| Sponsor | Rep. Smith, Lamar |
| Date | June 25, 2012 (112th Congress, 2nd Session) |
| Staff Contact | Sarah Makin |
On Tuesday, June 26, 2012, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 5889, the Nuclear Terrorism Conventions Implementation and Safety of Maritime Navigation Act of 2012, under a suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority vote for approval. The bill was introduced on June 5, 2012, by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
H.R. 5889 would implement obligations under certain international treaties by amending certain criminal provisions of Title 18 of USC. These changes would improve U.S. efforts to protect against terrorist attacks using weapons of mass destruction and against attacks involving ships and maritime platforms. The bill would strengthen national security and would enhance mutillateral efforts to combat terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
The bill would implement the 2005 Protocol to the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation and the 2005 Protocol to the 1988 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf. The 2005 Protocols were signed by the United States and require parties to criminalize the use or targeting of a ship or a fixed maritime platform in a terrorist activity; the transportation of weapons of mass destruction or related items; and the maritime transportation of terrorist figures.
H.R. 5889 would also implement the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (NTC), which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on April 13, 2005, and signed by President Bush on September 14, 2005. The NTC would require parties to criminalize certain acts relating to the possession and use of radioactive material and radiological dispersal devices and damage to nuclear facilities.
The bill would also implement certain provisions of an amendment to the Convention of the Physical Protection of Nuclear Matieral (CPPNM). The amendment was adopted at a diplomatic conference of parties (including the U.S.) on July 25, 2005. The CPPNM amendment, in part, would require parties to criminalize nuclear smuggling and sabotage of nuclear facilities.
According to the Committee on the Judiciary, this bill “is necessary to implement certain provisions of four multilateral counterterrorism treaties. These treaties are important tools in the fight against terrorism and each one builds on an existing treaty to which the United States is a party. These treaties will enhance U.S. national security by modernizing and strengthening the international counterterrorism and counter proliferation legal framework. They complement important U.S. priorities, such as the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, the Washington Nuclear Security Summit, and the Proliferation Security Initiative.”
There was no CBO score at press time.