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Cartel Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025
To authorize the President of the United States to issue letters of marque and reprisal with respect to acts of aggression against the United States by a member of a cartel, or a member of a cartel-linked organization, or any conspirator associated with a cartel, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill authorizes the President to issue letters of marque and reprisal against individuals affiliated with designated cartels. These letters would authorize privately armed and equipped persons or entities to seize the persons and property of cartel members, cartel-linked organization members, or conspirators responsible for acts of aggression against the United States, outside US geographic boundaries. The bill requires security bonds before letters are issued. It defines cartels as organizations designated as foreign terrorist organizations by executive order or as transnational criminal organizations under federal law.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Burchett, Tim [R-TN-2] (R-TN)
2 cosponsors
- Rep. Brecheen, Josh [R-OK-2] (R-OK)
- Rep. Messmer, Mark [R-IN-8] (R-IN)
Actions (2)
- Feb 12, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. · house
- Feb 12, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
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Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 12, 2025
Mr. Burchett (for himself and Mr. Messmer) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
A BILL
To authorize the President of the United States to issue letters of marque and reprisal with respect to acts of aggression against the United States by a member of a cartel, or a member of a cartel-linked organization, or any conspirator associated with a cartel, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Cartel Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants the Congress the power to grant letters of marque and reprisal to punish, deter, and prevent the acts of aggression and depredations and other acts of war committed by cartel conspirators.
(2) Cartels present an unusual and extraordinary threat to national security and foreign policy of the United States.
SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF LETTERS OF MARQUE AND REPRISAL.
(a) Authority of President.—The President of the United States is authorized and requested to commission, under officially issued letters of marque and reprisal, so many of privately armed and equipped persons and entities as, in the judgment of the President, the service may require, with suitable instructions to the leaders thereof, to employ all means reasonably necessary to seize outside the geographic boundaries of the United States and its territories the person and property of any individual who the President determines is a member of a cartel, a member of a cartel-linked organization, or a conspirator associated with a cartel or a cartel-linked organization, who is responsible for an act of aggression against the United States.
(b) Security Bonds.—No letter of marque and reprisal shall be issued by the President without requiring the posting of a security bond in such amount as the President shall determine is sufficient to ensure that the letter be executed according to the terms and conditions thereof.
(c) Definition of Cartel.—In this section, the term “cartel” means an organization that—
(1) is described in section 1 of the executive order titled “Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists” and dated January 20, 2025; or
(2) is a “transnational criminal organization” under the meaning given that term in section 3003(5) of the Public Law 118-50 (21 U.S.C. 2341(5)). <all>
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