Illegal Transshipments Enforcement Act of 2006 - Amends the federal criminal code to repeal the requirement of specific intent to convert to personal use from the prohibition against theft or fraudulent acquisition of goods or chattels in an interstate or foreign shipment of cargo. Adds to the list of vehicles or facilities involved any trailer, air cargo container, intermodal container, trailer, container freight station, warehouse, or freight consolidation facility. Increases from one to three years the prison term for any such felony involving less than $1,000. States that goods and chattel shall be construed to be moving as an interstate or foreign shipment at all points between the point of origin and the final destination (as evidenced by the waybill or other shipping document of the shipment), regardless of any temporary stop while awaiting transshipment or otherwise.
Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and make appropriate changes to the federal sentencing guidelines based upon the amendments to the crime of cargo theft made by this Act.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5849 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5849
To increase the fine and prison term for textile transshipment, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 20, 2006
Mr. Hayes introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To increase the fine and prison term for textile transshipment, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Illegal Transshipments Enforcement
Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
(1) the textile and apparel sector in the United States is
being seriously hurt by smuggling and transshipment of textile
and apparel products from abroad;
(2) tens of thousands of textile and apparel workers in the
United States have lost their jobs because of these illegal
activities;
(3) according to industry and government estimates, illegal
textile and apparel smuggling and transshipment totals billions
of dollars each year;
(4) the People's Republic of China and other major Asian
exporters have a decades-long history of illegally shipping
textile and apparel goods to the United States; and
(5) a new avenue of illegal trade, which involves the
evasion of duties using countries who are preferential trading
partners with the United States, has developed and is
particularly harmful to the textile and apparel industry in the
United States.
(b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act and the amendments made
by this Act to increase and broaden the scope of certain penalties
relating to illegal imports and cargo theft so as to enable the Bureau
of Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security
to effectively deter commercial fraud in the United States,
particularly concerning textile and apparel products.
SEC. 3. PUNISHMENT OF CARGO THEFT.
(a) In General.--Section 659 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by striking ``with intent to convert to his own use''
each place it appears;
(2) in the first undesignated paragraph--
(A) by inserting ``trailer,'' after
``motortruck,'';
(B) by inserting ``air cargo container,'' after
``aircraft,''; and
(C) by inserting ``, or from any intermodal
container, trailer, container freight station,
warehouse, or freight consolidation facility,'' after
``air navigation facility'';
(3) in the fifth undesignated paragraph, by striking ``one
year'' and inserting ``3 years''; and
(4) in the eighth undesignated paragraph, by inserting
after the first sentence the following: ``For purposes of this
section, goods and chattel shall be construed to be moving as
an interstate or foreign shipment at all points between the
point of origin and the final destination (as evidenced by the
waybill or other shipping document of the shipment), regardless
of any temporary stop while awaiting transshipment or
otherwise.''.
(b) Federal Sentencing Guidelines.--Pursuant to section 994 of
title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission
shall review the Federal sentencing guidelines under section 659 of
title 18, United States Code, as amended by this section, and, upon
completion of the review, promulgate amendments to the Federal
Sentencing Guidelines to provide appropriate enhancement of the
applicable guidelines.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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