IB 

Union Calendar No. 593 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2285 

[Report No. 114–380, Parts I and II] 

To improve enforcement against trafficking in cultural property and prevent 

stolen or illicit cultural property from financing terrorist and criminal 

networks, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2015 

Mr. KEATING (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. ENGEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 

and in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

DECEMBER 15, 2016 

Reported from the Committee on Homeland Security with an amendment 

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

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 

Additional sponsors: Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. 

ROYCE, Mr. KATKO, Mr. BARLETTA, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. BRENDAN F. 

BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. BARR, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. 

CICILLINE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. PITTENGER, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 

Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means with an amendment 

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

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 

The Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of 

the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 13, 2015] 


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A BILL 

To improve enforcement against trafficking in cultural property and prevent stolen or illicit cultural property from 

financing terrorist and criminal networks, and for other 

purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Prevent Trafficking in 

5 Cultural Property Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

7 In this Act, the term ‘‘cultural property’’ includes 

8 property covered under— 

9 (1) Article 1 of the Hague Convention for the 

10 Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of 

11 Armed Conflict, adopted at the Hague on May 14, 

12 1954 (Treaty 13 Doc. 106–1(A)); or 

13 (2) Article 1 of the Convention on the Means of 

14 Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Ex15 port, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Prop16 erty, adopted by the United Nations Educational, 

17 Scientific and Cultural Organization (‘‘UNESCO’’) 

18 on November 14, 1970. 

19 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

20 It shall be the policy of the United States to— 

21 (1) ensure the components of the Department of 

22 Homeland Security enhance and unify efforts to— 

23 (A) interdict, detain, seize, and investigate 

24 cultural property illegally imported into the 

25 United States; 


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1 (B) disrupt and dismantle smuggling and 

2 trafficking networks and transnational criminal 

3 organizations engaged in, conspiring to engage 

4 in, or facilitating illegal trade in cultural prop5 erty, including stolen antiquities used to finance 

6 terrorism; and 

7 (C) support Offices of United States Attor8 neys in prosecuting persons engaged in, con9 spiring to engage in, or facilitating illegal trade 

10 in cultural property; and 

11 (2) protect cultural property pursuant to its ob12 ligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the 

13 Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of 

14 Armed Conflict, the 1970 UNESCO Convention on 

15 the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit 

16 Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cul17 tural Property, and the Convention on Cultural Prop18 erty Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 2601–2613). 

19 SEC. 4. ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

20 SECURITY. 

21 The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protec22 tion and the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs 

23 Enforcement shall— 

24 (1) designate a principal coordinator within 

25 U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. ImmiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2285.RH H2285

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1 gration and Customs Enforcement, respectively, to di2 rect, manage, coordinate, and update their respective 

3 policies and procedures, as well as conduct inter4 agency communications, regarding illegally imported 

5 cultural property; 

6 (2) update existing directives, regulations, rules, 

7 and memoranda of understanding of U.S. Customs 

8 and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and 

9 Customs Enforcement, respectively, and, if necessary, 

10 devise additional directives, regulations, rules, and 

11 memoranda of understanding, relating to policies and 

12 procedures on the illegal importation of cultural 

13 property in order to— 

14 (A) reflect changes in cultural property law, 

15 including changes and updates to relevant trea16 ties, bilateral agreements, statutes, regulations, 

17 and case law that occurred subsequent to Cus18 toms Directive No. 5230–015, ‘‘Customs Direc19 tive on Detention and Seizure of Cultural Prop20 erty’’, dated April 18, 1991; 

21 (B) emphasize investigating, and providing 

22 support for investigations and prosecutions, of 

23 persons engaged in, conspiring to engage in, or 

24 facilitating the illegal importation of cultural 

25 property, including smugglers, dealers, buyers, 


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1 money launderers, and any other appropriate 

2 parties; and 

3 (C) provide for communication and coordi4 nation between relevant U.S. Customs and Bor5 der Protection and U.S. Immigration and Cus6 toms Enforcement offices, respectively, in inves7 tigating and supporting prosecutions of persons 

8 engaged in, conspiring to engage in, or facili9 tating the illegal importation of cultural prop10 erty; and 

11 (3) ensure relevant personnel within U.S. Cus12 toms and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration 

13 and Customs Enforcement, respectively, receive suffi14 cient training in— 

15 (A) relevant cultural property laws; 

16 (B) the identification of cultural property 

17 that is at greatest risk of looting and trafficking; 

18 and 

19 (C) methods of interdiction and investiga20 tive techniques specifically related to illegal trade 

21 in cultural property. 

22 SEC. 5. ROLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

23 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that 

24 the heads of all components of the Department of Homeland 

25 Security involved in cultural property protection activities 


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1 are authorized to enter into agreements or memoranda of 

2 understanding with the Smithsonian Institution to tempo3 rarily engage personnel from the Smithsonian Institution 

4 for the purposes of furthering such cultural property protec5 tion activities. 

6 SEC. 6. REPORT. 

7 Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 

8 of this Act and three years thereafter, the Commissioner of 

9 U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Commissioner 

10 of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall joint11 ly submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and the 

12 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representa13 tives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov14 ernmental Affairs and the Committee on Finance of the 

15 Senate a report on— 

16 (1) the progress of the implementation of this 

17 Act; and 

18 (2) other actions to enhance and unify efforts to 

19 interdict, detain, seize, and investigate cultural prop20 erty illegally imported into the United States, and in21 vestigate, disrupt, and dismantle smuggling and traf22 ficking networks engaged in, conspiring to engage in, 

23 or facilitating the illegal importation of cultural 

24 property. 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prevent 

3 Trafficking in Cultural Property Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

5 In this Act, the term ‘‘cultural property’’ 

6 includes property covered under— 

7 (1) Article 1 of the Hague Convention 

8 for the Protection of Cultural Property in 

9 the Event of Armed Conflict, adopted at 

10 the Hague on May 14, 1954 (Treaty 13 

11 Doc. 106–1(A)); or 

12 (2) Article 1 of the Convention on the 

13 Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the 

14 Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of 

15 Ownership of Cultural Property, adopted 

16 by the United Nations Educational, Sci17 entific and Cultural Organization 

18 (‘‘UNESCO’’) on November 14, 1970. 

19 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

20 It shall be the policy of the United States 

21 to— 

22 (1) ensure the components of the De23 partment of Homeland Security enhance 

24 and unify efforts to— 


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1 (A) interdict, detain, seize, and in2 vestigate cultural property illegally 

3 imported into the United States; 

4 (B) disrupt and dismantle smug5 gling and trafficking networks and 

6 transnational criminal organizations 

7 engaged in, conspiring to engage in, 

8 or facilitating illegal trade in cultural 

9 property, including stolen antiquities 

10 used to finance terrorism; and 

11 (C) support Offices of United 

12 States Attorneys in prosecuting per13 sons engaged in, conspiring to engage 

14 in, or facilitating illegal trade in cul15 tural property; and 

16 (2) protect cultural property pursu17 ant to its obligations under the 1954 

18 Hague Convention for the Protection of 

19 Cultural Property in the Event of Armed 

20 Conflict, the 1970 UNESCO Convention 

21 on the Means of Prohibiting and Pre22 venting the Illicit Import, Export, and 

23 Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Prop24 erty, and the Convention on Cultural 


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1 Property Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 

2 2601–2613). 

3 SEC. 4. ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

4 SECURITY. 

5 The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 

6 Border Protection and the Director of U.S. Im7 migration and Customs Enforcement shall— 

8 (1) designate a principal coordinator 

9 within U.S. Customs and Border Protec10 tion and U.S. Immigration and Customs 

11 Enforcement, respectively, to direct, man12 age, coordinate, and update their respec13 tive policies and procedures, as well as 

14 conduct interagency communications, re15 garding illegally imported cultural prop16 erty; 

17 (2) update existing directives, regula18 tions, rules, and memoranda of under19 standing of U.S. Customs and Border Pro20 tection and U.S. Immigration and Cus21 toms Enforcement, respectively, and, if 

22 necessary, devise additional directives, 

23 regulations, rules, and memoranda of un24 derstanding, relating to policies and proVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6202 E:\BILLS\H2285.RH H2285

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1 cedures on the illegal importation of cul2 tural property in order to— 

3 (A) reflect changes in cultural 

4 property law, including changes and 

5 updates to relevant treaties, bilateral 

6 agreements, statutes, regulations, and 

7 case law that occurred subsequent to 

8 Customs Directive No. 5230–015, ‘‘Cus9 toms Directive on Detention and Sei10 zure of Cultural Property’’, dated 

11 April 18, 1991; 

12 (B) emphasize investigating, and 

13 providing support for investigations 

14 and prosecutions, of persons engaged 

15 in, conspiring to engage in, or facili16 tating the illegal importation of cul17 tural property, including smugglers, 

18 dealers, buyers, money launderers, 

19 and any other appropriate parties; 

20 and 

21 (C) provide for communication 

22 and coordination between relevant 

23 U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

24 and U.S. Immigration and Customs 

25 Enforcement offices, respectively, in 


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1 investigating and supporting prosecu2 tions of persons engaged in, con3 spiring to engage in, or facilitating 

4 the illegal importation of cultural 

5 property; and 

6 (3) ensure relevant personnel within 

7 U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 

8 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce9 ment, respectively, receive sufficient 

10 training in— 

11 (A) relevant cultural property 

12 laws; 

13 (B) the identification of cultural 

14 property that is at greatest risk of 

15 looting and trafficking; and 

16 (C) methods of interdiction and 

17 investigative techniques specifically 

18 related to illegal trade in cultural 

19 property. 

20 SEC. 5. ROLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

21 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

22 ensure that the heads of all components of the 

23 Department of Homeland Security involved in 

24 cultural property protection activities are au25 thorized to enter into agreements or memoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6202 E:\BILLS\H2285.RH H2285

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1 randa of understanding with the Smithsonian 

2 Institution to temporarily engage personnel 

3 from the Smithsonian Institution for the pur4 poses of furthering such cultural property 

5 protection activities. 

6 SEC. 6. REPORT. 

7 Not later than one year after the date of 

8 the enactment of this Act and three years 

9 thereafter, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 

10 and Border Protection and the Commissioner 

11 of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce12 ment shall jointly submit to the Committee on 

13 Ways and Means and the Committee on Home14 land Security of the House of Representatives 

15 and the Committee on Finance and the Com16 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern17 mental Affairs of the Senate a report on— 

18 (1) the progress of the implementa19 tion of this Act; and 

20 (2) other actions to enhance and 

21 unify efforts to interdict, detain, seize, 

22 and investigate cultural property ille23 gally imported into the United States, 

24 and investigate, disrupt, and dismantle 

25 smuggling and trafficking networks enVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Sep 19, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6202 E:\BILLS\H2285.RH H2285

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1 gaged in, conspiring to engage in, or fa2 cilitating the illegal importation of cul3 tural property. 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS

srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 593 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2285 

[Report No. 114–380, Parts I and II] 

A BILL 

To improve enforcement against trafficking in culnal networks, and for other purposes. tural property from financing terrorist and crimi- tural property and prevent stolen or illicit culSEPTEMBER 19, 2016 

Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means with 

an amendment 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 

The Committee on the Judiciary discharged; committed 

the Union and ordered to be printed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS