Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB724 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	II
2	1		118THCONGRESS
3	2		1
4	3		STSESSION S. 724
5		-	To protect children against sexual abuse and exploitation, and for other
6		-	purposes.
7		-	IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
8		-	MARCH8, 2023
9		-	Mr. G
10		-	RASSLEY(for himself, Mr. OSSOFF, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. WARNOCK) in-
11		-	troduced the following bill; which was read twice, considered, read the
12		-	third time, and passed
13		-	A BILL
	4	+	AN ACT
14	5		To protect children against sexual abuse and exploitation,
15	6		and for other purposes.
16	7		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
17		-	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
18		-	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
19		-	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Child Sex 4
20		-	Abuse Act of 2023’’. 5
21		-	SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6
22		-	The sense of Congress is the following: 7
23		-	(1) The safety of children should be a top pri-8
24		-	ority for public officials and communities in the 9
25		-	United States. 10
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28		-	•S 724 IS
29		-	(2) According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest Na-1
30		-	tional Network, an individual in the United States is 2
31		-	sexually assaulted every 68 seconds. And every 9 3
32		-	minutes, that victim is a child. Meanwhile, only 25 4
33		-	out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in pris-5
34		-	on. 6
35		-	(3) The effects of child sexual abuse can be 7
36		-	long-lasting and affect the victim’s mental health. 8
37		-	(4) Victims are more likely than non-victims to 9
38		-	experience the following mental health challenges: 10
39		-	(A) Victims are about 4 times more likely 11
40		-	to develop symptoms of drug abuse. 12
41		-	(B) Victims are about 4 times more likely 13
42		-	to experience post-traumatic stress disorder as 14
43		-	adults. 15
44		-	(C) Victims are about 3 times more likely 16
45		-	to experience a major depressive episode as 17
46		-	adults. 18
47		-	(5) The criminal justice system should and has 19
48		-	acted as an important line of defense to protect chil-20
49		-	dren and hold perpetrators accountable. 21
50		-	(6) However, the horrific crimes perpetuated by 22
51		-	Larry Nassar demonstrate firsthand the loopholes 23
52		-	that still exist in the criminal justice system. While 24
53		-	Larry Nassar was found guilty of several State-level 25
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55		-	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3
56		-	•S 724 IS
57		-	offenses, he was not charged federally for his illicit 1
58		-	sexual contact with minors, despite crossing State 2
59		-	and international borders to commit this conduct. 3
60		-	(7) The Department of Justice has also identi-4
61		-	fied a growing trend of Americans who use chari-5
62		-	table or missionary work in a foreign country as a 6
63		-	cover for sexual abuse of children. 7
64		-	(8) It is the intent of Congress to prohibit 8
65		-	Americans from engaging in sexual abuse or exploi-9
66		-	tation of minors under the guise of work, including 10
67		-	volunteer work, with an organization that affects 11
68		-	interstate or foreign commerce, such as an inter-12
69		-	national charity. 13
70		-	(9) Federal law does not require that an abus-14
71		-	er’s intention to engage in sexual abuse be a pri-15
72		-	mary, significant, dominant, or motivating purpose 16
73		-	of the travel. 17
74		-	(10) Child sexual abuse does not require phys-18
75		-	ical contact between the abuser and the child. This 19
76		-	is especially true as perpetrators turn increasingly to 20
77		-	internet platforms, online chat rooms, and webcams 21
78		-	to commit child sexual abuse. 22
79		-	(11) However, a decision of the United States 23
80		-	Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found the 24
81		-	use of a webcam to engage in sexually provocative 25
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84		-	•S 724 IS
85		-	activity with a minor did not qualify as ‘‘sexual ac-1
86		-	tivity’’. 2
87		-	(12) Congress can address this issue by amend-3
88		-	ing the definition of the term ‘‘sexual activity’’ to 4
89		-	clarify that it does not require interpersonal, phys-5
90		-	ical contact. 6
91		-	(13) It is the duty of Congress to provide clear-7
92		-	er guidance to ensure that those who commit crimes 8
93		-	against children are prosecuted to the fullest extent 9
94		-	of the law. 10
95		-	SEC. 3. INTERSTATE CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE. 11
96		-	Section 2423 of title 18, United States Code, is 12
97		-	amended— 13
98		-	(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘with a moti-14
99		-	vating purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual con-15
100		-	duct with another person’’ and inserting ‘‘with in-16
101		-	tent to engage in any illicit sexual conduct with an-17
102		-	other person’’; 18
103		-	(2) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), (f), 19
104		-	and (g) as subsections (e), (f), (g), and (i), respec-20
105		-	tively; 21
106		-	(3) in subsection (e), as so redesignated, by 22
107		-	striking ‘‘with a motivating purpose of engaging in 23
108		-	any illicit sexual conduct’’ and inserting ‘‘with intent 24
109		-	to engage in any illicit sexual conduct’’; and 25
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112		-	•S 724 IS
113		-	(4) by inserting after subsection (g), as so re-1
114		-	designated, the following: 2
	8	+	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2
	9	+	†S 724 ES
	10	+	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1
	11	+	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Child Sex 2
	12	+	Abuse Act of 2023’’. 3
	13	+	SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 4
	14	+	The sense of Congress is the following: 5
	15	+	(1) The safety of children should be a top pri-6
	16	+	ority for public officials and communities in the 7
	17	+	United States. 8
	18	+	(2) According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest Na-9
	19	+	tional Network, an individual in the United States is 10
	20	+	sexually assaulted every 68 seconds. And every 9 11
	21	+	minutes, that victim is a child. Meanwhile, only 25 12
	22	+	out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in pris-13
	23	+	on. 14
	24	+	(3) The effects of child sexual abuse can be 15
	25	+	long-lasting and affect the victim’s mental health. 16
	26	+	(4) Victims are more likely than non-victims to 17
	27	+	experience the following mental health challenges: 18
	28	+	(A) Victims are about 4 times more likely 19
	29	+	to develop symptoms of drug abuse. 20
	30	+	(B) Victims are about 4 times more likely 21
	31	+	to experience post-traumatic stress disorder as 22
	32	+	adults. 23
	33	+	(C) Victims are about 3 times more likely 24
	34	+	to experience a major depressive episode as 25
	35	+	adults. 26 3
	36	+	†S 724 ES
	37	+	(5) The criminal justice system should and has 1
	38	+	acted as an important line of defense to protect chil-2
	39	+	dren and hold perpetrators accountable. 3
	40	+	(6) However, the horrific crimes perpetuated by 4
	41	+	Larry Nassar demonstrate firsthand the loopholes 5
	42	+	that still exist in the criminal justice system. While 6
	43	+	Larry Nassar was found guilty of several State-level 7
	44	+	offenses, he was not charged federally for his illicit 8
	45	+	sexual contact with minors, despite crossing State 9
	46	+	and international borders to commit this conduct. 10
	47	+	(7) The Department of Justice has also identi-11
	48	+	fied a growing trend of Americans who use chari-12
	49	+	table or missionary work in a foreign country as a 13
	50	+	cover for sexual abuse of children. 14
	51	+	(8) It is the intent of Congress to prohibit 15
	52	+	Americans from engaging in sexual abuse or exploi-16
	53	+	tation of minors under the guise of work, including 17
	54	+	volunteer work, with an organization that affects 18
	55	+	interstate or foreign commerce, such as an inter-19
	56	+	national charity. 20
	57	+	(9) Federal law does not require that an abus-21
	58	+	er’s intention to engage in sexual abuse be a pri-22
	59	+	mary, significant, dominant, or motivating purpose 23
	60	+	of the travel. 24 4
	61	+	†S 724 ES
	62	+	(10) Child sexual abuse does not require phys-1
	63	+	ical contact between the abuser and the child. This 2
	64	+	is especially true as perpetrators turn increasingly to 3
	65	+	internet platforms, online chat rooms, and webcams 4
	66	+	to commit child sexual abuse. 5
	67	+	(11) However, a decision of the United States 6
	68	+	Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found the 7
	69	+	use of a webcam to engage in sexually provocative 8
	70	+	activity with a minor did not qualify as ‘‘sexual ac-9
	71	+	tivity’’. 10
	72	+	(12) Congress can address this issue by amend-11
	73	+	ing the definition of the term ‘‘sexual activity’’ to 12
	74	+	clarify that it does not require interpersonal, phys-13
	75	+	ical contact. 14
	76	+	(13) It is the duty of Congress to provide clear-15
	77	+	er guidance to ensure that those who commit crimes 16
	78	+	against children are prosecuted to the fullest extent 17
	79	+	of the law. 18
	80	+	SEC. 3. INTERSTATE CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE. 19
	81	+	Section 2423 of title 18, United States Code, is 20
	82	+	amended— 21
	83	+	(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘with a moti-22
	84	+	vating purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual con-23
	85	+	duct with another person’’ and inserting ‘‘with in-24 5
	86	+	†S 724 ES
	87	+	tent to engage in any illicit sexual conduct with an-1
	88	+	other person’’; 2
	89	+	(2) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), (f), 3
	90	+	and (g) as subsections (e), (f), (g), and (i), respec-4
	91	+	tively; 5
	92	+	(3) in subsection (e), as so redesignated, by 6
	93	+	striking ‘‘with a motivating purpose of engaging in 7
	94	+	any illicit sexual conduct’’ and inserting ‘‘with intent 8
	95	+	to engage in any illicit sexual conduct’’; and 9
	96	+	(4) by inserting after subsection (g), as so re-10
	97	+	designated, the following: 11
115	98		‘‘(h) R
116		-	ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—As used in this sec-3
117		-	tion, the term ‘intent’ shall be construed as any intention 4
118		-	to engage in illicit sexual conduct at the time of the trav-5
119		-	el.’’. 6
120		-	SEC. 4. ABUSE UNDER THE GUISE OF CHARITY. 7
121		-	Section 2423 of title 18, United States Code, as 8
122		-	amended by section 3 of this Act, is amended— 9
123		-	(1) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-10
124		-	lowing: 11
	99	+	ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—As used in this sec-12
	100	+	tion, the term ‘intent’ shall be construed as any intention 13
	101	+	to engage in illicit sexual conduct at the time of the trav-14
	102	+	el.’’. 15
	103	+	SEC. 4. ABUSE UNDER THE GUISE OF CHARITY. 16
	104	+	Section 2423 of title 18, United States Code, as 17
	105	+	amended by section 3 of this Act, is amended— 18
	106	+	(1) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-19
	107	+	lowing: 20
125	108		‘‘(d) I
126		-	LLICITSEXUALCONDUCT IN CONNECTION 12
	109	+	LLICITSEXUALCONDUCT IN CONNECTION 21
127	110		W
128		-	ITHCERTAINORGANIZATIONS.—Any citizen of the 13
129		-	United States or alien admitted for permanent residence 14
130		-	who— 15
131		-	‘‘(1) is an officer, director, employee, or agent 16
132		-	of an organization that affects interstate or foreign 17
133		-	commerce; 18
134		-	‘‘(2) makes use of the mails or any means or 19
135		-	instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce 20
136		-	through the connection or affiliation of the person 21
137		-	with such organization; and 22
138		-	‘‘(3) commits an act in furtherance of illicit sex-23
139		-	ual conduct through the connection or affiliation of 24
140		-	the person with such organization, 25
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143		-	•S 724 IS
144		-	shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more 1
145		-	than 30 years, or both.’’; 2
146		-	(2) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by 3
147		-	striking ‘‘or (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d), or (e)’’; and 4
148		-	(3) in subsection (i), as so redesignated, by 5
149		-	striking ‘‘(f)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(g)(2)’’. 6
150		-	SEC. 5. SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH MINORS. 7
151		-	Section 2427 of title 18, United States Code, is 8
152		-	amended by inserting ‘‘does not require interpersonal 9
153		-	physical contact, and’’ before ‘‘includes’’. 10
154		-	Æ
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	111	+	ITHCERTAINORGANIZATIONS.—Any citizen of the 22
	112	+	United States or alien admitted for permanent residence 23
	113	+	who— 24 6
	114	+	†S 724 ES
	115	+	‘‘(1) is an officer, director, employee, or agent 1
	116	+	of an organization that affects interstate or foreign 2
	117	+	commerce; 3
	118	+	‘‘(2) makes use of the mails or any means or 4
	119	+	instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce 5
	120	+	through the connection or affiliation of the person 6
	121	+	with such organization; and 7
	122	+	‘‘(3) commits an act in furtherance of illicit sex-8
	123	+	ual conduct through the connection or affiliation of 9
	124	+	the person with such organization, 10
	125	+	shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more 11
	126	+	than 30 years, or both.’’; 12
	127	+	(2) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by 13
	128	+	striking ‘‘or (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d), or (e)’’; and 14
	129	+	(3) in subsection (i), as so redesignated, by 15
	130	+	striking ‘‘(f)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(g)(2)’’. 16
	131	+	SEC. 5. SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH MINORS. 17
	132	+	Section 2427 of title 18, United States Code, is 18
	133	+	amended by inserting ‘‘does not require interpersonal 19
	134	+	physical contact, and’’ before ‘‘includes’’. 20
	135	+	Passed the Senate March 8, 2023.
	136	+	Attest:
	137	+	Secretary. 118
	138	+	TH
	139	+	CONGRESS
	140	+	1
	141	+	ST
	142	+	S
	143	+	ESSION
	144	+
	145	+	S. 724
	146	+	AN ACT
	147	+	To protect children against sexual abuse and
	148	+	exploitation, and for other purposes.