specifically, this bill would cover all individuals indicted 
by international tribunals for violations of international humanitarian 
law, not just those indicted by the existing tribunals for Rwanda, 
Sierra Leone, and the former Yugoslavia. The change is strongly 
supported by the Departments of Defense and State.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important 
legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the chairman of the Foreign 
Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, and the 
author of the original House-side version of this bill.
  Mr. ROYCE. I thank the gentlelady.
  And I do think it's important, as we move forward here, to expand the 
State Department's rewards program. We have found a technique that 
works; and if we can deploy this in order to bring Joseph Kony to the 
bar of justice for the mass killings that he's committed with the 
Lord's Resistance Army, or if we can use it to bring to the bar of 
justice some of the international crime figures that would be turned in 
under this bill, then it could be very, very beneficial.
  The bill has already passed the House. It was included as a provision 
in the State Department authorization bill that the House Foreign 
Affairs Committee moved earlier this year. I think it's regrettable 
that the Senate chose not to act on the House's comprehensive State 
Department authorization bill; but with today's action, this bill can 
now go to the President's desk for signature where it promises to have 
an immediate impact.
  The House companion bill that I introduced, H.R. 4077, has enjoyed 
very strong bipartisan support, and I want to thank Chairman Ileana 
Ros-Lehtinen. I want to thank Ranking Member Howard Berman and others 
for the support they've given to this measure.
  As has been explained, this rewards program, to date, has had some 
very, very successful cases here; but it's been targeted mostly on 
those involved in drug trafficking, occasionally on terrorists.
  Earlier this year, our subcommittee held a hearing where the State 
Department testified that one captured target, one narcoterrorist told 
DEA agents that he could no longer trust

[[Page 18409]]

anyone in his organization after a reward was offered on his head.

                              {time}  1830

  He said, I felt like a hunted man.
  And so he was turned in. Well, that was the plan--to make him feel 
like a hunted man, to make him feel like he could not trust anyone in 
his organization.
  This bill would expand this program to additionally target those 
transnational organized criminals, those wanted for the most serious 
human rights abuses. Today, unfortunately, those involved in that line 
of work are diversifying. They're looking to sell anything to anybody. 
It could be arms. It could be intellectual property. It's even people. 
The overlap between the networks employed by criminals and employed by 
terrorists is growing. So this legislation helps us keep pace. And, 
very importantly, the legislation also allows the rewards program to 
target those wanted for genocide, to target those wanted for war 
crimes, for crimes against humanity--again, the world's worst human 
rights abusers.
  The target of the new war crimes authority would be killers like 
Joseph Kony and the top commanders of the Lord's Resistance Army. This 
group has terrorized across Central Africa for over two decades with 
unspeakable crimes committed against children such as amputations 
committed against children, taking child soldiers, taking sex slaves. 
In accordance with U.S. policy, a small team of U.S. troops are 
currently in the field helping local forces hunt this killer. Our U.S. 
troops believe that a rewards program aimed at Kony could help generate 
intelligence and bolster their efforts. They are asking for this. They 
think this can make a difference on the ground. Let's answer their call 
and send this bill to the President for his signature.
  I thank my colleagues for their support.
  Mr. BERMAN. I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I also have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise as a cosponsor of the State 
Department Rewards Program Update Act to thank my House colleagues 
Representatives Berman and Ros-Lehtinen for their collaboration on the 
bill and also to thank Senator Kerry for introducing and managing the 
Senate companion.
  This measure expands on the authority of the State Department to 
issue rewards for information that leads to the arrest and conviction 
of people accused of the commission of armed terrorist attacks, drug 
trafficking, cybercrimes, animal poaching and transnational organized 
crimes. I added my name as a cosponsor to the bill because I hoped it 
would contribute to existing international efforts to capture Joseph 
Kony, the guerrilla leader of the Lord's Resistance Army who has 
abducted, tortured, abused and forced thousands of children into a life 
of brutal violence and sexual slavery. Though one of Kony's top 
lieutenants has been captured, Kony remains on the run.
  With the passage of this measure, more resources will be made 
available to help bring him to justice. I encourage my colleagues to 
join me in support of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 2318.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. 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, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________