[House Report 115-456]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 115-456
======================================================================
PROTECTING RELIGIOUSLY AFFILIATED INSTITUTIONS ACT OF 2017
_______
December 11, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Goodlatte, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1730]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 1730) to amend title 18, United States Code, to
provide for the protection of community centers with religious
affiliation, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend
that the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
The Amendment.................................................... 1
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
Hearings......................................................... 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 3
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 4
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings.............................. 4
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 4
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
The Amendment
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Religiously Affiliated
Institutions Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF COMMUNITY CENTERS WITH RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION.
Section 247 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting after ``threat of
force,'' the following: ``including by threat of force against
religious real property,'';
(2) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5);
and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) if damage to or destruction of property results from
the acts committed, by means of fire or explosives, in
violation of this section, a fine in accordance with this title
and imprisonment for not more than 3 years, or both; and''; and
(3) in subsection (f), by inserting before the period at the
end the following: ``, or real property owned or leased by a
nonprofit, religiously affiliated organization''.
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 1730 amends the Church Arson Prevention Act to clarify
that the conduct covered under this statute includes bomb
threats to religious institutions, whether they be synagogues,
mosques, churches, or religious community centers. Subsection
(a)(2) of the Act is sometimes charged in conjunction with the
federal bomb statute, in cases in which defendants have
threatened to bomb religious buildings. This legislation adds
language to subsection (a)(2) to clarify that threats covered
under this subsection include threats to property, such as bomb
threats, so long as the threat causes such intimidation to
intentionally obstruct an individual's ability to exercise his
or her religious beliefs. In practice, this would only arise in
the case of a threat so serious that it caused someone to feel
fear of bodily harm and, therefore, to feel physically
obstructed from exercising their religious beliefs.
The legislation also modestly increases the criminal
penalty in this section for cases in which the underlying
conduct causes damage or destruction to property, but only
where such damage is caused by fire or explosives. Finally, it
clarifies that ``religious real property'' includes property
that is leased by religious institutions, to ensure property
such as religious community centers are covered.
Background and Need for the Legislation
In the past year, the number of threats toward religious
institutions has skyrocketed. According to the Anti-Defamation
League, between January and March alone, there were 161 hoax
bomb threats against Jewish Community Centers and other Jewish
institutions, an increase of 127 percent over the same quarter
in 2016. This year, Islamic centers and mosques have been
burned in the states of Texas, Washington, and Florida. H.R.
1730 therefore clarifies that the criminal penalties under the
Church Arson Prevention Act apply to religiously affiliated
institutions and increases criminal penalties under the Act for
serious threats to religiously affiliated institutions that
effectively obstruct access to the property, in order to deter
these threats.
Hearings
The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R.
1730.
Committee Consideration
On November 2, 2017, the Committee met in open session and
ordered the bill H.R. 1730 favorably reported by voice vote, a
quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 1730.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to the bill, H.R. 1730, the following estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, November 20, 2017.
Hon. Bob Goodlatte,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1730, the
Protecting Religiously Affiliated Institutions Act of 2017.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure.
cc: Honorable John Conyers Jr.
Ranking Member
H.R. 1730--Protecting Religiously Affiliated Institutions Act of 2017
As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on November
2, 2017
H.R. 1730 would broaden the coverage of current laws
against damaging religious property; that change would allow
the government to pursue some cases that it otherwise may not
be able to prosecute. CBO expects that the bill would apply to
a relatively small number of offenders, however, so any
increase in costs for law enforcement, court proceedings, or
prison operations would not be significant. Any such spending
would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Because people prosecuted and convicted under H.R. 1730
could be subject to criminal fines, the federal government
might collect additional fines under the bill. Criminal fines
are recorded as revenues, deposited in the Crime Victims Fund,
and later spent without further appropriation action. CBO
expects that any additional revenues and associated direct
spending would not be significant because the bill would
probably affect a small number of cases.
Pay-as-you-go procedures apply because enacting H.R. 1730
would affect direct spending and revenues. However, CBO
estimates that any such effects would be insignificant on an
annual basis.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1730 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 1730 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Duplication of Federal Programs
No provision of H.R. 1730 establishes or reauthorizes a
program of the Federal government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings
The Committee finds that H.R. 1730 contains no directed
rule making within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. Sec. 551.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
1730 clarifies that the criminal penalties under the Church
Arson Prevention Act apply to religiously affiliated
institutions and increases criminal penalties under the Act for
serious threats to religiously affiliated institutions that
effectively block access to the property.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 1730 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short Title. This section amends the short title
of the bill to read ``Protecting Religiously Affiliated
Institutions Act of 2017.''
Section 2. Protection of Community Centers with Religious
Affiliation. This section:
1. Amends subsection (a)(2) of the Church Arson
Prevention Act to clarify that threats include threats
against property to demonstrate this can be used as a
corollary charge to the federal bomb threats statute;
2. Provides for a fine and up to three years'
incarceration in cases in which the offense caused
damage by use of fire or explosives; and
3. Clarifies that religious real property includes
land owned or leased by religiously affiliated
nonprofits.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
PART I--CRIMES
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 13--CIVIL RIGHTS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 247. Damage to religious property; obstruction of persons in the
free exercise of religious beliefs
(a) Whoever, in any of the circumstances referred to in
subsection (b) of this section--
(1) intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys any
religious real property, because of the religious
character of that property, or attempts to do so; or
(2) intentionally obstructs, by force or threat of
force, including by threat of force against religious
real property, any person in the enjoyment of that
person's free exercise of religious beliefs, or
attempts to do so;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (d).
(b) The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that
the offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce.
(c) Whoever intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys any
religious real property because of the race, color, or ethnic
characteristics of any individual associated with that
religious property, or attempts to do so, shall be punished as
provided in subsection (d).
(d) The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) of this
section shall be--
(1) if death results from acts committed in violation
of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or
an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an
attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an
attempt to kill, a fine in accordance with this title
and imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or
both, or may be sentenced to death;
(2) if bodily injury results to any person, including
any public safety officer performing duties as a direct
or proximate result of conduct prohibited by this
section, and the violation is by means of fire or an
explosive, a fine under this title or imprisonment for
not more that 40 years, or both;
(3) if bodily injury to any person, including any
public safety officer performing duties as a direct or
proximate result of conduct prohibited by this section,
results from the acts committed in violation of this
section or if such acts include the use, attempted use,
or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or
fire, a fine in accordance with this title and
imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both; [and]
(4) if damage to or destruction of property results
from the acts committed, by means of fire or
explosives, in violation of this section, a fine in
accordance with this title and imprisonment for not
more than 3 years, or both; and
[(4)] (5) in any other case, a fine in accordance
with this title and imprisonment for not more than one
year, or both.
(e) No prosecution of any offense described in this section
shall be undertaken by the United States except upon the
certification in writing of the Attorney General or his
designee that in his judgment a prosecution by the United
States is in the public interest and necessary to secure
substantial justice.
(f) As used in this section, the term ``religious real
property'' means any church, synagogue, mosque, religious
cemetery, or other religious real property, including fixtures
or religious objects contained within a place of religious
worship, or real property owned or leased by a nonprofit,
religiously affiliated organization.
(g) No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any
noncapital offense under this section unless the indictment is
found or the information is instituted not later than 7 years
after the date on which the offense was committed.
* * * * * * *
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