[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 126 (Tuesday, October 1, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9680-S9681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 21ST CENTURY DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT--
                           CONFERENCE REPORT

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the 
     two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 
     2215), to authorize appropriations for the Department of 
     Justice for fiscal year 2002, and for other purposes, having 
     met, have agreed that the House recede from its disagreement 
     to the amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an 
     amendment, and an amendment to the title, signed by all of 
     the conferees on the part of both Houses.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will proceed to the consideration 
of the conference report.
  (The report is printed in the House proceedings of the Record of 
September 25, 2002.)
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished majority leader 
for moving to the Department of Justice Authorization Act. This is the 
first one in 21 years. I note for my friend from South Dakota and my 
friend from Nevada, this passed the House of Representatives 400 to 4. 
The conferees, Republicans and Democrats, endorsed it unanimously. It 
should be able to pass, I hope, easily here.
  I spoke at some length yesterday about all the items that law 
enforcement has asked for in this bill.
  I know the distinguished Senator from Louisiana is waiting to speak. 
I will take only a few seconds. I wish to emphasize again, this is 
legislation that passed 400 to 4 in the other body. It has been 
endorsed across the political spectrum--law enforcement, antiterrorist 
groups, schools, those small towns in rural America facing drug 
problems. They are all looking for the adoption of this conference 
report.
  The high-tech industry is looking for the passage of the Madrid 
Protocol which is in the bill.
  There are 20 new judge positions. Actually, we were trying to get 
these authorized during the last 6 years of

[[Page S9681]]

President Clinton's term, and they were blocked. Now with President 
Bush in office, I put the same 20 in to show bipartisanship. They are 
back in there and should be passed. President Bush can nominate the 
people for these positions. I cannot believe either side would hold us 
up.
  I hope we will have a consent agreement for a limited amount of 
debate at some point and then go to a vote.
  Mr. REID. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. LEAHY. Yes.
  Mr. REID. Under the previous unanimous consent agreement that has 
been granted, the Senator from Louisiana has 10 minutes before we get 
to debate on this bill. It has been 21 years since this bill has been 
reauthorized, so I do not think anyone can criticize the Senator from 
Vermont and/or Senator Hatch for taking a little time talking about 
this bill. But it appears this is such important legislation that we 
will probably have a rollcall vote on it, I would think.
  Mr. LEAHY. I hope so.
  Mr. REID. I ask my friend from Vermont, does he have an idea how long 
he and/or Senator Hatch will take debating this conference report?

  Mr. LEAHY. I cannot speak for Senator Hatch, Mr. President, but I 
will be happy to vote later this afternoon at 4:30 or so.
  Mr. REID. It is quarter to 3 now. So within the next couple hours, it 
is likely we could have a vote.
  Mr. LEAHY. I hope.
  Mr. REID. Has the Senator asked for the yeas and nays on this yet?
  Mr. LEAHY. No, but I will. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I yield the floor and thank my good friend 
from Louisiana for her usual courtesy and cooperation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I thank the Senator 
from Vermont and the Senator from Utah for their very hard work over a 
long period of time on this major piece of legislation. The vote was 
overwhelming in the House, and it is due to the bipartisan work that 
has gone into crafting the reauthorization of the Justice Department. I 
look forward to voting for that legislation later today.
  I have been contacted by many of my sheriffs and law enforcement 
officials and, of course, I have been particularly interested in some 
specific aspects of the bill particularly dealing with violence against 
women and violence against children and child abuse and the good work 
that the Department of Justice is doing to help our local counties and 
communities fight these terrible incidents that occur in our country.
  My heart is heavy and very sad to say that just this last weekend we 
lost another child to child abuse in a horrific way. A little 7-year-
old was stabbed to death in front of about 10 people by a deranged and 
very sick individual who had threatened the life of this child's 
mother. The 7-year-old was trying to protect his mother and was killed 
on the streets of New Orleans.
  The Senator from Vermont knows well the great needs of the country 
regarding these issues. I thank him for working so hard on them.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, due to her good 
work on the bill, of which she is a prime sponsor, reauthorization of 
the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act is in this bill. It 
tracks the Leahy-Hatch-Kennedy-Landrieu bill.
  We also have authorized funding for the Centers for Domestic 
Preparedness. I note that because it has been the persuasive 
persistence of my friend from Louisiana that has improved this bill so 
much, and I commend her.

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