H.R. 4250 · 117th Congress

War Crimes Rewards Expansion Act

Introduced on Jun 30, 2021 by Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5). 8 cosponsors, 4 of them from another party. Became Public Law 117-273.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 117-273
Introduced
Jun 30, 2021
Cosponsors
8
4 from the other party
Policy area
International Affairs
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to provide for rewards for the arrest or conviction of certain foreign nationals who have committed genocide or war crimes, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
  • Evidence and witnesses
  • War crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Dec 27, 2022). Public domain.

War Crimes Rewards Expansion Act

This act expands the Department of State's rewards program to authorize rewards for providing information leading to the arrest, conviction, or transfer of a foreign national accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide as such crimes are defined under the law of an international criminal tribunal, the applicable country, or the United States. Currently, rewards are authorized for information leading to the arrest, conviction, or transfer of a foreign national accused of such crimes only as defined under the statutes of the relevant tribunal.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Virginia FoxxR-NC-5Sponsor

Democrats · 4

Republicans · 4

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
    Sep 28, 2021· House· Passage· Passed 412–9

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jun 30, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Jun 30, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Jun 30, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
  4. Jul 29, 2021 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  5. Jul 29, 2021 · HouseOrdered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
  6. Sep 28, 2021 · HouseMs. Wild moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  7. Sep 28, 2021 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H5482-5483)
  8. Sep 28, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4250.
  9. Sep 28, 2021 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  10. Sep 28, 2021 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H5494)
  11. Sep 28, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 412 - 9 (Roll no. 299).(text: CR H5482)House · Roll call 299
  12. Sep 28, 2021 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 412 - 9 (Roll no. 299). (text: CR H5482)House · Roll call 299
  13. Sep 28, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  14. Sep 29, 2021 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  15. Jun 9, 2022 · SenateCommittee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
  16. Jun 14, 2022Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Menendez without amendment. Without written report.
  17. Jun 14, 2022 · SenateCommittee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Menendez without amendment. Without written report.
  18. Jun 14, 2022 · SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 416.
  19. Dec 15, 2022Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  20. Dec 15, 2022 · SenatePassed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7267)
  21. Dec 16, 2022 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  22. Dec 23, 2022Presented to President.
  23. Dec 23, 2022 · HousePresented to President.
  24. Dec 27, 2022Signed by President.
  25. Dec 27, 2022Signed by President.
  26. Dec 27, 2022Became Public Law No: 117-273.
  27. Dec 27, 2022Became Public Law No: 117-273.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.