[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.

                          ____________________