S. 678: Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act

112th Congress · introduced 2011-03-30 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 255.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2011-03-30 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Kohl, Herb [D-WI] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 255. 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

Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act

Plain summary

Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act - Amends the federal criminal code to increase (from 15 to 20 years) the term of imprisonment for economic espionage (i.e., stealing or obtaining, duplicating or conveying, or buying or possessing trade secrets without authorization intending or knowing that the offense will benefit any foreign government, foreign instrumentality, or foreign agent). Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend the federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of offenses relating to the transmission of a stolen trade secret outside of the United States or economic espionage to reflect the intent of Congress that penalties for such offenses: (1) reflect the seriousness of, and potential and actual harm caused by, such offenses; and (2) provide adequate deterrence. Directs the Commission to: (1) consider the extent to which such guidelines and statements appropriately account for the simple misappropriation of a trade secret, including the sufficiency of the existing enhancement for such offenses to address the seriousness of this conduct; (2) consider additional enhancements to account for any transmission of a stolen trade secret outside of the United States and any such transmission that is committed for the benefit of a foreign government; (3) consider establishing a minimum offense level for offenses relating to such transmission; (4) ensure that the guidelines and statements reflect the serious nature of such offenses and the need to deter such conduct; (5) ensure reasonable consistency with other relevant directives, guidelines and statements, and federal statutes; and (6) ensure that the guidelines adequately meet the purposes of sentencing. Directs the Commission to complete its review within 180 days and to issue a report explaining any decision not to adopt any of the specific recommendations.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s)), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s))

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Kohl, Herb [D-WI] · 9 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), 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)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Statute: A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s))
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112s678.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/s>

Record fed-us-cong112-s678 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112