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Travel Act
Great Seal of the United States
Other short titles
  • International Trade and Travel Advisory Board Act of 1961
  • International Travel and Tourism Act of 1961
Long titleAn Act to strengthen the domestic and foreign commerce of the United States by providing for the establishment of an Office of International Travel within the Department of Commerce and a Travel Advisory Board.
Acronyms(colloquial)ITA
NicknamesInternational Travel Act of 1961
Enacted bythe87th United States Congress
EffectiveJune 29, 1961
Citations
Public law87-63
Statutes at Large75Stat.129-2
Codification
Titles amended22 U.S.C.: Foreign Relations and Intercourse
U.S.C.sections created22 U.S.C.ch. 31§ 2121 et seq.
Legislative history
  • Introducedin the Senate as S. 610 byWarren Magnuson(D–WA) on February 16, 1961
  • Passed the Senateon February 20, 1961 (Passed)
  • Passed the Houseon May 17, 1961 (305-104,in lieu of H.R. 4614)
  • Reported by the joint conference committeeon June 15, 1961;agreed to by the Houseon June 19, 1961 (Agreed) and by theSenateon June 21, 1961 (Agreed)
  • Signed into lawby PresidentJohn F. Kennedyon June 29, 1961
United States Supreme Courtcases

TheTravel ActorInternational Travel Act of 1961,18 U.S.C.§ 1952,is aFederal criminal statutewhich forbids the use of theU.S. mail,or interstate or foreign travel, for the purpose of engaging in certain specified criminal acts.

The Senatelegislationwas passed by the 87thUnited States Congressand enacted into law by the 35th President of the United StatesJohn F. Kennedyon June 29, 1961.[1]The International Travel and Tourism Act has been amended seven times since 1961.[2]

Provisions and scope[edit]

Elements of the crime[edit]

Subsection (a) of the statute sets forth theelements of an offenseunder the Travel Act. The acts prohibited are interstate or foreign travel, or use of the mails or "any facility in interstate or foreign commerce", for the purpose of distributing the proceeds of an unlawful activity, committing a crime of violence in furtherance of an unlawful activity, or to "promote, manage, establish, carry on" an unlawful activity. The offense is completed when a person engages in travel or use of the mails with theintentof committing any of the aforementioned acts, and then goes on to commit orattemptto commit one of the prohibited acts. This has the effect of making theact of traveling (or using the mail) in furtherance of certain types of crimea separateindictable offensefrom the underlying crime(s) the person is committing.[3]

Definition of "unlawful activity"[edit]

Subsection (b) of the statute defines "unlawful activity" for the purposes of the Travel Act. The activities specified in this subsection include illegalgambling,liquor on which the Federal excise tax has not been paid,controlled substanceoffenses,prostitutionoffenses,extortion,bribery,orarsonwhich violate either Federal law or thelaws of the statein which they are committed. The inclusion of state-level crime in the Act is important because it effectively federalizes certain state laws which may not have analogous provisions at the Federal level.[4]For example, some states have laws prohibitingcommercial bribery(bribery which does not involve government officials), but there is no Federal statute which directly addresses this issue. However, travel or use of the mails in furtherance of violations of state commercial bribery laws can be prosecuted by theUnited States Department of JusticeinFederal court.[3]

The definition of "unlawful activities" also includes certain specific violations of federal law, includingmoney launderingoffenses under theMoney Laundering Control Act[5]and violations of certain financial reporting requirements of theBank Secrecy Act,as amended by theUSA PATRIOT ACT.[6]

Use and interpretation of the act[edit]

The U.S. Department of Justice has used the Travel Act as a complementary statute in the prosecution of some corruption cases under theForeign Corrupt Practices Act(FCPA), and theFederal courtshave interpreted the Travel Act rather broadly. For example, in the case against businessmanFrederic Bourke,JudgeShira Scheindlininstructed the jurythat a "facility in interstate or foreign commerce" could include anything that crosses state or national borders, including telecommunications, and that conviction under the Travel Act requires proof that the defendant used a facility of commerce "for the purpose of facilitating the unlawful activity" but that the underlying offense (in Bourke's case, bribery of a foreign official) need not have been actually completed.[4]

Likewise, courts have applied the Travel Act to commercial bribery overseas in cases where state law prohibited such activities. One example of this was the case against Control Components, Inc. (CCI), a California corporation, which stood accused of violating both the FCPA and the Travel Act by bribing government officials and employees of private companies.California Penal CodeSection 641.3 prohibits commercial bribery.[7]When the company's lawyers challenged theextraterritorialapplication of the Travel Act, U.S. District JudgeJames V. Selnaheld that all elements of the Travel Act violation had been completed within California and that the offense "was complete the moment Defendants used a channel of foreign commerce allegedly to offer a 'corrupt payment' to an employee and thereafter effectuated a payment to that employee."[4]

At least one commentator has noted that Travel Act violations could be used as predicate acts under theRacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act,since it is mentioned in the definition of "racketeering activity" in18 U.S.C.§ 1961.[3]

Amendments to 1961 Act[edit]

International Travel Act of 1961 amendments forAmerican tourismandinternational tradewith the United States.

Date of Enactment Public Law Number U.S. Statute Citation U.S. Legislative Bill U.S. Presidential Administration
October 21, 1970 P.L. 91-477 84Stat.1071 H.R. 14685 Richard M. Nixon
December 19, 1973 P.L. 93-193 87Stat.765 S. 1747 Richard M. Nixon
July 9, 1975 P.L. 94-55 89Stat.262 S. 2003 Gerald R. Ford
October 10, 1979 P.L. 96-85 93Stat.655 S. 233 Jimmy E. Carter
October 16, 1981 P.L. 97-63 95Stat.1011 S. 304 Ronald W. Reagan
September 30, 1992 P.L. 102-372 106Stat.1170 S. 680 George H.W. Bush
October 11, 1996 P.L. 104-288 110Stat.3402 H.R. 2579 William J. Clinton

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Bill signing – S-610 Act establishing the US Travel Service, 12:15PM".White House Photographs.John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.June 29, 1961.
  2. ^See "Notes" tab of the statute's page at Cornell LII.
  3. ^abcEmmick, Mike (2012-02-01)."The Travel Act – The FCPA's red-haired stepchild".Thomson Reuters News and Insight.Thomson Reuters.Archived from the original on February 9, 2012.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^abcDiamant, Michael; Fleming, Brendon."FCPA + Travel Act: Double trouble? (print-friendly version)".Moneycontrol.com.Archived fromthe originalon 29 January 2013.Retrieved10 April2012.
  5. ^The Money Laundering Control Act is found at18 U.S.C.§§ 1956–1957.
  6. ^SeeChapter 53, Subchapter IIofTitle 31 of the United States Code.
  7. ^Cal. Penal Code 641.3,courtesy ofFindLaw

External links[edit]

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