Closing Bribery Loopholes Act

TheClosing Bribery Loopholes Act seeks to strengthen and clarify the bribery prohibition for public officials and witnesses by expanding the definition of what counts as an “official act.” The bill amends 18 U.S.C. § 201(a)(3) to emphasize that an official act includes any act within the official’s duties, including decisions, recommendations, or actions on matters that may be pending or may come before the official in their official capacity or place of trust or profit. It also clarifies that an official act can be a single act, multiple acts, or a course of conduct, and can occur even if the desired outcome is not achieved. The overall aim is to close potential loopholes that could have allowed bribery schemes to escape coverage by narrowly defining what constitutes an official act. In short, the bill broadens and clarifies the scope of actions that, if linked to a bribery scheme, can be prosecuted under anti-bribery laws, potentially increasing the reach of enforcement.