[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4557-H4558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE ANTITERRORISM AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1995--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF 
                 THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 104-71)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Banking and Financial 
Services, and the Committee on Commerce, and ordered to be printed:

To the Congress of the United States:
  Today I am transmitting for your immediate consideration and 
enactment the ``Antiterrorism Amendments Act of 1995.'' This 
comprehensive Act, together with the ``Omnibus Counterterrorism Act of 
1995,'' which I transmitted to the Congress on February 9, 1995, are 
critically important components of my Administration's effort to combat 
domestic and international terrorism.
  The tragic bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on 
April 19th stands as a challenge to all Americans to preserve a safe 
society. In the wake of this cowardly attack on innocent men, women, 
and children, following other terrorist incidents at home and abroad 
over the past several years, we must ensure that law enforcement 
authorities have the legal tools and resources they need to fight 
terrorism. The Antiterrorism Amendments Act of 1995 will help us to 
prevent terrorism through vigorous and effective investigation and 
prosecution. Major provisions of this Act would:
  --Permit law enforcement agencies to gain access to financial and 
    credit reports in antiterrorism cases, as is currently permitted 
    with bank records. This would allow such agencies to track the 
    source and use of funds by suspected terrorists.
  --Apply the same legal standard in national security cases that is 
    currently used in other criminal cases for obtaining permission to 
    track telephone traffic with ``pen registers'' and ``trap and 
    trace'' devices.
  --Enable law enforcement agencies to utilize the national security 
    letter process to obtain records critical to terrorism 
    investigations from hotels, motels, common carriers, storage 
    facilities, and vehicle rental facilities.
  --Expand the authority of law enforcement agencies to conduct 
    electronic surveillance, within constitutional safeguards. Examples 
    of this increased authority include additions to the list of 
    felonies that can be used as the basis for a surveillance order, 
    and enhancement of law enforcement's ability to keep pace with 
    telecommunications technology by obtaining multiple point wiretaps 
    where it is impractical to specify the number of the phone to be 
    tapped (such as the use of a series of cellular phones).
  --Require the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Alcohol, 
    Tobacco, and Firearms to study the inclusion of taggants 
    (microscopic particles) in standard explosive device raw materials 
    to permit tracing the source of those materials after an explosion; 
    whether common chemicals used to manufacture explosives can be 
    rendered inert; and whether controls can be imposed on certain 
    basic chemicals used to manufacture other explosives.
  --Require the inclusion of taggants in standard explosive device raw 
    materials after the publication of 
[[Page H4558]]     implementing regulations by the Secretary of the 
    Treasury.
  --Enable law enforcement agencies to call on the special expertise of 
    the Department of Defense in addressing offenses involving chemical 
    and biological weapons.
  --Make mandatory at least a 10-year penalty for transferring firearms 
    or explosives with knowledge that they will be used to commit a 
    crime of violence and criminalize the possession of stolen 
    explosives.
  --Impose enhanced penalties for terrorist attacks against current and 
    former Federal employees, and their families, when the crime is 
    committed because of the employee's official duties.
  --Provide a source of funds for the digital telephony bill, which I 
    signed into law last year, ensuring court-authorized law 
    enforcement access to electronic surveillance of digitized 
    communications.
  These proposals are described in more detail in the enclosed section-
by-section analysis.
  The Administration is prepared to work immediately with the Congress 
to enact antiterrorism legislation. My legislation will provide an 
effective and comprehensive response to the threat of terrorism, while 
also protecting our precious civil liberties. I urge the prompt and 
favorable consideration of the Administration's legislative proposals 
by the Congress.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, May 3, 1995.

                          ____________________