TAAR Act

Summary: Terrorism Art and Antiquity Revenue Prevention Act of 2016 or the TAAR Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the transportation, sale, or receipt of certain cultural property that has been removed or excavated in violation of local law.  Department of Homeland Security&nbsp;must&nbsp;establish an inventory database system for cultural property of Iraq or Syria that legally enters the United States.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Terrorism Art and Antiquity Revenue 
Prevention Act of 2016'' or the ``TAAR Act''.

SEC. 2. STOLEN CULTURAL PROPERTY.

    Chapter 113 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in section 2314--
                    (A) in the first undesignated paragraph, by 
                inserting ``, or cultural property of the value of $50 
                or more'' after ``$5,000 or more'';
                    (B) in the second undesignated paragraph, by 
                inserting ``, or cultural property of the value of $50 
                or more'' after ``$5,000 or more'';
                    (C) in the ninth undesignated paragraph--
                            (i) by striking ``section the term'' and 
                        inserting the following: ``section--
            ``(A) the term `cultural property' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 302 of the Convention on Cultural Property 
        Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601); and
            ``(B) the term''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
    ``For purposes of an offense under this section, cultural property 
that has been removed or excavated in violation of local law shall be 
considered to be stolen.''; and
            (2) in section 2315--
                    (A) in the first undesignated paragraph, by 
                inserting ``, or cultural property of the value of $50 
                or more'' after ``$500 or more'';
                    (B) by striking the seventh undesignated paragraph 
                and inserting the following:
    ``For purposes of this section--
            ``(A) the term `cultural property' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 302 of the Convention on Cultural Property 
        Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601);
            ``(B) the term `State' includes a State of the United 
        States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, 
        territory, or possession of the United States; and
            ``(C) the term `veterans' memorial object' means a grave 
        marker, headstone, monument, or other object, intended to 
        permanently honor a veteran or mark a veteran's grave, or any 
        monument that signifies an event of national military 
        historical significance.''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
    ``For purposes of an offense under this section, cultural property 
that has been removed or excavated in violation of local law shall be 
considered to be stolen.''.

SEC. 3. INVENTORY DATABASE SYSTEM FOR CULTURAL PROPERTY OF IRAQ OR 
              SYRIA LEGALLY ENTERING THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Working Group.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce, working through 
        the Under Secretary for Standards and Technology and in 
        consultation with the heads of the agencies specified in 
        paragraph (2) and experts with respect to cultural property 
        from academia, industry, and nongovernmental organizations, 
        shall establish a scientific working group--
                    (A) to identify the data elements necessary to 
                accurately characterize and identify cultural property 
                of Iraq or Syria legally entering the United States, 
                for the purpose of establishing an inventory database 
                system for such cultural property; and
                    (B) to evaluate options for cost-effective, 
                physical or virtual labeling of such cultural property.
            (2) Agencies specified.--The agencies specified in this 
        paragraph are the following:
                    (A) The Department of Justice.
                    (B) The Department of the Treasury.
                    (C) The Department of Homeland Security.
                    (D) Such other Federal agencies as the Secretary of 
                Commerce considers appropriate.
    (b) Establishment of Inventory Database System.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
        consultation with the heads of the agencies specified in 
        paragraph (2) and experts with respect to cultural property 
        from academia, industry, and nongovernmental organizations, 
        shall develop and implement the inventory database system 
        described in subsection (a)(1)(A).
            (2) Agencies specified.--The agencies specified in this 
        paragraph are the following:
                    (A) The Department of Justice.
                    (B) The Department of the Treasury.
                    (C) The Department of Commerce, working through the 
                Under Secretary for Standards and Technology.
                    (D) Such other Federal agencies as the Secretary of 
                Commerce considers appropriate.
            (3) Requirements.--The inventory database system 
        established under paragraph (1) shall require that any person 
        that seeks to import cultural property of Syria or Iraq into 
        the United States, or to sell such property or provide such 
        property as a gift in the United States, provide to the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security information, with supporting 
        documentation, on the provenance of the property that includes, 
        at a minimum, when and where the property was obtained and such 
        other information as the Secretary of Commerce and the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security consider appropriate.
    (c) Documenting Cultural Property Transactions.--The Secretary of 
Homeland Security, in consultation with the heads of the agencies 
specified in subsection (b)(2), shall--
            (1) develop regulations to require dealers of cultural 
        property to document and report information on transactions in 
        cultural property of Iraq or Syria, such as the chain of 
        custody;
            (2) work with participants in international art and 
        cultural property markets to develop a Federal Government 
        database with information on cultural property that includes--
                    (A) information on provenance and prior ownership; 
                and
                    (B) warnings for specific cultural property, 
                buyers, sellers, appraisers, or other actors with a 
                history of conducting illegal trade in cultural 
                property; and
            (3) consider providing participants in international art 
        and cultural property markets with access to the database 
        developed under paragraph (2).
    (d) Cultural Property Defined.--In this section, the term 
``cultural property'' has the meaning given that term in section 302 of 
the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 
2601).