[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 29, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S814-S815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. THURMOND (for himself and Mr. Hatch):
  S. 230. A bill to amend section 1951 of title 18, United States 
Code--commonly known as the Hobbs Act--and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.


                 hobbs anti-racketeering act amendments

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, today, I am introducing legislation to 
amend the Hobbs Anti-Racketeering Act to reverse the 1973 Supreme Court 
decision in United States versus Enmons, and to address a serious, long 
term, festering problem under our Nation's labor laws. I am pleased to 
have Senator Hatch, chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, join me 
in introducing this bill. The United States regulates labor relations 
on a national basis and our labor management policies are national 
policies. These policies and regulations are enforced by laws such as 
the National Labor Relations Act that Congress designed to preempt 
comparable State laws.
  I believe it is time for the Government to act and respond to what 
the Supreme Court did when it rendered its decision in the case of 
United States versus Enmons in 1973. Although labor violence continues 
to be a widespread problem in labor management relations today, the 
Federal Government has not moved in a meaningful way to address this 
issue. It is this decision's unfortunate result which this bill is 
intended to rectify.
  The Enmons decision involved the Hobbs Anti-Racketeering Act which is 
intended to prohibit extortion by labor unions. It provides that: 
``Whoever in any way * * * obstructs, delays, or affects commerce in 
the movement of any article or commodity in commerce, by robbery or 
extortion or attempts or conspires to do so or commits or threatens 
physical violence to any person or property  * * *'' commits a criminal 
act. This language clearly outlaws extortion by labor unions. It 
outlaws violence by labor unions.
  Although this language is very clear, the Supreme Court in Enmons 
created an exemption to the law which says that as long as a labor 
union commits extortion and violence in furtherance of legitimate 
collective-bargaining objectives, no violation of the act will be 
found. Simply put, the Court held that if the ends are permissible, the 
means to that end, no matter how horrible or reprehensible, will not 
result in a violation of the act.
  The Enmons decision is wrong. This bill will make it clear that the 
Hobbs Act is intended to punish the actual or threatened use of force 
or violence, or fear thereof, to obtain property irrespective of the 
legitimacy of the extortionist's claim to such property and 
irrespective of the existence of a labor management dispute.
  Let me discuss the Enmons case. In that case, the defendants were 
indicted for firing high-powered rifles at property, causing extensive 
damage to the property owned by a utility company--all done in an 
effort to obtain higher wages and other benefits from the company for 
striking employees. The indictment was, however, dismissed by the 
district court on the theory that the Hobbs Act did not prohibit the 
use of violence in obtaining legitimate union objectives. On appeal, 
the Supreme Court affirmed.
  The Supreme Court held that the Hobbs Act does not proscribe violence 
committed during a lawful strike for the purpose of achieving 
legitimate collective-bargaining objectives, like higher wages. By its 
focus upon the motives and objectives of the property claimant who uses 
violence or force to achieve his or her goals, the Enmons decision has 
had several unfortunate results. It has deprived the Federal Government 
of the ability to punish significant acts of extortionate violence when 
they occur in a labor management context. Although other Federal 
statutes prohibit the use of specific devices or the use of channels of 
commerce in accomplishing the underlying act of extortionate violence, 
only the Hobbs Act proscribes a localized act of extortionate violence 
whose economic effect is to disrupt the channels of commerce. Other 
Federal statutes are not adequate to address the full effect of the 
Enmons decision.

  The Enmons decision affords parties to labor-management disputes an 
exemption from the statute's broad proscription against violence which 
is not available to any other group in society. This bill would make it 
clear that the Hobbs Act punishes the actual or threatened use of force 
and violence which is calculated to obtain property without regard to 
whether the extortionist has a colorable claim to such property, and 
without regard to his or her status as a labor representative, 
businessman, or private citizen.
  Mr. President, attempts to rectify the injustice of the Enmons 
decision have been before the Senate on several occasions. Shortly 
after the decision was handed down, a bill was introduced which was 
intended to repudiate the decision. Over the next several years, 
attempts were made to come up with language which was acceptable to 
organized labor and at the same time restored the original intent of 
the Hobbs Act.
  Although bills achieving the same goals as the bill I am introducing 
today have made progress and one even passed the Senate, none has been 
enacted. It is time for the Senate to re-examine this issue and to 
restate its opposition to violence in labor disputes. Encouraged by 
their special exemption from prosecution for acts of violence committed 
in pursuit of legitimate union objectives, union officials who are 
corrupt routinely use terror tactics to achieve their goals.
  From January 1975 to June 1996, the National Institute for Labor 
Relations Research has documented more than 8,700 reported cases of 
union violence. This chilling statistic gives clear testimony to the 
existence of a pervasive national problem.
  Mr. President, violence has no place in our society, regardless of 
the setting. Our national labor policy has always been directed toward 
the peaceful resolution of labor disputes. It is ironic that the Hobbs 
Act, which was enacted in large part to accomplish this worthy goal, 
has been virtually emasculated. The time has come to change that. I 
think that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle share a common 
concern that violence in labor disputes, whatever the source, should be 
eliminated. Government has been unwilling to deal with this problem for 
too long. It is time for this Congress to act.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 230

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

[[Page S815]]

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom From Union Violence 
     Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. INTERFERENCE WITH COMMERCE BY THREATS OR VIOLENCE.

       Section 1951 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to 
     read as follows:

     ``Sec. 1951. Interference with commerce by threats or 
       violence

       ``(a) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsection (c), 
     whoever in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects 
     commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in 
     commerce, by robbery or extortion, or attempts or conspires 
     so to do, or commits or threatens physical violence to any 
     person or property in furtherance of a plan or purpose to do 
     anything in violation of this section, shall--
       ``(1) if death results, be fined in accordance with this 
     title, imprisoned for any term of years or for life or 
     sentenced to death, or both; or
       ``(2) in any other case, be fined in accordance with this 
     title, imprisoned for a term of not more than 20 years, or 
     both.
       ``(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) the term `commerce' means any--
       ``(A) commerce within the District of Columbia, or any 
     territory or possession of the United States;
       ``(B) commerce between any point in a State, territory, 
     possession, or the District of Columbia and any point outside 
     thereof;
       ``(C) commerce between points within the same State through 
     any place outside that State; and
       ``(D) other commerce over which the United States has 
     jurisdiction;
       ``(2) the term `extortion' means the obtaining of property 
     from any person, with the consent of that person, if that 
     consent is induced--
       ``(A) by actual or threatened use of force or violence, or 
     fear thereof; or
       ``(B) by wrongful use of fear not involving force or 
     violence; or
       ``(C) under color of official right;
       ``(3) the term `labor dispute' has the same meaning as in 
     section 2(9) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 
     152(9)); and
       ``(4) the term `robbery' means the unlawful taking or 
     obtaining of personal property from the person or in the 
     presence of another, against his or her will, by means of 
     actual or threatened force or violence, or fear of injury, 
     immediate or future--
       ``(A) to his or her person or property, or property in his 
     or her custody or possession; or
       ``(B) to the person or property of a relative or member of 
     his or her family, or of anyone in his or her company at the 
     time of the taking or obtaining.
       ``(c) Exempted Conduct.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subsection (a) does not apply to any 
     conduct that--
       ``(A) is incidental to otherwise peaceful picketing during 
     the course of a labor dispute;
       ``(B) consists solely of minor bodily injury, or minor 
     damage to property, or threat or fear of such minor injury or 
     damage; and
       ``(C) is not part of a pattern of violent conduct or of 
     coordinated violent activity.
       ``(2) State and local jurisdiction.--Any violation of this 
     section that involves any conduct described in paragraph (1) 
     shall be subject to prosecution only by the appropriate State 
     and local authorities.
       ``(d) Effect on Other Law.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed--
       ``(1) to repeal, amend, or otherwise affect--
       ``(A) section 6 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 17);
       ``(B) section 20 of the Clayton Act (29 U.S.C. 52);
       ``(C) any provision of the Norris-LaGuardia Act (29 U.S.C. 
     101 et seq.);
       ``(D) any provision of the National Labor Relations Act (29 
     U.S.C. 151 et seq.); or
       ``(E) any provision of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 
     et seq.); or
       ``(2) to preclude Federal jurisdiction over any violation 
     of this section, on the basis that the conduct at issue--
       ``(A) is also a violation of State or local law; or
       ``(B) occurred during the course of a labor dispute or in 
     pursuit of a legitimate business or labor objective.''.
      By Mr. BINGAMAN:
  S. 231. A bill to establish the National Cave and Karst Research 
Institute in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


       The National Cave and Karst Research Institute Act of 1997

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill to 
create a National Cave and Karst Research Institute in Carlsbad, NM. 
This bill will continue the efforts started by Congress in 1988 to 
develop the information needed to effectively manage and preserve the 
Nation's cave and karst resources.
  In 1988, Congress directed the Secretaries of the Interior and 
Agriculture to provide an inventory of caves on Federal lands and to 
provide for the management and dissemination of information about the 
caves. The results of that effort have increased our awareness that 
cave and karst land forms are a resource we must learn how to manage 
for our future welfare. For example, in America, the majority of the 
Nation's fresh water is groundwater--25 percent of which is located in 
cave and karst regions. As we look to the 21st century, the protection 
of our groundwater resources is of critical importance, especially in 
the arid West. Furthermore, recent studies have indicated that caves 
contain valuable information related to global climate change, waste 
disposal, groundwater supply and contamination, petroleum recovery, and 
biomedical investigations. Caves also often have historical or cultural 
significance. Many have religious significance for native Americans. 
Yet, academic programs on these systems are virtually nonexistent; most 
research is conducted with little or no funding and the resulting data 
is scattered and often hard to locate.
  To begin addressing this problem, in 1990 Congress directed the 
National Park Service to establish a cave research program and to study 
the feasibility of a centralized cave and karst research institute. In 
December 1994, the National Park Service submitted to Congress the 
National Cave and Karst Research Institute Study. As directed by Public 
Law 101-578, the report studied the feasibility of creating a National 
Research Institute in the vicinity of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. 
The report not only supported the establishment of the National Cave 
and Karst Research Institute, but also concluded that now is the ideal 
time to consider it.
  The report to Congress lists several serious threats to our cave 
resources from continued uninformed management paractices. These 
threats include alterations in the surface waterflow patterns in karst 
regions, alternations in or pollution of water recharge zones, 
inappropriately placed toxic waste repositories, and poorly managed or 
designed sewage systems and landfills. The findings of the report 
conclude that it is only through a better understanding of cave 
resources that we can prevent detrimental impacts to America's natural 
resources and cave and karst systems.
  The goals of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute, as 
outlined in the report, would be to develop and centralize scientific 
knowledge of cave resources, foster interdisciplinary cooperation in 
cave and karst research programs, and to promote environmentally sound, 
sustainable resource management practices. The National Cave and Karst 
Research Institute would be jointly administered by the National Park 
Service and another public or private agency, organization, or 
institution as determined by the Secretary.
  Mr. President, the Park Service report to Congress also notes that 
the vicinity of Carlsbad Caverns National Park is ideal particularly in 
light of the incredibly diverse cave and karst resources found 
throughout the region and the community support which already exists 
for the establishment of the institute. Numerous varieties of world 
class caves are located nearby. Furthermore, the Carlsbad Department of 
Development, after reviewing the National Cave and Karst Research 
Institute study report, has developed proposals to obtain financial 
support from available and supportive organizational resources--
including personnel, facilities, equipment, and volunteers. The 
Department of Development also believes that it can obtain serious 
financial support from the private sector and would seek a matching 
grant from the State of New Mexico equal to the available Federal 
funds.
  Mr. President, my legislation will help provide the necessary tools 
to help discover the wealth of knowledge contained in these important, 
but largely unexplored landforms. Carlsbad, NM already has in place 
many of the needed cooperative institutions, facilities, and volunteers 
that will work toward the success of this project. It is imperative 
that we take advantage of these conditions and establish the National 
Cave and Karst Research Institute.
                                 ______