[House Document 104-31]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





                                     

        104th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House 
Document 104-31


 
   PROPOSED LEGISLATION: ``THE OMNIBUS COUNTERTERRORISM ACT OF 1995''

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  FROM

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              TRANSMITTING

 A DRAFT OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE THE ABILITY OF THE UNITED 
        STATES TO RESPOND TO THE INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST THREAT




  February 9, 1995.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
          Committee on the Judiciary and ordered to be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
    I am pleased to transmit today for your immediate 
consideration and enactment the ``Omnibus Counterterrorism Act 
of 1995.'' Also transmitted is a section-by-section analysis. 
This legislative proposal is part of my Administration's 
comprehensive effort to strengthen the ability of the United 
States to deter terrorist acts and punish those who aid or abet 
any international terrorist activity in the United States. It 
corrects deficiencies and gaps in current law.
    Some of the most significant provisions of the bill will:
          Provide clear Federal criminal jurisdiction for any 
        international terrorist attack that might occur in the 
        United States;
          Provide Federal criminal jurisdiction over terrorists 
        who use the United States as the place from which to 
        plan terrorist attacks overseas;
          Provide a workable mechanism, utilizing U.S. District 
        Court Judges appointed by the Chief Justice, to deport 
        expeditiously alien terrorists without risking the 
        disclosure of national security information or 
        techniques;
          Provide a new mechanism for preventing fund-raising 
        in the United States that supports international 
        terrorist activities overseas; and
          Implement an international treaty requiring the 
        insertion of a chemical agent into plastic explosives 
        when manufactured to make them detectable.
    The fund-raising provision includes a licensing mechanism 
under which funds can only be transferred based on a strict 
showing that the money will be used exclusively for religious, 
charitable, literary, or educational purposes and will not be 
diverted for terrorist activity. The bill also includes 
numerous relatively technical, but highly important, provisions 
that will facilitate investigations and prosecutions of 
terrorist crimes.
    It is the Administration's intent that section 101 of the 
bill confer Federal jurisdiction only over international 
terrorism offenses. The Administration will work with Members 
of Congress to ensure that the language in the bill is 
consistent with that intent.
    I urge the prompt and favorable consideration of this 
legislative proposal by the Congress.
                                                William J. Clinton.
    The White House, February 9, 1995.