[Senate Report 110-239]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 527
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    110-239

======================================================================



 
         PUBLIC CORRUPTION PROSECUTION IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 2007

                                _______
                                

               December 10, 2007.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Leahy, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1946]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 1946) to help federal prosecutors and investigators 
combat public corruption by strengthening and clarifying the 
law, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends 
that the bill (as amended) do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Background and Purpose of the Public Corruption Prosecution 
     Improvements Act of 2007.........................................1
 II. History of the Bill and Committee Consideration.................10
III. Section-by-Section Summary of the Bill..........................11
 IV. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.......................12
  V. Regulatory Impact Evaluation....................................14
 VI. Conclusion......................................................14
VII. Changes to Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported...........14

    I. Background and Purpose of the Public Corruption Prosecution 
                        Improvements Act of 2007


                             A. BACKGROUND

    Earlier this year, Congress took an important first step in 
restoring Americans' faith in their elected officials by 
passing long-awaited ethics and lobbying reforms that tighten 
restrictions on those who hold public office, as well as those 
who seek to lobby officeholders on behalf of private industry. 
See Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, Public 
Law No. 110-81, 121 Stat. 735. This positive legislation will 
enhance transparency and ethical accountability for Members of 
Congress and outside interests. But stamping out official 
corruption in all branches and at all levels of government 
requires Congress to do more than change its own rules. It 
requires Congress to move forward in a bi-partisan fashion to 
give law enforcement the resources it needs to effectively 
investigate and prosecute public corruption crimes, and to 
clarify and strengthen existing laws so that corrupt conduct 
can be detected and punished.
    Public corruption undermines democracy and good governance 
by subverting established processes and reducing 
accountability. It also creates negative economic effects by 
distorting the playing field for government contracts, reducing 
the need for compliance with rules and regulations, and 
diminishing the quality of government services. District of 
Columbia residents are confronting these negative effects 
following the recent arrests of several Department of Tax and 
Revenue employees who allegedly bilked District taxpayers out 
of more than $40 million in a multi-year fraud scheme. See 
Carol D. Leonnig & Dan Keating, D.C. Tax Scandal At $44.3 
Million, Analysis Finds, Wash. Post, Dec. 2, 2007, at A1. This 
disturbing episode is a reminder that absent appropriate checks 
and enforcement, even middle-level government employees can 
massively corrupt core government functions, undetected, for 
years.
    While this degree of brazen corrupt conduct may not always 
result in tangible harm to a specific victim, it does result in 
a serious societal harm. Public corruption victimizes all 
Americans by quietly chipping away at the foundations of our 
democracy. Americans' faith in their elected leaders and their 
Government has been tested in recent years as several high-
ranking public officials have pleaded guilty or been convicted 
of serious and corrosive public corruption offenses. The stain 
of corruption has spread to all levels of Government and 
affected both major political parties.
    The American people have taken notice. Exit polls following 
the 2006 mid-term elections revealed that 42 percent of voters 
identified ``corruption and ethics'' as ``extremely important 
to their vote,'' trumping terrorism, the economy and Iraq. 
Corruption Named as Key Issue by Voters in Exit Polls, CNN, 
Nov. 8, 2006, http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/07/
election.exitpolls/. They rightly expect Congress to do all it 
can to not only police itself, but also to insure that 
corruption is stamped out at all levels of government.

                      B. NEED FOR THE LEGISLATION

    Notwithstanding several recent prosecutions of high-profile 
public officials, public corruption enforcement generally has 
waned since 9/11, because scarce FBI resources have been 
shifted away from the pursuit of white collar crime to 
counterterrorism. See, e.g., Paul Shukovsky & Daniel Lathrop, 
FBI Faces Deep Cuts in Programs to Fight Crimes, Seattle Post-
Intelligencer, Sept. 28, 2007, at A1. A September 2005 report 
by Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine found 
that, from 2000 to 2004, there was an overall reduction in 
public corruption matters handled by the FBI. See Office of the 
Inspector Gen., U.S. Dep't of Justice, The External Effects of 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Reprioritization Efforts 
94 (2005), http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a0537/
final.pdf. More recently, a study by the nonpartisan research 
group Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) found 
that the prosecution of all kinds of white collar crimes is 
down 27 percent since 2000, and official corruption cases have 
dropped in the same period by 14 percent. See Federal 
Enforcement Data Show Major Changes in How The Bush 
Administration Has Enforced the Law, TRAC Reports, Oct. 15, 
2007, http://trac.syr.edu/tracreports/crim/184/.
    Man-power and funding shortages have contributed to these 
declines, and this trend has real-world consequences: the Wall 
Street Journal reported recently that the investigation of a 
federal elected official stalled for six months because the 
investigating U.S. Attorney's Office could not afford to 
replace the prosecutor who was handling the case. Scot J. 
Paltrow, Justice Delayed: Budget Crunch Hits U.S. Attorneys' 
Offices; Amid Antiterror Focus, Prosecutions Decline, Wall St. 
J., Aug. 31, 2007, at A1 (quoting a former Assistant United 
States Attorney that ``many offices have chosen not to take on 
some difficult cases because they lack the prosecutors and 
other resources to pursue them'').\1\
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    \1\At a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing, FBI Director 
Mueller noted that the number of ``pending'' public corruption cases 
has increased by 49 percent since 2001. Oversight Hearing on the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation: Hearing Before the H. Comm. on the 
Judiciary, 110th Cong. (2007) (statement of Robert S. Muller, Director, 
Federal Bureau of Investigation). But increases in the number of 
``pending'' cases--which likely means open investigations--is not 
evidence that the level of public corruption enforcement generally is 
satisfactory. If anything, the extraordinary increase in pending, 
rather than completed, cases cited by Director Mueller suggests that 
the only way to sustain an increase in actual prosecutions and 
convictions is to restore those resources for public corruption 
investigations and prosecutions that have been diverted since 9/11.
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    Funding shortfalls in this area of criminal enforcement 
should be of particular concern to lawmakers. Public corruption 
cases are time and resource intensive, because they often 
involve complex schemes hatched by sophisticated criminals who 
know how to cover their tracks. Their investigation and 
prosecution frequently requires teams of federal agents, 
multiple prosecutors, financial analysts, and paralegals, among 
other specialists. They often include the use of time-consuming 
investigative techniques such as forensic analysis as well as 
the execution of search warrants and wiretaps. Efforts to fully 
fund anti-corruption units to ensure that investigators and 
prosecutors have enough time to put cases together are 
imperative because without adequate time and resources, these 
cases simply will not be brought.
    Even absent the diversion of resources since 9/11, public 
corruption enforcement must be a national law enforcement 
priority for this Congress, because corrupt public officials 
can compromise our national security in alarming ways. Indeed, 
the FBI's own web site notes that ``public corruption can have 
a direct impact on national security,'' and it is not difficult 
to understand this relationship. Cracking Down on Public 
Corruption: Why We Take It So Seriously and Why It Matters to 
You, FBI, June 20, 2005, http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june05/
obrien062005.htm. A bribed customs official who allows a 
terrorist to smuggle a dirty bomb into the country could cause 
grave harm to our national security, as could a corrupt 
consular officer who illegally supplies U.S. entry visas to 
would-be terrorists.\2\ This link between public corruption and 
national security must be addressed if Congress is serious 
about doing all it can to protect national security.
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    \2\Unfortunately, these examples are not far-fetched. Earlier this 
year, an Iranian national pleaded guilty in federal court in 
Washington, D.C. to committing visa fraud at the U.S. Consulate in 
Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The fraud, which was perpetrated with the 
assistance of a consular employee, resulted in at least 25 Iranian 
males illegally entering the U.S. with seemingly legitimate U.S. visas. 
See Factual Basis for Plea, United States v. Shajirat, Crim. No. 1:04-
cr-0015-RMU-2 (D.D.C. Jan. 16, 2007).
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    Corruption cases are also very difficult to prove, so 
Congress must speak with absolute clarity in those statutes 
that criminalize corrupt conduct by Government employees and 
officials. Those who agree to sell their office for personal 
gain through a bribery scheme, or to use their office to extort 
money from private citizens, know how to recognize and exploit 
ambiguities in the law that have been created by unexpected 
court decisions or by creative end-runs around the anti-
corruption laws unforeseen by the policy makers who originally 
passed those laws. Just as Congress recently shored up its 
ethics rules to leave no doubt as to the obvious impropriety of 
taking excessive gifts from outside interests, it is crucial 
that Congress shore up the criminal law to close loopholes and 
resolve legal ambiguities that may allow corrupt actors to 
evade or defeat prosecution.

               C. LEGAL PROVISIONS AND LEGISLATIVE INTENT

    The Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements Act of 2007 
responds directly and sensibly to these needs by giving 
prosecutors more time, resources, and legal tools to detect and 
prosecute public corruption. It creates no new criminal 
offenses, but instead tightens and clarifies existing laws to 
give public officials fair notice of the line between ethical 
breaches and criminal acts.
    The Committee emphasizes that this bi-partisan legislation 
is directed at no particular political party or public 
official, as both parties have suffered through embarrassing 
breaches by some of their elected officials, and none of the 
bill's provisions may be applied retroactively to on-going 
prosecutions. Instead, this is a targeted bill directed at 
those in any branch of government who would use their public 
office to line their pockets at the expense of the American 
public.
    The bill's seventeen provisions can be divided in three 
general categories as follows.

1. More time and resources for public corruption investigations and 
        prosecutions

    The bill extends the statute of limitations from five to 
six years for three of the most serious public corruption 
offenses: bribery, extortion by a public official, and public 
sector honest services fraud. As noted, public corruption cases 
are among the most difficult and time-consuming cases to 
investigate and prosecute. A September 2005 Department of 
Justice Inspector General's Report noted that ``public 
corruption investigations often require difficult, time-
consuming source development [and] take longer to develop than 
other public integrity cases * * * due to the complex and 
sensitive nature of the investigations.'' See Office of the 
Inspector Gen., U.S. Dep't of Justice, at 94. Bank fraud, 
arson, and passport fraud, among other offenses, all have ten-
year statutes of limitations. Public corruption offenses cut to 
the heart of our democracy, and a more modest increase to the 
statute of limitations is a reasonable step to help corruption 
investigators and prosecutors do their jobs.
    Public corruption investigations are not only time-
consuming, they are also expensive. In response to the shift of 
resources away from corruption and toward counterterrorism in 
recent years, the bill also provides $25 million per year for 
fiscal years 2008-2011 for FBI and Department of Justice 
efforts to combat official corruption. This money will ensure 
that federal investigators and prosecutors have the resources 
they need to more effectively root out official corruption at 
all levels of government. This modest increase in funding would 
be less than the alleged loss to taxpayers in just one recent 
public corruption prosecution in the District of Columbia.\3\
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    \3\The investigation is on-going, but the expected loss from the 
alleged D.C. Department of Tax and Revenue fraud scheme may be as high 
as $44 million. See Leonnig & Keating, supra, at A1.
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2. Legislative fixes to strengthen and clarify existing statutes

    The bill also contains a series of legislative fixes to 
improve the clarity and enhance the effectiveness of existing 
federal statutes. These improvements will cost nothing to 
implement, but they will lead to greater deterrence and more 
effective prosecutions by clarifying the law and by closing 
existing loopholes that thwart congressional intent.
            a. Venue in federal cases
    The first set of improvements relate to venue in federal 
cases--the district or districts where federal prosecutions may 
be brought. The bill broadens the part of the general venue 
statute--18 U.S.C. Sec. 3237(a)--that governs venue in mail 
fraud cases, among other so-called ``continuing'' offenses that 
may be carried out in more than one district. The bill would 
permit venue to lie in any district in which an act in 
furtherance of the offense is committed. It is designed to 
address situations where the bulk of the criminal conduct takes 
place in one district, but the required mailing to facilitate 
that scheme happens to occur in another. For example, if a 
fraud scheme is hatched and carried out by a public official 
from his Washington, D.C. office, but the mailing in 
furtherance of that scheme happens to be dropped in a mailbox 
near the public official's home in Bethesda, Maryland, venue 
should be able to lie in the District of Columbia, because the 
principle acts in furtherance of the scheme took place in the 
District. Under current law, the case could only be brought in 
Maryland. The intent of this provision is to expand venue to 
include districts where any part of the offense occurred as 
well as the district where the actual mailing took place.
    The bill also includes a common-sense extension of venue in 
obstruction of justice and perjury prosecutions to include not 
only the district where the conduct constituting the offense 
took place, but also the district where the proceeding that the 
defendant intended to obstruct or affect took place. The 
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 already expanded venue in precisely 
this way for certain obstruction prosecutions, including 18 
U.S.C. Sec. 1512 (witness tampering). See Pub. L. 107-204, 116 
Stat. 745. This bill simply applies this extension to the other 
obstruction-related statutes in the obstruction of justice 
chapter of the Federal Criminal Code. The same logic that led 
Congress to expand venue in the obstruction context applies 
with equal force to perjury prosecutions.
            b. Clarifications to bribery, gratuities, and mail/wire 
                    fraud statutes
    The second set of improvements relates to the federal 
bribery, gratuities, and general fraud statutes. See 18 U.S.C. 
Sec. Sec. 201, 1341 and 1343.
    The bill reverses the Supreme Court's holding in United 
States v. Sun-Diamond Growers, 526 U.S. 398 (1999), which 
severely restricted the application of the illegal gratuities 
statute. Contrary to the understandings of every circuit court 
to have considered the issue, the Supreme Court in Sun-Diamond 
imposed a new element to the federal gratuities statute, 
requiring the government to prove a ``link'' between the 
gratuity and an official act. This additional element makes the 
statute nearly impossible to differentiate from the federal 
bribery statute, which also requires a link between corrupt 
conduct and a specific act. In practice, the nexus requirement 
means that a spectrum of cases that fall short of a bribe but 
plainly involve corrupt conduct may not now be charged as 
gratuities absent a demonstrable link between the payment and 
specific official action.\4\ Yet Congress plainly intended the 
gratuities statute to capture a far broader range of conduct 
than the bribery statute, because gratuities is a two-year 
offense while the statutory maximum penalty for bribery is 
fifteen years. In the wake of Sun-Diamond, the federal 
gratuities statute is rarely invoked. In light of the nexus 
requirement, prosecutors have an incentive to charge a bribe in 
every case that they can charge, as the burdens of proof for 
the two offenses are essentially the same.\5\
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    \4\As one legal commentator has observed: ``If [the Sun-Diamond 
Court's requirement of a ``link'' in gratuities cases] sounds like the 
crime of bribery, that is because it is. The Court has essentially 
eliminated the separate crime of unlawful gratuity and turned it into a 
lesser included offense of bribery.'' George D. Brown, Putting 
Watergate Behind Us--Salinas, Sun-Diamond, and Two Views of the 
Anticorruption Model, 74 Tulane L. Rev. 747, 774 (2000).
    \5\The Sun-Diamond nexus requirement can lead to perverse results. 
For example, under current law, a private citizen may keep a public 
official on retainer by making substantial periodic payments to the 
official so long as there is an understanding that the money is not 
intended to influence any specific act, but is instead intended to 
build a reservoir of goodwill in the event that matters arise that 
would benefit the private interest. While these payments may run afoul 
of the gift rules, they are not actionable bribes or gratuities absent 
a provable ``link.'' Such payments would be gratuities under this bill 
so long as they are made because of the person's public office, which 
is precisely what the law provided before Sun-Diamond. See United 
States v. Bustamante, 45 F.3d 933, 940 (5th Cir. 1995) (``[I]t is 
sufficient for the government to show that the defendant was given the 
gratuity simply because he held public office.''); United States v. 
Evans, 572 F.2d 455, 480 (5th Cir. 1978) (``[I]t is not necessary that 
the official actually engage in identifiable conduct or misconduct nor 
that any specific quid pro quo be contemplated by the parties nor even 
that the official actually be capable of providing some official act as 
quid pro quo at the time [because] [t]he purpose of the[] [bribery and 
conflict of interest] statutes is to reach any situation in which the 
judgment of a government agent might be clouded because of payments or 
gifts made to him by reason of his position.'').
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    The bill would return the state of the law with regard to 
gratuities as it existed before 1999 by including within their 
statutory definition those benefits given to a public official 
``for or because of'' that official's position. This will allow 
the statute to reach its intended range of corrupt conduct, 
including benefits flowing to public officials designed to 
curry favor for non-specified future acts or to build a 
reservoir of goodwill.
    To foreclose unrestrained prosecutorial discretion in this 
sensitive area in the law, however, the bill also provides an 
additional protection that was not included in the original 
gratuities statute, and that responds to concerns that 
contributed to the Sun-Diamond Court's decision to restrict the 
reach of the statute. Specifically, the bill creates a safe 
harbor for Government officials who accept things of value 
pursuant to applicable rule or regulation. This carve-out 
responds to the examples Justice Scalia set out in Sun-Diamond 
of de minimis gifts that, as the law stood in 1999, could have 
triggered the gratuities statute, by exempting from prosecution 
for gratuities all benefits accepted by public officials that 
are permitted by rules or regulations.\6\ This new provision 
squarely addresses Justice Scalia's parade of horribles in Sun-
Diamond by constraining prosecutorial discretion in cases where 
federal prosecution would clearly be inappropriate.\7\ See, 
e.g., 5 CFR Sec. 2635.204(a) (permitting government employees 
to accept gifts valued at $20 or less, such as a baseball cap); 
5 CFR Sec. 2635.204(j) (permitting the President or Vice 
President to accept any gift not intended to influence official 
action, such as a replica sports jersey).
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    \6\This safe harbor is intended to include only duly enacted 
federal regulations and duly enacted Rules of the House of 
Representatives and the United States Senate, see, e.g., Standing Rules 
of the Senate, S. Doc. No. 110-9 (2007), and is not intended to include 
other operating procedures and policies established by individual 
offices, departments, or agencies of the Government.
    \7\The Committee's action does not bring campaign contributions 
within the reach of the federal gratuities statute. By the very terms 
of the statute, campaign contributions cannot be charged as gratuities 
because, unlike bribes, gratuities may only be charged if they are 
given ``personally'' to the public officials, while campaign 
contributions by definition are given to a separate entity. See 18 
U.S.C. Sec. 201(c)(1)(B). Campaign contributions can theoretically be 
charged as bribes, which need not be paid directly to the public 
official; but the bill in no way disturbs well-settled Supreme Court 
precedent that an explicit quid-pro-quo agreement is required in order 
for a campaign contribution to be charged as a bribe, even if the 
campaign contribution is itself unlawful. See McCormick v. United 
States, 500 U.S. 257, 272-74 (1991). Moreover, campaign contributions 
are explicitly permitted by government rules and regulations, see, 
e.g., Standing Rules of the Senate, Rule XXXV(1)(c)(2), and the 
gratuities statute as modified by this bill would not permit 
prosecution of anything allowed by rules and regulations, including 
campaign contributions. The Committee recognizes that campaign 
contributions are an essential component of our democracy, and this 
bill is in no way intended to restrict or criminalize this activity.
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    The bill also clarifies the definition of what it means for 
a public official to engage in an ``official act,'' for 
purposes of the federal bribery and gratuities statutes. The 
need for clarification arose most recently in the D.C. 
Circuit's decision in Valdes v. United States, 475 F.3d 1319 
(D.C. Cir. 2007) (en banc). In that case, a fractured court 
sitting en banc held that, when a D.C. police detective used a 
police computer to search a law enforcement database for 
information on particular individuals in exchange for several 
secret cash payments, he could not be convicted of bribery or 
gratuities because no official act was involved.\8\ The court 
held that his actions did not have the requisite degree of 
formality to fall within the definition of an ``official act'' 
for purposes of bribery or gratuities statutes. This cramped 
re-formulation of the ``official acts'' standard is at odds 
with the legislative history of the bribery statute. See Brief 
of Appellee at 16-25, United States v. Valdes, 475 F.3d 1319 
(D.C. Cir. 2007) (No. 03-3066) (detailing legislative history 
of the federal bribery statute). As the dissenting judges 
observed, this interpretation ``effects a judicial 
contraction'' of the ``official acts'' standard and will 
``undermine the prosecution of public corruption.'' Id. at 
1333, 1346 (Garland, J., dissenting).
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    \8\One commentator recently observed that ``[t]o permit public 
officials to use their positions of public trust to line their pockets 
with cash and escape prosecution under the anti-gratuities statute 
because the action fails to meet some vague degree of formality makes a 
mockery out of the law's attempt to punish corruption.'' Tara Malloy, 
Corrupt Officials Shouldn't Escape Through a Loophole in the Gratuities 
Law, Legal Times, Nov. 12, 2007, at 58.
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    To address this overly-narrow conception of official 
action, the bill explicitly adopts the tried-and-true language 
from the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Birdsall, 
233 U.S. 223 (1914), defining ``official act,'' and thereby 
makes clear that ``[e]very action that is within the range of 
official duty comes within the purview of the bribery 
statute.'' Id. at 30. The D.C. Circuit's hyper-technical 
reading of the ``official acts'' standard unnecessarily 
disrupts uniformity in the law, and undermines fair notice to 
public officials that they may not legally accept secret 
benefits from private interests in return for any action within 
the range of their official duties.
    The bill also closes a potential loophole by clarifying 
bribery law in cases where there is an on-going stream of 
financial benefits flowing from a private source to a public 
official. In such cases, it may be impossible to establish a 
one-to-one link between a specific payment and a specific 
official act. No circuit presently requires such a one-to-one 
showing, but to avoid confusion and unnecessary litigation,\9\ 
the bill clarifies that a corrupt payment can be made to 
influence more than one official act, and, to the same end, 
that a series of such payments may be made to influence a 
public official in performing a series of official acts.\10\ 
See United States v. Gamin, No. 03-1448-cr, slip op. (2d Cir. 
Dec. 4, 2007) (holding that, in the bribery context, the 
government does not have to tie payments to specific acts but 
instead can prove that ``the favors and gifts flowing to a 
public official are in exchange for a pattern of official 
actions favorable to the donor.''); United States v. Quinn, 359 
F.3d 666, 673 (4th Cir. 2004) (``The quid pro quo requirement 
is satisfied so long as the evidence shows a course of conduct 
of favors and gifts flowing to a public official in exchange 
for a pattern of official actions favorable to the donor.''). 
This clarification is intended to codify this basic 
understanding of ``course of conduct'' bribery. Congress should 
leave no doubt that a bribery charge cannot be defeated merely 
because the government cannot match up each specific payment in 
a series with specific official acts.\11\ Id.
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    \9\One recent example of such litigation arose in the 2003 
prosecution and conviction of former Bridgeport, Connecticut mayor 
Joseph P. Ganim. During his recent appeal, Mr. Ganim argued that this 
bribery conviction should be overturned because the Government was 
required to link each alleged benefit to a specific act that he 
performed. The Second Circuit rejected this argument, and held that, 
``bribery can be accomplished through on ongoing course of conduct, so 
long as evidence shows that the favors and gifts flowing to a public 
official are in exchange for a pattern of official actions favorable to 
the donor.''). United States v. Gamin, No. 03-1448-cr, slip op. at 24-
26 (2d Cir. Dec. 4, 2007).
    \10\The bill makes this same clarification to the statute governing 
federal prosecution of state and local bribery, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 666, and 
it lowers the transactional threshold for section 666 bribery 
prosecutions from $5,000 to $1,000.
    \11\There are other statutes in the Federal Criminal Code that use 
the terms ``thing of value'' and ``official act.'' The Committee's 
decision to clarify how those terms are used in 18 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 201 
and 666 should not be viewed as an implicit congressional judgment 
about the use of these terms elsewhere in the Code.
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    Finally, the bill broadens coverage of the mail and wire 
fraud statutes, which may be used in tandem with other statutes 
to prosecute public corruption. The term ``money or property'' 
has been interpreted by courts to broadly include a variety of 
benefits, including intangible rights; but the Supreme Court in 
United States v. Cleveland, 531 U.S. 12 (2000), held that state 
licenses to operate video poker machines were not ``property'' 
within the meaning of the mail fraud statute. The bill would 
reverse the Supreme Court's holding in Cleveland. As many 
circuit courts held before Cleveland was decided, licenses, 
permits and other intangible rights have value to the issuing 
authority, and, assuming a mailing or a wire, fraudulent 
deprivation of these rights should be chargeable as federal 
crimes.\12\
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    \12\As one circuit court noted before Cleveland, ``the government's 
interest here is not simply that of a regulator, but rather that of a 
dispenser of valuable property in which the licensee has 
constitutionally protected property interests and which the government 
may enjoin upon misuse. We do not believe that Congress, in enacting 
the mail fraud statute, intended its reach to be dependent on 
artificial constructs and fleeting distinctions.'' United States v. 
Martinez, 905 F.2d 709 (3d Cir. 1990), overruled by Cleveland v. United 
States, 531 U.S. 12 (2000).
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3. Technical fixes and increased statutory maximum sentences

    The bill also contains a series of long-needed technical 
fixes to select statutes, as well as targeted increases in 
statutory maximum penalties for statutes used in public 
corruption cases. For example, the bill amends the federal 
theft statute--18 U.S.C. Sec. 641--to bring within its purview 
the District of Columbia government and its agencies. This 
change is long overdue in view of the District's unique status, 
and it comports with the overarching statutory scheme because 
the District is already included in the federal bribery statute 
(18 U.S.C. Sec. 201) and the statute governing theft and 
bribery from programs receiving federal funds (18 U.S.C. 
Sec. 666). The need for this fix is acute: under current law, 
massive thefts of District of Columbia funds--such as the 
recent D.C. Tax and Revenue allegations of a $44 million 
fraud--cannot be prosecuted on a federal theft theory.
    Similarly, the bill adds the crimes of federal theft, and 
theft and bribery from programs receiving federal funds, as 
predicates for federal wire taps and as predicates under the 
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. 
These are serious offenses, on par with other offenses that 
already serve as wiretap and RICO predicates.
    The bill also increases the maximum penalties for certain 
public corruption related offenses.\13\ These increases reflect 
the Committee's view of the serious and corrosive nature of 
these crimes, and they harmonize the punishment for these 
public corruption-related offenses with similar statutes. 
Increasing penalties in appropriate cases sends a message to 
would-be criminals and to the public that there will be severe 
consequences for breaching the public trust. The Committee 
notes, however, that, aside from any changes resulting from the 
limited review called for in Section 17 of the bill, it does 
not intend for the increases in statutory maximum sentences to 
trigger recommendations by the Sentencing Commission to 
increase the base offense levels for these crimes. Rather, the 
statutory increases in the bill are intended to give additional 
sentencing latitude for egregious cases.
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    \13\One section for which the bill increases the maximum sentence 
is 18 U.S.C. Sec. 600, which targets promises of employment for 
political activity. The Committee notes that this statute does not 
reach the routine practice of offering jobs as appropriate to those who 
assisted campaigns; rather it reaches only situations in which there 
was an explicit quid pro quo agreement in advance to give employment in 
exchange for political activity.
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    This bi-partisan bill is supported by the Department of 
Justice and by a wide array of public interest groups that have 
long advocated for vigorous enforcement of our fraud and public 
corruption laws, including the Campaign Legal Center, Common 
Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public 
Citizen, and U.S. PIRG.

          II. History of the Bill and Committee Consideration


                      A. INTRODUCTION OF THE BILL

    Chairman Leahy introduced S. 1946, the Public Corruption 
Prosecution Improvements Act of 2007, on August 3, 2007, joined 
by Senator Cornyn as an original cosponsor. Since the bill's 
introduction, Senator Sessions has joined on as a cosponsor. 
The bill was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

                       B. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    The bill was considered by the Committee on the Judiciary 
on November 1, 2007. Chairman Leahy offered a complete 
substitute amendment which was accepted by unanimous consent.
    Senator Specter offered two amendments. The first amendment 
would have explicitly stated that campaign contributions may 
not be charged as gratuities. This amendment was rejected on a 
rollcall vote. The vote record is as follows:
    Tally: 6 Yeas, 12 Nays, 1 Pass.


                Yeas (6)                              Nays (12)                             Pass (1)

Cardin (D-MD)                         Biden (D-DE)                          Coburn (R-OK)
Hatch (R-UT)                          Brownback (R-KS)
Kyl (R-AZ)                            Cornyn (R-TX)
Graham (R-SC)                         Durbin (D-IL)
Specter (R-PA)                        Feingold (D-WI)
Whitehouse (D-RI)                     Feinstein (D-CA)
                                      Kennedy (D-MA)
                                      Kohl (D-WI)
                                      Grassley (R-IA)
                                      Leahy (D-VT)
                                      Schumer (D-NY)
                                      Sessions (R-AL)


    Senator Specter offered an amendment to impose a 
``knowingly and corruptly'' scienter requirement on the federal 
gratuities statute. The amendment was rejected on a rollcall 
vote. The vote record is as follows:
    Tally: 2 Yeas, 14 Nays, 3 Passes.


                Yeas (2)                              Nays (14)                             Pass (3)

Specter (R-PA)                        Biden (D-DE)                          Coburn (R-OK)
Hatch (R-UT)                          Brownback (R-KS)                      Graham (R-SC)
                                      Cardin (D-MD)                         Kyl (R-AZ)
                                      Cornyn (R-TX)
                                      Durbin (D-IL)
                                      Feingold (D-WI)
                                      Feinstein (D-CA)
                                      Kennedy (D-MA)
                                      Kohl (D-WI)
                                      Grassley (R-IA)
                                      Leahy (D-VT)
                                      Schumer (D-NY)
                                      Sessions (R-AL)
                                      Whitehouse (D-RI)


    The Committee then voted to report favorably to the Senate 
the Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements Act of 2007. The 
Committee proceeded by voice vote.

              III. Section-by-Section Summary of the Bill

    Section 1. Short Title. This section cites the short title 
of the bill as the ``Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements 
Act of 2007.''
    Section 2. Extension of Statute of Limitations for Serious 
Public Corruption Offenses. This section extends the statute of 
limitations from five to six years for bribery, deprivation of 
honest services involving a public official, and extortion by a 
public official.
    Section 3. Application of Mail and Wire Fraud Statutes to 
Licenses and Other Intangible Rights. This section expands 
coverage of the mail and wire fraud statutes to include schemes 
involving intangible interests such as contract rights, 
licenses, permits, trade secrets, franchises, and government 
grants
    Section 4. Venue for Federal Offenses. This section amends 
section 3237 of title 18, which governs venue for offenses 
begun in one district and completed in another district, to 
clarify that venue exists in any district in which any portion 
of the offense is committed, any act in furtherance of the 
offense is committed, or in which the offense is completed.
    Section 5. Theft or Bribery Concerning Programs Receiving 
Federal Financial Assistance. This section modifies section 666 
of title 18 concerning theft or bribery from an organization, 
government or agency that receives federal financial assistance 
by reducing the $5,000 requirement to $1,000 for section 666 
bribery offenses, increasing the maximum penalty for all 
offenses under this section from 10 years to 15 years, and 
clarifying that a ``thing'' of value can refer to a single item 
or more than one item.
    Section 6. Penalty for Section 641 Violations. This section 
increases the maximum term of imprisonment for theft and 
embezzlement of federal funds from 10 years to 15 years.
    Section 7. Penalty for Section 201(b) Violations. This 
section increases the maximum term of imprisonment for bribery 
violations from 15 years to 20 years.
    Section 8. Increase of Maximum Penalties for Certain Public 
Corruption Related Offenses. This section increases the maximum 
punishment to 10 years imprisonment for the following crimes: 
solicitation of political contributions (section 602); promise 
of employment for political activity (section 600); deprivation 
of employment for political activity (section 601); 
intimidation to secure political contributions (section 606); 
solicitation and acceptance of contributions in federal offices 
(section 607); and coercion of political activity by federal 
employees (section 610).
    Section 9. Addition of District of Columbia to Theft of 
Public Money Offense. This section amends section 641 of title 
18 relating to theft from the government to include the 
District of Columbia government and agencies.
    Section 10. Additional RICO Predicates. This section adds 
section 641 (embezzlement or theft of public money, property, 
or records) and section 666 (relating to theft or bribery 
concerning programs receiving federal funds), of title 18 as 
RICO predicates.
    Section 11. Additional Wiretap Predicates. The section 
amends 2516(1) of title 18 to add sections 641 (embezzlement or 
theft of public money, property or records) and section 666 
(relating to theft or bribery concerning programs receiving 
federal funds) as predicate offenses for criminal wiretaps.
    Section 12. Clarification of Crime of Illegal Gratuities. 
This section amends sections 201(c)(1)(A) & (B) of title 18 to 
clarify that things of value, given to a public official ``for 
or because of'' that official's position and not otherwise 
permitted by law or regulation, are illegal under the federal 
gratuities statute.
    Section 13. Clarification of Definition of ``Official 
Act.'' This section changes the definition of ``official act'' 
in section 201(a)(3) of title 18 to include any conduct that 
falls within the range of official duty of the public official. 
This section also clarifies that an official act can be a 
single act, more than one act, or a course of conduct.
    Section 14. Clarification of Course of Conduct Bribery. 
This section, in concert with section 13, amends the federal 
bribery statute to make clear that a corrupt payment can be 
made to influence more than one official act, and, to the same 
end, that a series of such payments may be made to influence a 
government official in performing a series of official acts.
    Section 15. Expanding Venue for Perjury and Obstruction of 
Justice Proceedings. This section amends the perjury and 
obstruction of justice statutes to expand venue in those 
prosecutions not only to the district where the false statement 
or obstructive conduct occurs, but also to the district in 
which an affected proceeding takes place.
    Section 16. Authorization for Additional Personnel to 
Investigate and Prosecute Public Corruption Offenses. This 
section provides additional funds ($25,000,000 for fiscal years 
2008-11) to Offices of Inspectors General and the Justice 
Department for the investigation and prosecution of public 
corruption offenses. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Offices in 
recent years have had to divert resources away from criminal 
law priorities including fraud and corruption, and into 
counterterrorism.
    Section 17. Amendment of the Sentencing Guidelines Relating 
to Certain Crimes. This section directs the U.S. Sentencing 
Commission to consider amending the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines 
in light of the other provisions of this bill.

             IV. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                                  November 9, 2007.
Hon. Patrick J. Leahy,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1946, the Public 
Corruption Prosecution Improvements Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz.
            Sincerely,
                                                   Peter R. Orszag.
    Enclosure.

S. 1946--Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements Act

    Summary: S. 1946 would broaden the coverage of the current 
laws against public corruption and would increase penalties for 
such offenses. The legislation would expand the number of 
offenses relative to fraud committed by public officials that 
could be federally prosecuted. The bill would authorize the 
appropriation of $25 million for each of fiscal years 2008 
through 2011 mostly for the Department of Justice to 
investigate and prosecute violators of the bill's provisions.
    Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing the bill would cost $100 million 
over the 2008-2012 period. S. 1946 could affect direct spending 
and receipts, but we estimate that any such effects would not 
be significant.
    S. 1946 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would not affect the budgets of State, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of S. 1946 is shown in the following table. 
For this estimate, CBO assumes that the bill will be enacted by 
the end of calendar year 2007. CBO assumes that the amounts 
authorized by the bill will be appropriated near the start of 
each fiscal year and that outlays will follow the historical 
rate of spending for similar activities. The costs of this 
legislation fall within budget function 750 (administration of 
justice).

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      By fiscal year, in millions of
                                                 dollars--
                                 ---------------------------------------
                                   2008    2009    2010    2011    2012
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Authorization Level.............      25      25      25      25       0
Estimated Outlays...............      15      25      25      25      10
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition to the costs shown in the table, enacting S. 
1946 could increase collections of criminal fines for 
violations of the bill's provisions. CBO estimates that any 
additional collections would not be significant because of the 
relatively small number of additional cases likely to be 
affected. Criminal fines are recorded as revenues, deposited in 
the Crime Victims Fund, and subsequently spent without further 
appropriation.

Intergovernmental and private-sector mandates

    S. 1946 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in UMRA and would not affect the budgets of 
state, local, or tribal governments.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz. Impact 
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell. 
Impact on the Private Sector: Paige Piper/Bach.
    Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    V. Regulatory Impact Evaluation

    In compliance with rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate, the Committee finds that no significant regulatory 
impact will result from the enactment of S. 1946.

                             VI. Conclusion

    The Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements Act of 2007 
will provide federal law enforcement critical additional time 
and resources to help detect and prosecute corrupt conduct at 
all levels of Government. It also amends several federal 
statues in sensible, targeted ways to restore the intent of 
Congress, and to provide fair notice to public officials of 
what the laws provide.
    The Committee urges the prompt passage of this important 
legislation.

       VII. Changes to Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
S. 1946, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 11--BRIBERY, GRAFT, AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 201. Bribery of public officials and witnesses

    (a) For the purpose of this section--
          (1) the term ``public official'' means Member of 
        Congress, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, either 
        before or after such official has qualified, or an 
        officer or employee or person acting for or on behalf 
        of the United States, or any department, agency or 
        branch of Government thereof, including the District of 
        Columbia, in any official function, under or by 
        authority of any such department, agency, or branch of 
        Government, or a juror;
          (2) the term ``person who has been selected to be a 
        public official'' means any person who has been 
        nominated or appointed to be a public official, or has 
        been officially informed that such person will be so 
        nominated or appointed; and
          (3) the term ``official act'' means any [decision or 
        action on any question, matter, cause, suit, proceeding 
        or controversy, which may at any time be pending, or 
        which may by law be brought before any public official, 
        in such official's official capacity, or in such 
        official's place of trust or profit.] action within the 
        range of official duty, and any decision or action on 
        any question, matter, cause, suit, proceeding or 
        controversy, which may at any time be brought before 
        any public official, in such public official's official 
        capacity or in such official's place of trust or 
        profit. An official act can be a single act, more than 
        one act, or a course of conduct.
    (b) Whoever--
          (1) directly or indirectly, corruptly gives, offers 
        or promises [anything of value] any thing or things of 
        value to any public official or person who has been 
        selected to be a public official, or offers or promises 
        any public official or any person who has been selected 
        to be a public official to give [anything of value] any 
        thing or things of value to any other person or entity, 
        with intent--
                  (A) to influence any official act; or
                  (B) to influence such public official or 
                person who has been selected to be a public 
                official to commit or aid in committing, or 
                collude in, or allow, any fraud, or make 
                opportunity for the commission of any fraud, on 
                the United States; or
                  (C) to induce such public official or such 
                person who has been selected to be a public 
                official to do or omit to do any act in 
                violation of the lawful duty of such official 
                or person;
          (2) being a public official or person selected to be 
        a public official, directly or indirectly, corruptly 
        demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive 
        or accept [anything of value] any thing or things of 
        value personally or for any other person or entity, in 
        return for:
                  (A) being influenced in the performance of 
                any official act;
                  (B) being influenced to commit or aid in 
                committing, or to collude in, or allow, any 
                fraud, or make opportunity for the commission 
                of any fraud, on the United States; or
                  (C) being induced to do or omit to do any act 
                in violation of the official duty of such 
                official or person;
          (3) directly or indirectly, corruptly gives, offers, 
        or promises anything of value to any person, or offers 
        or promises such person to give [anything of value] any 
        thing or things of value to any other person or entity, 
        with intent to influence the testimony under oath or 
        affirmation of such first-mentioned person as a witness 
        upon a trial, hearing, or other proceeding, before any 
        court, any committee of either House or both Houses of 
        Congress, or any agency, commission, or officer 
        authorized by the laws of the United States to hear 
        evidence or take testimony, or with intent to influence 
        such person to absent himself therefrom;
          (4) directly or indirectly, corruptly demands, seeks, 
        receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or testimony 
        under oath or affirmation as a witness upon any such 
        trial, hearing, or other proceeding, or in return for 
        absenting himself therefrom; shall be fined under this 
        title or not more than three times the monetary 
        equivalent of the thing of value, whichever is greater, 
        or imprisoned for not more than [fifteen years] 20 
        years, or both, and may be disqualified from holding 
        any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United 
        States.
    (c) Whoever--
          (1) [otherwise than as provided by law for the proper 
        discharge of official duty--] otherwise than as 
        provided by law for the proper discharge of official 
        duty, or by rule or regulation--
                  (A) directly or indirectly gives, offers, or 
                promises [anything of value] any thing or 
                things of value to any public official, former 
                public official, or person selected to be a 
                public official, for or because of any official 
                act performed or to be performed by such public 
                official, former public official, or person 
                selected to be a public official for or because 
                of the official's or person's official 
                position, or for or because of any official act 
                performed or to be performed by such public 
                official, former public official, or person 
                selected to be a public official; or
                  (B) being a public official, former public 
                official, or person selected to be a public 
                official, otherwise than as provided by law for 
                the proper discharge of official duty, directly 
                or indirectly demands, seeks, receives, 
                accepts, or agrees to receive or accept 
                [anything of value] any thing or things of 
                value personally [for or because of any 
                official act performed or to be performed by 
                such official or person;] for or because of the 
                official's or person's official position, or 
                for or because of any official act performed or 
                to be performed by such official or person;
          (2) directly or indirectly, gives, offers, or 
        promises [anything of value] any thing or things of 
        value to any person, for or because of the testimony 
        under oath or affirmation given or to be given by such 
        person as a witness upon a trial, hearing, or other 
        proceeding, before any court, any committee of either 
        House or both Houses of Congress, or any agency, 
        commission, or officer authorized by the laws of the 
        United States to hear evidence or take testimony, or 
        for or because of such person's absence therefrom;
          (3) directly or indirectly, demands, seeks, receives, 
        accepts, or agrees to receive or accept [anything of 
        value] any thing or things of value personally for or 
        because of the testimony nder oath or affirmation given 
        or to be given by such person as a witness upon any 
        such trial, hearing, or other proceeding, or for or 
        because of such person's absence therefrom;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than 
two years, or both.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 29--ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 600. Promise of employment or other benefit for political activity

    Whoever, directly or indirectly, promises any employment, 
position, compensation, contract, appointment, or other 
benefit, provided for or made possible in whole or in part by 
any Act of Congress, or any special consideration in obtaining 
any such benefit, to any person as consideration, favor, or 
reward for any political activity or for the support of or 
opposition to any candidate or any political party in 
connection with any general or special election to any 
political office, or in connection with any primary election or 
political convention or caucus held to select candidates for 
any political office, shall be fined under this title or 
imprisoned not more than [one year] 10 years, or both.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 601. Deprivation of employment or other benefit for political 
                    contribution

    (a) Whoever, directly or indirectly, knowingly causes or 
attempts to cause any person to make a contribution of a thing 
of value (including services) for the benefit of any candidate 
or any political party, by means of the denial or deprivation, 
or the threat of the denial or deprivation, of--
          (1) any employment, position, or work in or for any 
        agency or other entity of the Government of the United 
        States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State, 
        or any compensation or benefit of such employment, 
        position, or work; or
          (2) any payment or benefit of a program of the United 
        States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State;
if such employment, position, work, compensation, payment, or 
benefit is provided for or made possible in whole or in part by 
an Act of Congress, shall be fined under this title, or 
imprisoned not more than [one year] 10 years, or both.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 602. Solicitation of political contributions

    (a) It shall be unlawful for--
          (1) a candidate for the Congress;
          (2) an individual elected to or serving in the office 
        of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or 
        Resident Commissioner to, the Congress;
          (3) an officer or employee of the United States or 
        any department or agency thereof; or
          (4) a person receiving any salary or compensation for 
        services from money derived from the Treasury of the 
        United States; to knowingly solicit any contribution 
        within the meaning of section 301(8) of the Federal 
        Election Campaign Act of 1971 from any other such 
        officer, employee, or person. Any person who violates 
        this section shall be fined under this title or 
        imprisoned not more than [3 years] 10 years, or both.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 606. Intimidation to secure political contributions

    Whoever, being one of the officers or employees of the 
United States mentioned in section 602 of this title, 
discharges, or promotes, or degrades, or in any manner changes 
the official rank or compensation of any other officer or 
employee, or promises or threatens so to do, for giving or 
withholding or neglecting to make any contribution of money or 
other valuable thing for any political purpose, shall be fined 
under this title or imprisoned not more than [three years] 10 
years, or both.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 607. Place of solicitation

    (a) Prohibition.--
          (1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any person 
        to solicit or receive a donation of money or other 
        thing of value in connection with a Federal, State, or 
        local election from a person who is located in a room 
        or building occupied in the discharge of official 
        duties by an officer or employee of the United States. 
        It shall be unlawful for an individual who is an 
        officer or employee of the Federal Government, 
        including the President, Vice President, and Members of 
        Congress, to solicit or receive a donation of money or 
        other thing of value in connection with a Federal, 
        State, or local election, while in any room or building 
        occupied in the discharge of official duties by an 
        officer or employee of the United States, from any 
        person.
          (2) Penalty.--A person who violates this section 
        shall be fined not more than $5,000, imprisoned not 
        more than [3 years] 10 years, or both.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 610. Coercion of political activity

    It shall be unlawful for any person to intimidate, 
threaten, command, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, 
threaten, command, or coerce, any employee of the Federal 
Government as defined in section 7322(1) of title 5, United 
States Code, to engage in, or not to engage in, any political 
activity, including, but not limited to, voting or refusing to 
vote for any candidate or measure in any election, making or 
refusing to make any political contribution, or working or 
refusing to work on behalf of any candidate. Any person who 
violates this section shall be fined under this title or 
imprisoned not more than [three years] 10 years, or both.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 31--EMBEZZLEMENT AND THEFT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 666. Theft or bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds

    (a) Whoever, if the circumstance described in subsection 
(b) of this section exists--
          (1) being an agent of an organization, or of a State, 
        local, or Indian tribal government, or any agency 
        thereof--
                  (A) embezzles, steals, obtains by fraud, or 
                otherwise without authority knowingly converts 
                to the use of any person other than the 
                rightful owner or intentionally misapplies, 
                property that--
                          (i) is valued at $5,000 or more, and
                          (ii) is owned by, or is under the 
                        care, custody, or control of such 
                        organization, government, or agency; or
                  (B) corruptly solicits or demands for the 
                benefit of any person, or accepts or agrees to 
                accept, [anything of value] any thing or things 
                of value from any person, intending to be 
                influenced or rewarded in connection with any 
                business, transaction, or series of 
                transactions of such organization, government, 
                or agency involving any thing of value of 
                [$5,000] $1,000 or more; or
          (2) corruptly gives, offers, or agrees to give 
        [anything of value] any thing or things of value to any 
        person, with intent to influence or reward an agent of 
        an organization or of a State, local or Indian tribal 
        government, or any agency thereof, in connection with 
        any business, transaction, or series of transactions of 
        such organization, government, or agency involving 
        anything of value of [$5,000] $1,000 or more;
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than [10 
years] 15 years, or both.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 641. Public money, property or records

    Whoever embezzles, steals, purloins, or knowingly converts 
to his use or the use of another, or without authority, sells, 
conveys or disposes of any record, voucher, money, or thing of 
value of the District of Columbia or the United States or of 
any department or agency thereof, or any property made or being 
made under contract for the District of Columbia or the United 
States or any department or agency thereof; or
    Whoever receives, conceals, or retains the same with intent 
to convert it to his use or gain, knowing it to have been 
embezzled, stolen, purloined or converted--
    Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 
[ten years] 15 years, or both; but if the value of such 
property in the aggregate, combining amounts from all the 
counts for which the defendant is convicted in a single case, 
does not exceed the sum of $1,000, he shall be fined under this 
title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
    The word ``value'' means face, par, or market value, or 
cost price, either wholesale or retail, whichever is greater.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 63--MAIL FRAUD

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 1341. Frauds and swindles

    Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme 
or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining [money or property] 
money, property, or any other thing of value by means of false 
or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, or to 
sell, dispose of, loan, exchange, alter, give away, distribute, 
supply, or furnish or procure for unlawful use any counterfeit 
or spurious coin, obligation, security, or other article, or 
anything represented to be or intimated or held out to be such 
counterfeit or spurious article, for the purpose of executing 
such scheme or artifice or attempting so to do, places in any 
post office or authorized depository for mail matter, any 
matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by the Postal 
Service, or deposits or causes to be deposited any matter or 
thing whatever to be sent or delivered by any private or 
commercial interstate carrier, or takes or receives therefrom, 
any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to be delivered 
by mail or such carrier according to the direction thereon, or 
at the place at which it is directed to be delivered by the 
person to whom it is addressed, any such matter or thing, shall 
be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, 
or both. If the violation affects a financial institution, such 
person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned 
not more than 30 years, or both.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 1343. Fraud by wire, radio, or television

    Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme 
or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining [money or property] 
money, property, or any other thing of value by means of false 
or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, 
transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, 
or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, 
any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the 
purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined 
under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. 
If the violation affects a financial institution, such person 
shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more 
than 30 years, or both.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 79--PERJURY

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 1512. Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant

    (a)(1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (i) [A prosecution under this section] A prosecution 
        under this chapter or section 1503 may be brought in 
        the district in which the official proceeding (whether 
        or not pending or about to be instituted) was intended 
        to be affected or in the district in which the conduct 
        constituting the alleged offense occurred.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Sec. 1624. Venue

    A prosecution under this chapter may be brought in the 
district in which the oath, declaration, certificate, 
verification, or statement under penalty of perjury is made or 
in which a proceeding takes place in connection with the oath, 
declaration, certificate, verification, or statement.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 95--RACKETEERING

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 1956. Laundering of monetary instruments

    (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (c) As used in this section--
          (1) * * *
          (2) * * *
          (3) * * *
          (4) * * *
          (5) * * *
          (6) * * *
          (7) the term ``specified unlawful activity'' means--
                  (A) any act or activity constituting an 
                offense listed in section 1961(1) of this title 
                except an act which is indictable under 
                subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31;
                  (B) with respect to a financial transaction 
                occurring in whole or in part in the United 
                States, an offense against a foreign nation 
                involving--
                          (i) the manufacture, importation, 
                        sale, or distribution of a controlled 
                        substance (as such term is defined for 
                        the purposes of the Controlled 
                        Substances Act);
                          (ii) murder, kidnapping, robbery, 
                        extortion, destruction of property by 
                        means of explosive or fire, or a crime 
                        of violence (as defined in section 16);
                          (iii) fraud, or any scheme or attempt 
                        to defraud, by or against a foreign 
                        bank (as defined in paragraph 7 of 
                        section 1(b) of the International 
                        Banking Act of 1978);
                          (iv) bribery of a public official, or 
                        the misappropriation, theft, or 
                        embezzlement of public funds by or for 
                        the benefit of a public official;
                          (v) smuggling or export control 
                        violations involving--
                                  (I) an item controlled on the 
                                United States Munitions List 
                                established under section 38 of 
                                the Arms Export Control Act (22 
                                U.S.C. 2778); or
                                  (II) an item controlled under 
                                regulations under the Export 
                                Administration Regulations (15 
                                C.F.R. Parts 730-774);
                          (vi) an offense with respect to which 
                        the United States would be obligated by 
                        a multilateral treaty, either to 
                        extradite the alleged offender or to 
                        submit the case for prosecution, if the 
                        offender were found within the 
                        territory of the United States; or
                          (vii) trafficking in persons, selling 
                        or buying of children, sexual 
                        exploitation of children, or 
                        transporting, recruiting or harboring a 
                        person, including a child, for 
                        commercial sex acts;
                  (C) any act or acts constituting a continuing 
                criminal enterprise, as that term is defined in 
                section 408 of the Controlled Substances Act 
                (21 U.S.C. 848);
                  (D) an offense under section 32 (relating to 
                the destruction of aircraft), section 37 
                (relating to violence at international 
                airports), section 115 (relating to 
                influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a 
                Federal official by threatening or injuring a 
                family member), section 152 (relating to 
                concealment of assets; false oaths and claims; 
                bribery), section 175c (relating to the variola 
                virus), section 215 (relating to commissions or 
                gifts for procuring loans), section 351 
                (relating to congressional or Cabinet officer 
                assassination), any of sections 500 through 503 
                (relating to certain counterfeiting offenses), 
                section 513 (relating to securities of States 
                and private entities), section 541 (relating to 
                goods falsely classified), section 542 
                (relating to entry of goods by means of false 
                statements), section 545 (relating to smuggling 
                goods into the United States), section 549 
                (relating to removing goods from Customs 
                custody), section 554 (relating to smuggling 
                goods from the United States), [section 641 
                (relating to public money, property, or 
                records),] section 656 (relating to theft, 
                embezzlement, or misapplication by bank officer 
                or employee), section 657 (relating to lending, 
                credit, and insurance institutions), section 
                658 (relating to property mortgaged or pledged 
                to farm credit agencies), [section 666 
                (relating to theft or bribery concerning 
                programs receiving Federal funds),] section 
                793, 794, or 798 (relating to espionage), 
                section 831 (relating to prohibited 
                transactions involving nuclear materials), 
                section 844(f) or (i) (relating to destruction 
                by explosives or fire of Government property or 
                property affecting interstate or foreign 
                commerce), section 875 (relating to interstate 
                communications), section 922(1) (relating to 
                the unlawful importation of firearms), section 
                924(n) (relating to firearms trafficking), 
                section 956 (relating to conspiracy to kill, 
                kidnap, maim, or injure certain property in a 
                foreign country), section 1005 (relating to 
                fraudulent bank entries), 1006 (relating to 
                fraudulent Federal credit institution entries), 
                1007 (relating to fraudulent Federal Deposit 
                Insurance transactions), 1014 (relating to 
                fraudulent loan or credit applications), 
                section 1030 (relating to computer fraud and 
                abuse), 1032 (relating to concealment of assets 
                from conservator, receiver, or liquidating 
                agent of financial institution), section 1111 
                (relating to murder), section 1114 (relating to 
                murder of United States law enforcement 
                officials), section 1116 (relating to murder of 
                foreign officials, official guests, or 
                internationally protected persons), section 
                1201 (relating to kidnapping), section 1203 
                (relating to hostage taking), section 1361 
                (relating to willful injury of Government 
                property), section 1363 (relating to 
                destruction of property within the special 
                maritime and territorial jurisdiction), section 
                1708 (theft from the mail), section 1751 
                (relating to Presidential assassination), 
                section 2113 or 2114 (relating to bank and 
                postal robbery and theft), section 2280 
                (relating to violence against maritime 
                navigation), section 2281 (relating to violence 
                against maritime fixed platforms), section 2319 
                (relating to copyright infringement), section 
                2320 (relating to trafficking in counterfeit 
                goods and services), section 2332 (relating to 
                terrorist acts abroad against United States 
                nationals), section 2332a (relating to use of 
                weapons of mass destruction), section 2332b 
                (relating to international terrorist acts 
                transcending national boundaries), section 
                2332g (relating to missile systems designed to 
                destroy aircraft), section 2332h (relating to 
                radiological dispersal devices), section 2339A 
                or 2339B (relating to providing material 
                support to terrorists), section 2339C (relating 
                to financing of terrorism), or section 2339D 
                (relating to receiving military-type training 
                from a foreign terrorist organization) of this 
                title, section 46502 of title 49, United States 
                Code, a felony violation of the Chemical 
                Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1988 (relating 
                to precursor and essential chemicals), section 
                590 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1590) 
                (relating to aviation smuggling), section 422 
                of the Controlled Substances Act (relating to 
                transportation of drug paraphernalia), section 
                38(c) (relating to criminal violations) of the 
                Arms Export Control Act, section 11 (relating 
                to violations) of the Export Administration Act 
                of 1979, section 206 (relating to penalties) of 
                the International Emergency Economic Powers 
                Act, section 16 (relating to offenses and 
                punishment) of the Trading with the Enemy Act, 
                any felony violation of section 15 of the Food 
                Stamp Act of 1977 [7 U.S.C.A. Sec. 2024] 
                (relating to food stamp fraud) involving a 
                quantity of coupons having a value of not less 
                than $5,000, any violation of section 543(a)(1) 
                of the Housing Act of 1949 [42 U.S.C.A. 
                Sec. 1490s(a)(1)] (relating to equity 
                skimming), any felony violation of the Foreign 
                Agents Registration Act of 1938, any felony 
                violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, 
                or section 92 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 
                (42 U.S.C. 2122) (relating to prohibitions 
                governing atomic weapons)

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CHAPTER 96--RACKETEER INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 1961. Definitions

    As used in this chapter--
          (1) ``racketeering activity'' means (A) any act or 
        threat involving murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, 
        robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, 
        or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical 
        (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances 
        Act), which is chargeable under State law and 
        punishable by imprisonment for more than one year; (B) 
        any act which is indictable under any of the following 
        provisions of title 18, United States Code: Section 201 
        (relating to bribery), section 224 (relating to sports 
        bribery), sections 471, 472, and 473 (relating to 
        counterfeiting), section 641 (relating to embezzlement 
        or theft of public money, property, or records), 
        section 659 (relating to theft from interstate 
        shipment) if the act indictable under section 659 is 
        felonious, section 664 (relating to embezzlement from 
        pension and welfare funds), section 666 (relating to 
        theft or bribery concerning programs receiving Federal 
        funds), sections 891-894 (relating to extortionate 
        credit transactions), section 1028 (relating to fraud 
        and related activity in connection with identification 
        documents), section 1029 (relating to fraud and related 
        activity in connection with access devices), section 
        1084 (relating to the transmission of gambling 
        information), section 1341 (relating to mail fraud), 
        section 1343 (relating to wire fraud), section 1344 
        (relating to financial institution fraud), section 1425 
        (relating to the procurement of citizenship or 
        nationalization unlawfully), section 1426 (relating to 
        the reproduction of naturalization or citizenship 
        papers), section 1427 (relating to the sale of 
        naturalization or citizenship papers), sections 1461-
        1465 (relating to obscene matter), section 1503 
        (relating to obstruction of justice), section 1510 
        (relating to obstruction of criminal investigations), 
        section 1511 (relating to the obstruction of State or 
        local law enforcement), section 1512 (relating to 
        tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant), 
        section 1513 (relating to retaliating against a 
        witness, victim, or an informant), section 1542 
        (relating to false statement in application and use of 
        passport), section 1543 (relating to forgery or false 
        use of passport), section 1544 (relating to misuse of 
        passport), section 1546 (relating to fraud and misuse 
        of visas, permits, and other documents), sections 1581-
        1592 (relating to peonage, slavery, and trafficking in 
        persons), section 1951 (relating to interference with 
        commerce, robbery, or extortion), section 1952 
        (relating to racketeering), section 1953 (relating to 
        interstate transportation of wagering paraphernalia), 
        section 1954 (relating to unlawful welfare fund 
        payments), section 1955 (relating to the prohibition of 
        illegal gambling businesses), section 1956 (relating to 
        the laundering of monetary instruments), section 1957 
        (relating to engaging in monetary transactions in 
        property derived from specified unlawful activity), 
        section 1958 (relating to use of interstate commerce 
        facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire), 
        section 1960 (relating to illegal money transmitters), 
        sections 2251, 2251A, 2252, and 2260 (relating to 
        sexual exploitation of children), sections 2312 and 
        2313 (relating to interstate transportation of stolen 
        motor vehicles), sections 2314 and 2315 (relating to 
        interstate transportation of stolen property), section 
        2318 (relating to trafficking in counterfeit labels for 
        phone records, computer programs or computer program 
        documentation or packaging and copies of motion 
        pictures or other audiovisual works), section 2319 
        (relating to criminal infringement of a copyright), 
        section 2319A (relating to unauthorized fixation of and 
        trafficking in sound recordings and music videos of 
        live musical performances), section 2320 (relating to 
        trafficking in goods or services bearing counterfeit 
        marks), section 2321 (relating to trafficking in 
        certain motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts), 
        sections 2341-2346 (relating to trafficking in 
        contraband cigarettes), sections 2421-24 (relating to 
        white slave traffic), sections 175-178 (relating to 
        biological weapons), sections 229-229F (relating to 
        chemical weapons), section 831 (relating to nuclear 
        materials), (C) any act which is indictable under title 
        29, United States Code, section 186 (dealing with 
        restrictions on payments and loans to labor 
        organizations) or section 501(c) (relating to 
        embezzlement from union funds), (D) any offense 
        involving fraud connected with a case under title 11 
        (except a case under section 157 of this title), fraud 
        in the sale of securities, or the felonious 
        manufacture, importation, receiving, concealment, 
        buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in a controlled 
        substance or listed chemical (as defined in section 102 
        of the Controlled Substances Act), punishable under any 
        law of the United States, (E) any act which is 
        indictable under the Currency and Foreign Transactions 
        Reporting Act, (F) any act which is indictable under 
        the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 274 
        (relating to bringing in and harboring certain aliens), 
        section 277 (relating to aiding or assisting certain 
        aliens to enter the United States), or section 278 
        (relating to importation of alien for immoral purpose) 
        if the act indictable under such section of such Act 
        was committed for the purpose of financial gain, or (G) 
        any act that is indictable under any provision listed 
        in section 2332b(g)(5)(B);

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   CHAPTER 119--WIRE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS INTERCEPTION AND 
INTERCEPTION OF ORAL COMMUNICATIONS 

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 2516. Authorization for interception of wire, oral, or electronic 
                    communications

    (1) The Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, 
Associate Attorney General, or any Assistant Attorney General, 
any acting Assistant Attorney General, or any Deputy Assistant 
Attorney General or acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General in 
the Criminal Division or National Security Division specially 
designated by the Attorney General, may authorize an 
application to a Federal judge of competent jurisdiction for, 
and such judge may grant in conformity with section 2518 of 
this chapter an order authorizing or approving the interception 
of wire or oral communications by the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, or a Federal agency having responsibility for 
the investigation of the offense as to which the application is 
made, when such interception may provide or has provided 
evidence of--
          (a) any offense punishable by death or by 
        imprisonment for more than one year under sections 2122 
        and 2274 through 2277 of title 42 of the United States 
        Code (relating to the enforcement of the Atomic Energy 
        Act of 1954), section 2284 of title 42 of the United 
        States Code (relating to sabotage of nuclear facilities 
        or fuel), or under the following chapters of this 
        title: chapter 10 (relating to biological weapons) 
        chapter 37 (relating to espionage), chapter 55 
        (relating to kidnapping), chapter 90 (relating to 
        protection of trade secrets), chapter 105 (relating to 
        sabotage), chapter 115 (relating to treason), chapter 
        102 (relating to riots), chapter 65 (relating to 
        malicious mischief), chapter 111 (relating to 
        destruction of vessels), or chapter 81 (relating to 
        piracy);
          (b) a violation of section 186 or section 501(c) of 
        title 29, United States Code (dealing with restrictions 
        on payments and loans to labor organizations), or any 
        offense which involves murder, kidnapping, robbery, or 
        extortion, and which is punishable under this title;
          (c) any offense which is punishable under the 
        following sections of this title: section 37 (relating 
        to violence at international airports), section 43 
        (relating to animal enterprise terrorism), section 81 
        (arson within special maritime and territorial 
        jurisdiction), section 201 (bribery of public officials 
        and witnesses), section 215 (relating to bribery of 
        bank officials), section 224 (bribery in sporting 
        contests), section 641 (relating to embezzlement or 
        theft of public money, property, or records), section 
        666 (relating to theft or bribery concerning programs 
        receiving Federal funds), subsection (d), (e), (f), 
        (g), (h), or (i) of section 844 (unlawful use of 
        explosives), section 1032 (relating to concealment of 
        assets), section 1084 (transmission of wagering 
        information), section 751 (relating to escape), section 
        832 (relating to nuclear and weapons of mass 
        destruction threats), section 842 (relating to 
        explosive materials), section 930 (relating to 
        possession of weapons in Federal facilities), section 
        1014 (relating to loans and credit applications 
        generally; renewals and discounts), section 1114 
        (relating to officers and employees of the United 
        States), section 1116 (relating to protection of 
        foreign officials), sections 1503, 1512, and 1513 
        (influencing or injuring an officer, juror, or witness 
        generally), section 1510 (obstruction of criminal 
        investigations), section 1511 (obstruction of State or 
        local law enforcement), section 1591 (sex trafficking 
        of children by force, fraud, or coercion), section 1751 
        (Presidential and Presidential staff assassination, 
        kidnapping, and assault), section 1951 (interference 
        with commerce by threats or violence), section 1952 
        (interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid 
        of racketeering enterprises), section 1958 (relating to 
        use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission 
        of murder for hire), section 1959 (relating to violent 
        crimes in aid of racketeering activity), section 1954 
        (offer, acceptance, or solicitation to influence 
        operations of employee benefit plan), section 1955 
        (prohibition of business enterprises of gambling), 
        section 1956 (laundering of monetary instruments), 
        section 1957 (relating to engaging in monetary 
        transactions in property derived from specified 
        unlawful activity), section 659 (theft from interstate 
        shipment), section 664 (embezzlement from pension and 
        welfare funds), section 1343 (fraud by wire, radio, or 
        television), section 1344 (relating to bank fraud), 
        section 1992 (relating to terrorist attacks against 
        mass transportation), sections 2251 and 2252 (sexual 
        exploitation of children), section 2251A (selling or 
        buying of children), section 2252A (relating to 
        material constituting or containing child pornography), 
        section 1466A (relating to child obscenity), section 
        2260 (production of sexually explicit depictions of a 
        minor for importation into the United States), sections 
        2421, 2422, 2423, and 2425 (relating to transportation 
        for illegal sexual activity and related crimes), 
        sections 2312, 2313, 2314, and 2315 (interstate 
        transportation of stolen property), section 2321 
        (relating to trafficking in certain motor vehicles or 
        motor vehicle parts), section 2340A (relating to 
        torture), section 1203 (relating to hostage taking), 
        section 1029 (relating to fraud and related activity in 
        connection with access devices), section 3146 (relating 
        to penalty for failure to appear), section 3521(b)(3) 
        (relating to witness relocation and assistance), 
        section 32 (relating to destruction of aircraft or 
        aircraft facilities), section 38 (relating to aircraft 
        parts fraud), section 1963 (violations with respect to 
        racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations), 
        section 115 (relating to threatening or retaliating 
        against a Federal official), section 1341 (relating to 
        mail fraud), a felony violation of section 1030 
        (relating to computer fraud and abuse), section 351 
        (violations with respect to congressional, Cabinet, or 
        Supreme Court assassinations, kidnapping, and assault), 
        section 831 (relating to prohibited transactions 
        involving nuclear materials), section 33 (relating to 
        destruction of motor vehicles or motor vehicle 
        facilities), section 175 (relating to biological 
        weapons), section 175c (relating to variola virus), 
        section 956 (conspiracy to harm persons or property 
        overseas), a felony violation of section 1028 (relating 
        to production of false identification documentation), 
        section 1425 (relating to the procurement of 
        citizenship or nationalization unlawfully), section 
        1426 (relating to the reproduction of naturalization or 
        citizenship papers), section 1427 (relating to the sale 
        of naturalization or citizenship papers), section 1541 
        (relating to passport issuance without authority), 
        section 1542 (relating to false statements in passport 
        applications), section 1543 (relating to forgery or 
        false use of passports), section 1544 (relating to 
        misuse of passports), or section 1546 (relating to 
        fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other 
        documents);
          (d) any offense involving counterfeiting punishable 
        under section 471, 472, or 473 of this title;
          (e) any offense involving fraud connected with a case 
        under title 11 or the manufacture, importation, 
        receiving, concealment, buying, selling, or otherwise 
        dealing in narcotic drugs, marihuana, or other 
        dangerous drugs, punishable under any law of the United 
        States;
          (f) any offense including extortionate credit 
        transactions under sections 892, 893, or 894 of this 
        title;
          (g) a violation of section 5322 of title 31, United 
        States Code (dealing with the reporting of currency 
        transactions), or section 5324 of title 31, United 
        States Code (relating to structuring transactions to 
        evade reporting requirement prohibited);
          (h) any felony violation of sections 2511 and 2512 
        (relating to interception and disclosure of certain 
        communications and to certain intercepting devices) of 
        this title;
          (i) any felony violation of chapter 71 (relating to 
        obscenity) of this title;
          (j) any violation of section 60123(b) (relating to 
        destruction of a natural gas pipeline), section 46502 
        (relating to aircraft piracy), the second sentence of 
        section 46504 (relating to assault on a flight crew 
        with dangerous weapon), or section 46505(b)(3) or (c) 
        (relating to explosive or incendiary devices, or 
        endangerment of human life, by means of weapons on 
        aircraft) of title 49;
          (k) any criminal violation of section 2778 of title 
        22 (relating to the Arms Export Control Act);
          (l) the location of any fugitive from justice from an 
        offense described in this section;
          (m) a violation of section 274, 277, or 278 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324, 1327, 
        or 1328) (relating to the smuggling of aliens);
          (n) any felony violation of sections 922 and 924 of 
        title 18, United States Code (relating to firearms);
          (o) any violation of section 5861 of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to firearms);
          (p) a felony violation of section 1028 (relating to 
        production of false identification documents), section 
        1542 (relating to false statements in passport 
        applications), section 1546 (relating to fraud and 
        misuse of visas, permits, and other documents, section 
        1028A (relating to aggravated identity theft)) of this 
        title or a violation of section 274, 277, or 278 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (relating to the 
        smuggling of aliens); or
          (q) any criminal violation of section 229 (relating 
        to chemical weapons): or sections 2332, 2332a, 2332b, 
        2332d, 2332f, 2332g, 2332h, 2339, 2339A, 2339B, 2339C, 
        or 2339D of this title (relating to terrorism);
          (r) any criminal violation of section 1 (relating to 
        illegal restraints of trade or commerce), 2 (relating 
        to illegal monopolizing of trade or commerce), or 3 
        (relating to illegal restraints of trade or commerce in 
        territories or the District of Columbia) of the Sherman 
        Act (15 U.S.C. 1, 2, 3); or
          (s) any conspiracy to commit any offense described in 
        any subparagraph of this paragraph.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 211--JURISDICTION AND VENUE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 3237. [Offenses begun in one district and completed in another] 
                    Offense taking place in more than one district

    (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by enactment of 
Congress, any offense against the United States begun in one 
district and completed in another, or committed in more than 
one district, may be inquired of and prosecuted in any district 
in which such offense was begun, continued, or completed.
    Any offense involving the use of the mails, transportation 
in interstate or foreign commerce, or the importation of an 
object or person into the United States is a continuing offense 
and, except as otherwise expressly provided by enactment of 
Congress, may be inquired of and prosecuted in any district 
from, through, or into which such commerce, mail matter, or 
imported object or person moves or in any district in which an 
act in furtherance of the offense is committed.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 213--LIMITATIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 3299A. Corruption offenses

    Unless an indictment is returned or the information is 
returned or the information is filed against a person within 6 
years after the commission of the offense, a person may not be 
prosecuted, tried, or punished for a violation of, or a 
conspiracy or an attempt to violate the offense in--
          (1) section 201 or 666;
          (2) section 1341 or 1343, when charged in conjunction 
        with section 1346 and where the offense involves a 
        scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible 
        right of honest services of a public official;
          (3) section 1951, if the offense involves extortion 
        under color of official right;
          (4) section 1952, to the extent that the unlawful 
        activity involves bribery; or
          (5) section 1962, to the extent that the racketeering 
        activity involves bribery chargeable under State law, 
        involves a violation of section 201 or 666, section 
        1341 or 1343, when charged in conjunction with section 
        1346 and where the offense involves a scheme artifice 
        to deprive another of the intangible right of honest 
        services of a public official, or section 1951, if the 
        offense involves extortion under color of official 
        right.

                                  
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