[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
[April 24, 1996]
[Pages 628-630]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Signing the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 
1996
April 24, 1996

    Thank you very much, Mary Jo White, for the work you do every day. 
Thank you, Attorney General Reno. Thank you, Mr. Vice President. To 
Senator Dole and Chairman Hatch and Chairman Hyde, the other Members of 
Congress who are here; Governor Keating and the attorneys general who 
are here and the others in law enforcement; to the members of the 
administration, and especially to the victims' families who are here.
    I thank the families for coming today. I thank their advocates for 
coming. But I think we should all acknowledge that the importance of 
this event is embodied in no small measure by the fact that the families 
were willing to come here, knowing that it would in some measure force 
them to relive the pain that they have endured because of acts of 
terror. It took a lot of courage for them to endure that pain. So while 
this is a good day for America, we can't really say it is a happy day. 
Not all good days can be happy days, but every American is in debt to 
these families for standing up for the need for the changes that we have 
experienced. And I ask the rest of us to acknowledge that. And we thank 
you.
    I also would point out that Presidents can advocate and the 
executive branch can enforce the laws, but this would not have happened 
but for the remarkable convergence of Republicans and Democrats in the 
Congress. The Vice President introduced those who were especially active 
in the leadership, who are over here to my left, who will come up in a 
moment when we sign the bill. But there are so many more Members of 
Congress here, for the benefit of all of you, I would like to ask every 
Member who is here and who worked so hard on this legislation to please 
stand and be recognized. Would the Members of Congress please stand? 
[Applause] Thank you very much.
    This is a good day because our police officers are now going to be 
better prepared to stop terrorists, our prosecutors better prepared to 
punish them, our people being better protected from their designs. This 
legislation is more important today because of the very forces which 
have unlocked so much potential for progress: the new technologies, the 
instant communications, the open borders. These things have done so much 
good. But they have also made it easier for the organized forces of 
hatred and division to endanger the lives of innocent people. We have 
seen terrorism take its horrible toll all around the world, from Tokyo 
to London to Jerusalem and, of course, in our own country.
    When a terrorist car bomb took the lives of 241 American Marines in 
Beirut, we felt the shock waves here at home. When savage killers took 
the life of Leon Klinghoffer, countless Americans wept for him and for 
his family. When Pan Am 103 went down over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 
270 people including 189 Americans, we saw again that there are no 
borders or bounds on the forces of hatred. When the bomb exploded at the 
World Trade Center, as Mary Jo said, by the grace of God killing only 6 
but injuring over 1,000 people, we knew again that we had no place to 
hide. And of course, 5 days ago we marked the first anniversary of

[[Page 629]]

the most terrible terrorist attack upon these shores in our history, 
reminding us that even the very young and the most innocent are not 
immune.
    We also have to remember as we remember those who were lost that, as 
painful as that loss is, their deaths and their destructions are not the 
terrorists' only goals, for each and every act of terrorism is also a 
means to another end, the unbelievable idea that it is all right to kill 
an innocent person to achieve a political goal, to stop us from living 
our lives in the light of liberty, to force us to cower in the dark grip 
of fear, to terrify us as targets into submission.
    So let us honor those who lost their lives by resolving to hold fast 
against the forces of violence and division, by never allowing them to 
shake our resolve or break our spirit, to frighten us into sacrificing 
our sacred freedoms or surrendering a drop of precious American liberty. 
Rather we must guard against them, speak against them, and fight against 
them.
    Fighting terrorism is and will for a long time to come be one of the 
top security priorities of the United States. On our own and with our 
allies, we have implemented strong sanctions against states that harbor 
terrorists and encourage them. We have intensified partnerships with 
other countries to stand together against terrorists around the world. 
We have increased our investment, our personnel, and our training for 
law enforcement efforts here at home.
    I sent Congress antiterrorism legislation over a year ago, and after 
the Oklahoma City bombing I asked for additional measures. I applaud the 
great majority of Congress who stood up for the safety of the American 
people, worked through the policy debates, and made sure that in the end 
politics faltered and common sense prevailed. Democrats and Republicans, 
Republicans and Democrats, people who love their country as patriots 
came together, worked together, and got the job done.
    The antiterrorism bill is grounded in common sense and steeled with 
force. Because of this bill, law enforcement will be better prepared 
than ever to stop terrorists before they strike and to bring them to 
justice when they do. From now on we can quickly expel foreigners who 
dare to come to America and support terrorist activities. From now on 
American prosecutors can wield new tools and expanded penalties against 
those who terrorize Americans at home or abroad. From now on we can stop 
terrorists from raising money in the United States to pay for their 
horrible crimes. From now on criminals sentenced to death for their 
vicious crimes will no longer be able to use endless appeals to delay 
their sentences, and families of victims will no longer have to endure 
years of anguish and suffering.
    We have new laws and better controls against chemical and biological 
weapons. We have agreed to put chemical markers in plastic explosives 
that will help us to detect explosives like those used to bring down Pan 
Am 103. We will be able to require chemical taggants in some other 
explosive materials as well. They will make it easier for police to 
trace bombs to the criminals who made them and bring those criminals to 
justice.
    This legislation is a strong step forward for our security, but we 
mustn't stop there. I am directing the Secretary of the Treasury to 
complete the study of taggants required by Congress and propose 
appropriate regulations as quickly as possible. We must also address the 
problem of black and smokeless powders, routinely used to make illegal 
smokeless devices like pipe bombs. I'm directing Secretary Rubin to 
consult with industry representatives and the law enforcement community 
to report back with appropriate recommendations.
    Finally, I believe we have to take additional steps. I believe we 
must do more to help police keep terrorists who are--suspected 
terrorists under surveillance. I believe we should give law enforcement 
more time to investigate and prosecute terrorists who use machine guns, 
sawed-off shotguns, and explosive devices. I agree with police officers 
that instead of creating a commission to study them, in the end we must 
ban cop-killer bullets.
    Nonetheless, make no mistake about it: This bill strikes a mighty 
blow against terrorism, and it is fitting that this bill becomes law 
during National Crime Victims' Rights Week, because it stands up for 
victims in so many important ways. There are a lot of victims' advocates 
and victims here, and I thank them for their presence today. This bill 
recognizes that victims have a compelling interest in the trials of 
those accused of committing crimes against them and requires closed-
circuit television coverage when Federal trials are moved far away, a 
provision we owe to the vigilance of the Members of

[[Page 630]]

Congress from Oklahoma. And we thank you for it.
    I'd like to close with a word to all of the family members of 
Americans slain by terrorists and to the survivors of terrorism, to the 
children who lost their parents in Pan Am 103 and parents who lost their 
children in Israel, to all of you from Oklahoma City, to Andrew Kerr on 
my staff of the National Security Council whose father was murdered in 
Beirut, to each and every one of you with us today and those who are 
watching all across this great land of ours. Your endurance and your 
courage is a lesson to us all. Your vigilance has sharpened our 
vigilance.
    And so I sign my name to this bill, in your names. We renew our 
fight against those who seek to terrorize us, in your names. We send a 
loud, clear message today all over the world, in your names: America 
will never surrender to terror. America will never tolerate terrorism. 
America will never abide terrorists. Wherever they come from, wherever 
they go, we will go after them. We will not rest until we have brought 
them all to justice and secured a future for our people, safe from the 
harm they would do--in your names.
    Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 2:50 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Mary Jo White, New York U.S. 
Attorney, whose office prosecuted the World Trade Center bombing. S. 
735, approved April 24, was assigned Public Law No. 104-132.