[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 13, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S4442-S4443] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Mr. Boozman): S. 2779. A bill to amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish an Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience Act. This legislation would better equip and formalize the Economic Development Administration's role in post-disaster economic recovery. [[Page S4443]] EDA has a long history of supporting disaster recovery and resilience efforts and is uniquely positioned to coordinate Federal support due to its network of partners in impacted communities. EDA's role in disaster recovery is to facilitate the timely and effective delivery of Federal economic development assistance to support near- and long-term community economic recovery planning and project implementation, redevelopment, and resilience. This bill would establish a dedicated Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at EDA to coordinate the Agency's post-disaster economic recovery activities, create a disaster team for the deployment of individuals to carry out such activities after a disaster or emergency declaration, and require 100 Percent Federal cost share for major disaster recovery projects. EDA currently serves as the coordinating Agency for the Economic Recovery Support Function, ERSF, under the Federal Government's National Disaster Recovery Framework, NDRF. In this capacity, EDA provides leadership, coordination, and oversight for primary and support Agencies for the provision of grants, loans, training, and other forms of assistance to support economic recovery efforts in disaster-impacted communities and regions. Congress has relied on the Agency to implement economic recovery activities since the 1990s, providing a total of $3.2 billion in supplemental funding for EDA's disaster relief and economic resiliency efforts for natural disasters--most recently in calendar years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. The Agency also received billion in additional funding tor COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts. Yet, EDA's role in disaster assistance has never been formalized. Having a dedicated bureau or office to direct and implement the economic recovery support function activities of the Agency could expedite deployment of resources and improve service delivery to communities by retaining institutional knowledge that can translate between communities, preserving leadership at the Agency, and deploying staff and funds more rapidly. I thank Senator Boozman for introducing this important legislation with me in the Senate. I hope all of our colleagues will join us in supporting this bill for the long-term economic strength and resilience of our communities. ______ By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Booker, Mr. Lee, Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Lummis, Ms. Baldwin, and Mr. Brown): S. 2788. A bill to amend section 3661 of title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the consideration of acquitted conduct at sentencing; to the Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: S. 2788 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, =========================== NOTE =========================== On page S4443, September 13, 2023, first column, the following appears: S. 2788. A bill to amend section 3661 of title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the consideration of acquitted conduct at sentencing; to the Committee on the Judiciary. S. 2788 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, The online Record has been corrected to read: S. 2788. A bill to amend section 3661 of title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the consideration of acquitted conduct at sentencing; to the Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: S. 2788 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, ========================= END NOTE ========================= SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act of 2023''. SEC. 2. ACQUITTED CONDUCT AT SENTENCING. (a) Use of Information for Sentencing.-- (1) Amendment.--Section 3661 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``, except that a court of the United States shall not consider, except for purposes of mitigating a sentence, acquitted conduct under this section'' before the period at the end. (2) Applicability.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall apply only to a judgment entered on or after the date of enactment of this Act. (b) Definitions.--Section 3673 of title 18, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``As'' and inserting the following: ``(a) As''; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ``(b) As used in this chapter, the term `acquitted conduct' means-- ``(1) an act-- ``(A) for which a person was criminally charged and adjudicated not guilty after trial in a Federal, State, or Tribal court; or ``(B) in the case of a juvenile, that was charged and for which the juvenile was found not responsible after a juvenile adjudication hearing; or ``(2) any act underlying a criminal charge or juvenile information dismissed-- ``(A) in a Federal court upon a motion for acquittal under rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; or ``(B) in a State or Tribal court upon a motion for acquittal or an analogous motion under the applicable State or Tribal rule of criminal procedure.''. ______ By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Booker): S. 2794. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to make fraudulent dealings in firearms and ammunition unlawful, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary. Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I rise today to address a continuing concern: the online sale of firearms using deceptive and misleading means. It simply continues to be too easy for individuals to evade existing restrictions and buy firearms through online platforms. This behavior endangers us all. Companies like Facebook have taken important steps by banning the sale of firearms on their websites. However, despite these efforts, the online sale of firearms continues to persist as a significant problem. Disturbingly, between April and June 2020 alone, Facebook had to remove a staggering 1.3 million pieces of content related to firearms from its platform. One of the primary challenges we face is that sellers are employing new tactics to circumvent online sales restrictions for firearms. They resort to posting listings for firearms under deceptive names such as ``stickers'' to evade detection. I am proud to once again introduce legislation that addresses this issue head-on. My Stopping the Fraudulent Sales of Firearms Act aims to establish a Federal crime for the sale of firearms online through fraudulent representations. Specifically, it targets the deceptive marketing of firearms as seemingly innocuous items like ``stickers.'' These practices undermine the safety and security of our communities and must be met with swift and robust consequences. I thank my colleagues Senators Booker, Blumenthal, and Menendez for joining me in this effort. We must act decisively to address the persistent problem of uncontrolled online firearms sales and ensure that our laws keep pace with evolving practices. By passing this legislation, we can demonstrate our commitment to protecting the public and preventing firearms from falling into the wrong hands. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and join me in safeguarding our communities from the dangers posed by deceptive online firearm sales. ____________________