[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17616-17617]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. INHOFE (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Thune, and Mr. 
        Isakson):
  S. 3880. A bill to provide the Department of Justice the necessary 
authority to apprehend, prosecute, and convict individuals committing 
animal enterprise terror; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today along with Senator Inhofe, I am 
pleased to introduce the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. This 
legislation is crucial to respond to the expanded scope of terrorist 
activity that has threatened to impede important medical research and 
scientific innovation.
  The legislation we introduce today would: clarify that it is a crime 
to damage or interfere with an ``animal enterprise''--which includes 
legitimate companies and non-profit organizations that use animals for 
education, research or testing; expand Federal law to also make it 
illegal to harm or cause property loss to anyone connected with an 
animal enterprise;
  Criminalize threats, harassment, and other illegal activity that uses 
interstate commerce to intentionally cause fear of death or injury to 
anyone connected with an animal enterprise;

[[Page 17617]]

  Establish graded penalties of up to 20 years depending on the 
financial damage or level of bodily injury caused by such illegal 
conduct, and up to life imprisonment if death results; establish that a 
convicted animal enterprise terrorist can also be ordered as 
restitution to pay the animal enterprise's cost of repeating 
experiments and other losses resulting from the criminal conduct; and 
clarify that all legitimate protest activities protected by the First 
Amendment are exempted out from any prosecution under the bill.
  The need for this bill is obvious.
  On June 30 of this year, extremist activists, acting in the name of 
animal rights, attempted to firebomb a Los Angeles home thought to 
belong to a prominent UCLA primate researcher.
  The home actually belonged to a 70-year-old woman, and thankfully, 
the device did not ignite. But the desired impact was nonetheless 
achieved.
  Just weeks later, a colleague of the targeted researcher announced 
that he will discontinue his important research at UCLA. He had two 
words for the terrorists who orchestrated the failed bombing: ``You 
win.''
  While I recognize that reasonable people might disagree about animal 
research, and believe in the right to legitimate protest, it is 
outrageous that violent acts, threats and extortion have ended a 
legitimate medical research career.
  Unfortunately, similar incidents have occurred throughout the State 
of California for several years, including the two bombs placed at the 
Emeryville offices of Chiron Corporation, a pharmaceutical company in 
the Bay area, that employs 4400 employees as our Nation's 2nd largest 
manufacturer of flu vaccines.
  Agents believe the second bomb was timed to go off as first-
responders arrived.
  Yet extremist organizations, such as the Animal Liberation Front, 
defend these actions around the country as morally justifiable, and 
shamelessly take credit for these heinous acts.
  Their tactics have evolved in the face of our current laws, and 
consequently, the scope of their terror is widening.
  In recent years, animal rights extremists have expanded their 
campaigns to include secondary and tertiary targets, such that 
businesses and associates who maintain even highly-attenuated 
relationships with animal research facilities have found themselves the 
targets of terror and harassment.
  These targets include banks, insurance companies, stockbrokers, 
customers, construction services, food services, Internet service 
providers, telecom companies, and even janitorial services.
  No matter how remote the relationship, anyone who does business with 
an organization engaged in animal research is at risk.
  But these indirect attacks are outside the scope of our current laws, 
and threaten to slow the progress of one of our Nation's largest and 
most valuable industries.
  We must recognize that scientific research is not only a legitimate 
career, but also an invaluable facet of medical advancement, conducted 
by respectable professionals deserving of our support.
  The deplorable actions of these terrorists threaten to impede 
important medical progress toward lifesaving cures and medical 
innovation.
  They threaten to dishearten noble researchers, and to discourage 
promising young scientists and graduate students from ever entering 
these important fields of research.
  It is in light of these dangerous threats that Senator Inhofe and I 
today introduce the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.
  This legislation addresses the changing tactics of these terrorists, 
and provides law enforcement officials with the tools necessary to 
protect our Nation's researchers more effectively.
  This new legislation will expressly outlaw the targeting of secondary 
and tertiary targets, by including within the scope of prosecution 
terrorists who act against any ``person or entity having a connection 
to, relationship with, or transactions with an animal enterprise.''
  This is an important step toward combating the modern tactics of 
animal rights extremists and eco-terrorists, and toward protecting 
vital business relationships that foster and support the research 
industry.
  At the same time, however, this legislation confronts these terrorist 
threats in manner that gives due protections under the First Amendment.
  I fully recognize that peaceful picketing and public demonstrations 
against animal testing should be recognized as part of our valuable and 
sacred right to free expression.
  For this reason, all conduct protected by the First Amendment is 
expressly excluded from the scope of this legislation. This law 
effectively protects the actions of the law-abiding protestor while 
carefully distinguishing the criminal activity of extremists.
  The bill is also mindful and respectful of State efforts to address 
these problems. For this reason, the bill makes clear that it does not 
preempt State or local laws that address such conduct.
  We are keenly aware of our responsibility to protect legitimate 
businesses and educational institutions from the damaging effects of 
this new breed of domestic terrorism. It is with this goal in mind that 
we introduce this bill today.
  Biomedical research is a multi-billion dollar industry, but more 
importantly, it is a lifesaving industry. With the passage of this 
legislation, we can help to ensure both the productivity of this 
important field, and the protection of our scientists and their 
associates.
  I would like to express my thanks to Senator Inhofe for his hard work 
and support on this important issue. I would also like to thank Senator 
Hatch for his early initiative and continued support for this goal.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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