[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 26 (Thursday, February 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




OMNIBUS COUNTERTERRORISM ACT OF 1995--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE 
                   UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 104-31)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with 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.
  

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