[Senate Report 107-166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 430
107th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     107-166

======================================================================



 
TO CLARIFY THE DEFINITION OF ``VEHICLE'' FOR PURPOSES OF CRIMINAL 
  PENALTIES RELATING TO TERRORIST ATTACKS AND OTHER ACTS OF VIOLENCE 
  AGAINST MASS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

                                _______
                                

                 June 20, 2002.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Leahy, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2621]

    To provide a definition of vehicle for purposes of criminal 
penalties relating to terrorist attacks and other acts of 
violence against mass transportation systems.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose..........................................................1
 II. Legislative history..............................................1
III. Discussion.......................................................2
 IV. Vote of the Committee............................................3
  V. Section-by-section analysis......................................3
 VI. Cost estimate....................................................3
VII. Regulatory impact statement......................................3
VIII.Changes in existing law..........................................3


                               I. Purpose

    The purpose of S. 2621 is to clarify the definition of 
``vehicle'' for purposes of criminal penalties relating to 
terrorist attacks and other acts of violence against mass 
transportation systems.

                        II. Legislative History

    On June 20, 2002, the Judiciary Committee met in executive 
session and considered S. 2621, a bill introduced by Senator 
Leahy on June 13, 2002, and co-sponsored by Senators Biden, 
Hatch, and Schumer, to clarify that an airplane is a 
``vehicle'' for purposes of terrorist and other violent acts 
against mass transportation systems. A reporting quorum being 
present, the bill was approved by voice vote and ordered 
favorably reported to the Senate.

                            III. Discussion

    On June 11, 2002, a U.S. District Judge in Boston dismissed 
one of the nine charges against Richard Reid stemming from his 
alleged attempt to detonate an explosive device in his shoe 
while onboard an international flight from Paris to Miami on 
December 22, 2001. The dismissed count charged defendant Reid 
with violating section 1993 of title 18, United States Code, by 
attempting to ``wreck, set fire to, and disable a mass 
transportation vehicle.''
    Section 1993 is a new criminal law that was added, as 
section 801, to the USA PATRIOT Act to punish terrorist attacks 
and other acts of violence against, inter alia, a ``mass 
transportation'' vehicle or ferry, or against a passenger or 
employee of a mass transportation provider. A similar provision 
was originally part of S. 2783, the ``21st Century Law 
Enforcement and Public Safety Act,'' introduced by Senator 
Leahy in the 106th Congress in June, 2000 at the request of the 
Clinton Administration.
    The district court rejected defendant Reid's arguments to 
dismiss the section 1993 charge on grounds that (1) the penalty 
provision does not apply to an ``attempt,'' and (2) an airplane 
is not engaged in ``mass transportation.'' ``Mass 
transportation'' is defined in section 1993 by reference to the 
``the meaning given to that term in section 5302(a)(7) of title 
49, United States Code, except that the term shall include 
schoolbus, charter and sightseeing transportation.''
    Section 5302(a)(7), in turn, provides the following 
definition: ``mass transportation'' means ``transportation by a 
conveyance that provides regular and continuing general or 
special transportation to the public, but does not include 
schoolbus, charter or sightseeing transportation.'' The court 
explained that ``commercial aircraft transport large numbers of 
people every day'' and that the definition of ``mass 
transportation'' ``when read in an ordinary or natural way, 
encompasses aircraft of the kind at issue here.'' U.S. v. Reid, 
(CR No. 02-10013, slip op. 10, 12 (D. MA, June 11, 2002).
    Defendant Reid also argued that the section 1993 charge 
should be dismissed because an airplane is not a ``vehicle.'' 
The court agreed, citing the fact that the term ``vehicle'' is 
not defined in section 1993 and that the Dictionary Act, 1 
U.S.C. Sec. 4, narrowly defines ``vehicle'' to include ``every 
description of carriage or other artificial contrivance used, 
or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on 
land.'' Id. at 14. (emphasis in original opinion).
    Notwithstanding common parlance that the term ``vehicle'' 
encompasses aircraft, the district court relied, e.g., 
McReynolds v. Municipal Court, 207 N.W. 792 (Iowa, 1973) on the 
narrow definition in the Dictionary Act to conclude that an 
aircraft is not a ``vehicle'' within the meaning of section 
1993.
    The new section 1993 was intended to provide broad federal 
criminal jurisdiction over terrorist and violent acts against 
all mass transportation systems, including bus services, 
airplanes, railroads and other forms of transportation 
available for public carriage. The more inclusive definition 
would also cover cruise ships. Unfortunately terrorist attacks 
against Americans is not a new threat. In 1985, four terrorists 
brutally attacked the Achillo Lauro Cruise Ship. The 
wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer, a stroke victim, was shot 
once in the head and once in the back by the terrorists who 
then pushed him over the side of the ship into the 
Mediterranean.
    The bill the Committee reports today would add a definition 
of ``vehicle'' to section 1993 and clarify the breadth of the 
meaning of this term both in common parlance and under this new 
criminal law to protect mass transportation systems. 
Specifically, the bill would define this term to mean ``any 
carriage or other contrivance used, or capable of being used, 
as a means of transportation on land, water or through the 
air.''

                       IV. Vote of the Committee

    The Senate Committee on the Judiciary, with a quorum 
present met on Thursday, June, 20, 2002 to consider the ``bill 
to provide a definition of vehicle for purposes of criminal 
penalties relating to terrorist attacks and other acts of 
violence against mass transportation systems.'' The Committee 
considered S. 2621 and approved the bill, by voice vote, with 
no objection noted, and ordered the bill to be reported 
favorably to the Senate, with a recommendation that the bill do 
pass.

                     V. Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1. Definition. Amends Section 1993(c) of title 18, 
United States Code to define the term ``vehicle'' as ``any 
carriage or other contrivance used, or capable of being used, 
as a means of transportation on land, water, or through the 
air.''

                           VI. Cost Estimate

    Due to time constraints, the Congressional Budget Office 
estimate was not included in the report. When received by the 
Committee, it will appear in the Congressional Record at a 
later time.

                    VII. Regulatory Impact Statement

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b)(1), rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee, after due 
consideration, concludes that S. 2621 will not have significant 
regulatory impact.

      VIII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                          UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

                             PART I--CRIMES

                        CHAPTER 97--RAILROADS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



Sec. 1993. Terrorist attacks and other acts of violence against mass 
                    transportation systems

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


    (c) Definitions.--In this section--
          (1) the term ``biological agent'' has the meaning 
        given to that term in section 178(1) of this title;
          (2) the term ``dangerous weapon'' has the meaning 
        given to that term in section 930 of this title;
          (3) the term ``destructive device'' has the meaning 
        given to that term in section 921(a)(4) of this title;
          (4) the term ``destructive substance'' has the 
        meaning given to that term in section 31 of this title;
          (5) the term ``mass transportation'' has the meaning 
        given to that term in section 5302(a)(7) of title 49, 
        United States Code, except that the term shall include 
        schoolbus, charter, and sightseeing transportation;
          (6) the term ``serious bodily injury'' has the 
        meaning given to that term in section 1365 of this 
        title;
          (7) the term ``State'' has the meaning given to that 
        term in section 2266 of this title; [and]
          (8) the term ``toxin'' has the meaning given to that 
        term in section 178(2) of this title[.]; and
          (9) the term ``vehicle'' means any carriage or other 
        contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means 
        of transportation on land, water, or through the air.

                                  
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