Curtis sponsors bill to protect U.S. businesses from corruption abroad

A bipartisan bill sponsored on Tuesday by U.S. Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) would authorize the United States president to sanction any foreign person engaged in corruption against an American business person abroad.

“Many businesses, and especially small businesses, do not have the resources to combat this type of corruption overseas,” Rep. Curtis said. “This bill will provide certainty for small businesses to invest around the globe — benefitting our economy and developing markets abroad for U.S. producers.”

Rep. Curtis on June 15 introduced the Foreign Corruption Accountability Act, H.R. 3887, with nine original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ).

“This legislation will provide critical protections against corruption by authorizing the president to revoke the visas of those engaging in corruption targeting Americans around the world,” including business people, NGOs, aid workers, and others, said Rep. Curtis, who is co-chairman of the bipartisan Caucus against Foreign Corruption and Kleptocracy. 

H.R. 3887 is the second bill to be introduced in a series of bills as part of Counter-Kleptocracy Month, an initiative of the caucus. Reps. Curtis, Fitzpatrick and Malinowski, who all serve on the caucus, on June 8 introduced the bipartisan Justice for Victims of Kleptocracy Act of 2021, H.R. 3781, which would direct the U.S. Department of Justice to clearly list on a website the amount of money that has been stolen from the citizens of kleptocratic regimes and recovered by U.S. law enforcement. The U.S. Senate companion to this bill was introduced on June 9 by U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marco Rubio (R-FL).