Rep. Wagner Introduces the DETERRENCE Act to Toughen Penalties for Foreign-Led Crimes
The DETERRENCE Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the House Committee on the Judiciary for review. No further actions are scheduled at this time, but the bill remains active.
The bill has support from both parties and addresses national security, but it is still in the very early stages of the lawmaking process.
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 10256 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 10256 (118th) →Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
People convicted of crimes that are connected to foreign governments would face longer prison sentences under this bill. The enhancements add 5 to 10 years on top of existing sentences for kidnapping, murder-for-hire, stalking, and other serious offenses. This means people found guilty of these foreign-directed crimes would spend significantly more time in prison.
“The sentence of a person convicted of an offense under subsection (a) may be increased by up to 10 years if such offense was committed knowingly at the direction of or in coordination with a foreign government or an agent of a foreign government.”
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
A bipartisan group of senators put forward a bill to stiffen penalties on people who commit crimes in the U.S. on behalf of foreign countries. The bill increases penalties on murder-for-hire schemers and those convicted of attempted murder or assassination of federal officials.
The DETERRENCE Act seeks to respond to criminal activity in the United States organized by the Iranian regime by increasing the criminal penalties for those who commit or attempt certain crimes on behalf of foreign adversaries, including murder-for-hire and stalking.
Senators Joni Ernst and Maggie Hassan discuss their bipartisan bill, the Deterrence Act, which targets murder-for-hire schemes ordered from abroad. The bill enhances penalties for criminals targeting U.S. officials, judges, and law enforcement at the direction of foreign powers.
No votes recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
DETERRENCE Act
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