I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3520

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide increased penalties for

damaging Federal property by fire, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 16, 1993

Mr. COX (for himself, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. BAKER of California, Mr.

HUFFINGTON, Mr. MOORHEAD, Mr. HERGER, Mr. HORN, Mr. ROYCE,

Mr. LEWIS of California, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. PACKARD, Mr.

CUNNINGHAM, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. HUNTER, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. DREIER, Mr. KIM, Mr. POMBO, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. DORNAN,

Mr. THOMAS of California, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. MCCANDLESS, and

Mr. WELDON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide increased

penalties for damaging Federal property by fire, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arson Prevention and

5 National Forest Protection Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) billions of dollars of damage will have oc2 curred this year as a result of arson, particularly in

3 California;

4 (2) uninsured losses from California’s fire dis5 aster will place hugh demands on the Federal treas6 ury, which our already strapped budget can ill af7 ford;

8 (3) unless Congress takes tough action against

9 arson, taxpayers across America will continue to be

10 threatened;

11 (4) arson is an enormously serious and costly

12 problem in both rural and urban areas, and is re13 sponsible for approximately 25 percent of all fires in

14 the United States;

15 (5) arson is a leading cause of fire deaths, ac16 counting for approximately 700 deaths annually in

17 the United States;

18 (6) arson is the leading cause of property dam19 age due to fire in the United States and estimates

20 of arson property loss exceed $2,000,000,000 annu21 ally, or approximately 1 of every 4 dollars lost to

22 fire;

23 (7) while arson is a heinous crime against hu24 manity and nature, current Federal law provides
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1 that the maximum prison sentence for most arson is

2 only 5 years; and

3 (8) in light of the spectacular television cov4 erage of the 1993 California fires, increased pen5 alties for arson are necessary to protect against

6 ‘‘copycat’’ miscreants in search of morbid glory.

7 SEC. 3. INCREASED PENALTIES.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title 18, United

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow10 ing:

11 ‘‘§ 82. Penalties for arson

12 ‘‘(a) Whoever, with intent to cause damage to or de13 stroy personal or real property, intentionally and mali14 ciously causes, or attempts to cause, a fire, shall, if such

15 fire damages or destroys personal or real property in whole

16 or in part owned, possessed, or used by, or leased to, the

17 United States, or any department or agency thereof, be

18 fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20

19 years, or both, except as provided in subsection (b) of this

20 section.

21 ‘‘(b) If a circumstance exists that is listed below, the

22 punishment for an offense under this subsection shall be

23 increased so that the maximum penalties are as follows:
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1 ‘‘(1) If a dwelling is destroyed as a result of the

2 offense, a fine under this title or imprisonment for

3 not more than 25 years, or both.

4 ‘‘(2) If the life of any person is placed in jeop5 ardy as a result of the offense, a fine under this title

6 or imprisonment for not more than 30 years, or

7 both.

8 ‘‘(3) If personal injury results, a fine under this

9 title and imprisonment for not less than 20 nor

10 more than 40 years.

11 ‘‘(4) If the death of any person results—

12 ‘‘(A) a fine under this title and imprison13 ment for any term of years greater than 25 (or

14 imprisonment for life); and

15 ‘‘(B) the death penalty as provided in sec16 tion 34 of this title.’’.

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

18 at the beginning of chapter 5 of title 18, United States

19 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new

20 item:

‘‘82. Penalties for arson.’’.

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