[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 30 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H953-H954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERAL RESTRICTED BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2011
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 347) to correct and
simplify the drafting of section 1752 (relating to restricted buildings
or grounds) of title 18, United States Code.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the Senate amendment is as follows:
Senate amendment:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Restricted Buildings
and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011''.
SEC. 2. RESTRICTED BUILDING OR GROUNDS.
Section 1752 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to
read as follows:
``Sec. 1752. Restricted building or grounds
``(a) Whoever--
``(1) knowingly enters or remains in any restricted
building or grounds without lawful authority to do so;
``(2) knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the
orderly conduct of Government business or official functions,
engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in, or within
such proximity to, any restricted building or grounds when,
or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or disrupts the
orderly conduct of Government business or official functions;
``(3) knowingly, and with the intent to impede or disrupt
the orderly conduct of Government business or official
functions, obstructs or impedes ingress or egress to or from
any restricted building or grounds; or
``(4) knowingly engages in any act of physical violence
against any person or property in any restricted building or
grounds;
or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be punished as
provided in subsection (b).
``(b) The punishment for a violation of subsection (a) is--
``(1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more
than 10 years, or both, if--
``(A) the person, during and in relation to the offense,
uses or carries a deadly or dangerous weapon or firearm; or
``(B) the offense results in significant bodily injury as
defined by section 2118(e)(3); and
``(2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more
than one year, or both, in any other case.
``(c) In this section--
``(1) the term `restricted buildings or grounds' means any
posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted area--
``(A) of the White House or its grounds, or the Vice
President's official residence or its grounds;
``(B) of a building or grounds where the President or other
person protected by the Secret Service is or will be
temporarily visiting; or
``(C) of a building or grounds so restricted in conjunction
with an event designated as a special event of national
significance; and
``(2) the term `other person protected by the Secret
Service' means any person whom the United States Secret
Service is authorized to protect under section 3056 of this
title or by Presidential memorandum, when such person has not
declined such protection.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous materials on the Senate amendment
to H.R. 347, currently under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
H.R. 347, the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement
Act of 2011, introduced by Congressman Tom Rooney, makes commonsense
improvements to an existing Federal law that prohibits unlawful access
to the White House, the Vice President's residence, and other
restricted areas.
Current law prohibits unlawful entries upon any restricted building
or ground where the President, Vice President, or other protectee is
temporarily visiting. However, there is no Federal law that expressly
prohibits unlawful entry to the White House and its grounds or the Vice
President's residence and its grounds. The United States Secret Service
must therefore rely upon a provision in the District of Columbia Code,
which addresses only minor misdemeanor infractions when someone
attempts to or successfully climbs the White House fence or, worse,
breaches the White House, itself.
H.R. 347 remedies this problem. It specifically includes the White
House, the Vice President's residence, and their respective grounds in
the definition of restricted buildings and grounds. The bill also
clarifies that the penalties in section 1752 of title 18 apply to those
who knowingly enter or remain in any restricted building or grounds
without lawful authority to do so. Current law does not include this
important element.
The House passed this bill 1 year ago by a vote of 399 3. Earlier
this month, the Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent. The Senate
also clarified that the revised law applies to individuals the Secret
Service is required to protect by statute or by Presidential
memorandum.
H.R. 347 ensures that the President, the First Family, the Vice
President, and others are protected whether they are in the White House
or attending an event in a convention center or meeting hall.
I commend my colleague from Florida (Mr. Rooney) for sponsoring this
legislation, which enjoys overwhelming bipartisan and bicameral
support.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance
of my time.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
[[Page H954]]
I support H.R. 347, as amended by the Senate, which will assist the
Secret Service in performing its protective duties.
The bill before us today will help the Secret Service carry out its
role in protecting the President, Vice President, and other
dignitaries. Current Federal law prohibits individuals from entering or
remaining in areas cordoned off as ``restricted'' because of protection
being provided by the Secret Service.
This bill would simply clarify that the prohibition under the
existing statute only applies to those who do not have lawful authority
to be in those areas. The bill would also add the White House and Vice
President's residence to the definition of restricted areas protected
under current law.
The Senate made minor changes to the bill, including expanding the
bill's protections to areas in which the Secret Service is protecting a
person by the direction of a Presidential memorandum.
I support this amendment. This bill will assist the Secret Service,
which did not have this protective function when it was created.
{time} 1610
The role of the Secret Service has expanded greatly since it was
established in 1865 to fight the counterfeiting of U.S. currency.
The Service became part of the Treasury Department in 1883 and took
on many additional investigative responsibilities with respect to
safeguarding the payment and financial systems of the United States. It
wasn't until 1894 that the Secret Service first started protecting our
Presidents; and that protective role with respect to the President,
Vice President, and other dignitaries has grown substantially since
that time.
The men and women of the Secret Service conduct themselves with valor
and professionalism while carrying out the protective function of their
agency. They provide protection for a variety of people and events,
including the President and national special security events.
The Secret Service has other important functions which also deserve
recognition. For example, the investigative role of the Secret Service
has expanded greatly from protecting the currency against
counterfeiting to investigating a variety of crimes related to this
country's financial institutions and credit systems.
I commend the gentleman from Florida, Representative Tom Rooney, for
his work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 347.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rooney), who is a sponsor of
this legislation and also a member of the Armed Services and a former
member of the Judiciary Committee.
Mr. ROONEY. Mr. Speaker, the protections provided by the United
States Secret Service are vital to assessing security threats and
providing a secure environment for our Nation's leaders.
One key aspect of the Service's mission is to secure buildings and
grounds where our leaders work and live, including the White House and
the Naval Observatory. My bill would explicitly protect these
residences of the President and the Vice President from intruders and
would clarify current law to distinguish between those who are able to
enter the grounds lawfully, like the Secret Service, and those who
enter without permission.
This bipartisan bill would improve existing criminal law to ensure
that the Secret Service can continue to implement strategies that
prevent potentially catastrophic security breaches. I urge my
colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense, bipartisan piece
of legislation to protect our Nation's leaders and national security.
I thank Mr. Smith from Texas for his leadership on this issue, the
Judiciary Committee, and Mr. Johnson of Georgia.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules and
concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 347.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
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