To strengthen and enhance the prevention and prosecution of crimes using weapons of mass destruction, and for other purposes.

July 25, 2003

Mr. FORBES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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

To strengthen and enhance the prevention and prosecution of crimes using weapons of mass destruction, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Weapons of Mass Destruction Prohibition Improvement Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

(a) EXPANSION OF JURISDICTIONAL BASES AND SCOPE- Section 2332a of title 18, United States Code, is amended by--

(1) amending paragraph (a)(2) to read as follows:

`(2) against any person or property within the United States, and

`(A) the mail or any facility of interstate or foreign commerce is used in furtherance of the offense;

`(B) such property is used in interstate or foreign commerce or in an activity that affects interstate or foreign commerce;

`(C) any perpetrator travels in or causes another to travel in interstate or foreign commerce in furtherance of the offense; or

`(D) the offense, or the results of the offense, affect interstate or foreign commerce, or, in the case of a threat, attempt, or conspiracy, would have affected interstate or foreign commerce;';

(2) in paragraph (a)(3), deleting the comma at the end and inserting `; or';

(3) in subsection (a), adding the following at the end:

`(4) against any property within the United States that is owned, leased, or used by a foreign government,';

(4) in paragraph (c)(1), deleting `and' at the end;

(5) in paragraph (c)(2), deleting the period at the end and inserting `; and'; and

(6) in subsection (c), inserting the following at the end:

`(3) the term `property' includes all real and personal property.'.

(b) RESTORATION OF THE COVERAGE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS- Section 2332a of title 18, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a), is further amended by--

(1) in the caption, deleting `certain';

(2) in subsection (a), deleting `(other than a chemical weapon as that term is defined in section 229F); and

(3) in subsection (b), deleting `(other than a chemical weapon (as that term is defined in section 229F))'.

(c) EXPANSION OF CATEGORIES OF RESTRICTED PERSONS SUBJECT TO PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO SELECT AGENTS- Section 175b(d)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in subparagraph (G) by--

(A) inserting `(i)' after `(G)';

(B) inserting `, or (ii) acts for or on behalf of, or operates subject to the direction or control of, a government or official of a country described in this subparagraph' after `terrorism'; and

(C) striking `or' after the semicolon.

(2) in subparagraph (H) by striking the period and inserting `; or'; and

(3) by adding the following new subparagraph to the end thereof:

`(I) is a member of, acts for or on behalf of, or operates subject to the direction or control of, a terrorist organization as defined in section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(vi)).'.

(d) Conforming Amendment to Regulations-

(1) Section 175b(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking `as a select agent in Appendix A' and all that follows and inserting the following: `as a non-overlap or overlap select biological agent or toxin in sections 73.4 and 73.5 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, pursuant to section 351A of the Public Health Service Act, and is not excluded under sections 73.4 and 73.5 or exempted under section 73.6 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations.'.

(2) The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take effect at the same time that sections 73.4, 73.5, and 73.6 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, become effective.

SEC. 3. PARTICIPATION IN NUCLEAR AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES.

(a) Section 57(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2077(b)) is amended by striking `in the production of any special nuclear material' and inserting `or participate in the development or production of any special nuclear material or atomic weapon'.

(b) Title 18, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in the chapter analysis for chapter 39, by inserting after the item relating to section 831 the following:

`832. Participation in nuclear threats to the United States.';

(2) by inserting after section 831 the following:

`Sec. 832. Participation in nuclear and weapons of mass destruction threats to the United States

`(a) Whoever, within the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, willfully participates in or provides material support or resources (as defined in section 2339A) to a nuclear weapons program or other weapons of mass destruction program of a foreign terrorist power, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be imprisoned for not more than 20 years.

`(b) There is extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this section.

`(c) As used in this section--

`(1) `nuclear weapons program' means a program or plan for the development, acquisition, or production of any nuclear weapon or weapons;

`(2) `weapons of mass destruction program' means a program or plan for the development, acquisition, or production of any weapon or weapons of mass destruction (as defined in section 2332a(c));

`(3) `foreign terrorist power' means a terrorist organization designated under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, or a state sponsor of terrorism designated under section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 or section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; and

`(4) `nuclear weapon' means any weapon that contains or uses nuclear material as defined in section 831(f)(1).'; and

(3) in section 2332b(g)(5)(B)(i), by inserting after `nuclear materials),' the following: `832 (relating to participation in nuclear and weapons of mass destruction threats to the United States)'.

END