II 

Calendar No. 119 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 401 

To help Federal prosecutors and investigators combat public corruption by 

strengthening and clarifying the law. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 17, 2011 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. KIRK, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

JULY 28, 2011 

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To help Federal prosecutors and investigators combat public 

corruption by strengthening and clarifying the law. 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Corruption 

3 Prosecution Improvements Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR SE2 RIOUS PUBLIC CORRUPTION OFFENSES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 213 of title 18, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 3299A. Corruption offenses 

7 ‘‘Unless an indictment is returned or the information 

8 is filed against a person within 6 years after the commis9 sion of the offense, a person may not be prosecuted, tried, 

10 or punished for a violation of, or a conspiracy or an at11 tempt to violate the offense in— 

12 ‘‘(1) section 201 or 666; 

13 ‘‘(2) section 1341 or 1343, when charged in 

14 conjunction with section 1346 and where the offense 

15 involves a scheme or artifice to deprive another of 

16 the intangible right of honest services of a public of17 ficial; 

18 ‘‘(3) section 1951, if the offense involves extor19 tion under color of official right; 

20 ‘‘(4) section 1952, to the extent that the unlaw21 ful activity involves bribery; or 

22 ‘‘(5) section 1962, to the extent that the racket23 eering activity involves bribery chargeable under 

24 State law, involves a violation of section 201 or 666, 

25 section 1341 or 1343, when charged in conjunction 

26 with section 1346 and where the offense involves a 


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1 scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intan2 gible right of honest services of a public official, or 

3 section 1951, if the offense involves extortion under 

4 color of official right.’’. 

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

6 at the beginning of chapter 213 of title 18, United States 

7 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘3299A. Corruption offenses.’’. 

8 (c) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENT.—The amend9 ments made by this section shall not apply to any offense 

10 committed before the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF MAIL AND WIRE FRAUD STATUTES 

12 TO LICENCES AND OTHER INTANGIBLE 

13 RIGHTS. 

14 Sections 1341 and 1343 of title 18, United States 

15 Code, are each amended by striking ‘‘money or property’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘money, property, or any other thing of 

17 value’’. 

18 SEC. 4. VENUE FOR FEDERAL OFFENSES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The second undesignated para20 graph of section 3237(a) of title 18, United States Code, 

21 is amended by adding before the period at the end the 

22 following: ‘‘or in any district in which an act in further23 ance of the offense is committed’’. 


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1 (b) SECTION HEADING.—The heading for section 

2 3237 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read 

3 as follows: 

4 ‘‘§ 3237. Offense taking place in more than one dis5 trict’’. 

6 (c) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections at 

7 the beginning of chapter 211 of title 18, United States 

8 Code, is amended so that the item relating to section 3237 

9 reads as follows: 

‘‘3237. Offense taking place in more than one district.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. THEFT OR BRIBERY CONCERNING PROGRAMS RE11 CEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 

12 Section 666 of title 18, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by— 

16 (i) striking ‘‘anything of value’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘any thing or things of value’’; 

18 and 

19 (ii) striking ‘‘of $5,000 or more’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘of $1,000 or more’’; 

21 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(2) corruptly gives, offers, or agrees to give 

24 any thing or things of value to any person, with in25 tent to influence or reward an agent of an organizaVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:45 Sep 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S401.RS S401

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1 tion or of a State, local or Indian tribal government, 

2 or any agency thereof, in connection with any busi3 ness, transaction, or series of transactions of such 

4 organization, government, or agency involving any5 thing of value of $1,000 or more;’’; and 

6 (C) in the matter following paragraph (2), 

7 by striking ‘‘ten years’’ and inserting ‘‘15 

8 years’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (c)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘This section does not 

11 apply to’’; and 

12 (B) by inserting before ‘‘bona fide salary’’ 

13 the following: ‘‘The term ‘anything of value’ 

14 that is corruptly solicited, demanded, accepted 

15 or agreed to be accepted in subsection (a)(1)(B) 

16 or corruptly given, offered, or agreed to be 

17 given in subsection (a)(2) shall not include’’. 

18 SEC. 6. PENALTY FOR SECTION 641 VIOLATIONS. 

19 Section 641 of title 18, United States Code, is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘ten years’’ and inserting ‘‘15 

21 years’’. 

22 SEC. 7. PENALTY FOR SECTION 201(B) VIOLATIONS. 

23 Section 201(b) of title 18, United States Code, is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘fifteen years’’ and inserting ‘‘20 

25 years’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. INCREASE OF MAXIMUM PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN 

2 PUBLIC CORRUPTION RELATED OFFENSES. 

3 (a) SOLICITATION OF POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

4 Section 602(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

5 by striking ‘‘three years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’. 

6 (b) PROMISE OF EMPLOYMENT FOR POLITICAL AC7 TIVITY.—Section 600 of title 18, United States Code, is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘one year’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’. 

9 (c) DEPRIVATION OF EMPLOYMENT FOR POLITICAL

10 ACTIVITY.—Section 601(a) of title 18, United States 

11 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘one year’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘10 years’’. 

13 (d) INTIMIDATION TO SECURE POLITICAL CON14 TRIBUTIONS.—Section 606 of title 18, United States 

15 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘three years’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘10 years’’. 

17 (e) SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRIBU18 TIONS IN FEDERAL OFFICES.—Section 607(a)(2) of title 

19 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘3 years’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘10 years’’. 

21 (f) COERCION OF POLITICAL ACTIVITY BY FEDERAL

22 EMPLOYEES.—Section 610 of title 18, United States 

23 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘three years’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘10 years’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. ADDITION OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO THEFT OF 

2 PUBLIC MONEY OFFENSE. 

3 Section 641 of title 18, United States Code, is 

4 amended by inserting ‘‘the District of Columbia or’’ before 

5 ‘‘the United States’’ each place that term appears. 

6 SEC. 10. ADDITIONAL RICO PREDICATES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1961(1) of title 18, 

8 United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘section 641 (relating to em10 bezzlement or theft of public money, property, or 

11 records),’’ after ‘‘473 (relating to counterfeiting),’’; 

12 and 

13 (2) by inserting ‘‘section 666 (relating to theft 

14 or bribery concerning programs receiving Federal 

15 funds),’’ after ‘‘section 664 (relating to embezzle16 ment from pension and welfare funds),’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

18 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 18, United States Code, is amend19 ed— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘section 641 (relating to public 

21 money, property, or records),’’; and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘section 666 (relating to theft 

23 or bribery concerning programs receiving Federal 

24 funds),’’. 


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1 SEC. 11. ADDITIONAL WIRETAP PREDICATES. 

2 Section 2516(1)(c) of title 18, United States Code, 

3 is amended by inserting ‘‘section 641 (relating to embez4 zlement or theft of public money, property, or records), 

5 section 666 (relating to theft or bribery concerning pro6 grams receiving Federal funds),’’ after ‘‘section 224 (brib7 ery in sporting contests),’’. 

8 SEC. 12. CLARIFICATION OF CRIME OF ILLEGAL GRATU9 ITIES. 

10 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 201(a) of title 18, United 

11 States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

13 the semicolon; 

14 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and 

15 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (3) by inserting at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) the term ‘rule or regulation’ means a Fed18 eral regulation or a rule of the House of Representa19 tives and the Senate, including those rules and regu20 lations governing the acceptance of campaign con21 tributions.’’. 

22 (b) CLARIFICATION.—Section 201(c)(1) of title 18, 

23 United States Code, is amended— 

24 (1) by striking the matter before subparagraph 

25 (A) and inserting ‘‘otherwise than as provided by 


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1 law for the proper discharge of official duty, or by 

2 rule or regulation—’’; 

3 (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after ‘‘, 

4 or person selected to be a public official,’’ the fol5 lowing: ‘‘for or because of the official’s or person’s 

6 official position, or for or because of any official act 

7 performed or to be performed by such public official, 

8 former public official, or person selected to be a pub9 lic official’’; and 

10 (3) in subparagraph (B)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘otherwise than as pro12 vided by law for the proper discharge of official 

13 duty,’’; and 

14 (B) by striking all after ‘‘anything of value 

15 personally’’ and inserting ‘‘for or because of the 

16 official’s or person’s official position, or for or 

17 because of any official act performed or to be 

18 performed by such official or person;’’. 

19 SEC. 13. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF OFFICIAL ACT. 

20 Section 201(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code, is 

21 amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(3) the term ‘official act’ means any action 

23 within the range of official duty, and any decision or 

24 action on any question, matter, cause, suit, pro25 ceeding or controversy, which may at any time be 


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1 pending, or which may by law be brought before any 

2 public official, in such public official’s official capac3 ity or in such official’s place of trust or profit. An 

4 official act can be a single act, more than one act, 

5 or a course of conduct.’’. 

6 SEC. 14. CLARIFICATION OF COURSE OF CONDUCT BRIB7 ERY. 

8 Section 201 of title 18, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘anything of 

11 value’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘any 

12 thing or things of value’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘anything of 

14 value’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘any 

15 thing or things of value’’. 

16 SEC. 15. EXPANDING VENUE FOR PERJURY AND OBSTRUC17 TION OF JUSTICE PROCEEDINGS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1512(i) of title 18, United 

19 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(i) A prosecution under section 1503, 1504, 1505, 

21 1508, 1509, 1510, or this section may be brought in the 

22 district in which the conduct constituting the alleged of23 fense occurred or in which the official proceeding (whether 

24 or not pending or about to be instituted) was intended 

25 to be affected.’’. 


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1 (b) PERJURY.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 79 of title 18, 

3 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 1624. Venue 

6 ‘‘A prosecution under section 1621(1), 1622 (in re7 gard to subornation of perjury under 1621(1)), or 1623 

8 of this title may be brought in the district in which the 

9 oath, declaration, certificate, verification, or statement 

10 under penalty of perjury is made or in which a proceeding 

11 takes place in connection with the oath, declaration, cer12 tificate, verification, or statement.’’. 

13 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec14 tions at the beginning of chapter 79 of title 18, 

15 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

‘‘1624. Venue.’’. 

17 SEC. 16. AMENDMENT OF THE SENTENCING GUIDELINES 

18 RELATING TO CERTAIN CRIMES. 

19 (a) DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.—Pur20 suant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 

21 United States Code, and in accordance with this section, 

22 the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and 

23 amend its guidelines and its policy statements applicable 

24 to persons convicted of an offense under sections 201, 641, 

25 and 666 of title 18, United States Code, in order to reflect 


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1 the intent of Congress that such penalties be increased 

2 in comparison to those currently provided by the guide3 lines and policy statements. 

4 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this section, 

5 the Commission shall— 

6 (1) ensure that the sentencing guidelines and 

7 policy statements reflect Congress’ intent that the 

8 guidelines and policy statements reflect the serious 

9 nature of the offenses described in subsection (a), 

10 the incidence of such offenses, and the need for an 

11 effective deterrent and appropriate punishment to 

12 prevent such offenses; 

13 (2) consider the extent to which the guidelines 

14 may or may not appropriately account for— 

15 (A) the potential and actual harm to the 

16 public and the amount of any loss resulting 

17 from the offense; 

18 (B) the level of sophistication and planning 

19 involved in the offense; 

20 (C) whether the offense was committed for 

21 purposes of commercial advantage or private fi22 nancial benefit; 

23 (D) whether the defendant acted with in24 tent to cause either physical or property harm 

25 in committing the offense; 


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1 (E) the extent to which the offense rep2 resented an abuse of trust by the offender and 

3 was committed in a manner that undermined 

4 public confidence in the Federal, State, or local 

5 government; and 

6 (F) whether the violation was intended to 

7 or had the effect of creating a threat to public 

8 health or safety, injury to any person or even 

9 death; 

10 (3) assure reasonable consistency with other 

11 relevant directives and with other sentencing guide12 lines; 

13 (4) account for any additional aggravating or 

14 mitigating circumstances that might justify excep15 tions to the generally applicable sentencing ranges; 

16 (5) make any necessary conforming changes to 

17 the sentencing guidelines; and 

18 (6) assure that the guidelines adequately meet 

19 the purposes of sentencing as set forth in section 

20 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 17. PERMITTING THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION 

2 REGARDING POTENTIAL CRIMINAL ACTIVITY 

3 TO APPROPRIATE LAW ENFORCEMENT AU4 THORITIES. 

5 Section 360(a) of title 28, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

8 semicolon; 

9 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and 

10 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(4) disclosure of information regarding a po14 tential criminal offense may be made to the United 

15 States Department of Justice, a Federal, State, or 

16 local grand jury, or Federal, State, or local law en17 forcement agents.’’. 

18 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Corruption Pros20 ecution Improvements Act’’. 

21 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR SE22 RIOUS PUBLIC CORRUPTION OFFENSES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 213 of title 18, United 

24 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 3299A. Corruption offenses 

2 ‘‘Unless an indictment is returned or the information 

3 is filed against a person within 6 years after the commis4 sion of the offense, a person may not be prosecuted, tried, 

5 or punished for a violation of, or a conspiracy or an at6 tempt to violate the offense in— 

7 ‘‘(1) section 201 or 666; 

8 ‘‘(2) section 1341 or 1343, when charged in con9 junction with section 1346 and where the offense in10 volves a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the 

11 intangible right of honest services of a public official; 

12 ‘‘(3) section 1951, if the offense involves extortion 

13 under color of official right; 

14 ‘‘(4) section 1952, to the extent that the unlawful 

15 activity involves bribery; or 

16 ‘‘(5) section 1962, to the extent that the racket17 eering activity involves bribery chargeable under 

18 State law, involves a violation of section 201 or 666, 

19 section 1341 or 1343, when charged in conjunction 

20 with section 1346 and where the offense involves a 

21 scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible 

22 right of honest services of a public official, or section 

23 1951, if the offense involves extortion under color of 

24 official right.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

2 the beginning of chapter 213 of title 18, United States Code, 

3 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘3299A. Corruption offenses.’’. 

4 (c) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENT.—The amendments 

5 made by this section shall not apply to any offense com6 mitted before the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF MAIL AND WIRE FRAUD STATUTES 

8 TO LICENCES AND OTHER INTANGIBLE 

9 RIGHTS. 

10 Sections 1341 and 1343 of title 18, United States Code, 

11 are each amended by striking ‘‘money or property’’ and in12 serting ‘‘money, property, or any other thing of value’’. 

13 SEC. 4. VENUE FOR FEDERAL OFFENSES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The second undesignated para15 graph of section 3237(a) of title 18, United States Code, 

16 is amended by adding before the period at the end the fol17 lowing: ‘‘or in any district in which an act in furtherance 

18 of the offense is committed’’. 

19 (b) SECTION HEADING.—The heading for section 3237 

20 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘§ 3237. Offense taking place in more than one dis23 trict’’. 

24 (c) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections at the 

25 beginning of chapter 211 of title 18, United States Code, 


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1 is amended so that the item relating to section 3237 reads 

2 as follows: 

‘‘3237. Offense taking place in more than one district.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. THEFT OR BRIBERY CONCERNING PROGRAMS RE4 CEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 

5 Section 666 of title 18, United States Code, is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by— 

9 (i) striking ‘‘anything of value’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘any thing or things of value’’; 

11 and 

12 (ii) striking ‘‘of $5,000 or more’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘of $1,000 or more’’; 

14 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘(2) corruptly gives, offers, or agrees to give any 

17 thing or things of value to any person, with intent to 

18 influence or reward an agent of an organization or 

19 of a State, local or Indian tribal government, or any 

20 agency thereof, in connection with any business, 

21 transaction, or series of transactions of such organiza22 tion, government, or agency involving any thing or 

23 things of value of $1,000 or more;’’; and 


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1 (C) in the matter following paragraph (2), 

2 by striking ‘‘ten years’’ and inserting ‘‘20 

3 years’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (c)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘This section does not apply 

6 to’’; and 

7 (B) by inserting before ‘‘bona fide salary’’ 

8 the following: ‘‘The term ‘any thing or things of 

9 value’ that is corruptly solicited, demanded, ac10 cepted or agreed to be accepted in subsection 

11 (a)(1)(B) or corruptly given, offered, or agreed to 

12 be given in subsection (a)(2) shall not include’’. 

13 SEC. 6. PENALTY FOR SECTION 641 VIOLATIONS. 

14 Section 641 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

15 by striking ‘‘ten years’’ and inserting ‘‘20 years’’. 

16 SEC. 7. PENALTY FOR SECTION 201 VIOLATIONS. 

17 Section 201 of title 18, United States Code, is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘fifteen years’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘20 years’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘two years’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘5 years’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. INCREASE OF MAXIMUM PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN 

2 PUBLIC CORRUPTION RELATED OFFENSES. 

3 (a) SOLICITATION OF POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

4 Section 602(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

5 by striking ‘‘three years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’. 

6 (b) PROMISE OF EMPLOYMENT FOR POLITICAL ACTIV7 ITY.—Section 600 of title 18, United States Code, is amend8 ed by striking ‘‘one year’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’. 

9 (c) DEPRIVATION OF EMPLOYMENT FOR POLITICAL

10 ACTIVITY.—Section 601(a) of title 18, United States Code, 

11 is amended by striking ‘‘one year’’ and inserting ‘‘10 

12 years’’. 

13 (d) INTIMIDATION TO SECURE POLITICAL CONTRIBU14 TIONS.—Section 606 of title 18, United States Code, is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘three years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 

16 years’’. 

17 (e) SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRIBU18 TIONS IN FEDERAL OFFICES.—Section 607(a)(2) of title 18, 

19 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘3 years’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘10 years’’. 

21 (f) COERCION OF POLITICAL ACTIVITY BY FEDERAL

22 EMPLOYEES.—Section 610 of title 18, United States Code, 

23 is amended by striking ‘‘three years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 

24 years’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. ADDITION OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO THEFT OF 

2 PUBLIC MONEY OFFENSE. 

3 Section 641 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

4 by inserting ‘‘the District of Columbia or’’ before ‘‘the 

5 United States’’ each place that term appears. 

6 SEC. 10. ADDITIONAL RICO PREDICATES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1961(1) of title 18, United 

8 States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘section 641 (relating to embez10 zlement or theft of public money, property, or 

11 records),’’ after ‘‘473 (relating to counterfeiting),’’; 

12 (2) by inserting ‘‘section 666 (relating to theft or 

13 bribery concerning programs receiving Federal 

14 funds),’’ after ‘‘section 664 (relating to embezzlement 

15 from pension and welfare funds),’’; and 

16 (3) by inserting ‘‘section 1031 (relating to major 

17 fraud against the United States),’’ before ‘‘section 

18 1084’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

20 1956(c)(7)(D) of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘section 641 (relating to public 

22 money, property, or records),’’; and 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘section 666 (relating to theft or 

24 bribery concerning programs receiving Federal 

25 funds),’’. 


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1 SEC. 11. ADDITIONAL WIRETAP PREDICATES. 

2 Section 2516(1)(c) of title 18, United States Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘section 641 (relating to embez5 zlement or theft of public money, property, or 

6 records), section 666 (relating to theft or bribery con7 cerning programs receiving Federal funds),’’ after 

8 ‘‘section 224 (bribery in sporting contests),’’; and 

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘section 1031 (relating to major 

10 fraud against the United States),’’ before ‘‘section 

11 1032’’. 

12 SEC. 12. CLARIFICATION OF CRIME OF ILLEGAL GRATU13 ITIES. 

14 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 201(a) of title 18, United 

15 States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

17 semicolon; 

18 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and 

19 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (3) by inserting at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(4) the term ‘rule or regulation’ means a Fed22 eral regulation or a rule of the House of Representa23 tives or the Senate, including those rules and regula24 tions governing the acceptance of gifts and campaign 

25 contributions.’’. 


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1 (b) CLARIFICATION.—Section 201(c)(1) of title 18, 

2 United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) by striking the matter before subparagraph 

4 (A) and inserting ‘‘otherwise than as provided by law 

5 for the proper discharge of official duty, or by rule or 

6 regulation—’’; 

7 (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after ‘‘, or 

8 person selected to be a public official,’’ the following: 

9 ‘‘for or because of the official’s or person’s official po10 sition, or for or because of any official act performed 

11 or to be performed by such public official, former pub12 lic official, or person selected to be a public official’’; 

13 and 

14 (3) in subparagraph (B)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘otherwise than as provided 

16 by law for the proper discharge of official duty,’’; 

17 and 

18 (B) by striking all after ‘‘anything of value 

19 personally’’ and inserting ‘‘for or because of the 

20 official’s or person’s official position, or for or 

21 because of any official act performed or to be 

22 performed by such official or person;’’. 

23 SEC. 13. CLARIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF OFFICIAL ACT. 

24 Section 201(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code, is 

25 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘official act’ means any action 

2 within the range of official duty, and any decision or 

3 action on any question, matter, cause, suit, pro4 ceeding or controversy, which may at any time be 

5 pending, or which may by law be brought before any 

6 public official, in such public official’s official capac7 ity or in such official’s place of trust or profit. An 

8 official act can be a single act, more than one act, or 

9 a course of conduct.’’. 

10 SEC. 14. CLARIFICATION OF COURSE OF CONDUCT BRIB11 ERY. 

12 Section 201 of title 18, United States Code, is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘anything of 

15 value’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘any 

16 thing or things of value’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘anything of 

18 value’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘any 

19 thing or things of value’’. 

20 SEC. 15. EXPANDING VENUE FOR PERJURY AND OBSTRUC21 TION OF JUSTICE PROCEEDINGS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1512(i) of title 18, United 

23 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(i) A prosecution under section 1503, 1504, 1505, 

25 1508, 1509, 1510, or this section may be brought in the 


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1 district in which the conduct constituting the alleged offense 

2 occurred or in which the official proceeding (whether or not 

3 pending or about to be instituted) was intended to be af4 fected.’’. 

5 (b) PERJURY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 79 of title 18, United 

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘§ 1624. Venue 

10 ‘‘A prosecution under section 1621(1), 1621(2), 1622 

11 (in regard to subornation of perjury under 1621(1)), or 

12 1623 of this title may be brought in the district in which 

13 the oath, declaration, certificate, verification, or statement 

14 under penalty of perjury is made or in which a proceeding 

15 takes place in connection with the oath, declaration, certifi16 cate, verification, or statement.’’. 

17 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec18 tions at the beginning of chapter 79 of title 18, 

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

20 the following: 

‘‘1624. Venue.’’. 

21 SEC. 16. AMENDMENT OF THE SENTENCING GUIDELINES 

22 RELATING TO CERTAIN CRIMES. 

23 (a) DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.—Pursu24 ant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United 

25 States Code, and in accordance with this section, the United 


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1 States Sentencing Commission shall review and amend its 

2 guidelines and its policy statements applicable to persons 

3 convicted of an offense under sections 201, 641, and 666 

4 of title 18, United States Code, in order to reflect the intent 

5 of Congress that such penalties be increased in comparison 

6 to those currently provided by the guidelines and policy 

7 statements. 

8 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this section, the 

9 Commission shall— 

10 (1) ensure that the sentencing guidelines and 

11 policy statements reflect Congress’ intent that the 

12 guidelines and policy statements reflect the serious 

13 nature of the offenses described in subsection (a), the 

14 incidence of such offenses, and the need for an effec15 tive deterrent and appropriate punishment to prevent 

16 such offenses; 

17 (2) consider the extent to which the guidelines 

18 may or may not appropriately account for— 

19 (A) the potential and actual harm to the 

20 public and the amount of any loss resulting from 

21 the offense; 

22 (B) the level of sophistication and planning 

23 involved in the offense; 


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1 (C) whether the offense was committed for 

2 purposes of commercial advantage or private fi3 nancial benefit; 

4 (D) whether the defendant acted with intent 

5 to cause either physical or property harm in 

6 committing the offense; 

7 (E) the extent to which the offense rep8 resented an abuse of trust by the offender and 

9 was committed in a manner that undermined 

10 public confidence in the Federal, State, or local 

11 government; and 

12 (F) whether the violation was intended to or 

13 had the effect of creating a threat to public 

14 health or safety, injury to any person or even 

15 death; 

16 (3) assure reasonable consistency with other rel17 evant directives and with other sentencing guidelines; 

18 (4) account for any additional aggravating or 

19 mitigating circumstances that might justify excep20 tions to the generally applicable sentencing ranges; 

21 (5) make any necessary conforming changes to 

22 the sentencing guidelines; and 

23 (6) assure that the guidelines adequately meet 

24 the purposes of sentencing as set forth in section 

25 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 17. PERMITTING THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION 

2 REGARDING POTENTIAL CRIMINAL ACTIVITY 

3 TO APPROPRIATE LAW ENFORCEMENT AU4 THORITIES. 

5 Section 360(a) of title 28, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

8 semicolon; 

9 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period and 

10 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(4) such disclosure of information regarding a 

14 potential criminal offense is made to the United 

15 States Department of Justice, a Federal, State, or 

16 local grand jury, or Federal, State, or local law en17 forcement agents.’’. 

18 SEC. 18. DEFINITION OF ‘‘SCHEME OR ARTIFICE TO DE19 FRAUD’’. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 63 of title 18, United 

21 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1346 the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘§ 1346A. Additional definition of ‘scheme or artifice 

24 to defraud’ 

25 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this chapter, the 

26 term ‘scheme or artifice to defraud’ also includes a scheme 


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1 or artifice by a public official to engage in undisclosed self2 dealing. 

3 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘material information’ includes in5 formation— 

6 ‘‘(A) regarding a financial interest de7 scribed in clauses (i) through (vi) of paragraph 

8 (3)(A); and 

9 ‘‘(B) regarding the association, connection, 

10 or dealings by a public official with an indi11 vidual, business, or organization as described in 

12 clauses (iii) through (vi) of paragraph (3)(A); 

13 ‘‘(2) the term ‘official act’— 

14 ‘‘(A) includes any act within the range of 

15 official duty, and any decision or action on any 

16 question, matter, cause, suit, proceeding, or con17 troversy, which may at any time be pending, or 

18 which may by law be brought before any public 

19 official, in such public official’s official capacity 

20 or in such official’s place of trust or profit; and 

21 ‘‘(B) can be a single act, more than 1 act, 

22 or a course of conduct; 

23 ‘‘(3) the term ‘public official’ means an officer, 

24 employee, or elected or appointed representative, or 

25 person acting for or on behalf of the United States, 


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1 a State, or subdivision of a State, or any department, 

2 agency, or branch thereof, in any official function, 

3 under or by authority of any such department, agen4 cy, or branch of government; and 

5 ‘‘(4) the term ‘undisclosed self-dealing’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) the performance of an official act by 

7 a public official for the purpose, in whole or in 

8 material part, of furthering or benefitting a fi9 nancial interest of— 

10 ‘‘(i) the public official; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the spouse or minor child of the 

12 public official; 

13 ‘‘(iii) a general partner of the public 

14 official; 

15 ‘‘(iv) a business or organization in 

16 which the public official is serving as an 

17 employee, officer, director, trustee, or gen18 eral partner; 

19 ‘‘(v) an individual, business, or orga20 nization with whom the public official is 

21 negotiating for, or has any arrangement 

22 concerning, prospective employment or fi23 nancial compensation; or 

24 ‘‘(vi) individual, business, or organiza25 tion from whom the public official has reVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:45 Sep 08, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S401.RS S401

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1 ceived any thing or things of value, other2 wise than as provided by law for the proper 

3 discharge of official duty, or by rule or reg4 ulation; and 

5 ‘‘(B) the knowing falsification, concealment, 

6 or covering up of material information by a 

7 public official that is required to be disclosed by 

8 any Federal, State, or local statute, rule, regula9 tion, or charter applicable to the public official, 

10 or the knowing failure of a public official to dis11 close material information in a manner that is 

12 required by any Federal, State, or local statute, 

13 rule, regulation, or charter applicable to the pub14 lic official.’’. 

15 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The 

16 table of sections for chapter 63 is amended by inserting after 

17 the item relating to section 1346 the following: 

‘‘1346A. Additional definition of ‘scheme or artifice to defraud’.’’. 

18 SEC. 19. CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING APPEALS BY UNITED 

19 STATES. 

20 Section 3731 of title 18, United States Code, is amend21 ed, in the second undesignated paragraph, by inserting 

22 after ‘‘United States attorney’’ the following: ‘‘, Deputy At23 torney General, Assistant Attorney General, or the Attorney 

24 General’’. 


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Calendar No. 119 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 401 

A BILL 

To help Federal prosecutors and investigators comfying the law. bat public corruption by strengthening and clariJULY 28, 2011 

Reported with an amendment 


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