[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 31 (Tuesday, March 15, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H1427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                SECURE AMERICA'S COURTHOUSE ACT OF 2005

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this young woman's story, 
Ashley Smith, speaks of courage and valor and common sense, that she 
was able to direct authorities to a courthouse alleged killer, but I 
believe that her story speaks to an ill that is occurring throughout 
America, and that is the lack of security in the Nation's courthouses.
  I realize that most who come into the courthouses come for justice, 
whether they are prosecutor or defendant, whether they are plaintiff or 
defendant; but in America's courthouses, there are challenges and 
difficulties, the killing of a judge's family in Illinois, the 
courthouse terror that occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, and the numerous, 
yet unannounced, threats against courthouse personnel throughout 
America.
  Law enforcement officers who participate in the security of those 
courthouses are working very hard, but I believe the plight of 
courthouses and justice in America cries out for congressional 
response, congressional hearings and congressional legislation.
  So I intend to introduce the Secure America's Courthouse Act of 2005 
that will bring America's attention to its courthouses both in terms of 
resources, in terms of equipment and personnel and the protection of 
the Nation's judges. I ask my colleagues to join me in the Secure 
America's Courthouse Act of 2005.

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