,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ebeb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #be1 #bjbd,mr4 ,welch 7for himself and ,mr4 ,hawley7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code to require accountability in deferred prosecution agreements1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,hold ,corporate ,criminals ,accountable ,act of #bjbd4 #b4 ,accountability in deferred prosecution agreements ,section #cafa7;h77#b7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,any and inserting 7,a7 ,any2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 7i7 ,if the defendant described in subparagraph 7,a7 is a person other than an individual1 the court may not approve an agreement described in that subparagraph unless the court determines that the agreement is in the public interest4 7ii7 ,in determining whether to approve an agreement under clause 7i71 the court shall consider the following factors3 7,i7 ,the reasonableness of punitive measures1 including financial penalties4 7,,ii7 ,compliance terms or safeguards within the agreement4 7,,iii7 ,effective independent monitoring of agreement terms to ensure compliance by the defendant4 7,,iv7 ,cooperation of the defendant with law enforcement1 including identifying culpable individuals related to the conduct at issue4 7,v7 ,the underlying goals of the substantive law violation and whether the agreements contains terms unreleated to those goals4 7,,vi7 ,collateral consequences related to the agreement4 7,,vii7 ,the impact of the offense on the public1 including victims of the offense4 7,,viii7 ,the effects of the agreement on the regulatory scheme4 7,,ix7 ,the effects of the agreement on applicable statutes of limitations and other time-related interests4 7,x7 ,the appropriateness of any restitution4 7,,xi7 ,the adequacy and specificity of public admissions regarding the conduct at issue4 7,,xii7 ,prior criminal investigations and prosecutions of the defendant4 7,,xiii7 ,any other compelling reasons to affirm or reject the agreement4 4 #c4 ,empirically based compliance monitoring 7a7 ,in general ,any person other than an individual who is placed on probation or enters into a deferred prosecution agreement that contains a condition of compliance monitoring shall employ independent monitoring that uses objective and methodologically sound metrics4 7b7 ,report ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,attorney ,general shall publish a report on efforts by the ,department of ,justice to identify guidelines and increase the use of compliance monitoring described in subsection 7a7 through criminal prosecutions4 #d4 ,transparency requirements on ,federal agencies to enter into deferred prosecution agreements 7a7 ,requirements for settlement agreements 7#a7 ,in general ,chapter #c of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cjg4 ,information regarding settlement agreements 7a7 ,definition ,in this section1 the term covered settlement agreement means a settlement agreement 7including deferred prosecution agreements and nonprosecution agreements7 that is entered into by an ,executive agency that-- 7#a7 relates to an alleged violation of ,federal civil or criminal law2 7#b7 involves an agreement to defer prosecution or withhold prosecution of the alleged violation2 and 7#c7 requires the payment of a total of not less than #a1jjj1jjj by #a or more non-,federal persons4 7b7 ,information ,to be posted online 7#a7 ,requirement 7,a7 ,in general ,subject to subparagraph 7,b71 the head of each ,executive agency shall make publicly available in a searchable format in a prominent location on the website of the ,executive agency-- 7i7 a list of each covered settlement agreement entered into by the ,executive agency1 which shall include1 for each covered settlement agreement-- 7,i7 the date on which the parties entered into the covered settlement agreement2 7,,ii7 the names of the parties that settled claims under the covered settlement agreement2 7,,iii7 a description of the claims each party settled under the covered settlement agreement2 7,,iv7 the amount each party settling a claim under the covered settlement agreement is obligated to pay under the settlement agreement2 7,v7 the total amount the settling parties are obligated to pay under the settlement agreement2 7,,vi7 for each settling party-- 7aa7 the amount1 if any1 the settling party is obligated to pay that is expressly specified under the covered settlement agreement as a civil or criminal penalty or fine2 and 7bb7 the amount1 if any1 that is expressly specified under the covered settlement agreement as not deductible for purposes of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf2 and 7,,vii7 a description of where amounts collected under the covered settlement agreement will be deposited1 including1 if applicable1 the deposit of such amounts in an account available for use for #a or more programs of the ,federal ,government2 and 7ii7 a copy of each covered settlement agreement entered into by the ,executive agency4 7,b7 ,confidentiality provisions ,the requirement to disclose information or a copy of a covered settlement agreement under subparagraph 7,a7 shall apply to the extent that the information or copy 7or portion thereof7 is not subject to a confidentiality provision that prohibits disclosure of the information or copy 7or portion thereof74 7#b7 ,period ,the head of each ,executive agency shall ensure that-- 7,a7 information regarding a covered settlement agreement is publicly available on the list described in paragraph 7#a77;,a77i7 for a period of not less than #e years1 beginning on the date of the covered settlement agreement2 and 7,b7 a copy of a covered settlement agreement made available under paragraph 7#a77;,a77ii7 is publicly available-- 7i7 for a period of not less than #e years1 beginning on the date of the covered settlement agreement2 or 7ii7 for a covered settlement agreement under which a non-,federal person is required to pay not less than #ej1jjj1jjj1 for a period of not less than #aj years1 beginning on the date of the covered settlement agreement4 7c7 ,public statement ,if the head of an ,executive agency determines that a confidentiality provision in a covered settlement agreement1 or the sealing of a covered settlement agreement1 is required to protect the public interest of the ,united ,states1 the head of the ,executive agency shall issue a public statement stating why such action is required to protect the public interest of the ,united ,states1 which shall explain-- 7#a7 what interests confidentiality protects2 and 7#b7 why the interests protected by confidentiality outweigh the public's interest in knowing about the conduct of the ,federal ,government and the expenditure of ,federal resources4 7d7 ,requirements for written public statements ,any written public statement issued by an ,executive agency that refers to an amount to be paid by a non-,federal person under a covered settlement agreement shall-- 7#a7 specify which portion1 if any1 of the amount to be paid under the covered settlement agreement by a non-,federal person-- 7,a7 is expressly specified under the covered settlement agreement as a civil or criminal penalty or fine to be paid for a violation of ,federal law2 or 7,b7 is expressly specified under the covered settlement agreement as not deductible for purposes of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf2 7#b7 if no portion of the amount to be paid under the covered settlement agreement by a non-,federal person is expressly specified under the covered settlement agreement as a civil or criminal penalty or fine1 include a statement specifying that is the case2 and 7#c7 describe in detail-- 7,a7 any actions the non-,federal person shall take under the covered settlement agreement in lieu of payment to the ,federal ,government or a ,state or local government2 and 7,b7 any payments or compensation the non-,federal person shall make to other non-,federal persons under the covered settlement agreement4 7e7 ,confidentiality ,the requirement to disclose information under subsection 7d7 shall apply to the extent that the information to be disclosed 7or portion thereof7 is not subject to a confidentiality provision that prohibits disclosure of the information 7or portion thereof74 7f7 ,reporting 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than ,january #ca of each year1 the head of an ,executive agency that entered into a covered settlement agreement during the previous calendar year shall submit to each committee of ,congress with jurisdiction over the activities of the ,executive agency a report indicating-- 7,a7 how many covered settlement agreements the ,executive agency entered into during that previous calendar year2 7,b7 how many covered settlement agreements the ,executive agency entered into during that previous calendar year that had any terms or conditions that are required to be kept confidential2 7,c7 how many covered settlement agreements the ,executive agency entered into during that previous calendar year for which all terms and conditions are required to be kept confidential2 7,d7 the total amount of attorney fees1 costs1 and expenses paid to non-,federal persons under settlement agreements 7including consent decrees7 of the ,executive agency during that previous calendar year2 and 7,e7 the number of settlement agreements 7including consent decrees7 between the ,executive agency and non-,federal persons that involve regulatory action or regulatory changes1 including the promulgation of new rules1 during that previous calendar year4 7#b7 ,availability of reports ,the head of an ,executive agency that is required to submit a report under paragraph 7#a7 shall make the report publicly available in a searchable format in a prominent location on the ,web site of the ,executive agency4 4 7#b7 ,technical and conforming amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #c of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #cjg4 ,information regarding settlement agreements4 4 7b7 ,review of confidentiality of settlement agreements ,not later than #f months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to ,congress a report regarding how ,executive agencies 7as defined under section #aje of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code7 determine whether the terms of a settlement agreement or the existence of a settlement agreement will be treated as confidential1 which shall include recommendations1 if any1 for legislative or administrative action to increase the transparency of ,government settlements while continuing to protect the legitimate interests that confidentiality provisions serve4 #e4 ,extension of statute of limitations for certain crimes ,section #cbhb of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7c7 ,financial institutions ,except as otherwise expressly provided by law1 no person other than an individual shall be prosecuted1 tried1 or punished for any offense involving a financial institution1 corporation1 or a subsidiary of a financial institution or corporation unless the indictment is found or the information is instituted within #aj years next after such offense shall have been committed4 4 #f4 ,investigation of fully culpable individuals ,section #ceec7;e7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,upon and inserting the following3 7#a7 ,in general ,upon 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7#b7 ,providing assistance ,any person other than an individual seeking a sentence below a level established by statute as a minimum sentence under this subsection shall provide assistance to the ,government in identifying and fully investigating employees or former employees involved in the offense4 4