[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 78 (Friday, May 11, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6018-S6019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. Kyl, and Mr. Lieberman):
  S. 1369. A bill to grant immunity from civil liability to any person 
who voluntarily notifies appropriate security personnel of suspicious 
activity believed to threaten transportation safety or security or 
takes reasonable action to mitigate such activity; to the Committee on 
the Judiciary.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation that 
would provide immunity to individuals who report suspicious activities 
that may reflect terrorist threats to our transportation system. I am 
very honored that Senators Kyl and Lieberman have joined me in 
introducing this important bill.
  The recent arrest in New Jersey of six men charged with conspiring to 
murder American soldiers at Fort Dix underscores the need for this 
bill. Law enforcement officials have noted that their investigation was 
triggered by the report of an alert store clerk who said a customer had 
brought in a video that showed men firing weapons and shouting in 
Arabic. This reminded the store clerk of the 9/11 terrorists.
  But for the report of this store clerk, it is unlikely this potential 
plot against Fort Dix--a plot that if executed would have caused the 
loss of lives--would have been uncovered. That store clerk's action may 
have saved literally hundreds of lives and represents a core truth of 
the dangerous times in which we live. Our safety depends on more than 
just police officers, intelligence analysts, and soldiers. It also 
depends on the alertness and civil responsibility of ordinary American 
citizens, including the peaceful and tolerant people who form the vast 
majority of America's Muslim communities.
  We must encourage average citizens to be watchful and report behavior 
that appears to be suspicious or threatening. That imperative is 
especially strong in the area of mass transportation, where there is 
the potential for mass casualties, where vehicles and aircraft can be 
used as weapons, and where there is often only a brief period of time 
for assessing and reacting to alarming behavior. That is why the slogan 
``See something, say something,'' is used in the New York subway.
  Unfortunately, we have seen that plaintiffs can misuse our legal 
system to chill the willingness of average citizens to come forward and 
report possible dangers. As was widely reported last fall, six Islamic 
clerics were removed from a USAirways flight after other passengers 
expressed concerns that some of the clerics had moved out of their 
assigned seats and had requested, but apparently were not using, 
seatbelt extenders that could possibly double as weapons.
  As a result of that incident, what happened? Well, the USAirways 
officials decided to remove these individuals from the plane so they 
could further investigate. What happened to the individuals who 
courageously came forward and reported this suspicious behavior? 
Unbelievably, they were sued for voicing their fears that the clerics 
could be rehearsing or preparing to execute a hijacking. These honestly 
concerned passengers found themselves as defendants in lawsuits that 
were filed in March.
  The existence of this lawsuit clearly illustrates how unfair it is to 
allow private citizens to possibly be intimidated into silence by the 
threat of litigation. Would that alert clerk in the store have come 
forward if he thought there was a chance he was going to be sued? Would 
the passengers have spoken up if they had anticipated there would be a 
lawsuit filed against them? Even if such suits fail, they can expose 
citizens to heavy costs in time and legal fees.
  Our bill would provide civil immunity in American courts for citizens

[[Page S6019]]

acting in good faith who report threats to our transportation systems.
  The bill would encourage people to pass on information to appropriate 
transportation system officials and employees, to law enforcement or 
transportation security officials, or to the Departments of Homeland 
Security, Justice, or Transportation, without fear of being sued just 
for doing their civic duty.
  Only disclosures made to those responsible officials and employees 
would be protected by the legislation's grant of immunity. Once a 
report is received, those officials would be responsible for assessing 
its reasonableness and determining whether further action is required. 
If these officials take reasonable action to mitigate the reported 
threat, they, too, would be protected from lawsuits. Just as we should 
not discourage reporting suspicious incidents, we also should not 
discourage reasonable responses to them.
  Let me make very clear this bill does not offer any protection 
whatsoever if an individual makes a statement that he or she knows to 
be false. No one will be able to use this bill, should it become law, 
as I hope it will, as a cover for mischievous, vengeful, or biased 
falsehoods.
  Our laws and legal system must not be hijacked to intimidate people 
into silence or to prevent our officials from responding to terrorist 
threats. Protecting citizens who make good-faith reports--and that is 
an important qualification in this bill--protecting citizens who make 
good-faith reports of potentially lethal activities is essential to 
maintaining our homeland security.
  Our bill offers protection in a measured way, that discourages abuses 
from either side. I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Senator Lieberman and I have been holding a series of hearings, 
starting last year, in the Homeland Security Committee, to look at the 
threat of home-grown terrorists, domestic radicalization. We have 
learned a lot in the past 6 months. What we have learned has only 
strengthened my determination to push ahead with this bill.
  The fact is, each of us has an important responsibility. The fight 
against domestic terrorism--or, indeed, any kind of terrorism--requires 
the active involvement of the citizenry of this country. It is not a 
fight that can be left simply to law enforcement. We simply could never 
have a sufficient number of law enforcement or intelligence officials 
to take care of every threat. Indeed, the foiled threat at Fort Dix 
shows us how important citizen involvement is.
  I think this is a reasonable bill. It requires this immunity would be 
granted only for reports made in good faith. This would help encourage 
passengers on airlines and on trains to report suspicious activities. I 
think that is a necessary protection in this day and age.
                                 ______