[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11281-S11282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH:
  S. 2536. An original bill to protect the safety of United States 
nationals and the interests of the United States at home and abroad, to 
improve global cooperation and responsiveness to international crime 
and terrorism, and to more effectively deter international crime and 
acts of violence; from the Committee on the Judiciary; placed on the 
calendar.


 The Improvements to International Crime and Anti-Terrorism Amendments 
                                of 1998

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased with the Chairman in offering 
this important legislation, the Improvements to International Crime and 
Anti-Terrorism Amendments of 1998, to combat international crime.
  Crime and terrorism increasingly have an international face. The 
bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania are just the most 
recent reminders of how vulnerable we are to terrorist attacks. In a 
shockingly brutal attack, more than 250 men, women and children, were 
murdered in cold blood. Among those 250 victims were 12 of our fellow 
citizens. And none of us can forget that it was only a short time ago 
that there was another assault right here at home, in the Capitol 
itself.
  With improvements in technology, criminals now can move about the 
world with ease. They can transfer funds with a push of a button, or 
use computers and credit card numbers to steal from American citizens 
from any spot on the globe. They can strike at Americans here and 
abroad. The playing field keeps changing, and we need to change with 
it.
  This bill does exactly that, not with sweeping changes but with 
thoughtful provisions carefully targeted at specific problems faced by 
law enforcement. The bill offers tools and protection to investigators 
and prosecutors, while narrowing the room for maneuver that 
international criminals and terrorists now enjoy.
  I initially introduced some of the provisions of this bill as early 
as April 30, 1998, in the Money Laundering Enforcement and Combating 
Drugs Act in Prisons of 1998 with Senators Daschle, Kohl, Feinstein, 
and Cleland. Again, on July 14, 1998, I introduced with Senator Biden 
many of these provisions set forth in the bill on behalf of the 
Administration in S. 2303, the International Crime Control Act of 1998. 
I again included almost all of the provisions in another major anti-
crime bill, the Safe Schools, Safe Streets, and Secure Borders Act of 
1998, on September 16, 1998, along with Senators Daschle, Biden, 
Moseley-Braun, Kennedy, Kerry, Lautenberg, Mikulski, Bingaman, Reid, 
Murray, Dorgan, and Torricelli.
  It is a particular pleasure now to be able to draw from these more 
comprehensive bills a set of discrete, very important improvements that 
can enjoy bipartisan support, and which I hope and trust can be enacted 
into law, even in the short time remaining in this session. All of 
these provisions enjoy the full support of the Administration, and each 
of them is a law enforcement priority.
  The bill would criminalize murder and other serious crimes committed 
by organized crime against U.S. nationals abroad, and against state and 
local officials who are working abroad with federal authorities on 
joint projects or operations.
  The bill also protects our maritime borders by providing realistic 
sanctions for vessels that fail to ``heave to'' or otherwise obstruct 
the Coast Guard. No longer will drug-runners be able to stall or resist 
Coast Guard commands with impunity.
  The bill also increases our authority to exclude from entry into our 
country international criminals and terrorists, including those engaged 
in flight to avoid prosecution, alien smuggling, or arms or drug 
trafficking under specific circumstances. At the same time, we ensure 
that the Attorney General has

[[Page S11282]]

full authority to make exceptions for humanitarian and similar reasons.
  The bill includes important money laundering provisions. At a recent 
Judiciary Committee hearing on anti-terrorism, FBI Director Louis Freeh 
noted the importance of money laundering laws as a tool in stopping not 
only international drug kingpins, but also international terrorists, 
such as Usama bin Laden, the multi-millionaire terrorist who has been 
linked to the recent embassy bombings.
  The bill has two important provisions aimed at computer crimes: it 
provides expanded wiretap authority, subject to court order, to cover 
computer crimes, and also gives us extraterritorial jurisdiction over 
access device fraud, such as stealing telephone credit card numbers, 
where the victim of the fraud is within the U.S.
  We cannot do it all alone, however. This bill facilitates 
international cooperation by allowing our country to share the proceeds 
of joint forfeiture operations, to encourage participation by those 
countries. It streamlines procedures for executing MLAT requests that 
apply to multiple judicial districts. Furthermore, the bill addresses 
the essential but often overlooked role of state and local law 
enforcement in combating international crime, and authorizes 
reimbursement of state and local authorities for their cooperation in 
international crime cases. The bill helps our prosecutors in 
international crime cases by facilitating the admission of foreign 
records in U.S. courts. Finally, the bill would speed the wheels of 
justice by prohibiting international criminals from being credited with 
any time they serve abroad while they fight extradition to face charges 
in our country.
  These are important provisions that I have advocated for some time. 
They are helpful, solid law enforcement provisions. I must close with a 
special thanks to my friend and colleague from Utah, Senator Hatch, for 
his help in making this bill a reality. It has been pleasure to work 
closely with him to craft a bipartisan bill that will accomplish what 
all of us want, to make America a safer and more secure place.
                                 ______