Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018

To amend title 18, United States Code, to clarify the meaning of the terms act of war blocked asset 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 2. Clarification of the term act of war (a) In general Section 2331 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (4), by striking and (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (6) the term military force (A) has been designated as a— (i) foreign terrorist organization by the Secretary of State under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1189 (ii) Specially Designated Global Terrorist (as such term is defined in section 594.310 of the Code of Federal Regulations) by the Secretary of State or the Secretary of the Treasury; or (B) has been determined by the court to not be a military force . (b) Application The amendments made by this section shall apply to any civil action pending on or commenced after the date of the enactment of this Act. 3. Satisfaction of judgments against terrorists (a) In general Section 2333 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end following: (e) Use of blocked assets To satisfy judgments of U.S. nationals For purposes of section 201 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 ( 28 U.S.C. 1610 blocked asset 21 U.S.C. 1904(b) . (b) Applicability The amendments made by this section shall apply to any judgment entered before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act. 4. Consent of certain parties to personal jurisdiction (a) In general Section 2334 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (e) Consent of certain parties to personal jurisdiction (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), for purposes of any civil action under section 2333 of this title, a defendant shall be deemed to have consented to personal jurisdiction in such civil action if, regardless of the date of the occurrence of the act of international terrorism upon which such civil action was filed, the defendant— (A) after the date that is 120 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, accepts— (i) any form of assistance, however provided, under chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2346 (ii) any form of assistance, however provided, under section 481 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2291 (B) in the case of a defendant benefiting from a waiver or suspension of section 1003 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 ( 22 U.S.C. 5202 (i) continues to maintain any office, headquarters, premises, or other facilities or establishments within the jurisdiction of the United States; or (ii) establishes or procures any office, headquarters, premises, or other facilities or establishments within the jurisdiction of the United States. (2) Applicability Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any defendant who ceases to engage in the conduct described in paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B) for 5 consecutive calendar years. . (b) Applicability The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act. July 23, 2018 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Anti-terrorism Clarification Act of 2018 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make three changes to provisions governing civil claims for damages resulting from an act of international terrorism. First, the bill narrows the limitation on such claims that occur during an act of war. Current law bars claims for international terrorism that occur during an armed conflict between military forces. This bill specifies that designated foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists are not military forces. Second, the bill makes available any asset of a terrorist party seized or frozen under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act for the satisfaction of court-awarded judgments against the terrorist party. Third, it allows federal courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over a foreign non-state defendant that accepts benefits from the United States (e.g., foreign assistance).