[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 66 (Monday, April 24, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5595-S5596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRAGEDY IN OKLAHOMA--THE LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today to express on my own behalf, 
and on behalf of the people of the State of Ohio, our deepest sympathy 
with and for the people of the State of Oklahoma as they cope with the 
devastating tragedy that took place last Wednesday. Our hearts go out 
to victims and the victims' families. No one, Mr. President, could 
watch yesterday's memorial service and see the pictures of the victims, 
the pictures of the children, without a lump in their throat or having 
to turn away from the screen.
  Mr. President, I want to congratulate the rescue workers and all the 
volunteers, as well as the police--both the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation and the local police officers--who have proven to a 
concerned America that we will, in fact, fight back against terrorism.
  Mr. President, when Oklahoma State trooper Charlie Hanger arrested 
one of the suspects in Oklahoma, he was acting on behalf of all 
Americans. He did not know at the time, of course, that he was 
arresting a terrorist. He was simply doing his job, the job that he 
does day in and day out.
  He pulled over a motorist apparently for suspicion of speeding. The 
motorist said he was driving cross-country--but the officer noticed the 
driver had not gotten comfortable the way most cross-country drivers 
do. He still had his jacket on. He did not have any luggage.
  Mr. President, noticing details like that is the very heart of good 
police work. When the motorist leaned over, the policeman saw the bulge 
of a concealed weapon and at that point arrested him.
  Officer Hanger brought in the suspicious motorist. Subsequently, it 
turned out that the man he arrested for carrying a concealed weapon was 
one of the most wanted individuals in America. All in a day's work.
  That, Mr. President, is really what police work is. It is not 
glamorous. In fact, many times it is downright laborious, boring. To 
get that one terrorist, it takes thousands of police chasing down 
thousands of leads. Most of the leads do not go anywhere, but they all 
have to be pursued so that ultimately the guilty can be captured. I am 
sure, Mr. President, in the days since this tragedy occurred, thousands 
and thousands of police officers thousands of thousands of different 
times across this country have analyzed what they were doing and tried 
to identify the composite picture and have done things that they do in 
their good police work, things that in most cases turn out not to lead 
anywhere, but they know that they have to do that.
  Mr. President, the pursuit of the suspects in the Oklahoma City 
bombing proves the immense value of hard work and patience in American 
police work. It also proves the awesome importance of technology in the 
war against terrorism and other kinds of crime.
  Technology and good police work have really been the key to making 
the progress that has been made thus far in solving the mystery of this 
horrible tragedy. Federal agents recovered a confidential vehicle 
identification number from a fragment of a truck found at the bombing 
scene. This number led the FBI to a Ryder truck rental office in 
Junction City, KS--and that is where the composite pictures of the 
suspects were made.
  Mr. President, we need to do everything we can at the Federal level 
to promote the kind of cutting-edge Federal technology that makes this 
possible. I will be introducing in the near future a comprehensive 
Federal crime bill that would help hook up all of America's police 
departments into this Federal information data bank. It will help 
maintain a national DNA bank to allow the local law enforcement 
officers to identify and capture sex offenders and other violent 
criminals. It will be a data base, Mr. President, that deals not only 
with DNA, but also with fingerprints, also with ballistic comparisons, 
and also with information about individuals who have been convicted of 
serious offenses.
  Mr. President, as we deal with the aftermath of the bombing in 
Oklahoma City, I think there are three important tasks ahead for the 
U.S. Senate.
  First, the Senate does need to increase the availability of crime-
fighting technology to make this available to every law-enforcement 
officer in every town and every community in the country.
  Second, the Senate needs to take a very close look at how we deal 
with the entry into the United States of individuals who are affiliated 
with international terrorist groups. We must look, also, at what we 
should do when we determine aliens already in this country are members 
of such groups.
  Third, the Senate needs to examine the issue of domestic terrorist 
groups to figure out the best way to infiltrate these extremist groups 
and then to keep tabs on their dangerous activities.
  Mr. President, over the next few days I will be discussing my own 
legislation in greater detail. I think that the level of attention the 
Senate gives these issues in the days to come will be one factor, a 
major factor, lessening the chance of another tragedy of the kind that 
took place this past week.
  Again, Mr. President, let me offer to the victims, the families of 
the victims, the loved ones, our deepest sympathy for this horrible and 
senseless tragedy.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who seeks to be recognized?
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  [[Page S5596]] Mr. BREAUX. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 
that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Louisiana is recognized.

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