Congressional Record: September 6, 2006 (Senate)
Page S9045-S9046
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. KYL (for himself, Mr. DeWine, and Mr. Cornyn):
S. 3848. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to support the
war
[[Page S9046]]
on terrorism, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Terrorism
Prevention Act of 2006. This Act will enhance and improve the statutes
governing material support for terrorism, protection of classified
information, terrorist hoaxes, and terrorist murders and assaults.
Specifically, the TPA expands the reach of statutes punishing material
support for terrorism, making it a crime to reward the family of a
suicide bomber or other terrorist with the intent to facilitate
terrorism, and increases penalties for existing material support
offenses; clarifies and improves the Classified Information Procedures
Act in light of the lessons learned in the Moussaoui trial; expands the
reach of the terrorist hoax statute, and increases penalties for hoaxes
about the deaths of U.S. soldiers during wartime; increases penalties
for terrorist murders, kidnappings, and assaults committed overseas
against U.S. nationals, and increases penalties for terrorist crimes
resulting in death; and improves the United States's ability to
investigate terrorist crimes by protecting the confidentiality of FISA
investigations, authorizing multi-district search warrants in terrorism
cases, and increasing penalties for obstruction of justice in terrorism
cases.
I ask unanimous consent that a section by section analysis of the
Terrorism Prevention Act be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the analysis was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
The Terrorism Prevention Act of 2006
Section by Section Analysis
SECTION 2. MATERIAL SUPPORT
Subsection (a) creates a new offense, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2339E,
of giving material benefits to the family or associates of
someone who has committed a terrorist act, if the benefit is
given with the intent to reward, encourage, or facilitate
terrorism. Section 2339E applies overseas to the extent that
the offenses are linked to interstate or foreign commerce,
are targeted at the United States or its people or property,
or the offender is a U.S. national or resident. The offense
is punishable by imprisonment for ten years to life. This new
offense would punish those individuals who encourage or
embolden suicide bombers by rewarding their families after
such bombings occur.
Subsection (b) increases penalties for existing material
support offenses as follows: Sec. 2339A, giving material
support to aid a terrorist act, 10 years to life; Sec. 2339B,
giving material support to a designated terrorist
organization, 5 to 25 years; and Sec. 2339D, receiving
military-type training from a terrorist organization, 3 to 15
years. The Sec. 2339A and B penalties have not been increased
since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Subsection (c) eliminates a loophole in current law that
would allow an individual to give an unlimited amount of
medical or religious supplies to a designated terrorist
organization. This loophole, which was recently criticized by
a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, could allow a terrorist
organization to receive large amounts of supplies that it
could either resell in exchange for cash or distribute in its
local area in order to build support and gain recruits.
Subsection (d) amends Sec. 2339D to bar attempts or
conspiracies to obtain military-type training from a
terrorist organization.
Subsection (e) bars convicted terrorist from receiving
federal benefits.
SECTION 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO CIPA
This section implements a number of lessons learned during
the use of the Classified Information Procedures Act during
the trial of suspected 20th hijacker Zacarias Moussaoui.
Subsection (b) authorizes interlocutory appeals of any order
for access to classified information. In the Moussaoui case,
the Fourth Circuit determined that CIPA allows interlocutory
appeals only of orders entered under CIPA itself, not orders
entered under other authority. One judge of that Court noted
that, although compelled by the text of CIPA, this result
frustrates Congress's intent to allow prompt review of
disputes over disclosure of classified information.
Subsection (c) allows requests for CIPA protection to be
made ex parte. Sometimes a request for protection of
classified information cannot be made publicly without itself
compromising classified information. This subsection also
ensures that requests for CIPA protection shall remain
sealed, regardless of whether they are accepted or denied,
and codifies the current practice of allowing such requests
to be made orally.
Subsection (d) clarifies that CIPA applies to evidence
obtained from nondocumentary sources, such as depositions of
witnesses. In the Moussaoui case, the Fourth Circuit
determined that CIPA technically only applies to documentary
information and information that the defense might disclose
during trial. The Court nevertheless looked to CIPA to
develop a framework for protecting classified information
during depositions. This subsection effectively codifies the
Fourth Circuit's approach by formally applying CIPA to
nondocumentary sources of evidence, such as depositions.
SECTION 4. TERRORIST HOAXES
This section amends the terrorist hoax statute so that it
punishes hoaxes relating to terrorist offenses that
inexplicably were excluded from the current hoax law. For
example, current law does not punish hoaxes related to the
taking of hostages in order to coerce the federal government
(18 U.S.C. 1203), hoaxes related to blowing up an energy
facility (18 U.S.C. 1366(a)), hoaxes related to terrorist
attacks on military bases aimed at undermining national
defense (18 U.S.C. 2156), or hoaxes related to attacks on
railways and mass-transportation facilities, such as the
recent London bombings (18 U.S.C. 1992-93). This section adds
these terrorist crimes to the predicates for the terrorist
hoax statute.
This section also increases the penalties for hoaxes about
the death, injury, or capture of a U.S. soldier during
wartime. Unfortunately, there have been a number of incidents
in which individuals have contacted the families of US.
soldiers serving in Iraq, pretended to represent the military
or other official organizations, and falsely told the family
that their son, brother, or other relative had been killed.
This section would punish such hoaxes with imprisonment for 2
to 10 years. If the hoax resulted in serious bodily injury,
it would be punished by 5 to 25 years, and if it resulted in
death, 10 years to life.
This section also clarifies that the offense of mailing
threatening communications applies to threats made against
organizations as well as individuals.
SECTION 5. TERRORIST MURDERS, KIDNAPPINGS, AND ASSAULTS
This section expands 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2332, which punishes
murder or assault of U.S. nationals overseas for terrorist
purposes, to also include kidnappings of U.S. nationals
overseas that are carried out for terrorist purposes, and
clarifies that sexual assault qualifies as serious bodily
injury for purposes of the section's assault prohibitions.
This section also increases penalties for terrorist murders
and assaults, such that a murder of a U.S. national overseas
that is carried out for terrorist purposes would be punished
by imprisonment for at least 30 years, and an assault
resulting in serious bodily injury would be punished by
imprisonment for 10 years to life. ``Serious bodily injury''
is defined by federal statute to mean bodily injury
accompanied by a substantial risk of death, extreme physical
pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted
loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ,
or mental faculty.
This section also creates a new offense of committing a
terrorist crime while engaging in conduct that results in
death. This new offense is punishable by death or
imprisonment for 20 years up to life. This section also makes
eligible for capital punishment existing offenses
resulting in death that involve the use of nuclear
weapons, anti-aircraft missiles, radiological bombs, and
variola (smallpox) virus, and increases to 15 years to
life the penalties for aiding a foreign terrorist
organization or state sponsor of terrorism's WMD program
or developing, possessing, using, or threatening to use a
radiological weapon.
SECTION 6. INVESTIGATION OF TERRORIST CRIMES
Subsection (a) limits FISA notification requirements so
that the government is not required to inform an individual
seeking an immigration benefit if FISA information was used
to deny their application. Such notice effectively informs
such an individual that he or his associates have been the
target of an intelligence investigation. The United States
should not be required to compromise an intelligence
investigation in order to exclude a foreign national with
ties to terrorism from the United States.
Subsection (b) authorizes federal judges to authorize
search warrants that may be used in multiple judicial
districts for purposes of terrorism investigations. Such
investigations often require searches to be conducted in
different parts of the country at the same time.
Subsection (c) increases the potential penalties for
obstruction of justice in the course of a terrorism
investigation by making the maximum penalty ten years'
imprisonment.
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