ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:95042009.POL
DATE:04/20/95
TITLE:CONGRESS MOVING TO STRENGTHEN ANTI-TERRORISM LEGISLATION
TEXT:
(Members express outrage at Oklahoma City bombing) (650)
By Wendy S. Ross
USIA Congressional Affairs Writer
Washington -- Leading members of Congress say they want to work
closely with the Clinton administration to strengthen federal
anti-terrorist legislation in light of the Oklahoma City bombing.
The Senate "stands ready to work closely with the administration to
pass the toughest and most effective anti-terrorist bill at the
earliest possible time," Senate Republican leader Bob Dole said April
20.
The Senate returns from a two week recess April 24; the House returns
May 1.
"President Clinton has sent the right message to the perpetrators of
this vicious crime: They will be caught, they will be punished, and
the American people will not be intimidated," Dole said.
Dole also applauded Attorney General Janet Reno for publicly stating
that the Justice Department will seek the death penalty once the
terrorists are apprehended. "If there was ever a crime deserving of
the death penalty, this is it," he said.
Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle said "the cowards who are
responsible for this act of terrorism should be hunted down and
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." The bombing of a
building containing hundreds of innocent people -- some of them only
children -- "is shocking and reprehensible," he said.
Representative Benjamin Gilman, chairman of the House International
Relations Committee, said the bombing of innocent children and
civilians in the heart of a city "is an act of abominable, cowardly
terrorism that strikes at the very foundation of civilized society."
"Coming barely two years after the bombing of the World Trade Center
in New York, this incident further demonstrates the necessity of
strengthening our ability to prevent terrorists from reaching our
shores and inflicting their violence upon our citizenry," Gilman said.
He said his panel would "favorably consider any administration request
to increase funding to help combat international terrorism," despite
severe constraints in federal spending for overseas activities brought
on by the deficit.
Representative Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee,
held a press conference April 20 to denounce the bombing. He said his
panel will continue holding hearings on anti-terrorism legislation.
Earlier this month, prior to the Oklahoma City bombing, the committee
began an examination of the issue with a hearing that included
testimony from officials with the Central Intelligence Agency, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the departments of State and
Justice.
Hyde said his staff is completing work on draft legislation that
includes new restrictions on the granting of U.S. visas to aliens
linked to terrorist activities. It also includes provisions to curb
the fraudulent manipulation of lax U.S. immigration laws, including
the political asylum process.
Hyde said "America is vulnerable. It's like a hotel lobby. It's easy
to get in and easy to get out."
He said any legislation must give law enforcement agencies the
necessary resources to curb terrorist activities and prevent the entry
of foreign nationals who pose a risk to America's security.
Senator Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Terrorism, Technology
and Government Information Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, has scheduled a hearing for April 27 on separate
anti-terrorism legislation that was introduced in February at the
request of the Clinton administration.
That proposed legislation would make political terrorism a federal
crime and increase punishments up to and including the death penalty
-- already available for some types of federal terrorist acts.
It would let the government prohibit fund raising in the United States
on behalf of known terrorist organizations. It would also make it
easier to deport aliens living in the United States who engaged in
terrorism in the past or are presently engaged in terrorist
activities.
One of the more controversial aspects of the measure would give judges
power to review and use classified evidence that might not be provided
to the accused.
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