I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 43

To improve the regulation of explosives and explosive materials, and to prevent

the use of explosives against persons and the unlawful use of explosives

against property.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Ms. SLAUGHTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To improve the regulation of explosives and explosive materials, and to prevent the use of explosives against persons

and the unlawful use of explosives against property.

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 ‘‘Bombing Prevention

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the number of criminal bombing incidents

9 in the United States has doubled since 1988;
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1 (2) each year, hundreds of millions of pounds of

2 explosives are purchased without a permit being re3 quired;

4 (3) about one-third of the bombs used in crime

5 in recent years have contained black powder or

6 smokeless powder as filler;

7 (4) the terrorist bombing of the World Trade

8 Center and Pan Am Flight 103 and a series of

9 bombings in western New York State demonstrate

10 the grave dangers of bomb attacks;

11 (5) effective regulation of interstate commerce

12 in explosives is possible only with changes in the reg13 ulatory framework;

14 (6) explosive materials, by their nature, are

15 composed of numerous different substances, many of

16 which have travelled in interstate or foreign com17 merce; and

18 (7) the protection of the safety and property of

19 the citizenry, including the infrastructure vital to the

20 conduct of interstate and foreign commerce, requires

21 more careful regulation of explosives transactions.

22 TITLE I—GENERAL REFORMS

23 SEC. 101. PERMITS FOR PURCHASE OF EXPLOSIVES.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 842 of title 18, United

25 States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) by amending subparagraphs (A) and (B) of

2 subsection (a)(3) to read as follows:

3 ‘‘(A) to transport, ship, cause to be trans4 ported, or receive any explosive materials; or

5 ‘‘(B) to distribute explosive materials to

6 any person other than a licensee or permittee.’’;

7 and

8 (2) in subsection (b)—

9 (A) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of para10 graph (1);

11 (B) by striking ‘‘; or’’ at the end of para12 graph (2) and inserting a period; and

13 (C) by striking paragraph (3).

14 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

15 subsection (a) shall apply to conduct engaged in after the

16 18-month period that begins with the date of the enact17 ment of this Act.

18 (c) REGULATIONS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary of the Treasury shall issue final regulations

22 with respect to the amendments made by subsection

23 (a), which shall take effect 18 months after such

24 date of enactment.
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1 (2) NOTICE TO STATES.—On the issuance of

2 regulations pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary

3 of the Treasury shall notify the States of the regula4 tions so that the States may consider revising their

5 explosives laws.

6 SEC. 102. LICENSES AND USER PERMITS.

7 Section 843(a) of title 18, United States Code, is

8 amended—

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘, including fingerprints and a

10 photograph of the applicant’’ before the period at

11 the end of the 1st sentence; and

12 (2) by striking the 2nd sentence and inserting

13 the following: ‘‘Each applicant for a license shall pay

14 for each license a fee established by the Secretary

15 that shall not exceed $300. Each applicant for a per16 mit shall pay for each permit a fee established by

17 the Secretary that shall not exceed $100.’’.

18 SEC. 103. USE OF NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACK19 GROUND CHECK SYSTEM TO INVESTIGATE

20 APPLICANTS FOR LICENSES AND PERMITS.

21 The Secretary of the Treasury may use the national

22 instant criminal background check system established

23 under section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Preven24 tion Act to investigate each applicant for a license or per25 mit under chapter 40 of title 18, United States Code.
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1 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENTS FOR PURCHASES OF BLACK POW2 DER AND SMOKELESS POWDER.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 845 of title 18, United

4 States Code, is amended—

5 (1) in subsection (a)(4), by striking ‘‘and com6 ponents thereof’’;

7 (2) in subsection (a)(5), by striking ‘‘commer8 cially manufactured black powder in quantities not

9 to exceed fifty pounds,’’; and

10 (3) by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(c) Except in the case of section 842(f), and sub12 sections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) of section 844, this

13 chapter shall not apply to commercially manufactured

14 black powder or smokeless powder in quantities not to ex15 ceed 5 pounds.’’.

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 926 of

17 such title is amended by striking subsection (c).

18 SEC. 105. ENHANCED PENALTIES.

19 Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title

20 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing

21 Commission shall promulgate amendments to the sentenc22 ing guidelines to appropriately enhance the penalties for

23 a violation of any provision of chapter 40 of title 18, Unit24 ed States Code, the penalties for which are not as severe

25 as the penalties for a comparable violation of chapter 44

26 of such title 18, so that the penalties for the violation of
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1 the provision of such chapter 40 are the same as the pen2 alties for a comparable violation of such chapter 44.

3 SEC. 106. DESTRUCTION OF SEIZED EXPLOSIVES THAT ARE

4 UNSAFE.

5 Section 844(c) of title 18, United States Code, is

6 amended—

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; and

8 (2) by adding after and below the end the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in the case of

11 the seizure of any explosive materials for any offense for

12 which the materials would be subject to forfeiture in which

13 it would be impracticable or unsafe to remove the mate14 rials to a place of storage or would be unsafe to store

15 them, the seizing officer may destroy the explosive mate16 rials forthwith. Any destruction under this paragraph shall

17 be in the presence of at least 1 credible witness. The seiz18 ing officer shall make a report of the seizure and take

19 such samples as the Secretary may by regulation pre20 scribe.

21 ‘‘(3) Within 60 days after any destruction of property

22 pursuant to paragraph (2), the owner of (including any

23 person having an interest in) the property may apply to

24 the Secretary for reimbursement of an amount equal to

25 the fair market value of the property. If the claimant es-
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1 tablishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the sei2 zure was wrongful, the Secretary shall make an allowance

3 to the claimant not exceeding the fair market value of the

4 property destroyed.’’.

5 SEC. 107. FORFEITURE OF INSTRUMENTALITIES OF EXPLO6 SIVES OFFENSES.

7 (a) CIVIL FORFEITURE.—Section 981(a)(1) of title

8 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

9 the following:

10 ‘‘(G) Any property, real or personal, involved in

11 a violation of chapter 40 (relating to importation,

12 manufacture, distribution, and storage of explosive

13 materials), or in a conspiracy to commit such a vio14 lation, and any other property traceable to such

15 property.’’.

16 (b) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE.—Section 982(a) of such

17 title is amended by inserting the following:

18 ‘‘(6) The court, in imposing a sentence on a person

19 convicted of a violation of chapter 40 or of conspiring to

20 commit such a violation, shall order the person to forfeit

21 to the United States any property, real or personal, in22 volved in the violation or in the conspiracy, and any other

23 property traceable to such property.’’.
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1 TITLE II—PLASTIC EXPLOSIVES

2 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

3 Section 841 of title 18, United States Code, is

4 amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(o) ‘Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explo6 sives’ means the Convention on the Marking of Plastic Ex7 plosives for the purpose of Detection, done at Montreal

8 on March 1, 1991.

9 ‘‘(p) ‘Detection agent’ means any substance specified

10 or referred to in this subsection if introduced into a plastic

11 explosive or formulated in such explosive as a part of the

12 manufacturing process in such a manner as to achieve ho13 mogeneous distribution in the finished explosive, includ14 ing—

15 ‘‘(1) Ethylene glycol dinitrate

16 (EGDN),C2H4(NO3)2, molecular weight 152, when

17 the minimum concentration in the finished explosive

18 is 0.2 percent by mass;

19 ‘‘(2) 2,3-Dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane (DMNB),

20 C6H12(NO2)2, molecular weight 176, when the mini21 mum concentration in the finished explosive is 0.1

22 percent by mass;

23 ‘‘(3) Para-Mononitrotoluene (p-MNT),

24 C7H7NO2, molecular weight 137, when the minimum
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1 concentration in the finished explosive is 0.5 percent

2 by mass;

3 ‘‘(4) Ortho-Mononitrotoluene (o-MNT),

4 C7H7NO2, molecular weight 137, when the minimum

5 concentration in the finished explosive is 0.5 percent

6 by mass; and

7 ‘‘(5) any other substance in the concentration

8 specified by the Secretary, after consultation with

9 the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,

10 which has been added to the table in part 2 of the

11 Technical Annex to the Convention on the Marking

12 of Plastic Explosives.

13 ‘‘(q) ‘Plastic explosive’ means an explosive material

14 in flexible or elastic sheet form formulated with 1 or more

15 high explosives which in their pure form have a vapor pres16 sure less than 10¥4 Pascals at a temperature of 25° Cel17 sius, is formulated with a binder material, and is as a mix18 ture malleable or flexible at normal room temperature.’’.

19 SEC. 202. REQUIREMENT OF DETECTION AGENTS FOR

20 PLASTIC EXPLOSIVES.

21 Section 842 of title 18, United States Code, is

22 amended by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(l) It shall be unlawful for any person to manufac24 ture any plastic explosive which does not contain a detec25 tion agent.
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1 ‘‘(m)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to import

2 or bring into the United States, or export from the United

3 States, any plastic explosive which does not contain a de4 tection agent.

5 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the importation

6 or bringing into the United States, or the exportation from

7 the United States, of any plastic explosive which was im8 ported, brought into, or manufactured in the United

9 States before the effective date of this subsection by or

10 on behalf of any agency of the United States performing

11 military or police functions (including any military reserve

12 component) or acting on behalf of the National Guard of

13 any State, not later than 15 years after the date of entry

14 into force of the Convention on the Marking of Plastic Ex15 plosives, with respect to the United States.

16 ‘‘(n)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to ship,

17 transport, transfer, receive, or possess any plastic explo18 sive which does not contain a detection agent.

19 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to—

20 ‘‘(A) the shipment, transportation, transfer, re21 ceipt, or possession of any plastic explosive which

22 was imported, brought into, or manufactured in the

23 United States before the effective date of this sub24 section by any person during a period not exceeding

25 3 years after such effective date; or
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1 ‘‘(B) the shipment, transportation, transfer, re2 ceipt, or possession of any plastic explosive, which

3 was imported, brought into, or manufactured in the

4 United States before the effective date of this sub5 section by or on behalf of any agency of the United

6 States performing a military or police function (in7 cluding any military reserve component) or by or on

8 behalf of the National Guard of any State, not later

9 than 15 years after the date of entry into force of

10 the Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explo11 sives, with respect to the United States.

12 ‘‘(o) It shall be unlawful for any person, other than

13 an agency of the United States (including any military re14 serve component) or the National Guard of any State, pos15 sessing any plastic explosive on the effective date of this

16 subsection to fail to report to the Secretary within 120

17 days after the effective date of this subsection the quantity

18 of such explosives possessed, the manufacturer or im19 porter, any marks of identification on such explosives, and

20 such other information as the Secretary may by regula21 tions prescribe.’’.

22 SEC. 203. CRIMINAL SANCTIONS.

23 Section 844(a) of title 18, United States Code, is

24 amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(a) Any person who violates subsections (a) through

2 (i) or (l) through (n) of section 842 shall be fined under

3 this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.’’.

4 SEC. 204. EXCEPTIONS.

5 Section 845 of title 18, United States Code, is

6 amended—

7 (1) in subsection (a)—

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘(l), (m), (n), and (o) of

9 section 842 and subsections’’ after ‘‘sub10 sections’’; and

11 (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and

12 which pertains to safety’’ before the semicolon;

13 and

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

15 ‘‘(c)(1) It is an affirmative defense against any pro16 ceeding involving subsection (l), (m), (n), or (o) of section

17 842 if the defendant proves by a preponderance of the evi18 dence that the plastic explosive—

19 ‘‘(A) consisted of a small amount of plastic ex20 plosive intended for and utilized solely in lawful—

21 ‘‘(i) research, development, or testing of

22 new or modified explosive materials;

23 ‘‘(ii) training in explosives detection or de24 velopment or testing of explosives detection

25 equipment; or
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1 ‘‘(iii) forensic science purposes; or

2 ‘‘(B) was plastic explosive which, within 3 years

3 after the date of entry into force of the Convention

4 on the Marking of Plastic Explosives, with respect to

5 the United States, will be or is incorporated in a

6 military device within the territory of the United

7 States and remains an integral part of such military

8 device, or is intended to be, or is incorporated in,

9 and remains an integral part of a military device

10 that is intended to become, or has become, the prop11 erty of any agency of the United States performing

12 military or police functions (including any military

13 reserve component) or the National Guard of any

14 State, wherever such device is located.

15 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term ‘mili16 tary device’ includes shells, bombs, projectiles, mines, mis17 siles, rockets, shaped charges, grenades, perforators, and

18 similar devices lawfully manufactured exclusively for mili19 tary or police purposes.’’.

20 SEC. 205. INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.

21 Section 846 of title 18, United States Code, is

22 amended—

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘The’’;
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1 (2) in the last sentence, by inserting ‘‘sub2 section (m) or (n) of section 842 or’’ before ‘‘sub3 section’’; and

4 (3) by adding after and below the end the

5 following:

6 ‘‘(b) The Attorney General shall exercise authority

7 over violations of subsections (m) or (n) of section 842

8 only when they are committed by a member of a terrorist

9 or revolutionary group. In any matter involving a terrorist

10 or revolutionary group or individual, as determined by the

11 Attorney General, the Attorney General shall have pri12 mary investigative responsibility and the Secretary shall

13 assist the Attorney General as requested.’’.

14 SEC. 206. EFFECTIVE DATE.

15 The amendments made by this title shall take effect

16 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

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