Nuclear Terrorism Conventions Implementation and Safety of Maritime Navigation Act of 2015
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 326.
Nuclear Terrorism Conventions Implementation and Safety of Maritime Navigation Act of 2015
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify the penalty for certain offenses involving: (1) violence against maritime navigation and maritime transport involving weapons of mass destruction, and (2) violence against a fixed maritime platform. Specifically, it broadens the existing penalty for a defendant who commits such an offense that results in a person's death—currently, a prison term of any years or for life—to permit a death penalty sentence.
(Sec. 3) The bill modifies criminal penalties for a defendant who knowingly commits, or threatens, attempts, or conspires to commit, an act of nuclear terrorism with the intent to cause death, serious injury, or damage. Specifically, it revises existing penalties—currently, a fine of up to $2 million and a prison term of any years or for life—to subject a violator to a prison term of any years or for life, and if death results, a death penalty sentence or a prison term of any years or for life.
(Sec. 4) The bill expands the predicate offenses that constitute the crime of providing material support to terrorists to include: (1) violence against maritime navigation and maritime transport involving weapons of mass destruction, (2) violence against a fixed maritime platform, and (3) nuclear terrorism.
(Sec. 5) It expands the Department of Justice's authority to intercept wire, oral, or electronic communications to include investigations of offenses related to: (1) violence against maritime navigation and maritime transport involving weapons of mass destruction, (2) violence against a fixed maritime platform, and (3) nuclear terrorism.
(Sec. 6) The bill expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the United States must not bar individuals from entering the United States based on their religion, and (2) the individual right to bear arms is a fundamental right necessary to our system of ordered liberty and deeply rooted in U.S. history and tradition.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on December 15, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 15, 2015: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 326.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced it on May 13, 2015, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on May 13, 2015, 4138 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3922 days ago, on December 15, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers