[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 34 (Tuesday, March 8, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1407-S1408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Lieberman):
  S. 505. A bill to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide 
immunity for reports of suspected terrorist activity or suspicious 
behavior and response; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague, 
Senator Lieberman, in introducing the See Something, Say Something Act 
of 2011.
  The number of thwarted and failed attacks in the past few years and 
the Fort Hood attack, which left 13 people dead and wounded dozens, are 
sobering reminders that terrorists continue to threaten our nation. We 
have seen, however, that an alert citizenry can be our first line of 
defense against terrorist attacks as evidenced by events only a few 
weeks ago in Texas.
  Tips from alert citizens led to an investigation and the eventual 
arrest of Khalid Aldawsari on a federal charge of attempted use of a 
weapon of mass destruction. Specifically, an alert chemical supplier 
reported Aldawsari's suspicious attempt to purchase a toxic chemical 
called phenol to the FBI. Shipping company personnel also notified 
local police officers about related suspicious behavior. Without these 
calls to law enforcement, it is possible that a person who wrote in his 
diary ``it is time for Jihad'' would have carried out an attack or 
attacks on his numerous intended targets, including dams, nuclear power 
plants, and former President George W. Bush.
  Individuals must be protected from frivolous lawsuits when they 
report, in good faith, suspicious behavior that may indicate terrorist 
activity. That is why I am again introducing legislation, along with 
Senator Lieberman, that will provide these important protections.
  In the 2007 homeland security law, Senator Lieberman and I authored a 
provision to encourage people to report potential terrorist threats 
directed against transportation systems. This legislation would expand 
those protections to reports of suspicious behavior in sectors other 
than transportation. For example, reports of suspicious activity could 
be equally important in detecting terrorist plans to attack ``soft 
targets'' like hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, and religious 
institutions.
  In December 2008, a Federal jury convicted five men from New Jersey 
of conspiring to murder American soldiers at Fort Dix. According to law 
enforcement officials, the report of an alert store clerk, who stated 
that a customer had brought in a video showing men firing weapons and 
shouting in Arabic, triggered their investigation. If not for the 
report of this vigilant store clerk, law enforcement may not have 
disrupted this plot against military personnel at Fort Dix. Real life 
examples like these highlight the need for this bill.
  That store clerk's action likely saved hundreds of lives. It reveals 
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 civic responsibility of 
all Americans. So we must encourage citizens to be watchful and to 
report suspicious activity whenever it occurs.
  As a result of the devastating 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, Senator 
Lieberman and I convened hearings held by the Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs Committee to examine lessons learned from those 
attacks. These hearings helped bring to light the reality that 
terrorists might shift their attention from high-value, high-security 
targets to less secure commercial facilities, where there remains the 
potential for mass casualties and widespread panic.
  Many of the Committee's witnesses during these hearings endorsed the 
idea of expanding the 2007 law beyond the transportation sector. 
Indeed, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said that the 2007 law ``made 
eminently good sense'' and recommended ``that it be expanded [to other 
sectors] if at all possible.''
  The threat is real, and we must encourage citizens to be watchful and 
to report suspicious activity whenever it occurs. Our legal system, 
however, can be misused to chill the willingness of citizens to come 
forward and report possible dangers. As widely reported by the media in 
2006, US Airways removed 6 Islamic clerics from a flight after other 
passengers expressed concerns that some of the clerics had moved out of 
the their assigned seats and had requested, but were not using, seat 
belt extenders that could possibly double as weapons. In response to 
these concerns, US Airways officials removed these individuals from the 
plane so that they could further investigate.

[[Page S1408]]

  For voicing their reasonable fears that these passengers could be 
rehearsing or preparing to execute a hijacking, these concerned 
citizens found themselves as defendants in a civil rights lawsuit and 
accused of bigotry.
  The existence of this lawsuit illustrates how unfair it is to allow 
private citizens to be intimidated into silence by the threat of 
litigation. Would the passengers have spoken up if they had anticipated 
that 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.
  The bill we introduce today would provide civil immunity in American 
courts for any person acting in good faith who reports any suspicious 
transaction, activity, or occurrence related to an act of terrorism. 
Specifically, the bill would encourage people to pass on information to 
federal officials with responsibility for preventing, protecting 
against, disrupting, or responding to a terrorist act, or to Federal, 
State, and local law enforcement officials, without fear of being sued 
for doing their civic duty. Only disclosures made to those responsible 
officials would be protected by the legislation.
  Once a report is received, those officials would be responsible for 
assessing its reasonableness and determining whether further action is 
required. If they 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 be very clear that 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 protection as cover for 
mischievous, vengeful, or biased falsehoods.
  Our laws and legal system must not intimidate people into silence or 
prevent our officials from responding to terrorist threats. Protecting 
citizens who make good faith reports--and that's an important condition 
in this bill--of potentially lethal activities is essential to 
maintaining homeland security. Our bill offers protection in a measured 
way that discourages abuses.
  Each of us has an important responsibility in the fight against 
terrorism. It is not a fight that can be left to law enforcement alone. 
The police simply can't be everywhere all the time. Whether at a hotel, 
a mall, or an arena, homeland security and law enforcement officials 
need all citizens to alert them to unattended packages and behavior 
that appears out of the ordinary.
  Along these lines, I applaud DHS Secretary Napolitano for 
establishing the Department's ``If you see something, say something'' 
campaign and the recent partnerships with various organizations 
including the NFL. The Department is taking steps to expand this effort 
with public education and materials for businesses, communities, and 
citizens. As the Department's campaign continues to grow, there will be 
a greater need for this legislation as our citizens become better 
educated.
  The National Sheriffs' Association, the National Association of Town 
Watch, and other national organizations have endorsed this legislation.
  If someone ``sees something'' suspicious, Congress should encourage 
him or her to ``say something'' about it. This bill promotes and 
protects that civic duty. I urge my colleagues to support it.
                                 ______