I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6114 
To amend chapter 37 of title 18, United States Code, to authorize appropriate 
disclosure of classified information, to appropriately limit the scope of 
the offense of disclosing classified information, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 5, 2020 
Mr. KHANNA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend chapter 37 of title 18, United States Code, to 
authorize appropriate disclosure of classified information, 
to appropriately limit the scope of the offense of dis-
closing classified information, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Espionage Act Reform 
Act of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION RE-
LATED TO SIGNALS INTELLIGENCE. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION.—Sec-
tion 798(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ‘‘furnishing,’’ and all that follows and inserting 
the following: ‘‘furnishing of information to— 
‘‘(1) any Member of the Senate or the House 
of Representatives; 
‘‘(2) a Federal court, in accordance with such 
procedures as the court may establish; 
‘‘(3) the inspector general of an element of the 
intelligence community (as defined in section 3 of 
the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
3003)), including the Inspector General of the Intel-
ligence Community; 
‘‘(4) the Chairman or a member of the Privacy 
and Civil Liberties Oversight Board or any employee 
of the Board designated by the Board, in accordance 
with such procedures as the Board may establish; 
‘‘(5) the Chairman or a commissioner of the 
Federal Trade Commission or any employee of the 
Commission designated by the Commission, in ac-
cordance with such procedures as the Commission 
may establish; 
‘‘(6) the Chairman or a commissioner of the 
Federal Communications Commission or any em-
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ployee of the Commission designated by the Com-
mission, in accordance with such procedures as the 
Commission may establish; or 
‘‘(7) any other person or entity authorized to 
receive disclosures containing classified information 
pursuant to any applicable law, regulation, or execu-
tive order regarding the protection of whistle-
blowers.’’. 
(b) AUTHORIZED PERSONS.—Section 798(b) of title 
18, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding the first undesig-
nated paragraph, by striking ‘‘this section—’’ and 
inserting ‘‘this section:’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘The term ‘classified informa-
tion’ means information which, at the time of a vio-
lation of this section, is,’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘classified information’— 
‘‘(A) means information which, at the time 
of a violation of this section, is known to the 
person violating this section to be,’’; 
(3) in paragraph (1), as so designated— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘distribu-
tion;’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(B) does not include any information that 
is specifically designated as ‘Unclassified’ under 
any Executive Order, Act of Congress, or action 
by a committee of Congress in accordance with 
the rules of its House of Congress.’’; 
(4) by striking ‘‘The terms ‘code,’ ‘cipher,’ and 
‘cryptographic system’ include’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(2) The terms ‘code’, ‘cipher’, and ‘cryp-
tographic system’ include’’; 
(5) in paragraph (2), as so designated, by strik-
ing ‘‘communications;’’ and inserting ‘‘communica-
tions.’’; 
(6) by striking ‘‘The term ‘foreign’’ and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(5) The term ‘foreign’’; 
(7) in paragraph (5), as so designated, by strik-
ing ‘‘United States;’’ and inserting ‘‘United States.’’; 
(8) by striking ‘‘The term ‘communication’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(3) The term ‘communication’’; 
(9) in paragraph (3), as so designated, by strik-
ing ‘‘recipients;’’ and inserting ‘‘recipients.’’; 
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(10) by transferring paragraph (3), as so des-
ignated, to appear after paragraph (2), as so des-
ignated; and 
(11) by striking ‘‘The term ‘unauthorized’’ and 
all that follows through ‘‘for the United States.’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(6) The term ‘unauthorized person’ means any 
person who, or agency which, is not authorized to re-
ceive information of the categories set forth in sub-
section (a) of this section by— 
‘‘(A) the President; 
‘‘(B) the head of a department or agency 
of the United States Government which is ex-
pressly designated by the President to engage 
in communication intelligence activities for the 
United States; or 
‘‘(C) an Act of Congress.’’. 
(c) SCOPE OF PROHIBITION.—Section 798 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 
paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting 
‘‘Any individual who’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘obtained by the indi-
vidual while the individual was a covered person 
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and acting within the scope of his or her activi-
ties as a covered person’’ after ‘‘any classified 
information’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b), by inserting after para-
graph (3), as so designated and transferred by sub-
section (b) of this section, the following: 
‘‘(4) The term ‘covered person’ means an indi-
vidual who— 
‘‘(A) receives official access to classified in-
formation granted by the United States Govern-
ment; 
‘‘(B) signs a nondisclosure agreement with 
regard to such classified information; and 
‘‘(C) is authorized to receive information of 
the categories set forth in subsection (a) of this 
section— 
‘‘(i) by the President; or 
‘‘(ii) the head of a department or 
agency of the United States Government 
which is expressly designated by the Presi-
dent to engage in communication intel-
ligence activities for the United States.’’. 
(d) LIMITATION ON SCOPE.—Section 798 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d)(1) In this subsection, the term ‘foreign agent’— 
‘‘(A) has the meaning given the term ‘agent of 
a foreign power’ under section 101 of the Foreign 
Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 
1801); and 
‘‘(B) does not include a person who is an agent 
of a foreign power (as so defined) with respect to a 
foreign power described in section 101(a)(5) of the 
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 
U.S.C. 1801(a)(5)). 
‘‘(2) A foreign agent who— 
‘‘(A) aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces, 
or procures the commission of an offense under this 
section shall be subject to prosecution under this 
section by virtue of section 2 of this title; 
‘‘(B) knowing that an offense under this section 
has been committed by another person, receives, re-
lieves, comforts, or assists such other person in 
order to hinder or prevent the apprehension, trial, or 
punishment of such other person shall be subject to 
prosecution under section 3 of this title; 
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‘‘(ii) benefit any foreign government to the 
detriment of the United States. 
‘‘(4) Paragraph (3)(C) shall not apply to direct and 
material aid that consists of— 
‘‘(A) counseling, education, or other speech ac-
tivity; or 
‘‘(B) providing an electronic communication 
service to the public or a remote computing service 
(as such terms are defined in section 2510 and 
2711, respectively).’’. 
SEC. 3. GATHERING, TRANSMITTING, OR LOSING DEFENSE 
INFORMATION. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 793 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(i) In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘covered person’ means an indi-
vidual who— 
‘‘(A) receives official access to classified in-
formation granted by the United States Govern-
ment; 
‘‘(B) signs a nondisclosure agreement with 
regard to such classified information; and 
‘‘(C) is authorized to receive documents, 
writings, code books, signal books, sketches, 
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photographs, 
photographic 
negatives, 
blue-
prints, plans, maps, models, instruments, appli-
ances, or notes of anything connected with the 
national defense by— 
‘‘(i) the President; or 
‘‘(ii) the head of a department or 
agency of the United States Government 
which is expressly designated by the Presi-
dent to engage in activities relating to the 
national defense; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘foreign agent’— 
‘‘(A) has the meaning given the term 
‘agent of a foreign power’ under section 101 of 
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 
1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801); and 
‘‘(B) does not include a person who is an 
agent of a foreign power (as so defined) with 
respect to a foreign power described in section 
101(a)(5) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveil-
lance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801(a)(5)).’’. 
(b) OBTAINING OR RECEIVING DEFENSE INFORMA-
TION.—Section 793(c) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting ‘‘A 
foreign agent who’’; 
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(2) by inserting ‘‘and with like intent or reason 
to believe,’’ after ‘‘aforesaid,’’; and 
(3) by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the foreign 
agent’’. 
(c) TRANSMISSION OF LAWFULLY POSSESSED DE-
FENSE INFORMATION
TO UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS.— 
Section 793(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by striking ‘‘or note relating to the national defense, or 
information relating to the national defense which infor-
mation’’ and inserting ‘‘note, or information relating to 
the national defense, which document, writing, code book, 
signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, 
blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, note, 
or information’’. 
(d) TRANSMISSION
OF UNLAWFULLY POSSESSED 
DEFENSE INFORMATION TO UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS.— 
Section 793(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(e) An individual who— 
‘‘(1) while a covered person, gains unauthorized 
possession of, access to, or control over any non-
public document, writing, code book, signal book, 
sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blue-
print, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or 
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note of anything connected with the national de-
fense; and 
‘‘(2)(A) with reason to believe such information 
could be used to the injury of the United States or 
to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully com-
municates, delivers, transmits, or causes to be com-
municated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to 
communicate, deliver, transmit, or cause to be com-
municated, delivered, or transmitted, the same to 
any person not entitled to receive it; or 
‘‘(B) willfully— 
‘‘(i) retains the same at an unauthorized 
location; and 
‘‘(ii) fails to deliver the same to the officer 
or employee of the United States entitled to re-
ceive it; or’’. 
(e) OBTAINING INFORMATION FROM PLACES CON-
NECTED
WITH
THE
NATIONAL
DEFENSE.—Section 
793(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ‘‘otherwise obtains information concerning’’ and 
inserting ‘‘otherwise unlawfully obtains nonpublic infor-
mation concerning’’. 
(f) COPYING
AND
TAKING
DEFENSE
INFORMA-
TION.—Section 793(b) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘Whoever,’’ and inserting ‘‘An 
individual who, while a covered person,’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘nonpublic’’ before ‘‘sketch,’’. 
(g) LIMITATION ON SCOPE.—Section 793 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (g) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(g)(1) A foreign agent who— 
‘‘(A) aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces, 
or procures the commission of an offense under this 
section shall be subject to prosecution under this 
section by virtue of section 2 of this title; 
‘‘(B) knowing that an offense under this section 
has been committed by another person, receives, re-
lieves, comforts, or assists such other person in 
order to hinder or prevent the apprehension, trial, or 
punishment of such other person shall be subject to 
prosecution under section 3 of this title; 
‘‘(C) having knowledge of the actual commis-
sion of an offense under this section, conceals and 
does not as soon as possible make known the same 
to some judge or other person in civil or military au-
thority under the United States shall be subject to 
prosecution under section 4 of this title; or 
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‘‘(D) conspires to commit an offense under this 
section shall be subject to prosecution under section 
371 of this title. 
‘‘(2) Any person who is not a foreign agent shall not 
be subject to prosecution under this section by virtue of 
section 2 of this title or under section 3, 4, or 371 of this 
title, unless the person— 
‘‘(A) commits a felony under Federal law in the 
course of committing an offense under this section 
(by virtue of section 2 of this title) or under section 
3, 4, or 371 of this title; 
‘‘(B) was a covered person at the time of the 
offense; or 
‘‘(C) subject to paragraph (3), directly and ma-
terially aids, or procures in exchange for anything of 
monetary value, the commission of an offense under 
this section with the specific intent to— 
‘‘(i) harm the national security of the 
United States; or 
‘‘(ii) benefit any foreign government to the 
detriment of the United States. 
‘‘(3) Paragraph (2)(C) shall not apply to direct and 
material aid that consists of— 
‘‘(A) counseling, education, or other speech ac-
tivity; or 
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‘‘(B) providing an electronic communication 
service to the public or a remote computing service 
(as such terms are defined in section 2510 and 
2711, respectively).’’. 
SEC. 4. PUBLIC MONEY, PROPERTY, OR RECORDS. 
Section 641 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended in the first undesignated paragraph by inserting 
‘‘tangible’’ before ‘‘thing of value’’. 
SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in section 793 or 798 of title 18, United 
States Code, shall be construed to supersede or limit the 
protections under the speech or debate clause of the Con-
stitution of the United States. 
Æ 
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