[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 120 (Thursday, September 5, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1519-E1520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SUPPORT THE ANTITERRORISM PROVISIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. JOHN LINDER

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 2, 1996

  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule that will 
permit us to bring a number of modest antiterrorism provisions to the 
House floor under suspension of the rules. These proposals will provide 
a short-term response to concerns raised from the bombings

[[Page E1520]]

at Oklahoma City, the Word Trade Center, Saudi Arabia, and the 
involvement of terrorism in the recent explosion at Centennial Olympic 
Park and, possibly, TWA flight 800.
  We remain vulnerable to random, cowardly attacks; and we have a duty 
to reassure our citizens that we will ensure domestic tranquility and 
protect every American's civil liberties. The terrorist's goal is to 
undermine free society, and we must not capitulate by infringing upon 
the constitutionally guaranteed rights of our citizens.
  The President met with congressional leaders to discuss initiatives 
to combat terrorism. President Clinton supported a number of 
overreaching provisions that would have slowed the progress of its 
passage in the House. These proposals included increasing the wiretap 
capability of Federal law enforcement officers and mandating taggants. 
These proposals were controversial because of concerns about the 
serious constitutional questions they raised. We were able to delete 
from the bill the more troublesome suggestions, and we have before us a 
bill that will receive overwhelming support from the House.
  We have already appropriated increased funds and passed an 
antiterrorism bill in this Congress. However, the President has asked 
us to pass additional provisions before we go home for the District 
work period. The House wanted to act before the August recess on the 
provisions generally agreed upon by a consensus of the House, and the 
Suspension of the Rules process is the procedure that permits us to 
achieve this goal. The rule instituting a suspension of the rules 
procedure is not the best possible situation; but it does require two-
thirds majority for passage, it expedites the passage of the bill, and 
it assures that these important measures will pass the House before our 
August adjournment.
  I am pleased that the bill urges the President to secure multilateral 
sanctions against international terrorist states, creates a commission 
to review all aspects of this Nation's terrorism policies, and requires 
the implementation of past legislation freezing the assets of foreign 
terrorist organizations and removing aliens convicted of a crime. We 
also reaffirm our disdain for the misuse of Federal power by including 
an important provision that increases the penalty for criminal 
violations of the Privacy Act from a misdemeanor to a felony, increases 
the minimum penalty for civil violations of the Privacy Act, and 
increases the punishment for unlawful disclosure of wiretap information 
from 5 to 10 years.
  We can also utilize new products to further protect our airports. To 
date, the investigation into the recent crash of TWA flight 800 in New 
York has not yet recovered conclusive evidence that the plane was 
brought down by an explosive device. However, the incident renewed 
concerns that this Nation has not elevated its security measures at 
domestic airports to keep up with advancements in technology. This 
legislation enables domestic airports to aggressively search for and 
prevent explosives from causing destruction through enhanced explosive 
detection procedures and baggage screening.
  I support the rule that will bring this bill to the House floor today 
under suspension of the rules. This is an important bill that has wide 
bipartisan support, and I support its swift passage.

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