[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 154 (Thursday, November 8, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11616-S11617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BIDEN (for himself and Mr. Hatch):
  S. 1665. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, with respect 
to false information regarding certain criminal violations concerning 
hoax reports of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, I rise today to introduce the Protection 
Against Terrorist Hoaxes Act of 2001. I am honored to have the ranking 
member of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch, as an original co-
sponsor of this legislation. This bill would amend title 18 of the 
United States Code to, for the first time, make it a Federal crime to 
knowingly make a hoax report, involving a biological, chemical, nuclear 
weapon, or other weapon of mass destruction. Likewise, it would make it 
a criminal offense to knowingly send such a hoax weapon to another.
  Since the unspeakable terrorist attacks of September 11, our nation 
has witnessed a mind-boggling number of anthrax hoax reports. This in 
turn has triggered an equally large number of reports of suspected 
biological agents. No part of the Nation has been spared, and my home 
State of Delaware has had several hundred reports of possible 
biological agents. Just this week, the FBI reported to Congress the 
staggering statistic involving these bioterrorism hoaxes and other 
reports of suspected biological agents. Prior to September 11, the FBI 
had responded to about 100 cases involving potential use of ``weapons 
of mass destruction,'' 67 of which involved alleged biological weapons. 
Since mid-September, however, that number has increased by 3,000 
percent! As of today, the FBI reported that they have responded to 
7,089 suspicious anthrax letters alone, 950 incidents involving other 
suspected weapons of mass destruction, and an estimated 29,331 
telephonic calls from the public about suspicious packages.
  The good news is that most of these reports were hoaxes, or reports 
made by well-meaning people whose suspicions were raised. The bad news 
is that any hoax reports were made in the first place, triggering panic 
on the part of the public, and often forcing the Federal, state, and 
local governments to waste valuable time and resources responding to 
them. In one particularly egregious case, it has been reported that an 
employee of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection 
falsely reported to security that he had found a yellowish-white powder 
on his desk with the misspelled label ``ANTHAX.'' The employee, a 48-
year-old solid waste management analyst, knew the material was not 
toxic, it was determined to be coffee creamer, but persisted in the 
false account. 800 State employees were evacuated from the building for 
2 days while law enforcement officials tested the building, at a cost 
of $1.5 million in lost workers' time, another $40,000 in 
decontamination costs, and an undisclosed amount of money spent on 
rescue and law enforcement. The employee is being charged in Federal 
court, not for the hoax report, but for lying to Federal officials 
after the fact.

  Indeed, the Justice Department reported to Congress this week that

[[Page S11617]]

there is a gap in the existing Federal law regarding the prosecution of 
bioterrorism hoaxes. That is, while it is a crime to threaten to use, 
for example, anthrax as a weapon against another person, it is not a 
crime to make a hoax anthrax report. Accordingly, the Justice 
Department called upon Congress this week to enact legislation which 
specifically addresses hoaxes which involve purported biological 
substances, as well as chemical, nuclear and other weapons of mass 
destruction.
  We should answer that call and act now to give the law enforcement 
the tools they need to combat these despicable crimes. I introduced a 
bioterrorism bill, S. 3202, in the 106th Congress which contained an 
anti-hoax provision. Had that bill been enacted into law, Federal 
prosecutors would have the means to prosecute bioterrorism hoaxes. The 
need for a Federal anti-hoax provision has never been more clear than 
in the last several weeks. The Federal interest is indisputable, as 
States and localities are simply not equipped with the expertise or 
resources to evaluate and respond to these hoaxes. A comprehensive 
prohibition on such false reports is necessary to preserve scarce and 
vital federal resources.
  Accordingly, as chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and 
Drugs, I introduce a bill today which contains both criminal provisions 
and civil penalties for the hoax reporting of bioterrorism incidents. 
My bill simply says that if you knowingly engage in conduct, such as 
deliberately sending baking powder through the mail to your Congressman 
or calling 911 to falsely report the presence of anthrax in a public 
building, that is likely to create the false impression concerning the 
presence of anthrax, or other similar things, that you have committed a 
Federal offense, punishable by up to 5 years in jail. Moreover, such a 
person may be fined the greater of either $10,000 or the amount of 
money expended by the government to respond to the false information. 
Finally, such a person may also be ordered to reimburse the government 
if costs were incurred in responding to the false hoax. Let me be 
clear, this bill will not target innocent mistakes or people who make a 
report concerning a suspected substance; it is aimed, rather, at 
deliberate hoax reports by those who know they are spreading false 
information.
  I have said many times on the floor of this body that the terrorists 
win if they succeed in sowing seeds of panic into our daily lives. We 
cannot and will not let that happen. Similarly, we will not let these 
hoaxers get away with words and deeds which have the same effect.
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