Rewards for Providing Information on Foreign Election Interference Act

Rewards for Providing Information on Foreign Election Interference Act

This bill authorizes the Department of State to pay a reward to anyone who furnishes certain information relating to foreign election interference by a foreign entity or an individual who is not a U.S. person.

Foreign election interference is conduct by a foreign person that (1) violates federal criminal, voting rights, or campaign finance law; or (2) is performed by any person acting as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign government or criminal enterprise. Such conduct may include any covert, fraudulent, deceptive, or unlawful act undertaken with the purpose or effect of undermining public confidence in election processes or institutions.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7519 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7519

    To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to 
    authorize rewards for providing information on foreign election 
                 interference, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 9, 2020

 Mr. Engel (for himself and Mr. McCaul) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to 
    authorize rewards for providing information on foreign election 
                 interference, 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 ``Rewards for Providing Information on 
Foreign Election Interference Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF REWARDS FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION ON FOREIGN 
              ELECTION INTERFERENCE.

    Section 36 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 
(22 U.S.C. 2708) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ``foreign election 
        interference,'' before ``transnational organized crime'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``or (10)'' and 
                inserting ``(10), or (13)'';
                    (B) in paragraph (11), by striking ``or'' after the 
                semicolon at the end;
                    (C) in paragraph (12)--
                            (i) by striking ``sections'' and inserting 
                        ``section'';
                            (ii) by striking ``or (b)(1)'' and 
                        inserting ``or 2914(b)(1)''; and
                            (iii) by striking the period at the end and 
                        inserting ``; or''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(13) the identification or location of a foreign person 
        that knowingly engaged or is engaging in foreign election 
        interference.''; and
            (3) in subsection (k)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (8) as 
                paragraphs (5) through (10), respectively;
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following 
                new paragraphs:
            ``(3) Foreign person.--The term `foreign person' means--
                    ``(A) an individual who is not a United States 
                person; or
                    ``(B) a foreign entity.
            ``(4) Foreign election interference.--The term `foreign 
        election interference' means conduct by a foreign person that--
                    ``(A)(i) violates Federal criminal, voting rights, 
                or campaign finance law; or
                            ``(ii) is performed by any person acting as 
                        an agent of or on behalf of a foreign 
                        government or criminal enterprise; and
                    ``(B) includes any covert, fraudulent, deceptive, 
                or unlawful act or attempted act, or knowing use of 
                information acquired by theft, undertaken with the 
                purpose or effect of undermining public confidence in 
                election processes or institutions, or influencing, 
                undermining confidence in, or altering the result or 
                reported result of, a general or primary Federal, 
                State, or local election or caucus, including--
                            ``(i) the campaign of a candidate; or
                            ``(ii) a ballot measure, including an 
                        amendment, a bond issue, an initiative, a 
                        recall, a referral, or a referendum.''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated, in 
                subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' after the 
                semicolon and inserting ``or''.
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