Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3583 To amend section 116 of title 18, United States Code, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 27, 2019 Mr. PERRY (for himself, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. SEN- SENBRENNER, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. KING of Iowa, and Mr. JOYCE of Pennsyl- vania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend section 116 of title 18, United States Code, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Prohibition 4 of Female Genital Mutilation Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Congress has previously prohibited the prac- 8 tice of female genital mutilation on minors, which 9 causes physical and psychological harm and is often 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3583.IH H3583 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3583 IH beyond the ability of any single State or jurisdiction 1 to control. 2 (2) Individuals who perform the practice of fe- 3 male genital mutilation on minors rely on a connec- 4 tion to interstate or foreign commerce, such as inter- 5 state or foreign travel, the transmission or receipt of 6 communications in interstate or foreign commerce, 7 or interstate or foreign payments of any kind in fur- 8 therance of this conduct. 9 (3) Amending section 116 of title 18, United 10 States Code, to specify a link to interstate or foreign 11 commerce would confirm that Congress has the af- 12 firmative power to prohibit this conduct. 13 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO CURRENT LAW PROHIBITING FE- 14 MALE GENITAL MUTILATION. 15 Section 116 of title 18, United States Code, is 16 amended— 17 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, in any cir- 18 cumstance described in subsection (e),’’ after ‘‘who- 19 ever’’; and 20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(e) For purposes of subsection (a), the circumstan- 22 ces described in this subsection are that— 23 ‘‘(1) the defendant or victim traveled in inter- 24 state or foreign commerce, or traveled using a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3583.IH H3583 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3583 IH means, channel, facility, or instrumentality of inter- 1 state or foreign commerce, in furtherance of or in 2 connection with the conduct described in subsection 3 (a); 4 ‘‘(2) the defendant used a means, channel, fa- 5 cility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign 6 commerce in furtherance of or in connection with 7 the conduct described in subsection (a); 8 ‘‘(3) any payment of any kind was made, di- 9 rectly or indirectly, in furtherance of or in connec- 10 tion with the conduct described in subsection (a) 11 using any means, channel, facility, or instrumen- 12 tality of interstate or foreign commerce or in or af- 13 fecting interstate or foreign commerce; 14 ‘‘(4) the defendant transmitted in interstate or 15 foreign commerce any communication relating to or 16 in furtherance of the conduct described in subsection 17 (a) using any means, channel, facility, or instrumen- 18 tality of interstate or foreign commerce or in or af- 19 fecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means 20 or in any manner, including by computer, mail, wire, 21 or electromagnetic transmission; 22 ‘‘(5) the conduct described in subsection (a) oc- 23 curred within the special maritime and territorial ju- 24 risdiction of the United States, or within the District 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3583.IH H3583 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3583 IH of Columbia or any territory or possession of the 1 United States; or 2 ‘‘(6) the conduct described in subsection (a) 3 otherwise occurred in or affected interstate or for- 4 eign commerce.’’. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3583.IH H3583 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS