Foreign Extortion Prevention Technical Corrections Act
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 118-78.
Foreign Extortion Prevention Technical Corrections Act
This act makes technical corrections and substantive changes to the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA), which was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.
As originally enacted, FEPA established a new federal criminal offense involving bribery by foreign officials. Also, FEPA explicitly granted extraterritorial jurisdiction over offenses and established criminal penalties for violations.
This act narrows the scope of individuals who are foreign officials subject to the federal criminal provisions. Specifically, it redefines foreign official so that it does not include an individual acting in an unofficial capacity on behalf of a foreign government or international organization.
Additionally, this act broadens the scope of conduct that is prohibited. As originally enacted, FEPA generally prohibited conduct to solicit or accept a bribe in return for influence in the performance of any official act. This act broadens the scope of the prohibited conduct to include the solicitation or acceptance of a bribe in return for influence in the performance of any act or decision.
Finally, this act specifies that extraterritorial jurisdiction applies if the foreign official soliciting or accepting the bribe is in the United States.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Public Law" stage on July 30, 2024. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This bill has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on July 30, 2024: Became Public Law No: 118-78.
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?
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced it on June 13, 2024, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
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.
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
- SenatePassed
- HousePassed
- PresidentSigned into law