[House Report 112-9]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                      112-9

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



 
    FEDERAL RESTRICTED BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2011

                                _______
                                

 February 11, 2011.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

       Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 347]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 347) to correct and simplify the drafting of section 
1752 (relating to restricted buildings or grounds) of title 18, 
United States Code, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     4
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     4
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................     4
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     4

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 347, the ``Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds 
Improvement Act of 2011,'' amends Section 1752 of Title 18, 
United States Code, to make improvements to an existing 
criminal provision that prohibits the unlawful breach of 
certain Federal buildings and grounds.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    The United States Secret Service provides protective 
services to the President, the First Family, the Vice 
President, former Presidents, visiting heads of state, and 
others. This protection covers not only the White House and its 
grounds but also any where a protectee may be temporarily 
visiting. The Secret Service also provides protection at events 
designated as ``a special event of national significance.''
    Current law prohibits unlawful entries upon any restricted 
building or ground where the President, Vice President or other 
protectee is temporarily visiting. However, there is no Federal 
law that expressly prohibits unlawful entry to the White House 
and its grounds or the Vice President's residence and its 
grounds.
    The Secret Service must therefore rely upon a provision in 
the District of Columbia Code, which addresses only minor 
misdemeanor infractions, when someone attempts to or 
successfully trespasses upon the grounds of the White House or 
Vice President's residence or, worse, breaches the White House 
or Vice President's residence itself.
    H.R. 347 remedies this problem by specifically including 
the White House, the Vice President's residence, and their 
respective grounds in the definition of restricted buildings 
and grounds for purposes of Section 1752.
    The bill also clarifies that the penalties in Section 1752 
of title 18 apply to those who knowingly enter or remain in any 
restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do 
so. Current law does not include this important element. The 
bill makes other technical improvements to the existing law. In 
the 111th Congress, the House approved similar legislation 
(H.R. 2780) by voice vote on July 27, 2010.

                                Hearings

    The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 
347.

                        Committee Consideration

    On January 26, 2011, the Committee met in open session and 
ordered the bill H.R. 347 favorably reported without amendment, 
by voice vote, a quorum being present.

                            Committee Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there 
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of 
H.R. 347.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does 
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax 
expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with 
respect to the bill, H.R. 347, the following estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, February 2, 2011.
Hon. Lamar Smith, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 347, the ``Federal 
Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011.''
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                      Douglas W. Elmendorf,
                                                  Director.

Enclosure

cc:
        Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
        Ranking Member
H.R. 347--Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 
        2011.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 347 would have no 
significant cost to the Federal Government. The legislation 
could affect direct spending and revenues, so pay-as-you-go 
procedures apply, but we estimate that any such effects would 
not be significant.
    H.R. 347 would modify and expand the current laws that 
prohibit access to certain Federal property. Thus, the 
government might be able to pursue cases against violators that 
it otherwise would not be able to prosecute. However, CBO 
expects that H.R. 347 would apply to a relatively small number 
of offenders, so any increase in costs for law enforcement, 
court proceedings, or prison operations would not be 
significant. Any such costs would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    Because those prosecuted and convicted under H.R. 347 could 
be subject to criminal fines, the Federal Government might 
collect additional amounts if the legislation is enacted. 
Criminal fines are recorded as revenues, deposited in the Crime 
Victims Fund, and later spent. CBO estimates that any 
additional revenues and direct spending would not be 
significant because of the small number of cases likely to be 
affected.
    H.R. 347 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of State, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. 
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 
347 provides increased protection to the President of the 
United States, the First Family, the Vice President of the 
United States, and other Secret Service protectees.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    The Committee finds the authority for this legislation in 
article I, section 8, clause 1 of the Constitution.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 347 does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1. Short Title. This section cites the short title 
of the bill as the ``Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds 
Improvement Act of 2010.''
    Section 2. Restricted Buildings or Grounds. This section 
amends Section 1752 of Title 18, United States Code, to revise 
the prohibition against entering restricted Federal buildings 
or grounds to impose criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly 
enters any restricted building or grounds without lawful 
authority. It defines ``restricted buildings or grounds'' as a 
posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area: (1) of the 
White House or its grounds, or the Vice President's official 
residence or its grounds; (2) of a building or grounds where 
the President or other person protected by the Secret Service 
is or will be temporarily visiting; or (3) of a building or 
grounds so restricted due to an special event of national 
significance.
    Section 3. Paygo Compliance. This section provides for 
compliance of the budgetary effects of this Act with the 
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change 
is proposed is shown in roman):

                      TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE

PART I--CRIMES

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


    CHAPTER 84--PRESIDENTIAL AND PRESIDENTIAL STAFF ASSASSINATION, 
KIDNAPPING, AND ASSAULT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


[Sec. 1752. Restricted building or grounds

  [(a) It shall be unlawful for any person or group of 
persons--
          [(1) willfully and knowingly to enter or remain in 
        any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area 
        of a building or grounds where the President or other 
        person protected by the Secret Service is or will be 
        temporarily visiting;
          [(2) willfully and knowingly to enter or remain in 
        any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area 
        of a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction 
        with an event designated as a special event of national 
        significance;
          [(3) willfully, knowingly, and with intent to impede 
        or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business 
        or official functions, to engage in disorderly or 
        disruptive conduct in, or within such proximity to, any 
        building or grounds described in paragraph (1) or (2) 
        when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or 
        disrupts the orderly conduct of Government business or 
        official functions;
          [(4) willfully and knowingly to obstruct or impede 
        ingress or egress to or from any building, grounds, or 
        area described in paragraph (1) or (2); or
          [(5) willfully and knowingly to engage in any act of 
        physical violence against any person or property in any 
        building, grounds, or area described in paragraph (1) 
        or (2).
  [(b) Violation of this section, and attempts or conspiracies 
to commit such violations, shall be punishable by--
          [(1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not 
        more than 10 years, or both, if--
                  [(A) the person, during and in relation to 
                the offense, uses or carries a deadly or 
                dangerous weapon or firearm; or
                  [(B) the offense results in significant 
                bodily injury as defined by section 2118(e)(3); 
                and
          [(2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not 
        more than one year, or both, in any other case.
  [(c) Violation of this section, and attempts or conspiracies 
to commit such violations, shall be prosecuted by the United 
States attorney in the Federal district court having 
jurisdiction of the place where the offense occurred.
  [(d) None of the laws of the United States or of the several 
States and the District of Columbia shall be superseded by this 
section.
  [(e) As used in this section, the term ``other person 
protected by the Secret Service'' means any person whom the 
United States Secret Service is authorized to protect under 
section 3056 of this title when such person has not declined 
such protection.]

Sec. 1752. Restricted buildings or grounds

  (a) Whoever--
          (1) knowingly enters or remains in any restricted 
        building or grounds without lawful authority to do so;
          (2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt 
        the orderly conduct of Government business or official 
        functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct 
        in, or within such proximity to, any restricted 
        building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in 
        fact, impedes or disrupts the orderly conduct of 
        Government business or official functions;
          (3) knowingly, and with the intent to impede or 
        disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or 
        official functions, obstructs or impedes ingress or 
        egress to or from any restricted building or grounds; 
        or
          (4) knowingly engages in any act of physical violence 
        against any person or property in any restricted 
        building or grounds;
or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished as 
provided in subsection (b).
  (b) The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) is--
          (1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not 
        more than 10 years, or both, if--
                  (A) any person, during and in relation to the 
                offense, uses or carries a deadly or dangerous 
                weapon or firearm; or
                  (B) the offense results in significant bodily 
                injury as defined by section 2118(e)(3); and
          (2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not 
        more than one year, or both, in any other case.
  (c) In this section--
          (1) the term ``restricted buildings or grounds'' 
        means any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted 
        area--
                  (A) of the White House or its grounds, or the 
                Vice President's official residence or its 
                grounds;
                  (B) of a building or grounds where the 
                President or other person protected by the 
                Secret Service is or will be temporarily 
                visiting; or
                  (C) of a building or grounds so restricted in 
                conjunction with an event designated as a 
                special event of national significance; and
          (2) the term ``other person protected by the Secret 
        Service'' means any person whom the United States 
        Secret Service is authorized to protect under section 
        3056 of this title when such person has not declined 
        such protection.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  
