[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 108 (Wednesday, September 6, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9045-S9046]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KYL (for himself, Mr. DeWine, and Mr. Cornyn):
  S. 3848. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to support the 
war

[[Page S9046]]

on terrorism, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Terrorism 
Prevention Act of 2006. This Act will enhance and improve the statutes 
governing material support for terrorism, protection of classified 
information, terrorist hoaxes, and terrorist murders and assaults. 
Specifically, the TPA expands the reach of statutes punishing material 
support for terrorism, making it a crime to reward the family of a 
suicide bomber or other terrorist with the intent to facilitate 
terrorism, and increases penalties for existing material support 
offenses; clarifies and improves the Classified Information Procedures 
Act in light of the lessons learned in the Moussaoui trial; expands the 
reach of the terrorist hoax statute, and increases penalties for hoaxes 
about the deaths of U.S. soldiers during wartime; increases penalties 
for terrorist murders, kidnappings, and assaults committed overseas 
against U.S. nationals, and increases penalties for terrorist crimes 
resulting in death; and improves the United States's ability to 
investigate terrorist crimes by protecting the confidentiality of FISA 
investigations, authorizing multi-district search warrants in terrorism 
cases, and increasing penalties for obstruction of justice in terrorism 
cases.
  I ask unanimous consent that a section by section analysis of the 
Terrorism Prevention Act be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the analysis was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                  The Terrorism Prevention Act of 2006


                      Section by Section Analysis

     SECTION 2. MATERIAL SUPPORT

       Subsection (a) creates a new offense, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2339E, 
     of giving material benefits to the family or associates of 
     someone who has committed a terrorist act, if the benefit is 
     given with the intent to reward, encourage, or facilitate 
     terrorism. Section 2339E applies overseas to the extent that 
     the offenses are linked to interstate or foreign commerce, 
     are targeted at the United States or its people or property, 
     or the offender is a U.S. national or resident. The offense 
     is punishable by imprisonment for ten years to life. This new 
     offense would punish those individuals who encourage or 
     embolden suicide bombers by rewarding their families after 
     such bombings occur.
       Subsection (b) increases penalties for existing material 
     support offenses as follows: Sec. 2339A, giving material 
     support to aid a terrorist act, 10 years to life; Sec. 2339B, 
     giving material support to a designated terrorist 
     organization, 5 to 25 years; and Sec. 2339D, receiving 
     military-type training from a terrorist organization, 3 to 15 
     years. The Sec. 2339A and B penalties have not been increased 
     since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
       Subsection (c) eliminates a loophole in current law that 
     would allow an individual to give an unlimited amount of 
     medical or religious supplies to a designated terrorist 
     organization. This loophole, which was recently criticized by 
     a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, could allow a terrorist 
     organization to receive large amounts of supplies that it 
     could either resell in exchange for cash or distribute in its 
     local area in order to build support and gain recruits.
       Subsection (d) amends Sec. 2339D to bar attempts or 
     conspiracies to obtain military-type training from a 
     terrorist organization.
       Subsection (e) bars convicted terrorist from receiving 
     federal benefits.

     SECTION 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO CIPA

       This section implements a number of lessons learned during 
     the use of the Classified Information Procedures Act during 
     the trial of suspected 20th hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui. 
     Subsection (b) authorizes interlocutory appeals of any order 
     for access to classified information. In the Moussaoui case, 
     the Fourth Circuit determined that CIPA allows interlocutory 
     appeals only of orders entered under CIPA itself, not orders 
     entered under other authority. One judge of that Court noted 
     that, although compelled by the text of CIPA, this result 
     frustrates Congress's intent to allow prompt review of 
     disputes over disclosure of classified information.
       Subsection (c) allows requests for CIPA protection to be 
     made ex parte. Sometimes a request for protection of 
     classified information cannot be made publicly without itself 
     compromising classified information. This subsection also 
     ensures that requests for CIPA protection shall remain 
     sealed, regardless of whether they are accepted or denied, 
     and codifies the current practice of allowing such requests 
     to be made orally.
       Subsection (d) clarifies that CIPA applies to evidence 
     obtained from nondocumentary sources, such as depositions of 
     witnesses. In the Moussaoui case, the Fourth Circuit 
     determined that CIPA technically only applies to documentary 
     information and information that the defense might disclose 
     during trial. The Court nevertheless looked to CIPA to 
     develop a framework for protecting classified information 
     during depositions. This subsection effectively codifies the 
     Fourth Circuit's approach by formally applying CIPA to 
     nondocumentary sources of evidence, such as depositions.


                      SECTION 4. TERRORIST HOAXES

       This section amends the terrorist hoax statute so that it 
     punishes hoaxes relating to terrorist offenses that 
     inexplicably were excluded from the current hoax law. For 
     example, current law does not punish hoaxes related to the 
     taking of hostages in order to coerce the federal government 
     (18 U.S.C. 1203), hoaxes related to blowing up an energy 
     facility (18 U.S.C. 1366(a)), hoaxes related to terrorist 
     attacks on military bases aimed at undermining national 
     defense (18 U.S.C. 2156), or hoaxes related to attacks on 
     railways and mass-transportation facilities, such as the 
     recent London bombings (18 U.S.C. 1992-93). This section adds 
     these terrorist crimes to the predicates for the terrorist 
     hoax statute.
       This section also increases the penalties for hoaxes about 
     the death, injury, or capture of a U.S. soldier during 
     wartime. Unfortunately, there have been a number of incidents 
     in which individuals have contacted the families of US. 
     soldiers serving in Iraq, pretended to represent the military 
     or other official organizations, and falsely told the family 
     that their son, brother, or other relative had been killed. 
     This section would punish such hoaxes with imprisonment for 2 
     to 10 years. If the hoax resulted in serious bodily injury, 
     it would be punished by 5 to 25 years, and if it resulted in 
     death, 10 years to life.
       This section also clarifies that the offense of mailing 
     threatening communications applies to threats made against 
     organizations as well as individuals.


        SECTION 5. TERRORIST MURDERS, KIDNAPPINGS, AND ASSAULTS

       This section expands 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2332, which punishes 
     murder or assault of U.S. nationals overseas for terrorist 
     purposes, to also include kidnappings of U.S. nationals 
     overseas that are carried out for terrorist purposes, and 
     clarifies that sexual assault qualifies as serious bodily 
     injury for purposes of the section's assault prohibitions. 
     This section also increases penalties for terrorist murders 
     and assaults, such that a murder of a U.S. national overseas 
     that is carried out for terrorist purposes would be punished 
     by imprisonment for at least 30 years, and an assault 
     resulting in serious bodily injury would be punished by 
     imprisonment for 10 years to life. ``Serious bodily injury'' 
     is defined by federal statute to mean bodily injury 
     accompanied by a substantial risk of death, extreme physical 
     pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted 
     loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, 
     or mental faculty.
       This section also creates a new offense of committing a 
     terrorist crime while engaging in conduct that results in 
     death. This new offense is punishable by death or 
     imprisonment for 20 years up to life. This section also makes 
     eligible for capital punishment existing offenses 
     resulting in death that involve the use of nuclear 
     weapons, anti-aircraft missiles, radiological bombs, and 
     variola (smallpox) virus, and increases to 15 years to 
     life the penalties for aiding a foreign terrorist 
     organization or state sponsor of terrorism's WMD program 
     or developing, possessing, using, or threatening to use a 
     radiological weapon.


              SECTION 6. INVESTIGATION OF TERRORIST CRIMES

       Subsection (a) limits FISA notification requirements so 
     that the government is not required to inform an individual 
     seeking an immigration benefit if FISA information was used 
     to deny their application. Such notice effectively informs 
     such an individual that he or his associates have been the 
     target of an intelligence investigation. The United States 
     should not be required to compromise an intelligence 
     investigation in order to exclude a foreign national with 
     ties to terrorism from the United States.
       Subsection (b) authorizes federal judges to authorize 
     search warrants that may be used in multiple judicial 
     districts for purposes of terrorism investigations. Such 
     investigations often require searches to be conducted in 
     different parts of the country at the same time.
       Subsection (c) increases the potential penalties for 
     obstruction of justice in the course of a terrorism 
     investigation by making the maximum penalty ten years' 
     imprisonment.
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