Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act
Latest action · Dec 8, 2011 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 255.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 30, 2011
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act - Amends the federal criminal code to increase (from 15 to 20 years) the term of imprisonment for economic espionage (i.e., stealing or obtaining, duplicating or conveying, or buying or possessing trade secrets without authorization intending or knowing that the offense will benefit any foreign government, foreign instrumentality, or foreign agent).
Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend the federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of offenses relating to the transmission of a stolen trade secret outside of the United States or economic espionage to reflect the intent of Congress that penalties for such offenses: (1) reflect the seriousness of, and potential and actual harm caused by, such offenses; and (2) provide adequate deterrence.
Directs the Commission to: (1) consider the extent to which such guidelines and statements appropriately account for the simple misappropriation of a trade secret, including the sufficiency of the existing enhancement for such offenses to address the seriousness of this conduct; (2) consider additional enhancements to account for any transmission of a stolen trade secret outside of the United States and any such transmission that is committed for the benefit of a foreign government; (3) consider establishing a minimum offense level for offenses relating to such transmission; (4) ensure that the guidelines and statements reflect the serious nature of such offenses and the need to deter such conduct; (5) ensure reasonable consistency with other relevant directives, guidelines and statements, and federal statutes; and (6) ensure that the guidelines adequately meet the purposes of sentencing.
Directs the Commission to complete its review within 180 days and to issue a report explaining any decision not to adopt any of the specific recommendations.
Cosponsors 9
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 30, 2011 to Jul 31, 2012; 2 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Original | Mar 30, 2011 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Mar 30, 2011 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Jun 22, 2011 | |
| R-AZ | Jon Kyl | Oct 17, 2011 | |
| R-SC | Lindsey Graham | Oct 17, 2011 | |
| R-OK | Tom Coburn | Nov 1, 2011 | |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Dec 1, 2011 | |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Dec 7, 2011 | |
| R-IA | Chuck Grassley | Jul 31, 2012 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Judiciary Committee | Referred Mar 30, 2011Hearings Jun 22, 2011Markup Dec 8, 2011Reported Dec 8, 2011 |
Actions 7
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 8, 2011Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
- Dec 8, 2011Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Leahy with an amendment. Without written report.
- Dec 8, 2011Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 255.
- Jun 22, 2011Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 112-922.
- Mar 30, 2011Introduced in Senate
- Mar 30, 2011Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1985)
- Mar 30, 2011Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S1985)
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Jan 25, 2012S. 678, Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement ActCost estimate for the bill as reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on December 8, 2011
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 2012915 pages | Appropriations Committee | Feb 11, 2011–Apr 6, 2011 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 6029 | Foreign and Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act of 2012 | Related bill | Jan 14, 2013 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to increase the penalties for economic espionage.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 8, 2011Reported to Senate
- Mar 30, 2011Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
