Senate passes bill allowing State Department to go after transnational criminals, among others

The Senate passed several bills Wednesday night, one of which would allow the Secretary of State to go after transnational criminals.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced the Department of State Rewards Program Update and Technical Corrections Act, S. 2318, which would allow the Secretary of State to issue rewards for information leading to the arrest of transnational criminals engaging in activities, such as intellectual property rights piracy, money laundering, trafficking in persons, arms trafficking, cyber crime, genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity. That measure was passed by voice vote.

Several other measures were passed by unanimous consent before the Senate adjourned for the evening. 

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) introduced the Dignified Burial of Veterans Act, S. 3202, which provides dignified burials in a national cemetery for deceased veterans without next-of-kin.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) introduced the Foreign and Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act, H.R. 6029, which would increase the prison term for committing economic espionage from 15 years to 20 years.

S.3698 would improve veterans’ service organizations’ access to federal surplus personal property.

Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) introduced the Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act, H.R. 4057, which would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve outreach and transparency to veterans through the provision of information on institutions of higher learning.

The Senate also approved eight bills naming post offices.

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