[116th Congress Public Law 309]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[[Page 4921]]
STRENGTHENING THE OPPOSITION TO FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION ACT OF 2020
[[Page 134 STAT. 4922]]
Public Law 116-309
116th Congress
An Act
To amend title 18, United States Code, to clarify the criminalization of
female genital mutilation, and for other purposes. <<NOTE: Jan. 5,
2021 - [H.R. 6100]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Strengthening
the Opposition to Female Genital Mutilation Act of 2020. 18 USC 1
note.>>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening the Opposition to
Female Genital Mutilation Act of 2020'' or the ``STOP FGM Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 18 USC 116 note.>> CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND
PURPOSE.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Female genital mutilation is recognized internationally
as a human rights violation and a form of child abuse, gender
discrimination, and violence against women and girls. Female
genital mutilation is a global problem whose eradication
requires international cooperation and enforcement at the
national level. The United States should demonstrate its
commitment to the rights of women and girls by leading the way
in the international community in banning this abhorrent
practice.
(2) Congress has previously prohibited the commission of
female genital mutilation on minors. Female genital mutilation
is a heinous practice that often inflicts excruciating pain on
its victims and causes them to suffer grave physical and
psychological harm.
(3) Congress has the power under article I, section 8 of the
Constitution to make all laws which shall be necessary and
proper for carrying into execution treaties entered into by the
United States.
(4) Congress also has the power under the Commerce Clause to
prohibit female genital mutilation. An international market for
the practice exists, and persons who perform female genital
mutilation in other countries typically earn a living from doing
so.
(5) Those who perform this conduct often rely on a
connection to interstate or foreign commerce, such as interstate
or foreign travel, the transmission or receipt of communications
in interstate or foreign commerce, the use of instruments traded
in interstate or foreign commerce, or payments of any kind in
furtherance of this conduct.
(6) Amending the statute to specify a link to interstate or
foreign commerce would confirm that Congress has the affirmative
power to prohibit this conduct.
[[Page 134 STAT. 4923]]
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO CURRENT LAW ON FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION.
Section 116 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
``(a) <<NOTE: Penalty.>> Except as provided in subsection (b),
whoever, in any circumstance described in subsection (d), knowingly--
``(1) performs, attempts to perform, or conspires to perform
female genital mutilation on another person who has not attained
the age of 18 years;
``(2) being the parent, guardian, or caretaker of a person
who has not attained the age of 18 years facilitates or consents
to the female genital mutilation of such person; or
``(3) transports a person who has not attained the age of 18
years for the purpose of the performance of female genital
mutilation on such person,
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or
both.'';
(2) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
``(c) It shall not be a defense to a prosecution under this section
that female genital mutilation is required as a matter of religion,
custom, tradition, ritual, or standard practice.'';
(3) by striking subsection (d); and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) For the purposes of subsection (a), the circumstances
described in this subsection are that--
``(1) the defendant or victim traveled in interstate or
foreign commerce, or traveled using a means, channel, facility,
or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, in
furtherance of or in connection with the conduct described in
subsection (a);
``(2) the defendant used a means, channel, facility, or
instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in furtherance
of or in connection with the conduct described in subsection
(a);
``(3) any payment of any kind was made, directly or
indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with the conduct
described in subsection (a) using any means, channel, facility,
or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce or in or
affecting interstate or foreign commerce;
``(4) the defendant transmitted in interstate or foreign
commerce any communication relating to or in furtherance of the
conduct described in subsection (a) using any means, channel,
facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce
or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means
or in manner, including by computer, mail, wire, or
electromagnetic transmission;
``(5) any instrument, item, substance, or other object that
has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce was used to
perform the conduct described in subsection (a);
``(6) the conduct described in subsection (a) occurred
within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the
United States, or any territory or possession of the United
States; or
``(7) the conduct described in subsection (a) otherwise
occurred in or affected interstate or foreign commerce.
``(e) <<NOTE: Definition.>> For purposes of this section, the term
`female genital mutilation' means any procedure performed for non-
medical reasons
[[Page 134 STAT. 4924]]
that involves partial or total removal of, or other injury to, the
external female genitalia, and includes--
``(1) a clitoridectomy or the partial or total removal of
the clitoris or the prepuce or clitoral hood;
``(2) excision or the partial or total removal (with or
without excision of the clitoris) of the labia minora or the
labia majora, or both;
``(3) infibulation or the narrowing of the vaginal opening
(with or without excision of the clitoris); or
``(4) other procedures that are harmful to the external
female genitalia, including pricking, incising, scraping, or
cauterizing the genital area.''.
SEC. 4. <<NOTE: Consultation. 34 USC 41312.>> REPORT.
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
and annually thereafter, the Attorney General, in consultation with the
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Education, shall submit
to Congress a report that includes--
(1) <<NOTE: Estimate.>> an estimate of the number of women
and girls in the United States at risk of or who have been
subjected to female genital mutilation;
(2) the protections available and actions taken, if any, by
Federal, State, and local agencies to protect such women and
girls; and
(3) the actions taken by Federal agencies to educate and
assist communities and key stakeholders about female genital
mutilation.
SEC. 5. <<NOTE: 18 USC 116 note.>> SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Michigan erred in invalidating the
prior version of such section 116 (See United States v. Nagarwala, 350
F. Supp. 3d 613, 631 (E.D. Mich. 2018)). The commercial nature of female
genital mutilation (hereinafter in this section referred to as ``FGM'')
is ``self-evident,'' meaning that the ``absence of particularized
findings'' about the commercial nature of FGM in the predecessor statute
did not ``call into question Congress's authority to legislate''
(Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1, 21 (2005)). Nevertheless, the Congress
has elected to amend the FGM statute to clarify the commercial nature of
the conduct that this statute regulates. But, by doing so, Congress does
not hereby ratify the district court's erroneous interpretation in
Nagarwala.
SEC. 6. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with
the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the
[[Page 134 STAT. 4925]]
Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee,
provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on
passage.
Approved January 5, 2021.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 6100:
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HOUSE REPORTS: No. 116-506 (Comm. on the Judiciary).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 166 (2020):
Sept. 21, considered and passed House.
Dec. 15, considered and passed Senate.
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