II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1700

To reduce interstate street gang and organized crime activity, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 24, 1996

Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. KERRY, Mr. HARKIN, Mr.

REID, and Mr. D’AMATO) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To reduce interstate street gang and organized crime activity,

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 ‘‘Federal Gang Violence

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. INCREASE IN OFFENSE LEVEL FOR PARTICIPATION

7 IN CRIME AS GANG MEMBER.

8 (a) AMENDMENT OF SENTENCING GUIDELINES.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to its authority

10 under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code,
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1 the United States Sentencing Commission shall

2 amend chapter 3 of the Federal Sentencing Guide3 lines so that, except with respect to trafficking in co4 caine base, if a defendant was a member of a crimi5 nal street gang at the time of the offense, the of6 fense level is increased by 6 levels.

7 (2) CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER GUIDE8 LINES.—The amendment made pursuant to para9 graph (1) shall provide that the increase in the of10 fense level shall be in addition to any other adjust11 ment under chapter 3 of the Federal Sentencing

12 Guidelines.

13 (3) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section,

14 the term ‘‘criminal street gang’’ has the meaning

15 given that term in section 521(a) of title 18, United

16 States Code, as amended by section 3 of this Act.

17 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF TITLE 18 WITH RESPECT TO CRIMI18 NAL STREET GANGS.

19 Section 521 of title 18, United States Code, is

20 amended—

21 (1) in subsection (a)—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—’’ and

23 inserting ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of

24 this section the following definitions shall

25 apply:’’;
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘ ‘conviction’ ’’ and insert2 ing the following:

3 ‘‘(1) CONVICTION.—The term ‘conviction’ ’’;

4 (C) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by

5 striking ‘‘violent or controlled substances fel6 ony’’ and inserting ‘‘predicate gang crime’’; and

7 (D) by striking ‘‘ ‘criminal street gang’ ’’

8 and all that follows through the end of the sub9 section and inserting the following:

10 ‘‘(2) CRIMINAL STREET GANG.—The term

11 ‘criminal street gang’ means an ongoing group, club,

12 organization, or association of 3 or more persons,

13 whether formal or informal—

14 ‘‘(A) a primary activity of which is the

15 commission of 1 or more predicate gang crimes;

16 ‘‘(B) the members of which engage, or

17 have engaged during the 5-year period preced18 ing the date in question, in a pattern of crimi19 nal activity involving 1 or more predicate gang

20 crimes; and

21 ‘‘(C) the activities of which affect inter22 state or foreign commerce.

23 ‘‘(3) PATTERN OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.—The

24 term ‘pattern of criminal activity’ means the com25 mission of 2 or more predicate gang crimes—
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1 ‘‘(A) at least 1 of which was committed

2 after the date of enactment of the Federal

3 Gang Violence Act;

4 ‘‘(B) the last of which was committed not

5 later than 3 years after the commission of an6 other predicate gang crime; and

7 ‘‘(C) which were committed on separate oc8 casions.

9 ‘‘(4) PREDICATE GANG CRIME.—The term

10 ‘predicate gang crime’ means—

11 ‘‘(A) an offense described in subsection (c);

12 ‘‘(B) a State offense—

13 ‘‘(i) involving a controlled substance

14 (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled

15 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)) for which

16 the maximum penalty is imprisonment for

17 not less than 5 years; or

18 ‘‘(ii) that is a felony crime of violence

19 that has as an element the use or at20 tempted use of physical force against the

21 person of another;

22 ‘‘(C) any Federal or State felony offense

23 that by its nature involves a substantial risk

24 that physical force against the person of an-
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1 other may be used in the course of committing

2 the offense, including—

3 ‘‘(i) assault with a deadly weapon;

4 ‘‘(ii) homicide or manslaughter;

5 ‘‘(iii) shooting at an occupied dwelling

6 or motor vehicle;

7 ‘‘(iv) kidnapping;

8 ‘‘(v) carjacking;

9 ‘‘(vi) robbery;

10 ‘‘(vii) drive-by-shooting;

11 ‘‘(viii) tampering with or retaliating

12 against a witness, victim, informant, or

13 juror;

14 ‘‘(ix) rape;

15 ‘‘(x) mayhem;

16 ‘‘(xi) torture; and

17 ‘‘(xii) arson;

18 ‘‘(D) any Federal or State offense that

19 is—

20 ‘‘(i) grand theft;

21 ‘‘(ii) burglary;

22 ‘‘(iii) looting;

23 ‘‘(iv) felony extortion;

24 ‘‘(v) possessing a concealed weapon;

25 ‘‘(vi) grand theft auto;
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1 ‘‘(vii) money laundering

2 ‘‘(viii) felony vandalism;

3 ‘‘(ix) unlawful sale of a firearm; or

4 ‘‘(x) obstruction of justice; and

5 ‘‘(E) a conspiracy, attempt, or solicitation

6 to commit any offense described in subpara7 graphs (A) through (D).’’; and

8 (2) in subsection (d)—

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘continu10 ing series of offenses described in subsection

11 (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘pattern of criminal activ12 ity’’; and

13 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘years

14 for—’’ and all that follows through the end of

15 the paragraph and inserting ‘‘years for a predi16 cate gang crime.’’.

17 SEC. 4. INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN TRAVEL OR TRANSPOR18 TATION IN AID OF CRIMINAL STREET GANGS.

19 (a) TRAVEL ACT AMENDMENTS.—

20 (1) PROHIBITED CONDUCT AND PENALTIES.—

21 Section 1952(a) of title 18, United States Code, is

22 amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(a) Whoever travels in interstate or foreign com24 merce or uses the mail or any facility in interstate or for25 eign commerce, with intent to —
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1 ‘‘(1) distribute the proceeds of any unlawful ac2 tivity;

3 ‘‘(2) commit any crime of violence to further

4 any unlawful activity; or

5 ‘‘(3) otherwise promote, manage, establish,

6 carry on, or facilitate the promotion, management,

7 establishment, or carrying on, of any unlawful activ8 ity,

9 and thereafter performs, attempts to perform, or conspires

10 to perform—

11 ‘‘(A) an act described in paragraph (1) or

12 (3) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned

13 not more than 10 years, or both; ;or

14 ‘‘(B) an act described in paragraph (2)

15 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for

16 not more than 20 years, or both, and if death

17 results shall be sentenced to death or be impris18 oned for any term of years or for life.’’.

19 (2) UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES.—Section 1952(b)

20 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read

21 as follows:

22 ‘‘(b) As used in this section—

23 ‘‘(1) the term ‘unlawful activity’ means—

24 ‘‘(A) activity of a criminal street gang as

25 defined in section 521 of this title;
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1 ‘‘(B) any business enterprise involving

2 gambling, liquor on which the Federal excise

3 tax has not been paid, narcotics or controlled

4 substances (as defined in section 102(6) of the

5 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802(6)),

6 or prostitution offenses in violation of the laws

7 of the State in which the offense is committed

8 or of the United States.

9 ‘‘(C) extortion; bribery; arson; robbery;

10 burglary; assault with a deadly weapon; retalia11 tion against or intimidation of witnesses, vic12 tims, jurors, or informants; assault resulting in

13 bodily injury; possession or trafficking of stolen

14 property; trafficking in firearms; kidnapping;

15 alien smuggling; shooting at an occupied dwell16 ing or motor vehicle; or insurance fraud; in vio17 lation of the laws of the State in which the of18 fense is committed or of the United States; or

19 ‘‘(D) any act that is indictable under sub20 chapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United

21 States Code, or under section 1956 or 1957 of

22 this title; and

23 ‘‘(2) the term ‘State’ includes a State of the

24 United States, the District of Columbia, and any
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1 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United

2 States.’’.

3 (b) SENTENCING GUIDELINES.—Pursuant to its au4 thority under section 994(p) of titl3 28, United States

5 Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall

6 amend chapter 2 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines so

7 that—

8 (1) the base offense level for traveling in inter9 state or foreign commerce in aid of a street gang or

10 other racketeering enterprise is increased to 12; and

11 (2) the base offense level for the commission of

12 a violent crime in aid of a street gang or other rack13 eteering enterprise is increased to 24.

14 SEC. 5. SOLICITATION OR RECRUITMENT OF PERSONS IN

15 CRIMINAL GANG ACTIVITY.

16 (a) PROHIBITED ACTS.—Chapter 26 of title 18,

17 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

18 following new section:

19 ‘‘§ 522. Recruitment of persons to participate in

20 criminal gang activity

21 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITED ACT.—It shall be unlawful for any

22 person to—

23 ‘‘(1) use any facility of, or travel in, interstate

24 or foreign commerce, or cause another to do so, to

25 solicit, request, induce, counsel, command, cause, or
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1 facilitate the participation of, a person to participate

2 in a criminal street gang, or otherwise cause another

3 to do so, or conspire to do so; or

4 ‘‘(2) solicit, request, induce, counsel, command,

5 cause, or facilitate the participation of a person to

6 engage in crime for which such person may be pros7 ecuted in a court of the United States, or otherwise

8 cause another to do so, or conspire to do so.

9 ‘‘(b) PENALTIES.—A person who violates subsection

10 (a) shall—

11 ‘‘(1)(A) if the person is a minor, be imprisoned

12 for not less than 4 years and not more than 10

13 years, fined not more than $250,000, or both; or

14 ‘‘(B) if the person is not a minor, be impris15 oned for not less than 1 year and not more than 10

16 years, fined not more than $250,000, or both; and

17 ‘‘(2) be liable for any costs incurred by the

18 Federal Government or by any State or local govern19 ment for housing, maintaining, and treating the

20 minor until the minor reaches the age of 18.

21 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

22 ‘‘(1) the term ‘criminal street gang’ has the

23 same meaning given such term in section 521; and

24 ‘‘(2) the term ‘minor’ means a person who is

25 younger than 18 years of age.’’.
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1 (b) SENTENCING GUIDELINES.—Pursuant to its au2 thority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States

3 Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall

4 amend chapter 2 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines so

5 that the base offense level for recruitment of a minor to

6 participate in a gang activity is 12.

7 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

8 chapter 26 of title 18, United States Code, is amended

9 by adding at the end the following new item:

‘‘522. Recruitment of persons to participate in criminal gang activity.’’.

10 SEC. 6. CRIMES INVOLVING THE USE OF MINORS AS RICO

11 PREDICATES.

12 Section 1961(1) of title 18, United States Code, is

13 amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ before ‘‘(E)’’; and

15 (2) by inserting before the semicolon at the end

16 of the paragraph the following: ‘‘, or (F) any offense

17 against the United States that is punishable by im18 prisonment for more than 1 year and that involved

19 the use of a person under the age of 18 years in the

20 commission of the offense’’.

21 SEC. 7. TRANSFER OF FIREARMS TO MINORS FOR USE IN

22 CRIME.

23 Section 924(h) of title 18, United States Code, is

24 amended by striking ‘‘10 years, fined in accordance with

25 this title, or both’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years, and if the
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1 transferee is a person who is under 18 years of age, not

2 less than 3 years; fined under this title; or both’’.

3 SEC. 8. PENALTIES.

4 Section 924(a) of title 18, United States Code, is

5 amended—

6 (1) by redesignating paragraph (5), as added by

7 section 110201(b)(2) of the Violent Crime Control

8 and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, as paragraph

9 (6); and

10 (2) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated—

11 (A) by striking subparagraph (A);

12 (B) in subparagraph (B)—

13 (i) by striking ‘‘(B) A person other

14 than a juvenile who knowingly’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘(A) A person who knowingly’’;

16 (ii) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘1 year’’

17 and inserting ‘‘not less than 1 year and

18 not more than 5 years’’; and

19 (iii) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘not

20 less than 1 year and’’ after ‘‘imprisoned’’;

21 and

22 (C) by adding at the end the following new

23 subparagraph:
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1 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), no

2 mandatory minimum sentence shall apply to a juve3 nile who is less than 13 years of age.’’.

4 SEC. 9. THE JAMES GUELFF BODY ARMOR ACT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing new section:

8 ‘‘§ 931. Use of body armor in Federal offenses

9 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITED ACTIVITY.—It shall be unlawful to

10 use body armor in the commission of a Federal crime.

11 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall not apply if

12 the Federal crime in which the body armor is used con13 stitutes a violation of the civil rights of a person by a law

14 enforcement officer acting under color of the authority of

15 such law enforcement officer.

16 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

17 ‘‘(1) the term ‘body armor’ means any product

18 sold or offered for sale as personal protective body

19 covering intended to protect against gunfire, regard20 less of whether the product is to be worn alone or

21 is sold as a complement to another product or gar22 ment; and

23 ‘‘(2) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means

24 any officer, agent, or employee of the United States,

25 a State, or a political subdivision of a State, author-
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1 ized by law or by a government agency to engage in

2 or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation,

3 or prosecution of any violation of criminal law.

4 ‘‘(d) PENALTIES.—

5 ‘‘(1) IMPRISONMENT.—Whoever knowingly vio6 lates this section shall be imprisoned for a term of

7 2 years.

8 ‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION.—A sentence under this

9 paragraph shall be consecutive to any sentence im10 posed for the Federal crime in which the body armor

11 was used.’’.

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

13 chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended

14 by adding at the end the following new item:

‘‘931. Use of body armor in Federal offenses.’’.

15 SEC. 10. SERIOUS JUVENILE DRUG OFFENSES AS ARMED

16 CAREER CRIMINAL ACT PREDICATES.

17 Section 924(e)(2)(A) of title 18, United States Code,

18 is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (i);

20 (2) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (ii); and

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new

22 clause:

23 ‘‘(iii) any act of juvenile delinquency

24 that if committed by an adult would be an

25 offense described in clause (i) or (ii);’’.
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1 SEC. 11. INCREASE IN TIME LIMITS FOR JUVENILE

2 PROCEEDINGS.

3 Section 5036 of title 18, United States Code, is

4 amended by striking ‘‘thirty’’ and inserting ‘‘70’’.

5 SEC. 12. APPLYING RACKETEERING OFFENSES TO ALIEN

6 SMUGGLING AND FIREARMS OFFENSES.

7 Section 1961(1) of title 18, United States Code, as

8 amended by section 6 of this Act, is amended by inserting

9 before the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, (G) any

10 act, or conspiracy to commit any act, in violation of section

11 274(a)(1)(A), 277, or 278 of the Immigration and Nation12 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(A), 1327, or 1328), or (H)

13 any act or conspiracy to commit any act in violation of

14 chapter 44 of this title (relating to firearms)’’.

15 SEC. 13. USE OF LINGUISTS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall iden17 tify qualified translators who the Secretary shall make

18 available to assist Federal law enforcement agencies in

19 criminal investigations by monitoring legal wiretaps and

20 translating recorded conversations.

21 (b) EMPHASIS.—In carrying out subsection (a), the

22 Secretary of State shall place special emphasis on trans23 lators in States in which most criminal street gangs and

24 organized crime syndicates operate.
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1 SEC. 14. ADDITIONAL PROSECUTORS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000

3 for each of fiscal years 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001

4 for the hiring of additional Assistant United States Attor5 neys to prosecute violent youth gangs.

Æ