2011 US Code
Title 22 - Foreign Relations and Intercourse
Chapter 38 - DEPARTMENT OF STATE (§§ 2651 - 2734a)
Section 2708 - Department of State rewards program

There is established a program for the payment of rewards to carry out the purposes of this section.

The rewards program shall be designed to assist in the prevention of acts of international terrorism, international narcotics trafficking, and other related criminal acts.

The rewards program shall be administered by the Secretary of State, in consultation, as appropriate, with the Attorney General.

In the sole discretion of the Secretary (except as provided in subsection (c)(2) of this section) and in consultation, as appropriate, with the Attorney General, the Secretary may pay a reward to any individual who furnishes information leading to—

(1) the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual for the commission of an act of international terrorism against a United States person or United States property;

(2) the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual conspiring or attempting to commit an act of international terrorism against a United States person or United States property;

(3) the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual for committing, primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, any narcotics-related offense if that offense involves or is a significant part of conduct that involves—

(A) a violation of United States narcotics laws such that the individual would be a major violator of such laws;

(B) the killing or kidnapping of—

(i) any officer, employee, or contract employee of the United States Government while such individual is engaged in official duties, or on account of that individual's official duties, in connection with the enforcement of United States narcotics laws or the implementing of United States narcotics control objectives; or

(ii) a member of the immediate family of any such individual on account of that individual's official duties, in connection with the enforcement of United States narcotics laws or the implementing of United States narcotics control objectives; or

(C) an attempt or conspiracy to commit any act described in subparagraph (A) or (B);

(4) the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual aiding or abetting in the commission of an act described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3);

(5) the prevention, frustration, or favorable resolution of an act described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3), including by dismantling an organization in whole or significant part;

(6) the identification or location of an individual who holds a key leadership position in a terrorist organization; or

(7) the disruption of financial mechanisms of a foreign terrorist organization, including the use by the organization of illicit narcotics production or international narcotics trafficking—

(A) to finance acts of international terrorism; or

(B) to sustain or support any terrorist organization.

To ensure that the payment of rewards pursuant to this section does not duplicate or interfere with the payment of informants or the obtaining of evidence or information, as authorized to the Department of Justice, the offering, administration, and payment of rewards under this section, including procedures for—

(A) identifying individuals, organizations, and offenses with respect to which rewards will be offered;

(B) the publication of rewards;

(C) the offering of joint rewards with foreign governments;

(D) the receipt and analysis of data; and

(E) the payment and approval of payment,

shall be governed by procedures developed by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General.

Before making a reward under this section in a matter over which there is Federal criminal jurisdiction, the Secretary of State shall obtain the concurrence of the Attorney General.

Notwithstanding section 102 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987 (Public Law 99–93; 99 Stat. 408), but subject to paragraph (2), there are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State from time to time such amounts as may be necessary to carry out this section.

Amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) shall remain available until expended.

No reward paid under this section may exceed $25,000,000, except as personally authorized by the Secretary of State if he determines that offer or payment of an award of a larger amount is necessary to combat terrorism or defend the Nation against terrorist acts. Without first making such determination, the Secretary may authorize a reward of up to twice the amount specified in this paragraph for the capture or information leading to the capture of a leader of a foreign terrorist organization. The Secretary shall authorize a reward of $50,000,000 for the capture or death or information leading to the capture or death of Osama bin Laden.

A reward under this section of more than $100,000 may not be made without the approval of the Secretary.

Any reward granted under this section shall be approved and certified for payment by the Secretary.

The authority to approve rewards of more than $100,000 set forth in paragraph (2) may not be delegated.

If the Secretary determines that the identity of the recipient of a reward or of the members of the recipient's immediate family must be protected, the Secretary may take such measures in connection with the payment of the reward as he considers necessary to effect such protection.

The Secretary may make a reward under this section in the form of money, a nonmonetary item (including such items as automotive vehicles), or a combination thereof.

An officer or employee of any entity of Federal, State, or local government or of a foreign government who, while in the performance of his or her official duties, furnishes information described in subsection (b) of this section shall not be eligible for a reward under this section.

Not later than 30 days after the payment of any reward under this section, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees with respect to such reward. The report, which may be submitted in classified form if necessary, shall specify the amount of the reward paid, to whom the reward was paid, and the acts with respect to which the reward was paid. The report shall also discuss the significance of the information for which the reward was paid in dealing with those acts.

Not later than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees with respect to the operation of the rewards program. The report shall provide information on the total amounts expended during the fiscal year ending in that year to carry out this section, including amounts expended to publicize the availability of rewards.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in the sole discretion of the Secretary, the resources of the rewards program shall be available for the publication of rewards offered by foreign governments regarding acts of international terrorism which do not involve United States persons or property or a violation of the narcotics laws of the United States.

For the purpose of more effectively disseminating information about the rewards program, the Secretary may use the resources of the rewards program to conduct media surveys, including analyses of media markets, means of communication, and levels of literacy, in countries determined by the Secretary to be associated with acts of international terrorism.

The Secretary may use the resources of the rewards program to create advertisements to disseminate information about the rewards program. The Secretary may base the content of such advertisements on the findings of the surveys conducted under paragraph (1). The Secretary may purchase radio or television time, newspaper space, or make use of any other means of advertisement, as appropriate.

A determination made by the Secretary under this section shall be final and conclusive and shall not be subject to judicial review.

As used in this section:

The term “act of international terrorism” includes—

(A) any act substantially contributing to the acquisition of unsafeguarded special nuclear material (as defined in paragraph (8) of section 6305 of this title) or any nuclear explosive device (as defined in paragraph (4) of that section) by an individual, group, or non-nuclear-weapon state (as defined in paragraph (5) of that section); and

(B) any act, as determined by the Secretary, which materially supports the conduct of international terrorism, including the counterfeiting of United States currency or the illegal use of other monetary instruments by an individual, group, or country supporting international terrorism as determined for purposes of section 2405(j)(1)(A) of title 50, Appendix.

The term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

The term “member of the immediate family”, with respect to an individual, includes—

(A) a spouse, parent, brother, sister, or child of the individual;

(B) a person with respect to whom the individual stands in loco parentis; and

(C) any person not covered by subparagraph (A) or (B) who is living in the individual's household and is related to the individual by blood or marriage.

The term “rewards program” means the program established in subsection (a)(1) of this section.

The term “United States narcotics laws” means the laws of the United States for the prevention and control of illicit trafficking in controlled substances (as such term is defined in section 802(6) of title 21).

The term “United States person” means—

(A) a citizen or national of the United States; and

(B) an alien lawfully present in the United States.

(Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 841, title I, §36, as added Pub. L. 98–533, title I, §102, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2708; amended Pub. L. 99–399, title V, §502, Aug. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 869; Pub. L. 100–690, title IV, §4602, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4287; Pub. L. 101–231, §13(a), Dec. 13, 1989, 103 Stat. 1963; Pub. L. 101–246, title X, §1001, Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 86; Pub. L. 103–236, title I, §133(a)(1), title VIII, §827, Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 395, 519; Pub. L. 104–134, title I, §101[(a)] [title IV, §406], Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321, 1321–45; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 104–140, §1(a), May 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 1327; Pub. L. 105–277, div. G, subdiv. B, title XXII, §2202, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–805; Pub. L. 105–323, title I, §101, Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 3029; Pub. L. 107–56, title V, §502, Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 364; Pub. L. 108–447, div. B, title IV, §405(a)–(d), Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 2902, 2903; Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title XII, §1255(a), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 402.)

Section 102 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987, referred to in subsec. (d)(1), is section 102 of Pub. L. 99–93, title I, Aug. 16, 1985, 99 Stat. 408, which is not classified to the Code.

A prior section 36 of act Aug. 1, 1956, was renumbered section 37 by section 102 of Pub. L. 98–533, and subsequently renumbered, and set out as a Short Title of 1956 Amendment note under section 2651 of this title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 102–138, title I, §111(1), Oct. 28, 1991, 105 Stat. 654.

2008—Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 110–181 inserted at end “The Secretary shall authorize a reward of $50,000,000 for the capture or death or information leading to the capture or death of Osama bin Laden.”

2004—Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 108–447, §405(a), added par. (7).

Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 108–447, §405(b), substituted “$25,000,000” for “$5,000,000”, struck out period after “terrorist acts.”, and inserted at end “Without first making such determination, the Secretary may authorize a reward of up to twice the amount specified in this paragraph for the capture or information leading to the capture of a leader of a foreign terrorist organization.”

Subsec. (e)(6). Pub. L. 108–447, §405(c), added par. (6).

Subsecs. (i) to (k). Pub. L. 108–447, §405(d), added subsec. (i) and redesignated former subsecs. (i) and (j) as (j) and (k), respectively.

2001—Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 107–56, §502(1)(A), struck out “or” at end.

Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 107–56, §502(1)(B), substituted “, including by dismantling an organization in whole or significant part; or” for period at end.

Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 107–56, §502(1)(C), added par. (6).

Subsec. (d)(2) to (4). Pub. L. 107–56, §502(2), redesignated par. (4) as (2) and struck out former pars. (2) and (3) which read as follows:

“(2) Limitation.—No amount of funds may be appropriated under paragraph (1) which, when added to the unobligated balance of amounts previously appropriated to carry out this section, would cause such amounts to exceed $15,000,000.

“(3) Allocation of funds.—To the maximum extent practicable, funds made available to carry out this section should be distributed equally for the purpose of preventing acts of international terrorism and for the purpose of preventing international narcotics trafficking.”

Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 107–56, §502(3), inserted “, except as personally authorized by the Secretary of State if he determines that offer or payment of an award of a larger amount is necessary to combat terrorism or defend the Nation against terrorist acts.” after “$5,000,000”.

1998—Pub. L. 105–323 generally amended section substantially similar to general amendment by Pub. L. 105–277, except that the maximum reward in subsec. (e)(1) was increased from $2,000,000 to $5,000,000.

Pub. L. 105–277 generally amended section revising and restating provisions relating to Department of State program authorizing rewards for information relating to arrests or convictions with respect to international terrorism or drug trafficking.

1996—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 104–134 which directed substitution of “shall establish and publicize a program under which rewards may be paid” for “may pay a reward” in section 36(a)(1) of the State Department Authorities Act of 1956 was executed to subsec. (a)(1) of this section, section 36(a)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–236, §827, designated existing provisions as par. (1), redesignated former pars. (1) to (3) as subpars. (A) to (C), respectively, and added par. (2).

Pub. L. 103–236, §133(a)(1), struck out “and is primarily outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States” after “United States property” in concluding provisions.

1990—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–246, which directed amendment of subsec. (c) by substituting “$2,000,000” for “$500,000”, could not be executed because “$500,000” did not appear after execution of the amendment by Pub. L. 101–231. See 1989 Amendment note below.

1989—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–231 substituted “$2,000,000” for “$500,000”.

1988—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 100–690 amended second sentence generally. Prior to amendment, second sentence read as follows: “In addition to the amount authorized by the preceding sentence, there are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1987 for ‘Administration of Foreign Affairs’ for use in paying rewards under this section, up to $5,000,000 of which may be used for rewards for information described in subsection (b)(1) of this section.”

1986—Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 99–399, §502(a), added subsec. (b) and redesignated former subsec. (b) as (c). Former subsec. (c) redesignated (d).

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99–399, §502(a)(1), (c)(1), redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d), and substituted “subsection (a) of this section” for “this section”. Former subsec. (d) redesignated (e).

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 99–399, §502(a)(1), redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (f).

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 99–399, §502(a)(1), (c)(2), redesignated former subsec. (e) as (f), and inserted “or (b)”. Former subsec. (f) redesignated (g).

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 99–399, §502(a)(1), (b), redesignated former subsec. (f) as (g), and inserted provision authorizing up to $2,000,000 for rewards for information described in subsec. (b)(1) of this section and appropriating $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1987, of which up to $5,000,000 may be used for rewards for information described in subsec. (b)(1) of this section.

Subsecs. (h), (i). Pub. L. 99–399, §502(d), added subsecs. (h) and (i).

Committee on International Relations of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Foreign Affairs of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Tenth Congress, Jan. 5, 2007.

Amendment by section 827 of Pub. L. 103–236 effective 60 days after Apr. 30, 1994, see section 831 of Pub. L. 103–236, set out as an Effective Date note under section 6301 of this title.

Pub. L. 105–323, title I, §102, Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 3032, as amended by Pub. L. 106–277, §1, Oct. 2, 2000, 114 Stat. 813; Pub. L. 107–228, div. A, title VI, §697(d), Sept. 30, 2002, 116 Stat. 1418, provided that:

“(a) Authority.—In the sole discretion of the Secretary of State (except as provided in subsection (b)(2)) and in consultation, as appropriate, with the Attorney General, the Secretary may pay a reward to any individual who furnishes information leading to—

“(1) the arrest or conviction in any country; or

“(2) the transfer to, or conviction by, the Special Court of Sierra Leone[,] the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia or the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,

of any individual who is the subject of an indictment confirmed by a judge of such tribunal for serious violations of international humanitarian law as defined under the statute of such tribunal.

“(b) Procedures.—

“(1) To ensure that the payment of rewards pursuant to this section does not duplicate or interfere with the payment of informants or the obtaining of evidence or information, as authorized to the Department of Justice, subject to paragraph (3), the offering, administration, and payment of rewards under this section, including procedures for—

“(A) identifying individuals, organizations, and offenses with respect to which rewards will be offered;

“(B) the publication of rewards;

“(C) the offering of joint rewards with foreign governments;

“(D) the receipt and analysis of data; and

“(E) the payment and approval of payment,

shall be governed by procedures developed by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General.

“(2) Before making a reward under this section in a matter over which there is Federal criminal jurisdiction, the Secretary of State shall obtain the concurrence of the Attorney General.

“(3) Rewards under this section shall be subject to any requirements or limitations that apply to rewards under section 36 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708) with respect to the ineligibility of government employees for rewards, maximum reward amount, and procedures for the approval and certification of rewards for payment.

“(c) Reference.—(1) For the purposes of subsection (a), the statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia means the Annex to the Report of the Secretary General of the United Nations pursuant to paragraph 2 of Security Council Resolution 827 (1993) (S/25704).

“(2) For the purposes of subsection (a), the statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda means the statute contained in the annex to Security Council Resolution 955 of November 8, 1994.

“(3) For the purposes of subsection (a), the Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone means the Statute contained in the Annex to the Agreement Between the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone on the Establishment of a Special Court for Sierra Leone.

“(d) Determination of the Secretary.—A determination made by the Secretary of State under this section shall be final and conclusive and shall not be subject to judicial review.

“(e) Priority.—Rewards under this section may be paid from funds authorized to carry out section 36 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 [22 U.S.C. 2708]. In the Administration and payment of rewards under the rewards program of section 36 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, the Secretary of State shall ensure that priority is given for payments to individuals described in section 36 of that Act and that funds paid under this section are paid only after any and all due and payable demands are met under section 36 of that Act.

“(f) Reports.—The Secretary shall inform the appropriate committees of rewards paid under this section in the same manner as required by section 36(g) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956.”

Section 13(b) of Pub. L. 101–231 provided that: “If the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 [Pub. L. 101–246, Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 87], is enacted before this Act [Dec. 13, 1989], and that Act makes the same amendment as is described in subsection (a) [amending this section], then subsection (a) shall not take effect. If, however, this Act is enacted before the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991, and that Act would make the same amendment as is made by subsection (a), then that amendment as proposed to be made by that Act shall not take effect.”

Section 501 of Pub. L. 99–399 provided that: “It is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State should more vigorously utilize the moneys available under section 36(a) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708(a); relating to rewards for information on international terrorism) to more effectively apprehend and prosecute international terrorists. It is further the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of State should consider widely publicizing the sizable rewards available under present law so that major international terrorist figures may be brought to justice.”