S. 3526: Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008

110th Congress · introduced 2008-09-18 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 1116 under authority of the order of the Senate of 11/17/2008.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2008-09-18 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Biden, Joseph R., Jr. [D-DE] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 1116 under authority of the order of the Senate of 11/17/2008. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008

Plain summary

Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to 15 years for knowingly operating or embarking in any submersible or semisubmersible vessel that is without nationality and that is navigating in, or has navigated into, through, or from, waters beyond the outer limit of the territorial sea of a single country or a lateral limit of that country's territorial sea with an adjacent country, with the intent to evade detection. Grants extraterritorial federal jurisdiction over violations of this Act. Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this Act that a vessel operated at the time of a violation was: (1) a vessel of the Untied States or lawfully registered in a foreign nation; (2) classed by and designated in accordance with the rules of a classification society; (3) lawfully operated in a government-regulated or licensed activity; or (4) equipped with and using an operable automatic identification system, vessel monitoring system, or a long range identification and tracking system. Specifies the documents required to conclusively prove an affirmative defense. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to promulgate or amend existing guidelines to provide adequate penalties for violations of this Act.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Biden, Joseph R., Jr. [D-DE] · 6 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Jurisdiction: The area or the matters a government or court has authority over.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-110s3526.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/110/s>

Record fed-us-cong110-s3526 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong110 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong110