[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 75 (Friday, May 24, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E930]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CHURCH ARSON PREVENTION ACT OF 1996

                                 ______


                           HON. HENRY J. HYDE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 23, 1996

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the ``Church Arson 
Prevention Act of 1996,'' legislation which will give Federal 
authorities the tools necessary to prosecute and bring to justice 
people who burn, desecrate, or otherwise damage religious property. I 
am pleased that the Committee's Ranking Member, John Conyers, is 
joining in sponsoring this bill.
  The arson of a place of worship is repulsive to us as a society. When 
the fire is motivated by racial hatred, it is even more reprehensible. 
There is no crime that should be more vigilantly investigated, and the 
perpetrators more vigorously prosecuted, than this.
  Earlier this week, on May 21, 1996, the Committee on the Judiciary 
held hearings on the very troubling increase in church burnings, and 
particularly those occurring in the southeastern United States. Since 
October 1991 there have been 110 incidents of church arson reported to 
Federal authorities; 33 of these occurred in the first five months of 
1996. The victims of these crimes are not confined to a particular 
religious group--the burnings include synagogues, mosques, and church 
congregations both African-American and Caucasian. But, of the 51 fires 
reported since January 1995, more than half involve African-American 
congregations.
  Although Federal authorities have been somewhat successful in 
prosecuting these cases, the Federal statutes which grant jurisdiction 
over fires and acts of vandalism at houses of worship make it difficult 
to bring Federal cases if the culprits are acting alone. My bill will 
eliminate these impediments, thereby giving the Attorney General an 
effective weapon with which to fight these heinous crimes. The bill 
amends section 247 of Title 18, United States Code, which makes it a 
crime to damage religious property or to obstruct persons in the free 
exercise of religious beliefs, by requiring only that the offense ``is 
in or affects interstate or foreign commerce.'' In using this 
formulation, Congress will be granting jurisdiction over all conduct 
which may be reached under the interstate commerce clause of the 
Constitution. The parameters of this jurisdiction are left to the 
Courts to define, in accordance with Constitutional principles.
  In addition, the Hyde bill decreases the dollar value of destruction 
which must occur in order to prosecute a crime under section 247. 
Current law requires that the loss from the defacement, damage or 
destruction involved be more than $10,000. This means that when the 
damage from a fire is minimal, or when hate is expressed, not through 
fire but through desecration of defacement of houses of worship, 18 
U.S.C. 247 is not an available source of jurisdiction. My bill reduces 
the dollar requirement to $5,000, an amount which will allow Federal 
prosecution of more cases, while ensuring that the Federal government 
is not becoming involved in cases that because of their de minimum 
effect, are best left to State authorities.
  I dare say that we in Congress are unanimous in our condemnation of 
those who would express their hatred by destroying or damaging 
religious property. While we may not be able to legislate this problem 
away, we can ensure that those who commit these crimes are swiftly and 
firmly punished. I invite my colleagues to join me in this goal by co-
sponsoring the ``Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996.'' Should you wish 
to do so, or should you need further information, please contact me or 
Judiciary Committee counsel Diana Schacht, at extension 53951.