II 

Calendar No. 61 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 921 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to further protect officers and 

employees of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 23, 2021 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. COONS, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. COTTON, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. 

LEE, Mr. CRUZ, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Ms. CORTEZ

MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

MAY 20, 2021 

Reported by Mr. DURBIN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to further protect 

officers and employees of the United States, 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 ‘‘Jaime Zapata and Vic5 tor Avila Federal Law Enforcement Protection Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) since the founding of the Nation, officers 

4 and employees of the United States Government 

5 have dutifully and faithfully served the United 

6 States overseas, including in situations that place 

7 them at serious risk of death or bodily harm, in 

8 order to preserve, protect, and defend the interests 

9 of the United States; 

10 (2) securing the safety of such officers and em11 ployees while serving overseas is of paramount im12 portance and is also in furtherance of preserving, 

13 protecting, and defending the interests of the United 

14 States; 

15 (3) Federal courts, including the United States 

16 Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United 

17 States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and 

18 the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh 

19 Circuit, have correctly interpreted section 1114 of 

20 title 18, United States Code, to apply extraterritori21 ally to protect officers and employees of the United 

22 States while the officers and employees are serving 

23 abroad; 

24 (4) in a case involving a violent attack against 

25 Federal law enforcement officers Jaime Zapata and 

26 Victor Avila, a panel of a Federal court of appeals 


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1 held that section 1114 of title 18, United States 

2 Code, does not apply extraterritorially, creating a 

3 split among the United States circuit courts of ap4 peals; and 

5 (5) in light of the opinion described in para6 graph (4), it has become necessary for Congress to 

7 clarify the original intent that section 1114 of title 

8 18, United States Code, applies extraterritorially. 

9 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF 

10 THE UNITED STATES. 

11 Section 1114 of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

14 ‘‘Whoever’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(b) EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.—There is 

17 extraterritorial jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by 

18 this section.’’. 

19 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

20 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jaime Zapata and Vic21 tor Avila Federal Officers and Employees Protection Act’’. 

22 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

23 It is the sense of Congress that— 

24 (1) since the founding of the Nation, officers and 

25 employees of the United States Government have dutiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 May 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S921.RS S921

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1 fully and faithfully served the United States overseas, 

2 including in situations that place them at serious risk 

3 of death or bodily harm, in order to preserve, protect, 

4 and defend the interests of the United States; 

5 (2) securing the safety of such officers and em6 ployees while serving overseas is of paramount impor7 tance and is also in furtherance of preserving, pro8 tecting, and defending the interests of the United 

9 States; 

10 (3) Federal courts, including the United States 

11 Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the United 

12 States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the 

13 United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Cir14 cuit, have correctly interpreted section 1114 of title 

15 18, United States Code, to apply extraterritorially to 

16 protect officers and employees of the United States 

17 while the officers and employees are serving abroad; 

18 (4) in a case involving a violent attack against 

19 Federal law enforcement officers Jaime Zapata and 

20 Victor Avila, a panel of a Federal court of appeals 

21 held that section 1114 of title 18, United States Code, 

22 does not apply extraterritorially, creating a split 

23 among the United States circuit courts of appeals; 

24 (5) in light of the opinion described in para25 graph (4), it has become necessary for Congress to 


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1 clarify the original intent that section 1114 of title 

2 18, United States Code, applies extraterritorially; and 

3 (6) it is further appropriate to clarify the origi4 nal intent that sections 111 and 115 of title 18, 

5 United States Code, apply extraterritorially as well. 

6 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF 

7 THE UNITED STATES. 

8 Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in section 111, by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(c) EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.—There is 

12 extraterritorial jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by 

13 this section.’’; 

14 (2) in section 115, by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(e) There is extraterritorial jurisdiction over the con17 duct prohibited by this section.’’; and 

18 (3) in section 1114— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ be20 fore ‘‘Whoever’’; and 

21 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(b) EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.—There is 

23 extraterritorial jurisdiction over the conduct prohibited by 

24 this section.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 61 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 921 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to further 

States, and for other purposes. protect officers and employees of the United 

MAY 20, 2021 

Reported with an amendment 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS