[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     FIGHTING THE WAR ON TERRORISM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fox] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, on April 19 a tragedy occurred 
which rocked the Nation. For the second time in recent years, 
terrorists struck a target in the United States and, at the same time, 
dealt a blow to our national sense of security. As everyone now knows, 
a terrorist, or group of terrorists, exploded a car bomb in front of 
the Federal office building in Oklahoma City, killing hundreds of 
adults and children and leaving scores injured.
  We, as a Nation, now realize that it could happen to any of us, 
anywhere, and none of us are immune--not even our children.
  In the painful days which have followed, citizens began to take stock 
of the situation and Congress will consider its legislative options to 
address this. How can we prevent this kind of disaster from ever 
happening again? The most truthful answer is that we can't completely 
prevent these kinds of tragedies, but we can take appropriate steps to 
reduce the number and severity of them.
  As the magnitude of the horror in Oklahoma City was fully felt, all 
Americans began to realize that the terrorist bombing had profoundly 
changed all our lives, not just those of us who have lost loved ones in 
the nightmare attack.
  We experienced a tragic lesson that day. Terrorism is not just 
something to be feared from foreign nationalists; it can be a horror 
from within our country as well. There are obvious and dramatic lessons 
to be learned by the American people in the wake of this disaster. We 
need to examine the balance of power between the authority of the state 
versus the rights of the individual.
  In the House, we are considering several measures. The State-
Sponsored Terrorism Responsibility Act would hold state sponsors of 
terrorism responsible for their actions and allow American victims to 
have a means of redress. This bill will amend the Foreign Sovereign 
Immunities Act to provide specific jurisdiction for lawsuits against 
countries that support or condone terrorism, torture or genocide.
  International terrorism poses a grave threat to the interests and 
security of the United States both at home and abroad. Outlaw states 
continue to serve as sponsors and promoters of this reprehensible 
activity by providing a safe haven, terrorist training and weapons. 
This legislation will make those states responsible for their actions 
and the actions of those they support in their terroristic efforts.
  Other bills in the House would place new restrictions on the granting 
of visas to aliens linked to terrorism activities and would remove 
restrictions on a database that helps identify aliens with ties to 
terrorists seeking admission to the United States.
  The House measure would also repeal the 1990 law that forbids 
consular officials from denying visas based solely on an alien's 
membership in a known terrorist organization and would establish 
deportation proceedings against aliens living in the United States and 
engaged in terrorist activities.
  It would further restrict the use, purchase, sale and transfer of 
nuclear materials, plastic explosives and toxic gases and would 
encourage broader disclosure by consumer reporting agencies to the FBI 
for counterintelligence and counterterrorism investigations.
  Finally, the House is considering legislation which would give the 
FBI greater access to hotel/motel records for the purpose of 
identifying subjects of terrorism investigations.
  Each bill before Congress deserves careful consideration and I hope 
we will be able to incorporate the best ideas of each into a bipartisan 
antiterrorism package with sufficient teeth to help us put an end to 
the senseless criminal violence we have seen in Oklahoma City, at the 
World Trade Center, on the Achille Lauro and in the skies over 
Lockerbie, Scotland.
  And for the families of those who were killed in Oklahoma City we 
offer our prayers and condolences. We will do everything within our 
power to ensure that those who committed the cowardly acts of violence 
will be brought to justice and punished. It won't bring back those who 
lost their lives, but it will send a strong signal that our Government 
will no longer tolerate such acts against the freedom-loving people of 
this great Nation.


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