[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 26, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6937-S6945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CHURCH ARSON PREVENTION ACT OF 1996

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the clerk will 
report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 3525) to amend title 18, United States Code, 
     to clarify the Federal jurisdiction over offenses relating to 
     damage to religious property.

  The Senate proceeded to consider the bill.


                           Amendment No. 4341

                   (Purpose: To propose a substitute)

  Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, under the unanimous-consent agreement, 
I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of myself and Senators 
Kennedy, Hatch, Biden, Kohl, Sarbanes, and Nunn, and I ask for its 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from North Carolina [Mr. Faircloth], for 
     himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Biden, Mr. Kohl, Mr. 
     Sarbanes, and Mr. Nunn proposes an amendment numbered 4341.

  The amendment is as follows:

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Church Arson Prevention Act 
     of 1996''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) The incidence of arson or other destruction or 
     vandalism of places of religious worship, and the incidence 
     of violent interference with an individual's lawful exercise 
     or attempted exercise of the right of religious freedom at a 
     place of religious worship pose a serious national problem.
       (2) The incidence of arson of places of religious worship 
     has recently increased, especially in the context of places 
     of religious worship that serve predominantly African-
     American congregations.
       (3) Changes in Federal law are necessary to deal properly 
     with this problem.
       (4) Although local jurisdictions have attempted to respond 
     to the challenges posed by such acts of destruction or damage 
     to religious property, the problem is sufficiently serious, 
     widespread, and interstate in scope to warrant Federal 
     intervention to assist State and local jurisdictions.
       (5) Congress has authority, pursuant to the Commerce Clause 
     of the Constitution, to make acts of destruction or damage to 
     religious property a violation of Federal law.
       (6) Congress has authority, pursuant to section 2 of the 
     13th amendment to the Constitution, to make actions of 
     private citizens motivated by race, color, or ethnicity that 
     interfere with the ability of citizens to hold or use 
     religious property without fear of attack, violations of 
     Federal criminal law.

     SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF VIOLENT INTERFERENCE WITH RELIGIOUS 
                   WORSHIP.

       Section 247 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

[[Page S6938]]

       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``subsection (c) of this 
     section'' and inserting ``subsection (d)'';
       (2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e), as 
     subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively;
       (3) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
       ``(b) The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are 
     that the offense is in or affects interstate or foreign 
     commerce.
       ``(c) Whoever intentionally defaces, damages, or destroys 
     any religious real property because of the race, color, or 
     ethnic characteristics of any individual associated with that 
     religious property, or attempts to do so, shall be punished 
     as provided in subsection (d).'';
       (4) in subsection (d), as redesignated--
       (A) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) by inserting ``to any person, including any public 
     safety officer performing duties as a direct or proximate 
     result of conduct prohibited by this section,'' after 
     ``bodily injury''; and
       (ii) by striking ``ten years'' and inserting ``20 years'';
       (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
     (3) and (4), respectively;
       (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
       ``(2) if bodily injury results to any person, including any 
     public safety officer performing duties as a direct or 
     proximate result of conduct prohibited by this section, and 
     the violation is by means of fire or an explosive, a fine 
     under this title or imprisonment for not more that 40 years, 
     or both;'';
       (5) in subsection (f), as redesignated--
       (A) by striking ``religious property'' and inserting 
     ``religious real property'' both places it appears; and
       (B) by inserting ``, including fixtures or religious 
     objects contained within a place of religious worship'' 
     before the period; and
       (6) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(g) No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for 
     any noncapital offense under this section unless the 
     indictment is found or the information is instituted not 
     later than 7 years after the date on which the offense was 
     committed.''.

     SEC. 4. LOAN GUARANTEE RECOVERY FUND.

       (a) In General.--
       (1) In general.--Using amounts described in paragraph (2), 
     the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (referred to 
     as the ``Secretary'') shall make guaranteed loans to 
     financial institutions in connection with loans made by such 
     institutions to assist organizations described in section 
     501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that have been 
     damaged as a result of acts of arson or terrorism in 
     accordance with such procedures as the Secretary shall 
     establish by regulation.
       (2) Use of credit subsidy.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, for the cost of loan guarantees under this 
     section, the Secretary may use not more than $5,000,000 of 
     the amounts made available for fiscal year 1996 for the 
     credit subsidy provided under the General Insurance Fund and 
     the Special Risk Insurance Fund.
       (b) Treatment of Costs.--The costs of guaranteed loans 
     under this section, including the cost of modifying loans, 
     shall be as defined in section 502 of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974.
       (c) Limit on Loan Principal.--Funds made available under 
     this section shall be available to subsidize total loan 
     principal, any part of which is to be guaranteed, not to 
     exceed $10,000,000.
       (d) Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary shall--
       (1) establish such terms and conditions as the Secretary 
     considers to be appropriate to provide loan guarantees under 
     this section, consistent with section 503 of the Credit 
     Reform Act; and
       (2) include in the terms and conditions a requirement that 
     the decision to provide a loan guarantee to a financial 
     institution and the amount of the guarantee does not in any 
     way depend on the purpose, function, or identity of the 
     organization to which the financial institution has made, or 
     intends to make, a loan.

     SEC. 5. COMPENSATION OF VICTIMS; REQUIREMENT OF INCLUSION IN 
                   LIST OF CRIMES ELIGIBLE FOR COMPENSATION.

       Section 1403(d)(3) of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 
     U.S.C. 10602(d)(3)) is amended by inserting ``crimes, whose 
     victims suffer death or personal injury, that are described 
     in section 247 of title 18, United States Code,'' after 
     ``includes''.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO ASSIST 
                   STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department 
     of the Treasury and the Department of Justice, including the 
     Community Relations Service, in fiscal years 1996 and 1997 
     such sums as are necessary to increase the number of 
     personnel, investigators, and technical support personnel to 
     investigate, prevent, and respond to potential violations of 
     sections 247 and 844 of title 18, United States Code.

     SEC. 7. REAUTHORIZATION OF HATE CRIMES STATISTICS ACT.

       The first section of the Hate Crimes Statistics Act (28 
     U.S.C. 534 note) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``for the calendar year 
     1990 and each of the succeeding 4 calendar years'' and 
     inserting ``for each calendar year''; and
       (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``1994'' and inserting 
     ``2002''.

     SEC. 8. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

       The Congress--
       (1) commends those individuals and entities that have 
     responded with funds to assist in the rebuilding of places of 
     worship that have been victimized by arson; and
       (2) encourages the private sector to continue these efforts 
     so that places of worship that are victimized by arson, and 
     their affected communities, can continue the rebuilding 
     process with maximum financial support from private 
     individuals, businesses, charitable organizations, and other 
     non-profit entities.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina has 10 
minutes.
  Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996 
is designed to meet two goals: One goal is to prosecute criminals who 
would sink so low as to burn churches to begin with.
  Second, we want to send a clear message that people of faith will not 
stand for this type of violence.
  Senator Kennedy and I have worked together on this legislation, and 
it is bipartisan legislation, in order to demonstrate that America's 
commitment to protect houses of worship across philosophical and 
geographical boundaries; that we are united in this effort. As I said 
last week, if we in Congress cannot agree that church burning is a 
despicable crime, what in the world can we agree upon?
  Several North Carolina churches burned down in the past year and a 
half. Some of these fires were accidents while others were clearly 
intentional. The criminals who set fires on purpose, whatever their 
reasoning, should be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of 
the law.
  In most of these cases, State and local law enforcement is more than 
capable of handling arson investigations. There is nothing in this bill 
to imply that we do not think local law enforcement is capable of doing 
their job. But there may be special circumstances such as criminals 
moving State to State setting fires where Federal assistance and a 
Federal statute is needed to adequately resolve the problem and to 
correct the situation.
  The Faircloth-Kennedy bill gives prosecutors the tools they need to 
fully punish guilty parties. It raises the penalties for church arson 
from 10 to 20 years. It extends the statute of limitations for church 
arson from 5 to 7 years. Both of these changes make the penalties 
consistent with other Federal arson crimes.
  Additionally, this bill authorizes funding for the Treasury and the 
Justice Department to train local law enforcement investigating church 
arson, and in many cases this is needed.

  The legislation does not provide any new funding. This will be 
determined by the Appropriations Committee.
  Also, the legislation allows the HUD Secretary to take money that has 
already been appropriated to use as loan guarantees for the rebuilding 
of these churches. I really do not believe that such funding will be 
needed. I believe the American people through their own charitable good 
will will put forth the funds to rebuild these churches. In fact, in 
the bill I inserted a sense-of-the-Senate commending those that have 
and will bring forth the funding. I urge other private individuals and 
companies to continue to join in these efforts to rebuild these 
sanctuaries without calling upon the Federal Government.
  Growing up and living in the rural South, I understand how the church 
serves as the center of the family and the community. Burning these 
churches is an assault on everyone's family and community. The violence 
must end now, and this bill will bring it to a halt.
  Mr. President, I believe the Senate realizes that this bill is not 
about liberals and conservatives. It is not about blacks or whites. It 
is about something much larger and encompasses all of us--the power of 
justice, the importance of faith, and the ability to distinguish 
between right and wrong. This is a joint effort on the part of Senator 
Kennedy and many others in this Senate to clearly make the distinction 
between right and wrong.
  Mr. President, I yield the remainder of my time.
  Mr. KENNEDY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, today Senator Faircloth and I come before

[[Page S6939]]

the Senate in a spirit of bipartisanship to address the festering 
problem of church arson. This horrifying epidemic, which was originally 
confined to the South, has recently spread to elsewhere in the United 
States. The wave of arsons primarily directed at African-American 
churches is a reminder of some of the darkest moments in our history--
when African-Americans were mired in a quicksand of racial injustice. 
The American people are growing sick and tired of waking up seemingly 
every morning only to learn of another church arson.

  This is not a regional problem. It is a national problem. It is 
vitally important for the American people to recognize that all 
Americans--Democrats and Republicans, whites and nonwhites, Catholics, 
Protestants, Jews, and Muslims--must speak with a united voice in 
condemning and combating these outrageous acts. We must send the 
strongest possible signal that Congress intends to act swiftly and 
effectively to address this festering crisis.
  It is in this spirit of unity that Senator Faircloth and I have 
worked together to develop a bipartisan bill to deal with the issue. I 
commend Senator Faircloth for his leadership on this legislation. I 
also commend Senators Hatch and Biden for their leadership and 
assistance in crafting this bill. I also applaud my colleagues in the 
House, Henry Hyde and John Conyers, who crafted a bipartisan House bill 
that passed swiftly and unanimously.
  During the course of the past week, House and Senate Republicans and 
Democrats have worked together to resolve the differences between the 
House and Senate bills, and to craft a comprehensive bill to respond to 
the church arson problem. The substitute that we are offering today is 
the product of this bipartisan cooperation between the Senate and the 
House. I fully expect that by the end of this week, the Senate and the 
House of Representatives will be on record 535 to 0 with a strong 
statement of Federal resolve to combat the church arson epidemic.
  Let me briefly outline the basic components of the bill that have 
been worked out by House and Senate leaders. First, it provides needed 
additional tools for Federal prosecutors to address violence against 
places of worship. The bill amends the primary Federal statute dealing 
with destruction of places of worship to make it easier to prosecute 
these cases. Current law contains onerous and unnecessary 
jurisdictional obstacles that have made this provision largely 
ineffective.

  In fact, despite the large number of incidents of destruction or 
desecration of places of religious worship in recent years, only one 
prosecution has been brought under this statute since its passage in 
1988. Our bill will breathe new life into this statute by removing 
these unnecessary obstacles.
  In addition, our bill strengthens the penalty for church arson by 
conforming it with the penalties under the general Federal arson 
statute. By conforming the penalty provisions of these two statutes, 
the maximum potential penalty for church arson will double from 10 to 
20 years. Our bill also extends the statute of limitations from 5 to 7 
years, giving investigators needed additional time to solve these 
difficult crimes.
  Giving prosecutors additional tools will enable to address this 
crisis more effectively. However, we must also deal with the aftermath 
of the arsons that have left some needy communities without a place of 
worship. The bill contains an important provision granting the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development the authority to make loan 
guarantees to lenders who provide loans to places of worship that have 
been victimized by arson.
  This provision does not require an additional appropriation of funds 
to HUD. It simply gives HUD authority to use funds it already has. 
Although the private sector will assume the primary responsibility for 
rebuilding, these loan guarantees will serve an indispensable function 
to help expedite the rebuilding process and the healing process.
  Some of the churches have been insured. Some belong to congregations 
that are representative of a broader national scope but many of them 
are small community churches. I think all of us are enormously 
encouraged by the outpouring of support from all parts of the country 
to help local communities rebuild those churches. We want to make sure 
that those that may have difficulty in gathering the funds are not 
going to be left out or left behind, and this very modest program of 
loans can provide help and assistance to those very small communities 
that might not otherwise have it.
  The bill also contains a provision that ensures that anyone who is 
injured as a result of these cowardly acts will be eligible to apply 
for assistance under the Victims of Crime Act.
  These arsons have place an enormous burden on State and local law 
enforcement, who also must investigate the crimes and address the tense 
aftermath within their communities.
  This bill contains two measures to assist State and local law 
enforcement and local communities in responding to these vicious 
crimes. The Department of Treasury is authorized to hire additional ATF 
agents to assist in these investigations, and to train State and local 
law enforcement officers in arson investigations.
  There is very sophisticated new technology and understanding about 
the nature of arson, and that new kind of technology available to local 
communities is something that we should do so they, local communities 
can use it to help resolve these crimes.
  The bill authorizes the Department of Justice to provide additional 
funds to the Community Relations Service, a small but vital mediation 
arm established by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The mission of the 
community Relations Service is to go into a community and reduce racial 
unrest through mediation and conciliation. It earned the respect of law 
enforcement officials and community leaders nationwide.
  Unfortunatley, its budget was recently cut in half, forcing it to 
contemplate layoffs at a time when its services are in greatest demand. 
The bill authorizes restoration of funds to the Community Relations 
Service.
  Finally, the bill reauthorizes the Hate Crimes Statistics Act for 6 
years. Reauthorizing the Hate Crimes Statistics Act is essential, and 
law enforcement groups, religious leaders and civil rights leaders 
throughout the Nation strongly support it.
  This again, is bipartisan legislation. Senator Hatch, Senator 
Simpson, and other Members who have long been in the lead in hate crime 
legislation support it.
  It is not simply a political imperative for the Senate to act. It is 
a moral imperative. Civil rights remains the unfinished business in 
America. Just as Congress spoke in a swift and bipartisan fashion 
during the civil rights struggles of the 1960's, we must again do so 
today.
  Out of these tragic events, we have already witnessed countless acts 
of courage by people of all races and religious backgrounds.
  The courage and faith demonstrated by parishioners and clergy of the 
burned churches is an inspiration to the entire Nation. For example, 
tomorrow in the Judiciary Committee we will hear from a pastor of a 
church in rural Alabama that has been burned down not once but twice. 
While the bricks and mortar, bibles and pews may have been burned, his 
faith endures--stronger than ever. He is truly a profile in courage.
  The outpourings of generosity from the private sector have been 
enormous. Every day, we learn of a new offer of financial or technical 
support from various private sector sources across the political and 
religious spectrum. This generosity, as Martin Luther King once said, 
``will enable us as a nation to hew out of the mountain of despair a 
stone of hope.''
  America is being tested, and scores of courageous and generous 
Americans have met the challenge. It is time for Congress to meet this 
challenge.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in expediting action on this urgent 
legislation.
  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, the perpetrators of the rash of 
hate crimes and church burnings in this country are no more than 
cowardly domestic terrorists. They work under cover of darkness and 
anonymity in an attempt to intimidate some and encourage others 
precisely because they have neither the will nor the courage to be 
associated with the evil they seek to unleash on our land. I strongly 
condemn these actions and urge my fellow Americans to combat

[[Page S6940]]

the atmosphere of hatred that allowed them to happen. These fires must 
be stopped--now.
  H.R. 3525, the Church Arson Protection Act of 1996, will give the 
Federal Government additional tools to help ensure that it is stopped, 
that those who perpetrate this violence are caught and punished, and 
that the damage they have caused our communities is mitigated. I am a 
proud cosponsor of the bill because it is a concrete demonstration that 
the American Congress, as the representatives of the American people, 
are committed to bringing this violence against our communities to an 
end.
  As we enter the 21st century, America is anxious to put the ugly 
legacy of racial division behind us. Unlike a century ago, the masses 
of people who make up our national community cannot be seduced by the 
messages of hate and conflict which consumed us in the past. Those 
messages lost their power with the moral victory of the civil rights 
movement, and our country has matured in ways which cannot be undone by 
racist terrorism. We are not intimidated, Mr. President, but 
embarrassed, and challenged by these criminals and their destruction.
  Most Americans are appalled and outraged. Our Nation as a whole, 
without regard to color or religion, is shamed by this horror. Since 
January 1995 there have been 75 fires in churches nationwide. Thirty-
six fires have occurred in predominantly African-American churches in 
the Southeast United States. From the President of the United States to 
the neighbors in areas which have witnessed these crimes, the 
leadership taken by individual citizens to affirm a climate of respect 
and community gives truth to the fact that our Nation will not fall 
prey to the forces of fear.
  Make no mistake but that the perpetrators of these fires are 
criminals. The act of arson is a crime, when directed at a church it is 
a crime of unspeakable dimension. But that is precisely why we are 
called upon, each of us, to speak and act in ways which will 
demonstrate our collective intolerance of such hate crimes. Our 
community, as a whole, must dedicate itself to the rebuilding of the 
churches. We must engage our Government and law enforcement apparatus 
to investigate and uncover the perpetrators of this terrorism. No stone 
should be left unturned in our search for the truth. Federal, State, 
and local law enforcement must approach these hate crimes with the same 
vigor and sophistication as would be given the most heinous foreign 
threat.
  I applaud the strong message that is being sent to the arsonists. 
With well over 200 FBI and ATF investigators working together with 
State and local authorities, we are letting the arsonists know that 
solving these crimes and putting those responsible behind bars is a top 
priority.

  I agree with the President when he said,

       We must rise up as a national community to safeguard the 
     right of every citizen to worship in safety. That is what 
     America stands for.

  The President has launched several efforts to demonstrate his 
determination to apprehend and prosecute those responsible for the 
fires, as well as rebuild what has been destroyed.
  The President has established a toll free tip-line that is available 
for citizens to provide any information they have on these fires. That 
number is now available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If anyone has 
any information about the fires they can call 1-888-ATF-FIRE.
  Other initiatives, the President promoted include, having ATF inform 
churches of steps they can take to protect themselves from arsonists. 
Churches throughout the South will be visited by ATF special agents to 
answer any questions church leaders and parishioners may have. 
Furthermore, during the meeting the President had with several 
Governors last week, he urged them to support neighborhood watch 
programs and increase local patrols around where the threat exists.
  The President has also asked Congress to consider a request for a 
fiscal year 1996 supplemental appropriation to increase the ability of 
the Department of Treasury's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to 
investigate and solve these acts of arson.
  While the outpouring of support and comfort for the victims of 
terrorism has been consistent and multiracial there is much more we can 
do. Our President has stood up to be counted. We all need to stand up 
and be counted. We can stop these vicious crimes.
  This bipartisan bill does a lot to help rebuild the churches and help 
law enforcement investigate and prosecute those responsible. It has 
five main components. First, it amends the Federal Criminal Code to 
make is easier to prosecute cases of destruction of religious property. 
Currently in cases of destruction of religious property, there is a 
requirement that the damage exceed $10,000. Moreover there is a very 
high interstate commerce requirement. This bill eliminates the monetary 
requirement and replaces the interstate commerce requirement with a 
more sensible scheme that will expand the scope of a prosecutor's 
ability to prosecute church arsons and other acts of religious 
desecration. The bill also conforms the penalty of church arson and the 
statute of limitations to that of the Federal arson statute, thus 
raising the maximum potential penalty for church arson from 10 years to 
20 years and the statute of limitations from 5 to 7 years.
  The bill also contains a provision that HUD will have the authority 
to use up to $5 million from an existing fund to extend loan guarantees 
to financial institutions who make loans to 501(c)(3) organizations 
that have been damaged as a result of terrorism or arson. These loan 
guarantees will help the rebuilding effort. While this provision will 
help restore the ability of people to practice their first amendment 
right, it does not violate the establishment clause of the Constitution 
because it targets all organizations that have been damaged as a result 
of terrorism or arson.
  In order to help State and local authorities investigate the crimes, 
H.R. 3525 provides authorization language for ATF to hire more 
investigators and technical support personnel. The bill also authorizes 
the Department of Justice to provide additional funding for the 
Community Relations Service, a small mediation arm of the DOJ that goes 
into communities and quells racial unrest through mediation and 
conciliation.
  Last, the bill provides for permanent reauthorization of the Hate 
Crimes Statistics Act, so we can get a better understanding of the 
magnitude of hate crimes nationwide.
  Mr. President, this is one of those historic moments for America, 
when the path of our future will be chosen. In our collective 
repudiation of domestic terrorism, in our aggressive prosecution of its 
perpetrators, in our vigilance against hate and in the vitality of our 
response to it, we will build the New Jerusalem of a stronger, more 
moral and more inclusive country. The bill sends an important message 
that crimes against houses of worship will not be tolerated. It 
deserve's the Senate's unanimous support.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the church arson 
prevention measure.
  Since the beginning of this year, a series of fires have swept our 
country. More than 30 predominantly African American churches in the 
Southeast have been burned. Some of these fires were set by people with 
obvious race hatred. Two people with ties to the Ku Klux Klan were 
arrested for fires in South Carolina. But in other cases, the fires 
were set by teenagers who had no obvious racist motive but who were so 
infected by an undertow of racism that they thought black churches 
would make a worthy target for their vandalism.
  In some ways, this disorganized brand of racism is more frightening 
than any organized conspiracy. When hate groups spread their message we 
know how to answer them. But attacking the subtle racism that has 
infected so many children is a much more daunting task.
  Today, this Senate must come together and speak with one voice 
against racism of any kind--the vicious and organized racism of hate 
groups, and the silent racism that lurks beneath the surface. This 
legislation, sponsored by more than 30 of our colleagues and drafted by 
Senators as ideologically diverse as Ted Kennedy and Lauch Faircloth, 
shows that we can sometimes put aside our partisan differences to do 
what is clearly right.
  Mr. President, no State or Senator is immune from the effects of 
these fires

[[Page S6941]]

in the South. A fire in Tennessee has been felt in Wisconsin. My friend 
Reggie White's church in Knoxville, TN was burned. That fire impacted 
and saddened all of us in my home State. And the people of Wisconsin 
have responded. Children from Wisconsin emptied their piggy banks to 
rebuild the church of their Green Bay Packer hero.
  Mr. President, for too long in our history, we did not do enough to 
defend and protect the two great pillars of our Constitution: Religious 
liberty and equal rights. But that is no longer the case. Today, with 
this piece of legislation, we will assure that the Federal Government 
can prosecute church burners to the fullest extent of the law. Our 
legislation is simple. The current law requires that prosecutors prove 
a series of connections between a church burning and interstate 
commerce. Proving all of those connections is not constitutionally 
mandated, so with this legislation we eliminate them. In addition, we 
eliminate the requirement that damage be in excess of $10,000. Once 
this measure becomes law, it will be easier to prosecute the people who 
have set these fires.
  Mr. President, let us pass this legislation quickly.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to voice my strong support for 
the Faircloth-Kennedy Church Arson Prevention Act.
  As I come to the floor today, it is difficult for me to imagine a 
more outrageous and disgraceful act of violence than the destruction of 
a house of worship.
  Our religious institutions, be they churches, synagogues or mosques 
are more than just bricks and mortar. They are the cultural, spiritual, 
and physical lifeblood of our communities and our society.
  To attack a church is to attack more than a building; it is to strike 
at the heart of our faith as a Nation and as a people.
  A recent article in the New York Times, in my view, accurately 
describes church burnings for what they are; ``an act of a singular 
profanity.''
  This article goes on to say of these church burnings:

       Its violence lies in the attempt to disrupt a community of 
     believers, desecrate their altars and smash the spiritual 
     rhythm of their lives. The arsonist attacks not just planks 
     and shingles but the space where life's most important 
     transitions are marked, where babies are baptized, marriages 
     celebrated and the dead eulogized.

  What may be most tragic about these events is that they were aimed 
primarily at African-American churches.
  To attack a black church is to attack an institution that throughout 
our history has been at the forefront of our Nation's struggle on 
behalf of civil rights for all Americans.
  One would hope that with all the progress we've made as a Nation, 
church burnings would be a distant memory, relegated to our history 
books and not the front pages of our newspapers.
  Like many Americans who lived through the civil rights era, I am 
haunted by the memory of the terrible fire bombings that often 
characterized that period.
  In particular, it is difficult to erase from our collective memories 
the four young girls killed in a Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, by a 
racist bombing, in 1963.
  Lamentably, those incidents, of what I believed was a bygone era, are 
eerily similar to approximately 30 church burnings of the past 18 
months.
  Regrettably, the evil forces of racism continue to find shelter in 
our midst. To our great misfortune we cannot change the anger in the 
hearts of those who committed these deeds.
  Indeed, I urge all Americans when they attend their houses of worship 
to take the opportunity to pray for the souls of those who would 
practice such heinous acts.
  While we cannot legislate attitudes, as a Nation governed by the rule 
of law, we must do all we can to make clear that these acts of violence 
will not go unpunished.
  The legislation before us today would make clear to those who would 
take up arms against a house of worship; you can burn down a building, 
but you cannot avoid the opprobrium of the American people.
  The Faircloth-Kennedy bill would make it easier to prosecute those 
charged with desecrating a place of worship, it would provide 
additional resources for law enforcement agencies investigating these 
crimes, it would allow the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
to extend loan guarantees for rebuilding churches and it would 
reauthorize the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, of which I was a co-
sponsor.
  I believe it is shameful and unfortunate that the acts of a cowardly 
few have forced this Congress to spend its time on such legislation. We 
should be talking about balancing the budget, raising the minimum wage 
and dealing with the economic issues that affect each and every 
American.
  But part of our role as leaders is to take action when our national 
values are threatened.
  In fact, if there is a silver lining to be found in this whole 
situation, it is the outpouring of support among the American people to 
lend a hand in rebuilding these burned churches.
  In my State of Connecticut, two congregations, the Kensington 
Congregational Church and Spottswood A.M.E Zion Church came together 
and have pledged to raise $10,000 on behalf of the rebuilding efforts.
  Additionally, the sense of outrage, seemingly felt among all 
Americans is a palpable sign that the vast majority of people see these 
events for what they are: Blatant acts of racist hatred.
  In fact, if the American people need any better indication of the 
strong sense of consensus on this issue I urge them to look at the two 
Senators co-sponsoring this bill--Senator Faircloth and Senator 
Kennedy.
  These are two Senators who probably don't see eye to eye on too many 
issues. But, when it comes to church burnings they came together on 
behalf of the American people.
  Their cooperation sends a strong signal to the American people that 
this is truly one issue that is above partisan wrangling.
  Religious freedom is one of the bedrocks of our democracy, and these 
acts subvert all that we hold dear as a Nation. However, the spirit of 
religious individualism lives on.
  I think Reverend Terrence Mackey, whose Mt. Zion A.M.E Church was 
burned down last June said it best:

       They didn't burn down the church. They burned down the 
     building in which we hold church. The church is still inside 
     all of us.

  I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation and lend our 
voices in the struggle against racial and religious intolerance in our 
Nation.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, one wouldn't have thought that 40 years 
after the Montgomery bus boycott, 35 years after the freedom rides, and 
over 30 years after this Congress passed the most sweeping civil rights 
legislation in history--we would be on the Senate floor discussing an 
epidemic of burnings of historically African-American churches in the 
South.
  But we are here, because what is happening is an affront to all 
Americans--whatever their race, whatever their religions. In the 5 
years between 1990 and 1995, there were 29 fires at predominantly 
African-American churches in the South. In the past 18 months alone, 
there have been at least 43 such fires.
  While a handful of these have been deemed accidental, most of them 
were intentional acts of violence--acts of violence not just against 
any property, but against churches.
  The burning of a church is not merely a crime against a piece of 
property or even against an individual, as terrible as such violence 
may be. An attack on a church reaches deeper; it is an attack against 
an entire community.
  A church, like any house of worship, is sacred. The sanctuaries, the 
pulpit, the artwork, and the prayer books all hold special meaning for 
the congregants.
  To witness the destruction of a house of worship, to see its walls 
reduced to charred remains, is a wrenching experience.
  When you lose your church, your synagogue, or your mosque, you lose 
something that goes to the core of what it means to be human, and to 
the core of the most basic freedom on which our Nation was founded.
  For burning a church is a challenge to the entire concept of faith 
itself. I ask you, how could anyone who believed in God intentionally 
destroy a place where God is worshiped?

[[Page S6942]]

  On top of this layer of emotion, we must also consider the special 
context of these particular church burnings. For, in African-American 
communities, churches not only serve an important spiritual role, they 
also have served a predominant cultural, social, and political role 
throughout the past century.
  During the Jim Crow era, churches were the only institutions where 
African-Americans could choose their own leaders, participate in 
governance, and be treated with genuine equality.
  Not surprisingly, almost all the leaders of the civil rights movement 
emerged from the African-American churches and these leaders infused 
the movement with its spiritual, moral, and non-violent character.
  For this reason, when the segregationist or the men in white robes 
wanted to strike a blow against the civil rights movement, when they 
wanted to intimidate those who were taking to the streets to protest 
injustice, when they wanted to slow the change that was coming to the 
South, they attacked the churches.
  Think back to May, 1963, when over 900 children packed the 16th 
Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. And as they filed out of the 
church to demonstrate against segregation, Bull Connor turned his 
powerful water hoses against them, and demonstrated, for all the world 
to see, the unmitigated ugliness of segregation.
  Four months later, a powerful firebomb ripped through the 16th Street 
Baptist Church. Four young schoolgirls were killed. Again, the country 
watched in horror.
  So the violence against historically African-American churches in the 
South is especially meaningful and especially hurtful. These arsons 
hearken back to a time, when, to paraphrase Dr. King, people were 
judged not on the content of their character, but on the color of their 
skin.
  They remind us of a time when violence and hatred against African-
Americans was the norm, and justice appeared to be reserved for only 
one part of society.
  These arsons represent not only attacks on spiritual institutions, 
but direct messages of exclusion to the African-American community. The 
purveyors of hate that are burning these churches are trying to say: 
You are different, you do not belong, we reject you.
  But by standing here today and voicing our opposition, it is the 
perpetrators of this violence who are being rejected. It is their 
message of hate that is being reviled by the entire country.
  And when we pass legislation to address church arson, the U.S. Senate 
will be standing on the side of the congregants of these churches and 
against those narrow-minded individuals who seek division and conflict 
rather than unity and harmony.
  Even though these church arsons have been denounced by the 
overwhelming majority of Americans, and the Federal Government is 
conducting a full-fledged investigation into these crimes, these 
incidents stand as a vivid reminder that we still have a long way to go 
in building the type of society to which we all aspire.
  We would all like to believe that we live in a color-blind society--
that our country is filled exclusively with people of good faith that 
no longer take race into account in their daily lives.
  But incidents like the Rodney King beating, or the Mark Furhman 
tapes, or the burning of three dozen African-American churches, hit us 
square in the face, like a splash of cold water, with the hard reality 
that, in America, race still matters.
  Racism has been a cancer in the body politic since the birth of this 
country. We took the first step toward treating this illness after the 
Civil War, and we took another big step during the civil rights 
movement of the 1960's.
  But even though the cancer has receded, it has not been eliminated 
root and branch. It continues to infect our society. If we pretend that 
we no longer need to be vigilant, if we accept the illusion that we 
live in a colorblind society, if we legislate or decide court cases on 
that basis, then racism will grow and spread--and we will see more 
churches burned and more manifestations of this lurking disease in 
years to come.
  I do not mean to suggest that there has been no progress--there has 
been. Thirty years ago, many stood in silence when the churches burned. 
States and localities saw Federal authorities as intruders bent on 
changing their way of life.
  Today, the public response has been overwhelming. Everyone opposes 
these church burnings; everyone wants to bring the perpetrators to 
justice.
  Over 200 Federal agents, working together with State and local law 
enforcement, are investigating these fires, making this the largest 
civil rights investigation in history. Nation's Bank has put up a 
$500,000 reward for information leading to the prosecution of the 
arsonists. Habitat for Humanity has promised to assist all the 
communities that have lost churches.
  Three decades ago, Southern legislators virulently opposed civil 
rights legislation. Today, the bill to address church burnings is being 
sponsored by Senator Faircloth from North Carolina and Senator Kennedy, 
whose brother was President during the tensest moments of the civil 
rights movement.
  So, we have made some progress, just not enough. As Dr. King said 
from the steps of the State capitol in Montgomery, AL following the 
historic march from Selma: ``The arc of the universe is long, but it 
bends toward justice.''
  We must join together to face this violence, and through our 
collective efforts, bring it to an end. Let this violence serve to 
bring us together to fight the prejudice that remains, to prod us to 
redouble our affirmative efforts to bring the races closer together.
  Only through continued vigilance in our Government, in our schools, 
and in our homes, can we ensure that the ``arc of the universe'' will 
continue to ``bend toward justice.''
  The legislation being introduced today, which I am cosponsoring, is a 
necessary response to the church arsons blotting our Nation.
  First, it will make it much easier to prosecute church arsons as a 
Federal crime. It provides that anyone convicted of burning a house of 
worship based on racial, ethnic, or religious bias will be facing a 
potential 20-year jail sentence.
  The bill also eliminates the current statutory requirement that 
$10,000 worth of damage must have occurred to trigger Federal 
jurisdiction for prosecuting a church burning.
  Under this bill, anyone who defaces religious property--whether by 
shooting out the windows of a church or painting a swastika on a 
synagogue wall--will have committed a Federal felony.
  The bill also authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development to provide loan guarantees for reconstruction projects to 
churches and other nonprofit organizations that have been victims of 
arson, and it provides additional funding for mediation services and 
training for local arson investigators.
  Senators Kennedy and Faircloth are to be commended for putting 
together this legislation. It has my unqualified support and I urge the 
leadership to bring it up for consideration as quickly as possible.
  Although I fully support this legislation, I want to emphasize that 
the best way to end these cowardly crimes is to apprehend a 
perpetrator, prosecute him, and lock him up.
  Swift action of this sort will send the message that this conduct 
will not be tolerated and that anyone who desecrates religious property 
will be punished severely.
  I am confident that the FBI and BATF are doing everything in their 
power to investigate these crimes and hopefully we will hear of some 
progress in the coming weeks.
  Together, the Congress, our Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
officials, or communities, and each of us as individuals, can make a 
difference. We can force this campaign of terror to come to an end--and 
in doing so we will reaffirm the equality and the religious freedom of 
all Americans.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I wish to express my appreciation to the 
Senate for its swift action in passing H.R. 3525, the Church Arson 
Prevention Act of 1996.
  This bill strengthens the commitment and ability of the American 
people and the Federal Government to protect two of our most sacred 
principles--religious liberty and the equality of all Americans, 
regardless of race, ethnicity or religion.

[[Page S6943]]

  America as a great haven, where individuals could openly acknowledge 
and freely practice their faith, whatever that faith may be, is a 
concept even older than the United States itself. Throughout its 
history, this great land, which came to be the United States of 
America, has been the destination of individuals from every corner of 
the globe seeking freedom from religious persecution. Freedom of 
religion is the first freedom protected in the Bill of Rights. 
Religious liberty and tolerance are at the heart of our being as a 
nation. As a result, an attack on a house of worship is more than 
damage or destruction to a building; it is an attack on religious 
liberty itself, and thus an attack on America.
  Such crimes are a matter for grave concern for Americans of all 
religious faiths. As a member of a minority religious faith, whose 
leader was murdered in Illinois in 1844; whose adherents were hounded, 
harassed, and killed; against whom Governor Boggs of Missouri, in 1838, 
signed an extermination order, and who were eventually driven outside 
the then-existing border of the United States, I understand this well.
  While the recent series of church arsons have destroyed houses of 
worship across our Nation, serving people of different faiths and 
different races, the largest number of burnings have involved 
identifiably black churches. Many have been small churches, located in 
rural areas, which have existed for generations. Historically, churches 
have served a special role in the black community, serving not merely 
as places of weekly worship, but as the spiritual and cultural centers 
of their communities. The unique place occupied by black churches in 
lives of their parishioners, and in the history of the black community 
and of our country, generation after generation, intensifies the pain 
and loss felt by a community victimized by this loathsome type of 
crime.
  I am pleased to note that this legislation will include a 6-year 
reauthorization of the Hate Crime Statistics Act, which I sponsored 
together with my good friend Senator Simon. The collection of data on 
crimes, including arson, motivated by racial, religious, disability, 
sexual orientation, or ethnic bias can help alert local communities and 
their law enforcement agencies to any pattern of hate crimes in their 
neighborhoods, and can help alert Federal law enforcement agencies to 
patterns or types of hate crimes, such as attacks on houses of worship, 
enabling law enforcement to respond to such crimes more quickly and 
efficiently, before they spread like a plague across our Nation.
  I am gratified by the response of the American people to these 
crimes; that so many private citizens and organizations are pitching in 
to help rebuild these churches. We live in a free and good society, and 
we have made progress in tolerance and in assuring protection of the 
rights of persons who belong to minority racial, ethnic, and religious 
groups. We are, however, not yet done. Today, with this legislation, we 
take another step forward.
  I wish to commend my distinguished colleagues, Senator Faircloth and 
Senator Kennedy, for their work on this bill. The very fact that these 
two Senators, of different parties and such differing political beliefs 
on so many other issues, have worked together so effectively to pass 
this legislation, sends a loud and clear message to all Americans of 
our resolute and complete condemnation of these reprehensible crimes, 
and our determination that the perpetrators be brought to justice.


                     OUTRAGE ABOUT CHURCH BURNINGS

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise today to express my deep 
concern and outrage about the rash of church burnings in our Nation and 
to urge support of H.R. 3525.
  Mr. President, the great German playwright Goethe once remarked, 
``There is nothing more frightening than ignorance in action.'' 
Unfortunately, we are currently witnessing the fires of ignorance and 
prejudice engulfing African-American churches throughout the South.
  As of June 24, there were 37 suspicious fires at these churches in 
the last 18 months. The smoldering ruins are the tangible evidence of a 
smoldering racism in our country.
  Mr. President, just 30 years ago, the Night Riders cut a swath of 
fear across the South, torching churches and homes. Hopefully, it is 
not the faint sound of similar hoofbeats which we again hear galloping 
toward us.
  But unlike three decades ago, those responsible for these heinous 
actions do not appear to be organized groups, and those who have been 
apprehended have revealed various motives. Also, there are roughly an 
equal number of suspicious fires at white churches and those of other 
races which are currently being investigated by the ATF.
  Mr. President, it is critically important that we loudly repudiate 
the purposeful destruction of any house of worship. This is not just a 
religious issue; it is an American issue, because it destroys an 
individual's right to worship according to his or her conscience, free 
from fear and violence.
  Yet the destruction of small, often isolated and rural, black 
churches in the South is especially chilling; it is being done to 
promote a climate of fear and intolerance. Which is why every American, 
whether black, white, Christian, Jew, Muslim or atheist, must denounce 
these fires of hatred which are burning across the landscape of our 
Nation.
  I hope, Mr. President, that perhaps we can salvage something good 
from these horrible incidents. The phoenix, the fabled mythological 
bird, is said to be able to rise from the ashes to a new and better 
life. Thirty years ago, the flames of the Night Riders helped to 
galvanize American opinion against the policies of segregation and to 
start our Nation along what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King called a 
superhighway to freedom. Perhaps today's flames will vividly remind us 
how of far we must still journey down that road.

  At a time when America seems to be splitting along class and racial 
and ethnic lines, perhaps these deplorable actions will force us to 
finally stop and look down the road on which we now seem headed.
  Those who are setting the blazes hope they can fan the fires of 
prejudice and ignite a conflagration of violence. When in actuality, 
the flames may help illuminate the dangers of intolerance, and how it 
affects all of us.
  Recently, the Senate adopted a resolution, Senate Resolution 265, 
condemning the desecration of churches. But words must be backed by 
action. The pending legislation, which I have cosponsored, would make 
it easier to investigate and prosecute these crimes and would establish 
tougher penalties for those convicted of setting fire to houses of 
worship. The bill would authorize additional resources for ATF 
investigations, and it would facilitate rebuilding efforts in affected 
communities. A provision in this legislation would also permanently 
reauthorize the Hate Crimes Statistics Act. This bill needs to be 
signed into law without delay.
  Mr. President, I am confident that this legislation can make a real 
difference. However, by itself no law can wipe away the problem; all of 
us must work together to end hate crimes and the bigotry which spawns 
them. We need to follow the example of Reverend William Watley, pastor 
of St. James' African Methodist Episcopal Church in Newark, the largest 
AME church in New Jersey. Last week, Reverend Watley brought together 
over 500 people, including pastors and representatives from the burned 
churches, for a special service to denounce the violence. He also 
pledged help from New Jersey's religious community for the affected 
parishes.
  Mr. President, I urge every American to join me in condemning these 
terrible acts of violence, of prejudice, of cowardliness. Because if we 
do not loudly condemn them, then we silently condone them.
  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I am pleased and proud to be a cosponsor 
of an amendment originally sponsored by my friends Senator Faircloth of 
North Carolina, and Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts, that addresses 
the disturbing crime of church burnings.
  It has become increasingly apparent that there has been a disturbing 
trend occurring throughout the United States over the past 18 months, 
the willful and malicious destruction of churches by arson. There is 
something particularly hateful in the crime of arson, for it is a crime 
that is usually motivated by factors other than personal gain. It takes 
an individual who

[[Page S6944]]

possesses either tremendous rage, or tremendous mental and personal 
problems, to set someone's property on fire for the mere purpose of 
watching it burn to the ground. When the target of such an individual's 
attack is the holy land of a place of worship, the crime becomes all 
the more sick, unsettling, senseless, and vile.
  The amendment I have cosponsored seeks to draw a tough line against 
those who commit acts of arson against churches in our Nation. It 
establishes tough Federal penalties for those who destroy churches 
through fire, and it appropriates money--from existing funds--to pay 
for additional Federal arson investigators. Without question, this 
amendment will send a clear signal to those who are contemplating fire 
attacks against a church that there will be severe consequences to 
their actions, and that the people of the United States will not 
tolerate such hateful acts of violence against our citizens and our 
places of worship.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, how much time do I have remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 3 minutes and 28 seconds.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I yield the remaining time to my 
colleague and friend, who has been involved in this whole effort.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts has 3\1/2\ 
minutes.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Massachusetts. I 
thank him particularly for his leadership and the leadership of his 
family with respect to all issues of civil rights over the turbulent 
period of the modern history of this country. I join with Senator 
Kennedy and Senator Faircloth in supporting this legislation.
  I think every single one of us in America is outraged at the cowardly 
acts of hatred and violence which have now become much too commonplace 
in America. It is clear that there still is a systematic prejudice that 
lives on, both in those who did not learn the lessons of the turbulent 
period of our civil rights history, or even among the young generation 
who have not lived through the suffering and confrontation of that 
period of time in this country. Those who have set churches ablaze have 
really succeeded in rekindling a national desire to stamp out bigotry 
and prejudice throughout this country. They have rekindled our 
commitment and our desire to speak out loudly and clearly to achieve 
equality, equal rights, and justice in the face of a world that seems 
too willing to forget history and to repeat it.
  For those of us who were involved in the civil rights movement and 
joined with men and women of good will, white and black, we thought 
somehow we had progressed beyond this. We thought the images of the 
1960's, of hatred and of malice and prejudice against black Americans 
for no other reason than the color of their skin--we thought somehow we 
had grown beyond that and were reaching at least toward an era of 
progress. So the church burnings in the last few weeks bring back to 
us, in stark and horrible terms, a period of time we would rather 
forget. It is sad we have had to come to this floor again, in 1996, to 
fight about it.
  I think it is clear in this legislation that we cannot and will not 
let the hatred and ignorance of a few criminals tarnish what all of us 
want to achieve in this country. We cannot in the face of the haters 
and the bigots and the racists, avoid strengthening our own resolve to 
tear down the walls that still divide us and stand together, shoulder 
to shoulder, in solidarity against this kind of intolerance.
  As a nation and as a people, we have to recommit in these times to 
our constitutional, religious and philosophical belief in equal justice 
under the law. I think it is important to remember the words of Martin 
Luther King, who said:

       I have seen too much hate to want to hate, myself; and I 
     have seen hate on the faces of too many sheriffs, too many 
     white citizens councils, and too many klansmen of the South 
     to want to hate, myself. And every time I see it I have to 
     say self-hate is too great a burden to bear.

  It would be appropriate to let Dr. Martin Luther King's words be our 
lesson as we seek out these criminals, bring them to justice, and rally 
together to end the hatred and intolerance of this Nation. I commend 
Senators Kennedy and Faircloth for their initiative to help us make it 
clear to everyone that, when you burn one church in this country, you 
burn the Constitution; when you attack one place of worship, you attack 
all Americans; and none of us should stand silent in the face of that.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator has expired.
  Several Senators addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. FAIRCLOTH. I yield to Senator Warner for the remaining time I 
have.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I commend my distinguished colleague from 
Massachusetts and indeed the senior Senator from Massachusetts and the 
Senator from North Carolina for taking the initiative. I have spoken 
before on this floor about this very serious issue. I simply want to 
remind all Senators that the very purpose for America was religious 
freedom. This Nation was founded by persons who left foreign shores and 
sailed into the unknown to take risks that today are almost 
incomprehensible in magnitude. With only the very rudiments of 
navigation, the bare necessities of life, to plow out across largely 
unchartered seas to come to a land, to settle that land for one 
purpose--religious freedom.
  Therefore, this issue brings about a responsibility on every single 
American, irrespective of race, color, creed, or religion to unite 
together, arm in arm, brothers and sisters, to fight this crime and to 
preserve the very reason for our forefathers coming to settle this 
Nation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who seeks time?
  Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I join with my fellow Senators today in 
condemning the rash of church burnings that has plagued our Nation in 
recent years. Since 1991, we have seen over 150 fires at houses of 
worship serving people of all races and faiths. In the past 18 months 
more than 35 African-American churches have been burned to the ground. 
These churches and temples are the heart and soul of the communities 
they serve, and their destruction represents an egregious act of hatred 
against these worshippers. As a nation, we cannot stand idly by and 
allow Americans to be denied their fundamental right to the free 
exercise of their religion, nor can we tolerate racial hatred and 
religious intolerance.
  I am proud that President Clinton has spoken out so forcefully 
against these heinous acts and hopeful that his commitment of all 
possible Federal resources to the investigation and prosecution of 
these crimes will bring an end to this national tragedy. The President 
has offered both moral leadership and the full power available to him 
as the chief executive in the fight to bring these criminals to 
justice, and I commend him for his actions.
  I am also heartened by the fact that the legislative effort has been 
a bipartisan one. Here in the Senate, my colleagues Senator Kennedy and 
Senator Faircloth have jointly introduced legislation that will aid the 
President and Federal law enforcement officers in the investigation and 
prosecution of these crimes. In the House, Representatives Hyde and 
Conyers have shown similar leadership. I am confident we can enact this 
legislation expeditiously, and I urge our Federal law enforcement 
officers to use these new tools to pursue the investigation of these 
fires with swiftness but also with respect and sensitivity for the 
congregations affected by the violence.
  While legislative responses will help solve the crimes that have 
already occurred and convict the perpetrators, the prevention of 
further destructive acts requires the moral force of our Nation. It is 
only through the expression of our deep outrage at racial hatred and 
religious intolerance that we as a society demonstrate that such 
beliefs

[[Page S6945]]

and actions have no place in America. We must stand together to reject 
this attack on our fundamental principles. I am confident that we will 
do so and that we will continue in our progress toward a more just 
society.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Exon be added as 
a cosponsor to the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the quorum call 
be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gregg). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the 
legislation that has been developed by the Senator from North Carolina, 
Senator Faircloth, and the Senator from Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy. 
They have worked together and have produced very good legislation 
concerning the penalties and the Federal laws that are applicable to 
the burning of churches or damages to religious property.
  This is truly a bipartisan effort. It is one that all Senators, I 
know, will support. It is one that the American people, I believe, will 
receive in a very positive way.
  The burning of religious facilities, churches, throughout our country 
is a totally despicable act. It is incomprehensible that people in 
America would resort to that sort of conduct. While it may not be clear 
what the motivations are, while there may not be any definite pattern 
that could be used to explain this, there is no question that it is an 
unacceptable thing in our country, and action must be taken to deal 
with it severely. This legislation, I think, does that.
  I think these Senators should be commended for their work. Of course, 
the House has already acted, I believe unanimously, on somewhat similar 
legislation. But I believe that this bill improves on the legislation 
that passed the House.
  It does do that by making the burning or damaging of religious 
properties a Federal crime. Quite frankly, I was surprised to find out 
that that was not already the case, because I know there are already 
some strong laws on the books. But, clearly, it should be made a 
Federal crime.

  This legislation raises the penalties up to 10 to 20 years for being 
involved and convicted of burning or damaging such property.
  Under the current law, there is a $10,000 limit on when the Federal 
activities would be involved. It has to exceed $10,000 in damages. 
There should not be some artificial cap like that. If you put it at 
$7,000 or $5,000, I mean, many small churches in America in rural 
communities do not cost that much. They cost less.
  So it is appropriate that there not be some artificial cap on the 
amount of damage that has occurred. This bill would take it down to 
zero, which is where it clearly should be. That is one area where I 
believe our bill does vary from the one that passed the House. I think 
they reduced the threshold, but they still had a threshold above which 
damage had to add up to before this bill would apply.
  It authorizes additional agents to investigate and determine what is 
happening here, to find the parties that are guilty, and to bring them 
to justice. It does not provide funds. There is a normal process for 
doing that, an appropriations process. That will be done in due course. 
But it does provide the necessary authorization.
  It also moves the statute of limitations from 5 years to 7 
years. This is good legislation. It definitely should be done. We 
should not wait another day to pass it through the Senate.

  As I understand it, the House is prepared to take this legislation 
and move it immediately through so it can go to the President for his 
signature this very week. Mr. President, I am pleased to join in 
supporting this good legislation, and I urge we adopt it as soon as 
possible.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                      Unanimous-Consent Agreement

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed 
to a vote on or in relation to the Wellstone amendment, which would 
follow the vote on H.R. 3525, the church-burning issue. After we have 
voted on the church-burning issue, we will go to the Wellstone 
amendment No. 4266 with 2 minutes of debate in the usual form, to be 
followed by a vote on the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate pursuant to the 
unanimous-consent request?
  If not, the question is on agreeing to amendment No. 4341, offered by 
the Senator from North Carolina [Mr. Faircloth].
  The amendment (No. 4341) was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the bill is 
considered read the third time. The question is now on the passage of 
H.R. 3525, as amended.
  The yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Arkansas [Mr. Bumpers] and 
the Senator from Alabama [Mr. Heflin] are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 98, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 171 Leg.]

                                YEAS--98

     Abraham
     Akaka
     Ashcroft
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Bradley
     Breaux
     Brown
     Bryan
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Coats
     Cochran
     Cohen
     Conrad
     Coverdell
     Craig
     D'Amato
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Exon
     Faircloth
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Ford
     Frahm
     Frist
     Glenn
     Gorton
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grams
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hatfield
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnston
     Kassebaum
     Kempthorne
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Moseley-Braun
     Moynihan
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nickles
     Nunn
     Pell
     Pressler
     Pryor
     Reid
     Robb
     Rockefeller
     Roth
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Shelby
     Simon
     Simpson
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Bumpers
     Heflin
       
  The bill (H.R. 3525), as amended, was passed.
  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which 
the bill, as amended, was passed.
  Mr. STEVENS. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

                          ____________________