S 1318

Nuclear Terrorism Conventions Implementation and Safety of Maritime Navigation Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify the penalty for certain offenses involving: (1) violence against maritime navigation and maritime transport involving weapons of mass destruction, and (2) violence against a fixed maritime platform. Specifically, it broadens the existing penalty for a defendant who commits such an offense that results in a person's death—currently, a prison term of any years or for life—to permit a death penalty sentence.

(Sec. 3) The bill modifies criminal penalties for a defendant who knowingly commits, or threatens, attempts, or conspires to commit, an act of nuclear terrorism with the intent to cause death, serious injury, or damage. Specifically, it revises existing penalties—currently, a fine of up to $2 million and a prison term of any years or for life—to subject a violator to a prison term of any years or for life, and if death results, a death penalty sentence or a prison term of any years or for life.

(Sec. 4) The bill expands the predicate offenses that constitute the crime of providing material support to terrorists to include: (1) violence against maritime navigation and maritime transport involving weapons of mass destruction, (2) violence against a fixed maritime platform, and (3) nuclear terrorism.

(Sec. 5) It expands the Department of Justice's authority to intercept wire, oral, or electronic communications to include investigations of offenses related to: (1) violence against maritime navigation and maritime transport involving weapons of mass destruction, (2) violence against a fixed maritime platform, and (3) nuclear terrorism.

(Sec. 6) The bill expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the United States must not bar individuals from entering the United States based on their religion, and (2) the individual right to bear arms is a fundamental right necessary to our system of ordered liberty and deeply rooted in U.S. history and tradition.