[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TERRORIST BOMBINGS CONVENTION IMPLEMENTATION ACT OF 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 19, 2001

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the International Convention 
for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings was initiated by the United 
States in the wake of the 1996 bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi 
Arabia. It requires signatories to criminalize terrorist bombings aimed 
at public, governmental, or infrastructure facilities and to prosecute 
or extradite those responsible. The United States has not yet ratified 
the convention, which went into force in May of this year. The 
legislation before us, H.R. 3275, implements the International 
Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings,
  Specifically, H.R. 3275 makes it a Federal crime to unlawfully 
deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive device, or to 
conspire or to attempt to do so, in a public place, public 
transportation system, or in a State or Federal facility. It provides 
penalties of up to life in prison, or death for perpetrators if the 
bombing resulted in fatalities, and also provides for the prosecution 
or extradition of perpetrators who commit crimes outside of the United 
States, but who are subsequently apprehended in this country.
  Additionally, H.R. 3275 implements the International Convention for 
the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, which requires 
signatories to prosecute or extradite people who contribute to, or 
collect money for, terrorist groups.
  It also makes it a Federal crime to directly or indirectly provide or 
collect funds to carry out , in full or in part, specific acts of 
terrorism. It also makes it a crime for any U.S. national or entity, 
both inside and outside the country, to conceal or disguise the nature, 
location or source of any funds provided or collected to carry out 
terrorist acts. It also provides for the prosecution or extradition of 
perpetrators who commit these crimes outside of the United States, but 
who are subsequently apprehended in this country.
  Finally, provisions in the bill make the crimes of terrorist bombings 
and terrorist financing ``predicate offenses'' under U.S. wiretap laws 
and included on the list of Federal crimes of terrorism.
  Mr. Speaker, I fully support prompt ratification and implementation 
of the International Conventions for the Suppression of Terrorist 
Bombings and the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. However, I 
am concerned that H.R. 3275 includes controversial changes to U.S. 
domestic law that go well beyond those changes required to bring our 
laws into conformity with the requirements of those agreements.
  Specifically, we must avoid the redundancy of ancillary provisions 
relating to the death penalty, wiretapping, money laundering, and RICO 
predicates. To this end, during the recent Judiciary Committee markup 
of this I joined my colleagues, Mr. Scott and Mr. Delahunt in their 
opposition to certain ancillary provisions of this bill in relation to 
treaty approval.
  While I fully support the efforts of our law enforcement 
professionals in light of the recent attacks against this Nation, I am 
concerned that prosecutors should be limited in the extent to which 
they can cast the widest possible net, often to the great detriment of 
those who were not initially target by Congress when the legislation 
was enacted.
  Many of these provisions have already been included in the anti-
terrorist bill which has since been passed into law on October 26, 
2001. Therefore, to include the same provisions in H.R. 3275 would be 
redundant and would serve no purpose. As a matter of fact, Mr. Chertoff 
of the Department of Justice stated recently that these provisions are 
not even required in order to implement the treaties.
  Moreover, most party states to the Conventions do not tolerate the 
death penalty, but are still in compliance with the treaty. This could 
have a profound effect on extradition and result in an inordinate 
burden on our criminal justice system.
  These necessary changes could have easily have been facilitated on 
the floor by allowing amendments, and I regret that we were not allowed 
to address these issues due to the suspensions calendar.
  Despite these concerns, it is in our best interest, as well as in the 
interest of the international community, that we comply with the 
treaty. Our message that we will not tolerate terrorism in any way, 
shape, or form, must be strong and clear.
  I believe that this bill fulfills this obligation.

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