[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 135 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10958-S10960]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ENHANCING THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM
Mr. KYL. Mr. President, we now have more reports of specific credible
evidence of planned attacks against the United States--terrorism that
must be prevented. We have not done everything we can do to prevent
terrorism. According to a Commission that has reported to the Congress,
there is more to be done. I have incorporated that Commission's
recommendations into a bill. We are trying to get the bill passed. It
runs into objections from the other side. Today, I am going to lay it
out because there isn't much time left.
Earlier this month, I introduced the Counterterrorism Act of 2000,
cosponsored by my friend and colleague, Senator Dianne Feinstein. This
should have bipartisan support. As the chairman and ranking member of
the Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government
Information, I have held hearings, along with Senator Feinstein, on
steps that would better prepare this country to thwart and defend
against and prevent and respond to terrorist attacks. Our legislation
will do that by capturing many of the recommendations of the National
Commission on Terrorism.
The Commission was mandated by the Congress, and it released its
report earlier this year. It is bipartisan, led by Ambassador Paul
Bremer and Maurice Sonnenberg. They have a long record--both of them--
of experience and expertise in this matter. The Commission, with 10
members in all, came to unanimous conclusions on the gaps in America's
counterterrorism efforts and made extensive recommendations in their
report.
In addition to Ambassador Bremer, who formerly served as Ambassador-
at-Large for Counterterrorism and Mr. Sonnenberg, who serves on the
President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, the Commission
included eight other outstanding experts in the field: former CIA
Director, James Woolsey; former Assistant Director-in-Charge of the
FBI's National Security Division, John Lewis; former Congresswoman Jane
Harman, who served on the House Armed Services and Intelligence
Committees; former Under Secretary of Defense, Fred Ikle; former
Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Special Operations Command, Gen. Wayne
Downing; Director of National Security Studies at the Council on
Foreign Relations, Richard Betts; former foreign policy adviser to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Gardner Peckham; Harvard
professor Juliette Kayyem, who formerly served as legal advisor to the
U.S. Attorney General.
In June, the members of this Commission testified before the
Intelligence Committee, of which I am a member, with their findings and
recommendations. A week later, the Commission's report was the subject
of a Foreign Relations Committee hearing. At the end of June, Senator
Feinstein and I invited the Commissioners to testify at a hearing of
the Judiciary subcommittee which I chair. The purpose of our hearing
was to explore the findings of the Commission and clarify some
recommendations that have been mischaracterized. So the Senate thought
that this Commission report was important enough to hold three specific
hearings on its findings and recommendations.
Senator Feinstein and I then decided to take action on the
recommendations by drafting the Counterterrorism Act of 2000. We
believe this is an important first step in addressing shortfalls in
America's fight against the growing threat of terrorism.
In summary, this is what the bill would do:
First, it expresses the sense of Congress that the United States
Government should take immediate actions to
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investigate the unprovoked attack on the U.S.S. Cole, should ensure
that the perpetrators of this cowardly act are brought to justice.
It directs the President to establish a joint task force to develop a
broad approach toward discouraging the fundraising of international
terrorists.
It directs the Director of the CIA to report to Congress with a
response to the Commission's findings regarding guidelines for
recruitment of terrorist informants and whether those guidelines
inhibit the recruitment of such informants.
In effect, what the Commission said is if you are going to try to
infiltrate terrorist organizations, you are probably dealing with
nefarious characters. They are not Boy Scouts. And you can't demand of
them the same clean standards that we would in trying to recruit
informants against other governments. When you are dealing with
terrorist organizations, you are dealing with terrorists.
The bill also directs the Attorney General to conduct a review of the
legal authority of various agencies, including the Defense Department,
to respond to catastrophic terrorist attacks, and it requires that a
report be provided to the Congress.
It directs the President to establish a long-term research and
development program relating to technology to prevent, preempt,
interdict, and respond to catastrophic terrorist attack.
It directs the FBI Director to report to Congress on the feasibility
of creating an intelligence reporting function within the Bureau to
assist in disseminating information collected by the Bureau on
international terrorism and other national security matters.
It directs the President to report to Congress on legal authorities
that govern the sharing of criminal wiretap information between law
enforcement agencies and the intelligence community. The Commission
noted there is currently a great deal of confusion in this area. We
have to get that squared away so the agencies know how they can share
information with each other.
The bill would direct the Attorney General to report to Congress the
recommendations on how to improve controls on biological pathogens and
the equipment necessary to produce biological weapons. It directs the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress with
recommendations for improving security and physical protection of
biological pathogens at research laboratories and other facilities.
It authorizes the full reimbursement for professional liability
insurance for law enforcement or intelligence officers performing
counterterrorism duties.
And finally, the bill expresses the sense of Congress that Syria
should remain on the list of states that sponsor terrorism, as should
Iran, until they meet certain conditions.
I recently received a letter from Ambassador Bremer and Mr.
Sonnenberg, expressing very strong support for the Kyl-Feinstein
legislation. I also received letters from the American Israeli Public
Affairs Committee, the Zionist Organization of America, and the Anti-
Defamation League applauding the bill. In addition, the American Jewish
Congress released a statement in support of the legislation.
I ask unanimous consent at the conclusion of my remarks these
documents be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. L. Chafee). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
(See Exhibit 1.)
Mr. KYL. The text of the Counterterrorism Act 2000 should be familiar
to Members because we tried to move it as an amendment to the
intelligence authorization bill. We were open to comments by Senators
and we made several modifications to the language in order to suit
Senators and the Department of Justice. We agreed in the end to
withdraw the bill at that point so the intelligence bill could move
forward but indicated our desire then to move the bill as a separate
bill, which is now what we are doing.
Among the Senators who have talked to us is Senator Leahy. We have
tried to address his concerns with respect to the bill. Originally his
staff advised that if the Justice Department didn't object to the bill,
Senator Leahy would consent to its passage. The Justice Department has
cleared the bill. After that, Senator Leahy's office advised us they
desired to have 10 other changes considered and sent another list of 4
other changes. Senator Feinstein and I agreed to make changes to the
bill to accommodate 12 of those 14 requests of Senator Leahy. Yet he
still remains in opposition. Under the rules of the Senate prevailing
at this time, any Senator can object to the consideration of the
legislation and thus block it, which Senator Leahy, I understand, has
done.
This morning my office received some additional concerns purportedly
coming from Senator Leahy. I find them, frankly, not to rise to the
level that should take the Senate's time. For example, he objects to a
provision, or his staff objects to a provision, that requires the
President to report to Congress on the Commission's recommendations
about sharing law enforcement information with intelligence agencies on
the grounds that this would help set ``a dangerous precedent
for blurring the line between law enforcement and intelligence
activities.'' A report to Congress on legal authorities on the state of
the law sets no dangerous precedent. There are similar types of
concerns expressed.
We have to get serious about this. At the very moment that our forces
are on a heightened state of alert, at the very moment our embassies
are telling people not to travel to certain countries because of
terrorist threats against Americans, the Congress has before it a bill
embodying the recommendations of the Terrorism Commission, and we are
not acting on it because, as far as I know, one Member of this body is
not willing to allow it to move forward.
I plead with him, I plead with other Members, if there are concerns,
let's talk about them. But the time is short. Perfection cannot be the
enemy of the good considering the nature of the challenge that we face
with terrorists around the world and the need to do more about it. This
isn't simply something that has been pulled out of thin air to try to
deal with this problem. We have embodied most of the recommendations of
the Terrorism Commission specifically mandated by Congress to give us
recommendations about what else we need to be doing in this
legislation.
I say to Senator Leahy and any others, time is short. We need to
visit. We need to talk about these things. We need to clear them away
so we can pass this legislation. After the Senate acts, the House will
need to act. They are expected to act with alacrity. For example,
Representative Gilman, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and
Representative Goss, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, and I
understand the leadership is prepared, if we can pass this bill, to
take it up very quickly. However, I don't know how many days or hours
are left in this session.
I think it would be a travesty, given the events of the past month,
given the threats that currently have been made against the United
States, for the Congress to ignore the recommendations of the very
Commission that we asked to give us advice, to ignore the
recommendations of that Commission and conclude this Congress without
acting to pass those recommendations to take additional steps to deal
with the terrorist threat.
Let's leave politics aside. This is a bipartisan effort of Senator
Feinstein and myself. It has broad support on both sides of the aisle.
I encourage my colleagues to please come forth if they have additional
concerns so we can get this done.
Exhibit 1
September 22, 2000.
Senator Jon Kyl,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Kyl: In our capacities as former Chairman and
Vice Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorism, we
have been asked to comment on the proposed legislation which
we understand you intend to introduce to the 106th Congress
(called the ``Counterterrorism Act of 2000'').
As you know, our bipartisan Commission concluded that the
threat to Americans from terrorism is changing and becoming
more serious. To meet this threat, the Commission made a
number of important recommendations to the President and
Congress in its final report of June 5, 2000.
We have reviewed the draft bill and wish to commend you and
your colleagues for the job of translating into law a number
of the Commission's most important recommendations. We are
particularly pleased to see the bill address issues such as
state sponsorship of terrorism, better collection and
dissemination of terrorist intelligence, a broader strategy
for disrupting terrorist fund-raising, and
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efforts to prevent or deal with catastrophic terrorism in the
United States.
We hope that this important bill will become law and that
Congress and the Executive branch will do everything possible
to implement it expeditiously.
Respectfully,
L. Paul Bromer, III,
Former Chairman, National Commission on Terrorism.
Maurice Sonnenberg,
Former Vice Chairman, National Commission on Terrorism.
____
AIPAC,
Washington, DC, October 16, 2000.
Hon. Jon L. Kyl,
U.S. Senate, Hart Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Kyl: On behalf of AIPAC, we are writing to
express our appreciation for your introduction of the
Counterterrorism Act of 2000. This legislation takes a number
of important steps to address the growing problem of
terrorism in our country and abroad.
This bipartisan measure adopts many of the key
recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorism,
particularly with respect to long-term research and
development efforts and methods of improving controls over
biological pathogens. We believe this legislation will
encourage cooperation among states like the United States and
Israel that have worked so closely in fighting the scourge of
terrorism. Of course, we also endorse the legislation's
intent that Iran and Syria should remain on the list of
states that sponsor terrorism until they cease their support
for terrorist actions.
Thank you again for your leadership, and please let us know
if we can be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Howard Kohr,
Executive Director.
Marvin Feuer,
Director of Defense & Strategic Issues.
____
Zionist Organization
of America,
New York, NY, October 11, 2000.
Senator Jon Kyl,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Kyl: On behalf of the Zionist Organization of
America (ZOA), which is the oldest and one of the largest
Zionist organizations in the United States, I am writing to
express the ZOA's enthusiastic support for S. 2507, the
Counterterrorism Act of 2000.
This vital legislation will ensure that our country takes
swift and effective action to impede the ability of terrorist
groups to receive funding, acquire technology for use as
weapons, and recruit new members. We have all seen, in recent
years, the kind of devastation that terrorist groups can
wreak. Our government must do everything possible to combat
terrorist groups--and S. 2507 will mandate specific and
important steps that will play a crucial role in the fight
against terrorism.
We are also pleased to note that the S. 2507 urges that
Syria be kept on the U.S. list of terror-sponsoring states
until it takes concrete anti-terror steps, such as shutting
down terrorist training camps and prohibiting the transfer of
weapons to terrorists through Syrian-controlled territory.
The legislation also appropriately urges that Iran be kept on
the list of terror-sponsors until there is concrete,
indisputable evidence that Iran has changed its ways and
forsaken terrorism. In the absence of such actions,
governments such as those in Syria and Iran must be treated
as the rogue regimes which they are.
With gratitude for your leadership role in this effort,
Sincerely,
Morton A. Klein,
National President,
Zionist Organization of America.
____
ADL,
New York, NY, October 12, 2000.
Hon. Dianne Feinstein,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Feinstein: We welcome your leadership in
introducing legislation to codify several important proposals
of the bipartisan National Commission on Terrorism. As an
organization committed to monitoring hate groups while
safeguarding civil liberties, we support the bill's tough,
constitutional approach to investigating and prosecuting
terrorist crimes.
The bill's mechanism for allowing classified evidence to be
used within a sound due process a framework represents the
kind of balanced approach which would prevent the improper
treatment of individuals, while allowing the government to
protect sources. The legislation would also implement useful
steps to prevent the US from being used as a fundraising base
for terrorism.
It is well established that the government has the
constitutional right--and the duty--to keep our nation from
being used as a base for terrorist activity. The legislation
you have crafted makes vital improvements in our nation's
capability to investigate, deter, and prevent terrorism.
Sincerely,
Howard P. Berkowitz,
National Chairman.
Abraham H. Foxman,
National Director.
____
AJCongress Welcomes Legislation Responding to Threat of Biological and
Chemical Attacks by Terrorists; Calls Measure `A Beginning Plan' to
Deal With the Danger
American Jewish Congress Executive Director Phil Baum
issued the following statement today following the decision
by Senators Jon Kyl and Dianne Feinstein to introduce
legislation responding to the recent report of the National
Commission on Terrorism:
The danger not only to this country but to all of civil
society from the threat of biological and chemical weapons is
becoming ever more real and apparent. For some time now,
commentators have been warning of the growing risk of
terrorist attacks with these weapons unless effective counter
measures are quickly put in place.
Those most expert and familiar with these matters warn that
the question is not whether there will be an attack, but
when.
A sobering report released recently by the National
Commission on Terrorism has documented these concerns and has
begun the process of alerting Americans to the danger we face
and the steps that can be taken to meet that threat.
Until now, little has been done concretely to implement the
Commission's report. Fortunately, there are now plans in the
Senate to attach as an amendment to the fiscal 2001
Intelligence Authorization Act a measure which is attempting
to respond to this challenge. Introduced by Senators Jon Kyl
(R-Ariz) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif), the legislation lays
out at least a beginning plan for dealing with these
problems.
The bill for the first time would impose rigorous
restrictions on procedures used in research labs handling
pathogens; calls for presidential leadership in the
development of new technologies to counter terrorist attacks;
limits the capacity of terrorist groups to raise funds in
this country--which is often done under the guise of raising
funds for social programs; and mandates the CIA and the FBI
to report on the continuing effectiveness of anti-terrorist
measures currently in place.
One provision of the bill--authorizing the FBI to share
foreign intelligence information obtained from domestic
wiretaps with the CIA and other intelligence agencies--has
quite properly met with criticism has consequently has been
dropped by Senator Kyl. We are convinced that an effective
fight against the new terrorist threat can be waged without
violating Constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties--
protections which must remain our first priority.
As the American people begin to focus on the dangers of
chemical and biological terrorism, two equally unacceptable
dangers present themselves: that we remain indifferent to the
threat, or that we overreact, at the expense of our civil
liberties. Neither is acceptable. A measured response is
necessary, and the Kyl-Feinstein bill begins that process.
The legislation presents the Senate with the opportunity to
move the American people off dead center and to address the
danger in a composed and rational manner, without endangering
American freedoms or our country's sense of confidence in its
future. The new legislation rests on the premise that the
future can be best assured by a realistic address to the
dangers we confront.
New technologies have been a blessing for this generation.
In the hands of terrorists, they become a curse for all
generations.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
____________________