[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H9886-H9896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            AVIATION SECURITY AND ANTITERRORISM ACT OF 1996

  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 3953) to combat terrorism.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3953

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Aviation 
     Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1996''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

                       TITLE I--AVIATION SECURITY

Sec. 101. Interim deployment of commercially available explosive 
              detection equipment.
Sec. 102. Authority for criminal history records checks.
Sec. 103. Audit of performance of background checks for certain 
              personnel.
Sec. 104. Performance standards for airport security personnel.
Sec. 105. Passenger profiling.
Sec. 106. Authority to use certain funds for airport security programs 
              and activities.
Sec. 107. Assessment of cargo.
Sec. 108. Assignment of FBI agents to high-risk airports.
Sec. 109. Supplemental screening.
Sec. 110. Supplemental explosive detection.
Sec. 111. Enhanced security for small airplanes
Sec. 112. Civil aviation security review commission.

                        TITLE II--ANTITERRORISM

Sec. 201. Addition of terrorist offenses as RICO predicates.
Sec. 202. Enhanced Privacy Act and wiretap penalties.
Sec. 203. Combatting international state terrorism.
Sec. 204. Implementation of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death 
              Penalty Act of 1996.
Sec. 205. Taggants in black and smokeless powder.
Sec. 206 National Commission on Terrorism.
                       TITLE I--AVIATION SECURITY

     SEC. 101. INTERIM DEPLOYMENT OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE 
                   EXPLOSIVE DETECTION EQUIPMENT.

       Section 44913(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new 
     paragraph (3):
       ``(3) Until such time as the Administrator determines that 
     equipment certified under paragraph (1) of this subsection is 
     commercially available and has successfully completed 
     operational testing as provided in 49 United States Code 
     44913(a)(1), the Administrator shall facilitate the 
     deployment of

[[Page H9887]]

     commercially available explosive detection devices that the 
     Administrator approves and determines will enhance aviation 
     security significantly. The Administrator shall require that 
     equipment deployed under this paragraph be replaced by 
     equipment certified under paragraph (1) when equipment 
     certified under paragraph (1) becomes commercially 
     available.''.

     SEC. 102. AUTHORITY FOR CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS CHECKS.

       Section 44936(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code. is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``(1)'' and inserting ``(1)(A)'';
       (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses 
     (i) and (ii), respectively; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(B) The Administrator shall require by regulation that an 
     employment investigation (including a criminal history record 
     check in cases in which the employment investigation reveals 
     a gap in employment of 12 months or more that the individual 
     does not satisfactorily account for) be conducted for 
     individuals who will be responsible for screening passengers 
     or property under this chapter and their supervisors.''.

     SEC. 103. AUDIT OF PERFORMANCE OF BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR 
                   CERTAIN PERSONNEL.

       Section 44936(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) The Administrator shall provide for the periodic 
     audit of criminal history record checks conducted under 
     paragraph (1) of this subsection.''.

     SEC. 104. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR AIRPORT SECURITY 
                   PERSONNEL.

       Section 44935(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (4); and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) performance standards for airport and airline 
     security personnel, including counter personnel; and
       ``(7) guidelines for encouraging the retention of security 
     personnel responsible for passengers and cargo.''

     SEC. 105. PASSENGER PROFILING.

       The Federal Aviation Administration, the Secretary of 
     Transportation, the intelligence community, and the law 
     enforcement community should continue to assist air carriers 
     in developing computer-assisted passenger profiling programs.

     SEC. 106. AUTHORITY TO USE CERTAIN FUNDS FOR AIRPORT SECURITY 
                   PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.

       (a) Authority To Use Funds.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, funds referred to in subsection (b) may be 
     used to expand and enhance air transportation security 
     programs and other activities at airports (including the 
     improvement of facilities and the purchase and deployment of 
     equipment) to ensure the safety and security of passengers 
     and other persons involved in air travel.
       (b) Covered Funds.--The following funds may be used under 
     subsection (a):
       (1) Project grants made under subchapter 1 of chapter 471 
     of title 49, United States Code.
       (2) Passenger facility fees collected under section 40117 
     of title 49, United States Code.

     SEC. 107. ASSESSMENT OF CARGO.

       (a) In General.-- The Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
     Administration shall, in consultation with the appropriate 
     Federal agencies, review--
       (1) the oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration of 
     inspections of shipments of mail and cargo by domestic and 
     foreign air carriers; and
       (2) the need for additional security measures with respect 
     to such inspections; and
       (3) the adequacy of inspection and screening of cargo on 
     passenger air carriers.
       (b) Legislative Proposals.--The President shall submit 
     relevant legislative proposals to Congress, as may be 
     required.

     SEC. 108. ASSIGNMENT OF FBI AGENTS TO HIGH-RISK AIRPORTS.

       Section 44904 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
     by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Responsibility of FBI Agents to Areas of High-Risk 
     Airports.--The Director of the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation shall assure that agents of the Federal Bureau 
     of Investigation who are assigned to an area where there are 
     airports that are determined to be high-risk airports shall, 
     jointly with the Federal Aviation Administration, carry out 
     periodic threat and vulnerability assessments of security 
     every 3 years, or more frequently, as necessary, at such 
     airports.''.

     SEC. 109. SUPPLEMENTAL SCREENING.

       Section 44903(c) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end of the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) Use of dogs in screening.--
       ``(A) In general.--The law enforcement presence and 
     capability required under paragraph (1) shall include a 
     requirement that the operator of each major airport use dogs 
     or other appropriate animals to supplement existing equipment 
     used for screening passengers and cargo for plastic 
     explosives and other devices or materials which may be used 
     in aircraft piracy. If the Administrator determines that the 
     requirements of the preceding sentence will not significantly 
     enhance the safety and security of passengers and other 
     persons involved in air travel, the Administrator may modify 
     such requirements as appropriate. At the discretion of the 
     Administrator, the use of dogs at an airport may be deemed as 
     compliance with section 449913(a)(3) of this title.
       ``(B) Major airport defined.--In this paragraph, the term 
     `major airport' means an airport that is one of the largest 
     50 airports in the United States, as determined by the number 
     of passenger enplanements in calendar year 1995.''.

     SEC. 110. SUPPLEMENTAL EXPLOSIVE DETECTION.

       Section 44913(b) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(b) Supplemental Explosive Detection.--
       ``(1) Grants.--The Secretary shall make grants for expenses 
     of training and evaluation of dogs for the explosive 
     detection K-9 team training program for the purpose of 
     detecting explosives at airports and aboard aircraft. Not 
     later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the 
     Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1996, the Secretary 
     shall extend such program to the largest 50 airports in the 
     United States, as determined by the number of passenger 
     enplanements in calendar year 1995.
       ``(2) Funding.--There is authorized to be appropriated from 
     the Trust Fund for carrying out paragraph (1) such sums as 
     may be necessary for fiscal years beginning after September 
     30, 1996. Such funds shall remain available until 
     expended.''.

     SEC. 111. ENHANCED SECURITY FOR SMALL AIRPLANES

       Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Administrator shall initiate a rulemaking to 
     revise section 108.5 and 108.7 of 14 C.F.R. with respect to 
     airplanes having a passenger seating configuration of less 
     than 61 to enhance the safety and security of air travel in 
     such airplanes.

     SEC. 112. CIVIL AVIATION SECURITY REVIEW COMMISSION.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be 
     known as the Civil Aviation Security Review Commission 
     (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 
     ``Commission'').
       (b) Functions.--The Commission shall conduct a 
     comprehensive review of aviation security. Matters to be 
     studied by the Commission shall include the following:
       (1) A review of the advisability of transferring 
     responsibilities of air carriers under Federal law for 
     security activities conducted on-site at airports to airport 
     operators or to appropriate entities independent of air 
     carriers.
       (2) A review of whether baggage match requirements should 
     be imposed on air carriers providing interstate air 
     transportation and how baggage match can be accomplished to 
     enhance the safety and security of domestic air travel.
       (3) A review of the cost and advisability of requiring 
     hardened cargo containers as a way to enhance aviation 
     security and reduce the required sensitivity of bomb 
     detection equipment.
       (c) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed of 13 
     members, appointed from persons knowledgeable about civil 
     aviation in the United States and who are specifically 
     qualified by training and experience to perform the duties of 
     the Commission, as follows:
       (1) 3 members appointed by the Secretary of Transportation, 
     in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury.
       (2) 10 members appointed by Congress as follows:
       (A) 1 member appointed by each of the chairman and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.
       (B) 1 member appointed by each of the chairman and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     House of Representatives.
       (C) 1 member appointed by each of the chairman and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate.
       (D) 1 member appointed by each of the chairman and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     Senate.
       (E) 1 member appointed by each of the chairman and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
     House of Representatives.
       (d) Restriction on Appointment of Current Aviation 
     Employees.--A member appointed under subsection (c)(1) may 
     not be an employee of an airline, airport, aviation union, or 
     aviation trade association at the time of appointment or 
     while serving on the Commission.
       (e) Timing of Appointments.--The appointing authorities 
     shall make their appointments to the Commission not later 
     than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (f) Chairman.--In consultation with the Secretary of 
     Transportation, the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
     and the Majority Leader of the Senate shall designate a 
     chairman and vice chairman from among the members of the 
     Commission not later than 30 days after appointment of the 
     last member to the Commission.
       (g) Period of Appointment and Vacancies.--Members shall be 
     appointed for the life of the Commission, and any vacancy on 
     the Commission shall not affect its powers but shall be 
     filled in the same manner, and by the same appointing 
     authority, as the original appointment.
       (h) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission 
     shall constitute a quorum to conduct business, but the 
     Commission may establish a lesser number for conducting 
     hearings scheduled by the Commission.

[[Page H9888]]

       (i) Powers of the Commission.--
       (1) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, sit 
     and act at such times and places, administer such oaths, take 
     such testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 
     considers advisable to carry out its duties.
       (2) Information from federal agencies.--The Commission may 
     secure directly from any Federal department or agency such 
     information or documents as the Commission considers 
     necessary to carry out its duties, unless the head of such 
     department or agency advises the chairman of the Commission, 
     in writing, that such information is confidential and that 
     its release to the Commission would jeopardize aviation 
     safety, the national security, or pending criminal 
     investigations.
       (3) Detail of government employees.--Any Federal Government 
     employee may be detailed to the Commission without 
     reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption 
     or loss of civil service status or privilege.
       (4) Travel and per diem.--Members and staff of the 
     Commission shall be paid travel expenses, including per diem 
     in lieu of subsistence, when away from his or her usual place 
     of residence, in accordance with section 5703 of title 5, 
     United States Code.
       (j) Final Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the appointment of the last member to the Commission under 
     subsection (c), the Commission shall submit to Congress and 
     the Administrator a final report on the findings of the 
     Commission with corresponding recommendations. Included with 
     this report shall be the independent audit required under 
     subsection (j).
       (k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is hereby 
     authorized to be appropriated $2,400,000 for activities of 
     the Commission to remain available until expended.
                        TITLE II--ANTITERRORISM

     SEC. 201. ADDITION OF TERRORIST OFFENSES AS RICO PREDICATES.

       (a) Title 18 Offenses.--Section 1961(1)(B) of title 18 of 
     the United States Code is amended by--
       (1) inserting ``32 (relating to the destruction of 
     aircraft), section 37 (relating to violence at international 
     airports), section 115 (relating to influencing, impeding, or 
     retaliating against a Federal official by threatening or 
     injuring a family member), section'' after ``Section'';
       (2) inserting ``section 351 (relating to Congressional or 
     Cabinet officer assassination,'' after ``section 224 
     (relating to sports bribery),'';
       (3) inserting ``section 831 (relating to prohibited 
     transactions involving nuclear materials), section 844(f) or 
     (i) (relating to destruction by explosives or fire of 
     government property or property affecting interstate or 
     foreign commerce),'' after ``section 664 (relating to 
     embezzlement from pension and welfare funds),'';
       (4) inserting ``section 930(c) (relating to violent attacks 
     against Federal buildings), section 956 (relating to 
     conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure certain property 
     in a foreign country),'' after ``sections 891-894 (relating 
     to extortionate credit transactions),'';
       (5) inserting ``section 1111 (relating to murder), section 
     1114 (relating to murder of United States law enforcement 
     officials), section 1116 (relating to murder of foreign 
     officials, official guests, or internationally protected 
     persons), section 1203 (relating to hostage taking),'' after 
     ``section 1084 (relating to the transmission of gambling 
     information),'';
       (6) inserting ``section 1361 (relating to willful injury of 
     government property), section 1363 (relating to destruction 
     of property within the special maritime and territorial 
     jurisdiction),'' after ``section 1344 (relating to financial 
     institution fraud),'';
       (7) inserting ``section 1751 (relating to Presidential 
     assassination),'' after ``sections 1581-1588 (relating to 
     peonage and slavery),'';
       (8) inserting ``section 1992 (relating to train wrecking), 
     section 2280 (relating to violence against maritime 
     navigation), section 2281 (relating to violence against 
     maritime fixed platforms),'' after ``section 1958 (relating 
     to use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of 
     murder-for-hire),''; and
       (9) inserting ``section 2332 (relating to terrorist acts 
     abroad against United States nationals), section 2332a 
     (relating to use of weapons of mass destruction), section 
     2332b (relating to acts of terrorism transcending national 
     boundaries), section 2332c (relating to use of chemical 
     weapon), section 2339A (relating to providing material 
     support to terrorists),'' after ``2321 (relating to 
     trafficking in certain motor vehicles or motor vehicle 
     parts),''.
       (b) Non-Title 18 Offense.--Section 1961(1) of title 18 of 
     the United States Code is amended--
       (1) by striking ``or'' before ``(E)'';
       (2) by striking ``or'' before ``(F); and
       (3) by inserting at the end the following: ``or (G) section 
     46502 of title 49, United States Code;''.
       (c) Limitation to Civil RICO.--The amendments made by this 
     section shall not apply with respect to section 1964(c) of 
     title 18, United States Code.

     SEC. 202. ENHANCED PRIVACY ACT AND WIRETAP PENALTIES.

       (a) Enhancement of Privacy Act Criminal Penalties.--
     Paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 552a(i) of title 5, United 
     States Code, are each amended by striking ``shall be guilty 
     of a misdemeanor'' and all that follows through the end of 
     the paragraph and inserting ``shall be fined under title 18, 
     imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.''.
       (b) Enhancement of Privacy Act Civil Damages.--Section 
     552a(g)(4)(A) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``$1,000'' and inserting ``$5,000''.
       (c) Enhancement of Wiretap Disclosure Criminal Penalty.--
     Section 2511 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (4)(a), by striking ``paragraph (b)'' and 
     all that follows through ``(5)'' and inserting ``this 
     section''; and
       (2) by adding after paragraph (c) the following:
       ``(d) If the offense is an offense under paragraph (c) or 
     (e) of subsection (1), the offender shall be fined under this 
     title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.''.

     SEC. 203. COMBATTING INTERNATIONAL STATE TERRORISM.

       (a) Sanctions Against Sponsors of International 
     Terrorism.--The Congress urges the President to commence 
     immediately diplomatic efforts, both in appropriate 
     international fora including the United Nations, and 
     bilaterally with allies of the United States, to establish a 
     multilateral sanctions regime against each of those nations 
     certified under section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act 
     of 1979 as having repeatedly provided support for acts of 
     international terrorism. The President shall report to 
     Congress, not later than 30 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, on the extent 
     to which these diplomatic efforts have been successful.
       (b) Action Plans for Designated Terrorist Nations.--The 
     President shall provide to the Congress within 30 days after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act an Action Plan for 
     inducing each of those nations certified under section 6(j) 
     of the Export Administration Act of 1979 as having repeatedly 
     provided support for acts of international terrorism to cease 
     their support for acts of international terrorism.
       (c) Report on United States Counterterror and Antiterror 
     Intelligence Capabilities.--Not later than 60 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall 
     provide to the Permanent Select Committees on Intelligence of 
     the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the 
     capability of the United States intelligence community to 
     detect, assess, and eliminate international terrorist 
     activities, including an assessment of intelligence 
     collection policies and practices which affect the 
     counterterrorism and antiterrorism activities of the United 
     States intelligence community and of the resources provided 
     the intelligence community for such activities, together with 
     a plan to ensure enhanced human intelligence capabilities. To 
     the extent feasible, such report shall be unclassified and 
     made available to the public. Such report shall be 
     supplemented as necessary by a classified report or annex, 
     which shall be transmitted and maintained under appropriate 
     security procedures.

     SEC. 204. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ANTITERRORISM AND EFFECTIVE 
                   DEATH PENALTY ACT OF 1996.

       The Secretary of State is hereby directed, before October 
     1, 1996, to designate foreign terrorist organizations 
     pursuant to the amendment made by section 302 (relating to 
     international terrorism prohibitions) of the Antiterrorism 
     and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, and, if possible, 
     justified by the evidence, and consistent with the needs of 
     law enforcement and intelligence, the Secretary of the 
     Treasury shall freeze assets and the Attorney General shall 
     initiate the removal of known alien terrorists and criminals.

     SEC. 205. TAGGANTS IN BLACK AND SMOKELESS POWDER.

       (a) Amendment to 1996 Act To Include Black and Smokeless 
     Powder.--Notwithstanding the provisions to the contrary of 
     section 732 of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty 
     Act of 1996, (concerning the exclusion of black and smokeless 
     powder from the study described thereunder), the Director of 
     the National Institute of Justice shall contract for an 
     independent study of the feasibility, safety, and law 
     enforcement effectiveness of including taggants in black and 
     smokeless powder. The contract shall require the completion 
     of the study within one year after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act. The entity that conducts the study shall be 
     outside the executive branch of the Government and possess 
     the requisite expertise in explosives technology. The study 
     shall, in addition, draw upon expertise and science from 
     consultants in the areas of mining and other industries that 
     rely upon such explosives.
       (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 30 days after the 
     completion of the study conducted under subsection (a), the 
     Director shall submit the study to the Congress. If the 
     results of the study conducted under subsection (a) indicate 
     that the taggants--
       (1) will not pose a risk to human life or safety;
       (2) will substantially assist law enforcement officers in 
     their investigative efforts;
       (3) will not substantially impair the quality of the 
     explosive materials for their intended lawful use;
       (4) will not have a substantially adverse effect on the 
     environment; and
       (5) the costs associated with the addition of the taggants 
     will not outweigh the benefits of their inclusion;

     then the Director may submit to Congress recommendations for 
     legislation for the addition of taggants to black and 
     smokeless

[[Page H9889]]

     powder manufactured in or imported into the United States, of 
     such character and in such quantity as the proposed 
     legislation may authorize or require.

     SEC. 206. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORISM.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be 
     known as the National Commission on Terrorism (in this title 
     referred to as the ``Commission'').
       (b) Membership.--
       (1) Number and appointment.--
       (A) Generally.--The Commission shall be composed of 9 
     members, appointed from persons specially qualified by 
     training and experience to perform the duties of the 
     Commission, as follows:
       (i) 2 appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives, and 1 appointed by the Minority Leader of 
     the House of Representatives;
       (ii) 2 appointed by the Majority Leader of the Senate, and 
     1 appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; and
       (iii) 3 appointed by the President of the United States.
       (B) Timing of appointments.--The appointing authorities 
     shall make their appointments to the Commission not later 
     than 45 days after the date of enactment of this title.
       (C) Designation of the chairman.--The President of the 
     United States shall designate a chairman from the members of 
     the Commission. The Speaker of the House of Representatives 
     and the Majority Leader of the Senate shall jointly designate 
     a Vice Chairman from the members of the Commission.
       (D) Period of appointment; vacancies.--Members shall be 
     appointed for the life of the Commission. Any vacancy in 
     Commission membership shall not affect the exercise of the 
     Commission's powers, and shall be filled in the same manner 
     as the original appointment.
       (c) Meetings.--
       (1) In general.--In not later than 60 days after the date 
     on which all members of the Commission have been appointed, 
     the Commission shall hold its first meeting. Subsequent 
     meetings shall be held at the call of the Chairman.
       (2) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission 
     shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may 
     hold hearings.
       (d) Security Clearances.--Appropriate security clearances 
     shall be required for members of the Commission who are 
     private United States citizens. Such clearances shall be 
     processed and completed on an expedited basis by appropriate 
     elements of the executive branch of Government and shall, in 
     any case, be completed within 90 days of the date such 
     members are appointed.
       (e) Application of Certain Provisions of Law.--In light of 
     the extraordinary and sensitive nature of its deliberations, 
     the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
     U.S.C. App.), and the regulations prescribed by the 
     Administrator of General Services pursuant to that Act, shall 
     not apply to the Commission. Further, the provisions of 
     section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
     the ``Freedom of Information Act''), shall not apply to the 
     Commission; however, records of the Commission shall be 
     subject to the Federal Records Act and, when transferred to 
     the National Archives and Records Agency, shall no longer be 
     exempt from the provisions of such section 552.
       (f) Duties of the Commission.--
       (1) In general.--It shall be the duty of the Commission--
       (A) to prepare and transmit the reports described in 
     paragraph (2);
       (B) to examine the long-term strategy of the United States 
     in addressing the threat of international terrorism, 
     including intelligence capabilities, international 
     cooperation, military responses, and technological 
     capabilities;
       (C) to examine the efficacy and appropriateness of Federal 
     efforts to prevent, detect, investigate, and prosecute acts 
     of terrorism, including--
       (i) the coordination of counterterrorism efforts among 
     Federal departments and agencies, and Federal coordination of 
     law enforcement with state and local law enforcement in 
     responding to terrorism threats and acts;
       (ii) the ability and utilization of counterintelligence 
     efforts to infiltrate and disable or disrupt international 
     terrorist organizations and their activities;
       (iii) the impact of Federal immigration laws and policies 
     on acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries;
       (iv) the effectiveness of present regulations and practices 
     relating to civil aviation safety and security to prevent 
     acts of terrorism, to include a study of the desirability of 
     assigning, on a permanent basis, personnel of the Federal 
     Bureau of Investigation at high-risk airports, and a study of 
     the practicality and desirability of transferring authority 
     for U.S. airport and security to an entity other than the 
     Federal Aviation Administration;
       (v) the extent and effectiveness of present cooperative 
     efforts with foreign nations to prevent, detect, investigate 
     and prosecute acts of terrorism; and
       (vi) the impact on present counterterrorism efforts due to 
     the failure to expend and utilize resources and authority 
     previously provided by Congress for the implementation of 
     enhanced counterterrorism activities and the reasons why 
     these resources have not been expended in a timely way; and
       (D) to examine the capability of the United States 
     intelligence community to detect, assess, infiltrate, 
     disrupt, and eliminate international terrorist organizations 
     and activities, including an assessment of intelligence 
     collection policies and practices which affect the 
     counterterrorism and antiterrorism activities of the United 
     States intelligence community and of the resources provided 
     the intelligence community for such activities, together with 
     a plan to ensure enhanced human intelligence capabilities; 
     and
       (E) to examine all present laws relating to the collection 
     and dissemination of personal information on individuals by 
     law enforcement or other governmental entities, and the 
     necessity for additional protections to prevent and deter the 
     inappropriate collection and dissemination of such 
     information.
       (2) Reports.--
       (A) Initial report.--Not later than 2 months after the 
     first meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall 
     transmit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and 
     the House of Representatives a report setting forth its plan 
     for the work of the Commission.
       (B) Interim reports.--Prior to the submission of the report 
     required by subparagraph (C), the Commission may issue such 
     interim reports as it finds necessary and desirable.
       (C) Final report.--No later than 6 months after the first 
     meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall submit to the 
     President and to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
     Senate and the House of Representatives a report setting 
     forth the activities, findings, and recommendations of the 
     Commission, including any recommendations for the enactment 
     of legislation that the Commission considers advisable. To 
     the extent feasible, such report shall be unclassified and 
     made available to the public. Such report shall be 
     supplemented as necessary by a classified report or annex, 
     which shall be provided separately to the President and the 
     Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives.
       (g) Powers.--
       (1) Hearings.--The Commission or, at its direction, any 
     panel or member of the Commission, may, for the purpose of 
     carrying out the provisions of this title, hold hearings, sit 
     and act at times and places, take testimony, receive 
     evidence, and administer oaths to the extent that the 
     Commission or any panel or member considers advisable.
       (2) Information from federal agencies.--The Commission may 
     secure directly from any intelligence agency or from any 
     other Federal department or agency any information that the 
     Commission considers necessary to enable the Commission to 
     carry out its responsibilities under this section. Upon 
     request of the Chairman of the Commission, the head of any 
     such department or agency shall furnish such information 
     expeditiously to the Commission, unless the head of the 
     department or agency determines that doing so would threaten 
     national security, the health or safety of any individual, or 
     the integrity of an ongoing investigation or prosecution.
       (3) Postal, printing and binding services.--The Commission 
     may use the United States mails and obtain printing and 
     binding services in the same manner and under the same 
     conditions as other departments and agencies of the Federal 
     Government.
       (4) Subcommittees.--The Commission may establish panels 
     composed of less than the full membership of the Commission 
     for the purpose of carrying out the Commission's duties. The 
     actions of each such panel shall be subject to the review and 
     control of the Commission. Any findings and determinations 
     made by such a panel shall not be considered the findings and 
     determinations of the Commission unless approved by the 
     Commission.
       (5) Authority of individuals to act for commission.--Any 
     member or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 
     Commission, take any action which the Commission is 
     authorized to take under this title.
       (h) Personnel Matters.--
       (1) Compensation of members.--Each member of the Commission 
     who is a private United States citizen shall be paid, if 
     requested, at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the 
     annual rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Executive 
     Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code, 
     for each day (including travel time) during which the member 
     is engaged in the performance of the duties of the 
     Commission. All members of the Commission who are Members of 
     Congress shall serve without compensation in addition to that 
     received for their services as Members of Congress.
       (2) Travel expenses.--Each member of the Commission shall 
     be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
     subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies 
     under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
     Code, while away from their homes or regular places of 
     business in the performance of services for the Commission.
       (3) Staff.--
       (A) In general.--The Chairman of the Commission may, 
     without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States 
     Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, 
     appoint a staff director and such additional personnel as may 
     be necessary to enable the Commission to perform its duties. 
     The staff director of the Commission shall be appointed from 
     private life, and such appointment shall be subject to the 
     approval of the Commission as a whole.

[[Page H9890]]

       (B) Compensation.--The Chairman of the Commission may fix 
     the pay of the staff director and other personnel without 
     regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 
     chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to 
     classification of positions and General Schedule pay rates, 
     except that the rate of pay fixed under this paragraph for 
     the staff director may not exceed the rate payable for level 
     V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title 
     and the rate of pay for other personnel may not exceed the 
     maximum rate payable for grade GS-15 of the General Schedule.
       (4) Detail of government employees.--Upon request of the 
     Chairman of the Commission, the head of any Federal 
     department or agency may detail, on a nonreimbursable basis, 
     any personnel of that department or agency to the Commission 
     to assist it in carrying out its administrative and clerical 
     functions.
       (5) Procurement of temporary and intermittent services.--
     The Chairman of the Commission may procure temporary and 
     intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, 
     United States Code, at rates for individuals which do not 
     exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 
     payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 
     5316 of such title.
       (i) Payment of Commission Expenses.--The compensation, 
     travel expenses, per diem allowances of members and employees 
     of the Commission, and other expenses of the Commission shall 
     be paid out of funds available to the Attorney General for 
     the payment of compensation, travel allowances, and per diem 
     allowances, respectively, of employees of the Department of 
     Justice.
       (j) Termination of the Commission.--The Commission shall 
     terminate 1 month after the date of the submission of the 
     report required by subsection (f)(2)(C).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to this rule, the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Cox] and the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Conyers] each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California [Mr. Cox].

                              {time}  1515

  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster] be permitted to control 6 
minutes and that the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Hyde] be permitted to 
control 6 minutes of the time allocated to me.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hastert). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman], chairman of the Committee on 
International Relations.
  (Mr. GILLMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased for this opportunity to speak 
on the concise issue of international terrorism, which is so much on 
the mind of our Nation today. As we move forward with this important 
bill before us, let us be ever mindful of how we must most effectively 
fight this scourge, especially on the international front.
  I am particularly pleased that the bill before us (H.R. 3953) in 
section 203 encourages the President to take greater steps to address 
the problem of foreign government-sponsored international terrorism.
  We must keep international terrorism at the top of our foreign policy 
agenda, as the New York World Trade Center bombing in February 1993 
made very clear. International terrorism has come to our own shores. In 
addition, the recent attacks on American personnel in Saudi Arabia make 
it clear that terrorist fear no boundaries or jurisdiction when going 
after our vital interests. The struggle against terrorism is one which 
all of the nations of the world must wage cooperatively together.
  It is gratifying that at our direction and through Republican-led 
efforts, the State Department was forced to maintain a high-level, 
visible office of Coordinator for Counter Terrorism to help make known 
to friendly nations, state sponsors of terrorism, and within the U.S. 
bureaucracy that international terrorism is a high foreign policy 
priority. We ought to be proud of those foresighted efforts to keep the 
fight high on the foreign policy agenda of our State Department.
  We must also help prevent easy entry into our Nation of members of 
terrorist groups whose purpose is to harm our Nation. In the 
counterterrorism bill that became law in April 1996, Congress included 
an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act [INA] to exclude 
entry into the U.S. based on ``mere membership'' in defined terrorist 
groups. It is now law, despite a lukewarm response from the 
administration.
  Sadly, to date this law pertaining to designating terrorist groups 
has yet to be implemented. I applaud the authors of the bill before us 
who mandate that the process of defining terrorist groups, for both 
fundraising and exclusion purposes, is to be put on the fast track and 
completed by October 1.
  Like the reluctance to support the mere membership provision, the 
Administration was slow to support our efforts in the Congress on the 
Iran-Libya sanctions bill. However, they came along. Next week the 
President will sign that bill into law and give us added tools to 
isolate and work against these rogue nations like Libya--responsible 
for the deadly Pam Am 103 attack--and Iran, the leading state sponsor 
of terrorism in the world.
  These and other provisions in this Aviation Security and 
Antiterrorism Act of 1996 will further the struggle against the evil of 
terrorism.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to manage the bill, but I do 
want to allocate a block of time to the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. 
Oberstar], ranking member of the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 8 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. 
Oberstar] and I ask unanimous consent that he be permitted to control 
the time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is thee objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas [Mr. DOGGETT].
  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, conveniently omitted from today's 
discussion of antiterrorism legislation is what occurred on this floor 
in March of this year, the last time antiterrorism legislation was up 
for our consideration.
  At that time, under pressure from special interest lobby groups, a 
key provision was stripped from the antiterrorism legislation. The bill 
was ``eviscerated.'' That is not my word. It is the word of the very 
distinguished, and he is distinguished, Republican chairman of the 
Committee on the Judiciary. I want to quote his remarks from that 
debate on March 13.
  He said, ``If the Barr amendment passes, we eviscerate the bill. It 
is a frail representation of what started out as a robust answer to the 
terrorist menace.''
  A few minutes later he said, ``With the Barr amendment, this is not 
an antiterrorism bill.''
  He was right. We have not had an antiterrorism bill this year. We had 
the opportunity today to join in a bipartisan effort and offer ideas 
from each side to deal with this national crisis, and it was rejected, 
denying us the opportunity to contribute our ideas.
  I think it was rejected because the same high-handedness and 
extremism that apparently led one Republican Member to say right here 
on the floor of the House, ``I trust Hamas more than I trust my own 
Government.''
  When you have that kind of attitude, you cannot come together and 
work out reasonable solutions to fight terrorism. That is the 
opportunity that has been lost in this Congress.
  I will vote for this legislation today, but it does not do enough to 
address this problem. All of us have watched these crime investigators 
sift through the debris from a bombing, looking for clues in the 
tiniest spaces and, yet, they are denied today a vital tool.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we do not know yet what brought down TWA 800. But of 
course the probabilities are that it was a bomb. We do not know who 
planted the bomb at the Olympics. Maybe it was somebody mentally 
deranged, maybe a terrorist. We do not know yet who killed our troops 
in Saudi Arabia, but that clearly was an act of terrorism.
  We do not need to know all the answers to these questions to know 
that the American people expect action now, and this bill responds to 
that demand from the American people.
  This bill is not a panacea. It is but a step in the right direction. 
Indeed, with

[[Page H9891]]

regard to the aviation security provisions of this bill, once again, 
these have been crafted in a bipartisan basis, working with my 
colleagues, particularly the ranking member of our committee, the 
gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar]. The majority and the minority 
have been full partners in crafting the aviation security provisions 
for this bill.
  We need to emphasize that today there are serious gaps in our 
aviation security system. Even though we have passed several pieces of 
legislation in the past dealing with security, we need to focus more 
attention on bomb detection capabilities and, indeed, an awful lot yet 
remains to be done. So this bill is but a step in the right direction.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, on Christmas Eve 1988, nearly Christmas Eve, the world 
of aviation as we know it changed. People had felt secure against 
skyjackings from the time in the late 1960's when we were experiencing 
one skyjacking every 2 weeks.
  Then the United States required the installation of metal detectors 
and x-ray machines at major airports to screen passengers and their 
carry-on baggage and skyjackings dropped off the horizon as a threat to 
aviation in the domestic United States. But with the devastation of Pan 
Am 103, in which 270 people died, people from 21 countries besides the 
United States, the world of aviation changed. The new threat was 
terrorist acts against the flag of the United States.
  In the aftermath of Pan Am 103 a commission was created by this 
Congress, in cooperation with the Bush administration, to look into the 
causes and recommend actions to be taken to make aviation more secure. 
We have in place a strong law to protect against terrorist actions. We 
must understand that we are operating now in a world in which aviation 
is the target of State-sponsored terrorism, and the American flag and 
American air carriers and American passengers are its targets.
  Mr. Speaker, we must enact strong legislation. I will deal with that 
later in my further remarks.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan].
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
legislation.
  Over the years our Nation has become accustomed to terrorism and acts 
of violence in other countries. But recent tragic events here at home, 
in our great Nation, have underscored the fact that we live in a 
dangerous world--and that we too are vulnerable to terrible acts of 
violence more and more every day.
  The World Trade Center, Oklahoma City, Atlanta, and the possibilities 
of TWA flight 800 being blown out of the sky by a bomb, all of these 
have brought terrorism to the forefront of our society.
  The American people are demanding, and they deserve, every amount of 
reasonable protection from acts of violence and terrorism that the 
Federal Government can muster.
  Mr. Speaker, the Aviation Security and Antiterrorism Act makes 
several needed improvements to our Nation's aviation security system. 
This legislation will require bomb-sniffing dogs to be used at the 50 
largest airports in the Nation.
  It directs the Federal Aviation Administration to deploy the best 
available bomb detection equipment at airports here at home--similar to 
equipment that is now being used at several airports in Europe and 
Israel.
  The bill also requires airport baggage screeners to undergo in-depth 
security background checks before they are hired. We should require 
that all these airport security people be U.S. citizens.
  And, among many other provisions, the bill also directs the FBI to 
work closely with the FAA on security measures at our Nation's 
airports.
  Mr. Speaker, as the Chair of the Aviation Subcommittee, I 
wholeheartedly support this legislation. It addresses needed 
improvements in aviation security that I believe a majority of 
Americans will support. It is a good bill, a responsive bill, and I 
urge every Member to support it.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from 
North Carolina [Mr. Hefner], a member of the Committee on 
Appropriations.
  Mr. HEFNER. Mr. Speaker, this just shows how far we are into a 
political campaign. Here we have a bill that nobody knows anything 
about, that does nothing and, if you vote against it, you are going to 
have commercials run against you that say you are soft on terrorism. In 
the meantime, nothing is going to happen that deters terrorism.
  This is a sad day in our country when people are out there grieving 
because they have lost loved ones in these terrorist acts, and we are 
doing something that absolutely does nothing. It is strictly a 
political document. That is a sad day in this body.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as every one knows I strongly supported enhanced 
authority for law enforcement to investigate, prosecute, and punish 
terrorists. Specifically I believe Federal law enforcement ought to 
have the necessary tools in terrorism cases, tools that are already 
available in other types of criminal investigations. I am speaking 
about multipoint wiretaps, temporary emergency wiretaps and pen 
registers and trap and trace devices.
  In the first session of this Congress, I introduced the Comprehensive 
Antiterrorism Act of 1995, H.R. 1710, which did contain all of these 
features. My bill was approved by the Committee on the Judiciary June 
20, 1995 by a bipartisan vote of 23 to 12. Unfortunately, some of these 
key elements were stricken from the final version of the law that was 
signed by the President on April 24 of this year.
  Today I have introduced similar legislation in the House of 
Representatives as H.R. 3960, the Antiterrorism Law Enforcement 
Enhancement Act of 1996. It is cosponsored by the gentleman from 
Michigan, Mr. John Conyers, the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Bill 
McCollum, and the gentleman from New York, Mr. Chuck Schumer.
  Among other things, it would expand authority for multipoint 
wiretaps, allow pen registers and trap and trace devices in 
counterintelligence cases and authorize temporary emergency wiretaps in 
terrorism cases.

                              {time}  1530

  Obviously H.R. 3960 is a bipartisan initiative to make it clear we 
intend to continue the effort to bring about the kind of law 
enforcement enhancements necessary to effectively confront the 
terrorist threat in our country. The recent events, TWA flight 800 and 
the bombing at the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, are examples why 
Federal law enforcement needs these enhanced authorities.
  Now I want to say the legislation before us, H.R. 3953, does contain 
some very positive features which will assist us in countering 
terrorism. Section 201 adds terrorist offenses as RICO predicates. 
Section 202 provides increased penalties for violations of the Privacy 
Act and for the unauthorized disclosure of information obtained through 
a wiretap. Section 205 provides for a study of taggants in black and 
smokeless powder under the auspices of the National Institute of 
Justice. Section 206 authorizes the establishment of a National 
Commission on Terrorism.
  One important aspect of this issue, that is not part of the bill we 
are considering this afternoon is funding for digital telephony. This 
is a pivotal element of the antiterrorism effort that will enable the 
FBI, the DEA, and other Federal law enforcement agencies to deal with 
the changing technology in telecommunications. The funding is contained 
in the Commerce, State, and Justice appropriations bill. Specifically, 
it will give law enforcement access to digital and fiber-optic 
telephone technology for criminal investigation purposes. I must admit 
I have concerns about the implementation plan that is required of the 
FBI by the language in the appropriations bill. We are not against 
requiring the FBI to provide Congress with a plan, detailing how they 
expect to proceed but we did not want to have language in the law which 
would interfere with the prompt implementation of the digital telephony 
statute.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, this is very helpful legislation. But, I do want 
to again stress that I consider H.R. 3953 to be

[[Page H9892]]

the beginning and not the end of this effort. The bottom line is that 
more needs to be done to provide Federal law enforcement with the kind 
of enhanced tools and authorities they need to effectively deal with 
the threat of terrorism in the United States and abroad.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I associate myself with the remarks of the 
distinguished chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, and I yield 2 
minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Watt], an 
indefatigable member of the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. WATT of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member 
for yielding this time to me, and I may not take 2 minutes.
  I want to express my disappointment, Mr. Speaker, that we are missing 
an opportunity to deal with a serious issue by playing politics with 
it. If we had come together and tried to deal with this issue in a way 
that the American people deserve to have it dealt with, I think we 
would have a much, much better bill on the floor today rather than this 
bill, which all of us will go out and say deals with terrorism but all 
of us, deep in our hearts and minds, really know does not serve the 
purpose.
  The litmus test for terrorism legislation, it seems to me, if we are 
responding to what happened in New York and what happened in Atlanta, 
is, can we craft some legislation that would have had an impact had it 
been in place at the time those tragedies occurred?
  I do not think we can say yes to that inquiry when we look at this 
legislation. The part of the legislation that, had we put it in the 
bill, would have dealt with the Atlantic situation, would have been the 
tagging or taggants which would help identify the powder that was used 
in the Atlanta situation, and we have the capacity to do that. We are 
missing that opportunity by saying we are going to put this aside and 
do a study on this issue which has been studied time after time after 
time. We should be disappointed in ourselves in this legislation.
  I am not going to vote against the legislation. But it is so far 
below what we could have gotten if we had just worked together in this 
body.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Gekas].
  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time 
to me.
  We have reached the stage in our history now where everyone must 
recognize that airport security and antiterrorism issues are matters 
for national security. Therefore any little thing that we can do to 
tighten up security at our air facilities and to move against 
terrorists on every front, giving as much authority as we can to our 
law enforcement agencies, is not just a plus for antiterrorist activity 
but also, I repeat, in the interest of national security.
  There should not be one negative vote on this bill, not one, because 
if we result in this bill in securing an airport, just one airport in 
our country, it is worth a ``yes'' vote. So let us not criticize what 
could have been in the bill or what might have been in the bill. This 
will strengthen our airports. That is enough for a ``yes'' vote from 
very Member of the Congress.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer].
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 additional minute to the 
distinguished gentleman from Maryland.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hastert). The gentleman from Maryland 
[Mr. Hoyer] is recognized for 2 minutes.
  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time.
  In October of 1995 a demented person or persons, because of an 
alleged grievance, killed 168 innocent human beings. Terrorism is a 
problem and terrorism must be dealt with, met and defeated.
  Like every other Member of this body, I presume I will vote for this 
legislation.
  The gentleman from Pennsylvania says if it goes one centimeter 
forward to make us more secure it is perhaps worth voting for, and in 
my perception it does not harm and therefore is worth voting for.
  But it is a shame, my colleagues, that we did not, as the 
distinguished gentleman from Illinois said so correctly back in March 
and repeats today, that we did not take definitive, effective action to 
enhance our ability to determine who is likely to commit a terrorist 
act so that we are not responding to that act to determine who killed 
one or a hundred or a thousand innocent people.
  I would urge the individuals in the majority party who have the 
control and who have presented this to us, frankly, on very short 
notice, to work in a bipartisan fashion under the leadership of the 
chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, the distinguished gentleman 
from Illinois [Mr. Hyde] to respond effectively and confront those who 
are demented and who would attack and kill and make less secure this 
great land.
  In closing, let me say as an aside that I would hope we would also 
focus in the airport security with the dogs, on the ATF's current 
capability, and make sure that that is fully utilized now and in the 
future.
  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from San Diego, CA [Mr. Cunningham], the distinguished expert member of 
the Committee on National Security.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, you want real tooth and nail to really 
vote for the bill. A lot of us fly a lot, and I am an aviator myself, 
and in this bill it gives the FBI the authority and the power to 
protect our airways. It strengthens the security at airports, and under 
the RICO statutes terrorists will fall under the same kind of stringent 
examination that our racketeers do.
  Let me tell my colleagues about a problem. This body and the Senate 
mandated to the President that he not ship arms to Bosnia. There are 
over 12,000 Mujahidin, Hamas and Jihad fighters in Bosnia, and I talked 
to intel. They are real concerned that those weapons are going to end 
up all over the world now. Did we forget that the World Trade Center 
was blown up by a Hamas terrorist and a cleric?
  We need to put some tooth in our bill, not just this one, but down 
the line. The real challenge is to start here and let us work together 
and finish the rest.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Barr].
  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, what America has done this past 
week and what we in the Congress have done this past week is precisely 
what we should do this past week, and that is to roll up our sleeves, 
look at the problem, do what can be done now and leave for another day 
more study and action later on other matters, but not to leave things 
lying.
  This is important legislation that is meaningful legislation and it 
is balanced legislation. It contains no new wiretapping authority 
whatsoever. There is no ill-advised, precipitous mandated taggant 
requirement that could pose a danger to industry and to law enforcement 
officers. There is no authority for the Government to obtain records 
without court order. There is no authority for Government to gain 
access to private encryption keys for computers.
  What the bill does do is, it institutes real, meaningful, substantive 
security measures that will benefit the American people immediately. It 
forces the administration to do what it should have done already. This 
is good legislation, it is conservative legislation, and I urge 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle, of all political persuasions, to 
support this meaningful legislation today.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York [Mr. Schumer], ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary, 
former chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime and now presently ranking 
member of the subcommittee.
  (Mr. SCHUMER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan not 
only for the time but for his yielding.
  This is a pretty sad day in this Chamber. We are going to have a 
unanimous vote for this bill. The unanimity speaks to the fact that we 
have put together a series of noncontroversial cats and dogs that do a 
little but not what we should do against terrorism.

[[Page H9893]]

  I just hope that some of the families of people who lost their lives 
in Oklahoma City, on TWA Flight 800, in Atlanta, are not watching today 
because we know that they want us to do all we can to fight terrorism. 
We know that law enforcement has told us they need multipoint wiretaps 
and taggants, and we know that in an act that some would say is 
politics and others would call much worse, those on the other side took 
those out. They were unable to just have the guts to say, ``We do not 
believe in those.''
  Many on the other side are doing what they think is right. Some on 
the other side do not have the guts to admit that they have eviscerated 
what we should do about terrorism and instead put up a series of 
smokescreen proposals, none of which are objectionable but only one of 
which does anything real to fight terrorism, and that would have passed 
here within the next few months anyway in terms of airport security.
  So what we have today, my colleagues, is something that belies what 
is wrong, that explains what is wrong with this Chamber, and that is 
the inability of the broad membership both of this body and probably of 
the country to pull together and do what is needed when we face 
problems, enemies, and now sometimes even crises. What we are doing 
here is an act at best of deception and at worse of cowardice.

                              {time}  1545

  This is not a game. We are going to have other terrorist incidents 
that affect us. Once again the head of the FBI would say, ``I wish we 
had those multipoint wiretaps. I wish we had taggants so that incident 
might not have occurred.'' Then perhaps once again we will all gather 
together in a group and we will debate for 3 days in a little 
conference room what we should do.
  I pray to God that the result is not the same as what happened the 
last two times: We end up with a hodgepodge of proposals, unstudied, 
unexamined, and at best, marginally effective, and ignore what should 
be done. Shame on us. We should be doing much, much more.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to yield 1 minute to the 
distinguished gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum], chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Crime of the Committee on the Judiciary.
  (Mr. McCOLLUM asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, contrary to my good friend, the gentleman 
from New York, Chuck Schumer's comments, my judgment is this is a very 
fine bill. It is one that is long overdue as a supplement to the 
terrorism bill we passed in April. We must as a nation unite together 
to fight terrorism. It is one of the three or four major criminal and 
international concerns of this Nation as we move into the 21st century.
  There are going to be lots of debates over the specific provisions of 
how we go about doing this. Yes, I believe we ought to have multipoint 
wiretap sources for the FBI to be able to tap more telephones, to get 
at these terrorists. But there are a lot of other things we need and 
they are in this bill today. There are going to be more things down the 
road. We are going to have hearings on the wiretap in our Committee on 
the Judiciary in the next month when we come back. I believe we will 
produce much more substantive legislation in addition to this as we go 
through this process.
  Make no mistake, there is really good and important stuff in this 
bill. It should be enacted today. As the chairman of the Subcommittee 
on Crime and a member of the Committee on Intelligence, I pledge to my 
colleagues and friends that we will work diligently to make sure that 
terrorism is defeated in every possible source and on every possible 
occasion.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
Texas, Ms. Sheila Jackson-Lee, who has done an enormously useful job on 
the Committee on the Judiciary.
  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I really rise this afternoon in the name of Alice Stubbs 
Hawthorne. Who is being funeralized today, who passed at the Olympics 
along with a Turkish reporter; the victims of Pan American 103; the 
victims of TWA flight 800; Pam Lyncher, Myra Royal of Pan American 103; 
and certainly Oklahoma City.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is a wimpish bill. I am saddened to say that 
the House Republicans last year shut down the Government in December, 
and now they are trying to shut us down on our ability to fight 
terrorism. They have precluded us from having taggants to track the 
bombs that may have been the cause of these tragic acts. They have 
refused to harmonize the terrorism laws with criminal laws, a simple 
gesture.
  Mr. Speaker, I would simply say that what we must do, and I hope that 
our colleagues will comply with what they have just said today, we must 
go forward. I will vote for this bill, because there are certain 
airport security provisions that will allow us to detect bomb devices, 
but we are just beginning. This is a tiny step, and it is not a very 
large step for Americans, but I am prepared to work to do better. I 
hope my colleagues will join with me to do better for America.
  Mr. Speaker, I must rise to express my views on the Aviation Security 
and Antiterrorism Act of 1996. While I understand the urgency of 
strengthening our current antiterrorism laws, I am concerned about the 
process that the House leadership used to bring this bill to the House 
floor without considerable input from members of the minority party and 
the lack of any opportunity to amend the bill. Every Member of Congress 
wants to end domestic terrorism but we must provide for some debate and 
careful reflection on this bill before moving forward with provisions 
that could undermine the traditional civil liberties of all Americans.
  There are some good provisions to this bill and some bad provisions. 
The bill enhances the penalties for Privacy Act violations from a 
misdemeanor charge to a charge that would lead to imprisonment of not 
more than 5 years. Additionally, the civil damages for violating the 
Privacy Act would be increased from $1,000 to $5,000. With respect to 
disclosures of wiretaps, this bill enhances the criminal penalties to 
10 years for such disclosures.
  The close monitoring of standards relating to airport security 
personnel and authorizing additional funds for this purpose is also 
something that all Members can agree. As a part of the security 
procedures, however, the Federal Aviation Administration and the 
Department of Transportation will work closely with the airlines on 
developing computer-assisted passenger profiles programs. We must make 
sure that such profiles do not lead to harassment of certain 
individuals based upon their race, ethnicity or national origin.
  I also support the provisions of the bill that require the United 
States to work with other countries to combat international terrorism. 
The development of a multilateral sanctions regime against nations that 
provide support for acts of international terrorism is a good idea.
  The bill requires the Department of Justice to order a study relating 
to using taggants in black and smokeless powder. Taggants have been 
studied over and over again and many experts believe that taggants are 
effective. Hopefully, the result of this study will be issued prior to 
the 1 year deadline. If it is determined that taggants are effective in 
helping to identify the source of terrorism, it should be implemented 
as soon as possible.
  The addition of terrorist offenses as predicates for prosecution 
under the racketeering statute [RICO] deserve careful study because we 
already know that there are some problems in how the RICO statute has 
been implemented.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to carefully examine the provisions 
of this bill before moving--casting their vote. It is important to 
reduce the number of terrorist acts and limit the impact of such acts 
but we must not unduly burden the rights that all Americans have 
enjoyed over the years.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to clarify a provision of this bill in the 
expectation this may become law. We want to make sure we do have a 
clear understanding.
  In section 106, is it the chairman's understanding that in the matter 
of project grants, that grants for the expanded and enhanced security 
programs provided for in section 106 would be to airport sponsor, just 
as they are made today under the AIP Program; that such grants would 
not be made to entities other than airport sponsor, such as airlines or 
private companies? Is that the gentleman's understanding?

[[Page H9894]]

  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. OBERSTAR. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. SHUSTER. That is my interpretation of the language in section 
106.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. I thank the chairman of the committee.
  Mr. Speaker, as I said at the outset during debate on the rule, we on 
this side may not have been in on the takeoff, because this legislation 
did sort of take shape and form and get rolling on its own, but we 
certainly were in on the flight and in on the landing, and have had a 
role, and I think a very constructive and positive role to play in each 
stage of the formation of this legislation as far as the aviation 
security part is concerned.
  That is our committee jurisdiction. I want to again express my 
appreciation to the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster], for his partnership, and the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Cox] for his very constructive intervention role that 
he played at very important times in the evolution of this piece of the 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I have had a very long involvement with aviation 
security, going back to the years when I chaired the Subcommittee on 
Investigations and Oversight with our then-ranking member, now Speaker 
of the House, the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Gingrich]; later, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Clinger]; and I worked very closely on 
every aspect of aviation security in crafting the basic structural law, 
the Aviation Security Act of 1990, which was crafted basically by the 
Pan American 103 commission on which our former ranking member and dear 
friend, Mr. Hammersmith, and I served.
  With that perspective, I would just like to review some of the 
provisions of this legislation before us now. I think, all in all, this 
is basically a sound piece of legislation. Section 44913 which is 
amended in title I, dealing with explosive detection equipment, 
provides authority for the administrator of FAA to certify for 
deployment explosive detection devices that are now commercially 
available but that may not necessarily meet the standards we set for 
the 1990 Security Act.
  That will provide a measure of enhanced performance while we go 
through, while we, the FAA and DOT, go through the very time-consuming 
and technical process of certifying very advanced explosives detection 
technology.
  Section 102 deals with criminal background checks for screeners at 
the Nation's airports. That is not now provided for in current law. I 
think this is an important step forward. Pan American 103 commissioned 
in the 1990 Security Act, did not deal with domestic terrorism, it 
dealt with international acts. This fills an important hole in current 
security.
  I do want to emphasize that this section amends the 1990 Security 
Act, which provides and requires a 10-year criminal background security 
check for other airport and airline personnel, and that we are simply 
folding this addition into that basic legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, the section dealing with passenger profiling I think is 
a good addition. We have clarified the language on section 106, the use 
of funds to acquire, improve, deploy, and build the facilities 
necessary to deploy detection devices.
  Assessment of cargo I think is very important. The FBI provisions are 
very good.
  I do want to point out for my colleagues that the provision dealing 
with small airports is going to result in some additional cost for 
small airports from which passenger aircraft of less than 61 operate, 
that will require costs for x-ray machines, metal detectors, screeners, 
and installation costs.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton].
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I also yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
New Jersey.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton] 
is recognized for 2 minutes.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, let me just begin, and I had to smile when 
my friend, the gentleman from New York, Charlie Schumer, and other 
speakers on this side characterized what the Republican Party is trying 
to do for national security as wimpish. I do not think anybody takes 
that as a credible statement.
  The provisions of this bill on aviation safety are certainly not 
wimpish. The provisions on Federal racketeering statutes and the use of 
them in regard to terrorist acts is not wimpish. The use of enhanced 
telephone technology to catch terrorists and know what they are doing 
is not wimpish. This is not a wimpish bill. In fact, it moves in the 
right direction.
  Mr. Speaker, I remember in 1990 then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney 
coming to the Committee on Armed Services and saying, the world is 
going to change, folks. The Soviet Union, the threats posed by the 
Soviet Union are going to diminish, and other threats will become more 
important. He was talking about regional threats and the threats posed 
by terrorism.
  On June 20, 21, and 22 of this year in Tehran a group of 
international terrorists met in a conference. They formed an 
organization known as the International Hezbollah, and they vowed to 
ratchet up terrorist acts against the West, particularly against the 
United States and our people overseas.
  Shortly following that, a murder occurred in Egypt. It was an 
American diplomat. This organization took credit. Some time after that 
a bombing occurred in Dharhan at the airport. Nineteen Americans were 
killed, and they took credit. Shortly after that an airplane fell out 
of the sky over Long Island, and we do not know yet, but we suspect 
there may be a connection there as well.
  So what this bill does is simply to try to take us in the direction 
of a more secure situation for our people overseas, our travelers, and 
our people here at home. For those who think it does not go far enough, 
fine. We will go further in the next bill. For those who object to a 
provision of this, it is their right to object. But vote to support 
this bill which moves in the right direction.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from 
New York [Mr. Forbes].
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is woefully inadequate. I am sorry to 
stand here today and say that. But unfortunately, the tragedy that we 
have witnessed on Long Island, which is in my congressional district, 
makes me very concerned about what is going on here.
  Can we actually look in the eyes of any one of the families suffering 
through this tragedy and tell them that this legislation would have 
made their loved ones more secure? I suggest not. This is an 
unfortunate and inadequate piece of legislation.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. In the interests of advancing the cause here, Mr. 
Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar] 
is recognized for 1 minute and 15 seconds.

                              {time}  1600

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I do so to address the Civil Aviation 
Security Review Commission provision of this bill, 13 members, 1 year 
to report. While I support the idea of a commission, I think this is 
too many people, too long a time to report. The Pan Am 103 commission 
did its job in 6 months.
  In addition, I have some concerns about the amount of money 
authorized to be spent on this commission. The Pan Am 103 commission 
developed recommendations in less time, with a much more conservative 
budget. The Pan Am commission achieved its mandate with a budget of $1 
million. The commission in this bill has an authorized budget of $2.4 
million. The cost anticipated in connection with the commission in this 
bill are excessive.
  As for what the commission should focus on, I would urge commission 
members to look closely at the issue of how the financing of improved 
security equipment and procedures should be handled. Who should be 
responsible for incurring the cost that are inevitably associated with 
improving airport security; airports, airlines, the Federal Government?
  I very firmly believe that when the commission discussed potential 
rulemaking in the area of airport security, the resulting 
recommendations should be normative in nature. Cost benefit analyses 
should not influence the discussions or recommendations of the 
Commission. The costs associated with improved airport security must 
ultimately be considered,

[[Page H9895]]

but I do not think that it is the role of the commission to do so. The 
commission must develop and recommend optimal security recommendations 
and let Congress and the administration weight those recommendations 
against the costs and inconveniences associated with them.
  One issue that must be considered is whether a positive bag match 
should be required for passengers traveling domestically, as it is 
currently required on international flights. Again, while there would 
unquestionably be a significant impact on aviation in domestic markets 
should such a bag match be imposed, the commission should, to the 
extent possible, view a required domestic bag match with regard for 
potential costs or inconveniences.
  In closing, there is a question we must pose to the American public, 
the executive branch, and this body. It is a question of political and 
personal will. We all want a higher level of airport security. How much 
is the public willing to pay? How much is the public willing to be 
inconvenienced? The answer today may be, to paraphrase President 
Kennedy, ``we are willing to pay any price, bear any burden.'' From 
experience I know that the answer a year from now will likely be very 
different. Now is when we must ask the question and formulate the 
answer.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important 
legislation.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from Washington [Mr. Dicks].
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, this morning instead of attending a meeting 
he had requested with the director of Central Intelligence to discuss 
activities to combat terrorism, the Speaker of the House chose to make 
some comments which served no purpose other than to undercut bipartisan 
efforts to pass a meaningful counterterrorism bill. To suggest that our 
ability to collect human intelligence on terrorists and terrorist 
organizations had been undermined by the Clinton administration is 
simply not correct.
  Perhaps the Speaker, an ex officio member of the Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence, should reread the committee's report on the 
fiscal year 1996 intelligence authorization bill. The report stated, 
``Overall, the Committee believes that the work of the U.S. 
intelligence agencies against terrorism has been an example of 
effective coordination and information sharing.'' The report also 
noted, ``The Committee, in its mark, has provided added support to the 
Intelligence Community programs focused on the terrorist threat.''
  The recent report of the Aspin-Brown commission on intelligence also 
stated, ``U.S. intelligence has played key roles in helping other 
countries identify and/or arrest several notorious terrorists, 
including Carlos the Jackal in Sudan, the alleged ringleader of the 
World Trade Center bombing, in the Philippines, the head of the Shining 
Path terrorist group in Peru, and those involved in the bombing of Pan 
Am 103.''
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hastert). The gentleman from Michigan 
[Mr. Conyers] is recognized for 1 minute.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, we began the attempt to do something during 
the summer recess by meeting with the President of the United States 
and the White House with our leadership, the ranking member of 
judiciary, myself, Vice President, Attorney General, FBI Director, and 
Speaker Gingrich was so amicable. Now we come to Friday, and he makes 
this unusually vituperative attack upon the President and misleads the 
American people on what has been going on here in our attempts to 
combat antiterrorism.
  We know what is happening here, and I hope that we can communicate 
this to everyone else.
  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  I will be brief in closing, because I know that several of our 
colleagues wish to catch airplanes. We had been long scheduled to 
adjourn today, but just a few days ago the President of the United 
States asked the Congress, not just the House but the Senate as well, 
not just Republicans but Democrats to do what we can before we go. As a 
consequence, a task force of us comprising our leaders, committee 
chairmen, ranking and majority members in the Senate and in the house, 
representatives of the administration, including the President's chief 
of staff, including the deputy attorney general, including 
representatives from the FBI, the Department of State, and many 
executive branch agencies worked here in this Capitol for long days and 
long nights.
  Much has been said about what we disagreed about. In truth, we did 
disagree about two major items: This House sought to include in this 
terrorism package a good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule so 
that the evidence that will convict terrorists makes it into the 
courtroom. We passed it five times on the floor of this House, but it 
was not acceptable to our colleagues in the minority, on the Senate 
side.

  So notwithstanding that the good-faith exception to the exclusionary 
rule that would permit evidence of terrorism to make it into the 
courtroom has passed this House five times, it is not included in this 
legislation; neither is wiretapping legislation that has passed the 
Senate but has not passed this body. We were charged with a very 
specific task, and that is to do as much as we can agree upon before we 
leave and to do so, obviously, under procedures that require unanimous 
consent in the other body and require us to bring it up under 
suspension of the rules here.
  Rather than dwell upon the two things that we disagreed on, we ought 
to dwell on the score of things that we did agree upon, because there 
is much good in this legislation.
  As a result of this bill, the Federal Aviation Administration will 
have immediate authority to put in place performance standards for 
security personnel at our airports. The FBI does not presently do 
threat and vulnerability assessments at our riskiest airports such as 
JFK in New York, but as a result of this bill they will have the 
immediate authority to do so.
  As a result of this bill, airport improvement funds are authorized to 
be used to fight terrorism and to provide security in our air transport 
against terrorism.
  As a result of this bill, we will now give our criminal prosecutors 
in our Federal courts the same tools to fight terrorists they use to 
fight racketeers and organized crime. I want to thank my colleagues, 
Democrats and Republicans, in the House and in the Senate, and in the 
administration for the hard work that we have done to bring us to this 
point. This is amazing good work. It comes after long hours and late 
nights. Yes, it comes after the imposition of virtually an unreasonable 
deadline. But we persisted and we should be proud of this result.
  Let us also say as we go out to campaign, in some cases against one 
another in very partisan races, that in this we are united, because 
this is as close as the 104th Congress will come to dealing with real 
war. This is America's war against global terrorism. Is this the last 
time we will address it? Absolutely not. It will require persistence 
and eternal vigilance. Is this the best that we can do today? 
Absolutely. We have every right to be proud of it and every reason to 
vote for it. I urge my colleagues to vote ``aye'' on this Aviation 
Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1996.
  Mr. DeFAZIO of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I have grave concerns with the 
efficacy of the Federal Aviation Administration's measures to combat 
terrorism aimed at aviation targets. Over the past decade I have made 
these concerns known to both present and past administrators at the 
FAA. We need to address these issues through comprehensive and well 
thought out legislation. If this bill is a good faith attempt to pass 
stop-gap-type legislation that we can reconsider and perfect in 
September, then I support this effort. However, if this legislation is 
being hailed as the ultimate solution to a serious problem, then this 
bill is clearly a sham.
  I understand the desire on the part of many Members of Congress to 
react swiftly to recent tragedies such as the bombing in Atlanta last 
week and the downing of TWA Flight 800 last month. We are all anxious 
to adopt strong security measures to try and correct any current 
deficiencies in aviation security. But we have had plenty of 
opportunities to review this type of legislation. I supported many of 
the measures recommended after the Lockerbie tragedy that have never 
been adopted by the FAA. For example, we should have adopted 
recommendations mandating screening of security personnel and 
development of bomb resistant cargo containers in conjunction with 
prompt deployment of effective bomb screening devices. However, the 
United States remains years behind schedule in adopting these 
proposals.

[[Page H9896]]

  Aviation security is a serious matter concerning the life or death of 
our citizens. It is far too serious to deal with in a slapdash bill 
thrown together by Republican staff behind closed doors in a 24-hour 
period. There are some provisions in this bill that I fully support and 
do not find objectionable. I am pleased that the bill recommends a 
commission on airline safety and security, although this seems to be 
duplicative of the recently created Gore commission. Some provisions 
are well intentioned but not practicable. There are other provisions 
that are outright counterproductive.
  We should not rush to a vote on this legislation on the pretext that 
this is the most comprehensive effective step we can take to combat 
terrorism particularly if it precludes more thoughtful legislation in 
September.
  Mr. LAZIO of New York. Mr. Speaker, although I rise today in support 
of this bill, I must admit to experiencing, as Yogi Bera once put it, 
deja vu all over again. This past spring we passed and the President 
signed a compromise antiterrorism bill which I supported. There were 
several provisions that were removed from that legislation that I would 
have preferred remain, and I am disappointed that they are not included 
in this bill today.
  Rather, the proposal we are considering today only goes part of the 
way in providing law enforcement the tools they need to combat this 
threat of terrorism. The expanded law enforcement provisions that were 
originally reported out of the Judiciary Committee, which are not being 
considered here today, are not inconsistent with our constitutional 
protections.
  Instead, they are a measured response to a specific and increasing 
threat. The truth is that as terrorists are becoming more 
sophisticated, there are some of my colleagues who believe we should 
unilaterally disarm ourselves, rather than improve our antiterrorism 
capabilities.
  Providing physical security is, as it should be, the first order of 
business of any government. The preamble to the U.S. Constitution 
states that the foundational reason the Federal Government formed is to 
establish justice and insure domestic tranquility. Congress has in the 
past provided law enforcement additional tools in order to meet 
specific threats when conventional methods were insufficient, within 
constitutional limitations.

  Although I believe that the provisions in this bill regarding 
aviation security are laudable, and some of the antiterrorism 
provisions would be helpful, overall the remedies contained in this 
bill are, quite frankly, a drop in the bucket.
  For example, this bill calls for a separate study of black and 
smokeless powder that will be relegated to the ash heap of other 
Government studies. Instead, the bill should include these items as 
part of the comprehensive study of explosives that is already provided 
for by the antiterrorism law we passed in April, and regulations should 
be implemented as soon as possible.
  At this point in time, we still do not know the cause of the tragedy 
of Flight 800 off the southern shore of Long Island. But we are 
certainly aware of the acts of terrorism that occurred in Saudi Arabia, 
and most recently at the Olympic games in Atlanta. How many more 
terrorist incidents do we need before we take the steps needed to more 
fully protect the public? I sincerely wish that this bill was tougher, 
and that public policy interests were paramount.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Cox] that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3953.
  The question was taken.


                             recorded vote

  Mr. COX of California. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 389, 
noes 22, not voting 22, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 401]

                               AYES--389

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Andrews
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baesler
     Baker (CA)
     Baker (LA)
     Baldacci
     Ballenger
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Barrett (WI)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Berman
     Bevill
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bliley
     Blute
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boucher
     Brewster
     Browder
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant (TN)
     Bryant (TX)
     Bunn
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canady
     Cardin
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chapman
     Chenoweth
     Christensen
     Chrysler
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Coleman
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (IL)
     Collins (MI)
     Combest
     Conyers
     Cox
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crapo
     Cremeans
     Cubin
     Cummings
     Cunningham
     Danner
     Davis
     de la Garza
     Deal
     DeLauro
     DeLay
     Dellums
     Diaz-Balart
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doolittle
     Dornan
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ehrlich
     Engel
     English
     Ensign
     Eshoo
     Evans
     Everett
     Ewing
     Farr
     Fattah
     Fawell
     Fazio
     Fields (LA)
     Fields (TX)
     Filner
     Flake
     Flanagan
     Foglietta
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fowler
     Fox
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (CT)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frisa
     Frost
     Funderburk
     Furse
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gejdenson
     Gekas
     Gephardt
     Geren
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Gonzalez
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Gordon
     Goss
     Graham
     Green (TX)
     Greene (UT)
     Greenwood
     Gutierrez
     Gutknecht
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hamilton
     Hancock
     Hansen
     Harman
     Hastert
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefner
     Heineman
     Herger
     Hilleary
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hobson
     Hoke
     Holden
     Horn
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inglis
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jacobs
     Jefferson
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Johnston
     Jones
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MA)
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kennelly
     Kildee
     Kim
     King
     Kingston
     Kleczka
     Klug
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaFalce
     Lantos
     Largent
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Laughlin
     Lazio
     Leach
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Lightfoot
     Linder
     Lipinski
     Livingston
     LoBiondo
     Lofgren
     Longley
     Lowey
     Lucas
     Luther
     Maloney
     Manton
     Manzullo
     Markey
     Martinez
     Martini
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McHale
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McKeon
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Menendez
     Metcalf
     Meyers
     Mica
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (CA)
     Miller (FL)
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Molinari
     Montgomery
     Moorhead
     Moran
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Neal
     Nethercutt
     Neumann
     Ney
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Orton
     Owens
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pallone
     Parker
     Pastor
     Paxon
     Payne (NJ)
     Payne (VA)
     Pelosi
     Peterson (FL)
     Peterson (MN)
     Petri
     Pickett
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Portman
     Poshard
     Pryce
     Quinn
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Reed
     Regula
     Richardson
     Riggs
     Rivers
     Roberts
     Roemer
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rose
     Roth
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Rush
     Sabo
     Salmon
     Sanders
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Schaefer
     Schiff
     Schroeder
     Schumer
     Scott
     Seastrand
     Sensenbrenner
     Serrano
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Shuster
     Sisisky
     Skaggs
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Solomon
     Spence
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stearns
     Stokes
     Studds
     Stump
     Stupak
     Talent
     Tanner
     Tate
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Tejeda
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thornberry
     Thornton
     Thurman
     Torres
     Torricelli
     Towns
     Traficant
     Upton
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Volkmer
     Vucanovich
     Walker
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Ward
     Waters
     Watt (NC)
     Watts (OK)
     Waxman
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     White
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Williams
     Wilson
     Wise
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wynn
     Yates
     Zeliff
     Zimmer

                                NOES--22

     Allard
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Coburn
     Cooley
     Costello
     Ehlers
     Hefley
     Hoekstra
     Hostettler
     Klink
     LaHood
     Mollohan
     Murtha
     Myers
     Radanovich
     Sanford
     Scarborough
     Souder
     Stockman
     Tiahrt
     Young (AK)

                             NOT VOTING--22

     Beilenson
     Bishop
     Blumenauer
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Clinger
     Condit
     DeFazio
     Deutsch
     Dickey
     Ford
     Gunderson
     Lincoln
     McCrery
     McDade
     Meehan
     Meek
     Morella
     Quillen
     Stenholm
     Torkildsen
     Young (FL)

                              {time}  1626

  The Clerk announced the following pairs:
  On this vote:

       Mrs. Morella and Mr. Deutsch for, with Mr. DeFazio of 
     Oregon against.

  Mr. POMBO and Mr. CRAPO changed their vote from ``no'' to ``aye.''
  So (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were 
suspended and the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________