Congress Introduces Scores of Bills, Resolutions to Fight Terrorism
(Library of Congress establishes web page to track measures) (530) By Steve La Rocque Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- Representative Lamar Smith (Republican of Texas) added his contribution to congressional counter-terrorism efforts November 9 by introducing a bill to implement the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. Smith, who serves as chairman of the Crime Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, was responding to an October 25 request from the Bush administration for Congress to ratify the two conventions aimed against international terrorism. In implementing the two conventions, Smith's proposed bill would strengthen criminal laws relating to attacks on public places, according to the Congressional Record. The measure was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Smith's bill, H.R. 3275, is the latest in a series of bills and resolutions in both the Senate and the House related to the struggle against international terrorism. The day before Smith introduced his measure, Representative Robert Menendez (Democrat of New Jersey), the vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, submitted a bill aimed at responding to the threat of bio-terrorism. H.R. 3255, which had 103 co-sponsors, was referred to nine House committees, including the House Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Agriculture Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee. On the Senate side, November 8 saw Senators Ernest Hollings (Democrat of South Carolina) and John McCain (Republican of Arizona) introduce a bill to help make safer the transportation of hazardous materials in the United States. S. 1669 was referred to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Legislation on topics such as airline safety and security and a resolution honoring the crew and passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 are also working their way through the legislative process. While only eight pieces of legislation have been signed into law so far, with another nine resolutions approved, there has been floor action on another 33 bills and resolutions, with many more awaiting action in the wings. With so many pieces of counter-terrorism legislation under consideration, Congress may be hard-pressed to schedule committee hearings and markup sessions and find time in the legislative calendar to bring all the bills and resolutions to a vote, in addition to their normal workload. Resolving different versions of bills between the House and Senate, as in the case of airport and airline security, will also require more time. To help the public keep track of terrorism-related legislation, the Library of Congress has set up a special section on their website at http://rs9.loc.gov/home/terrorleg.htm. The page lists measures ranging from H.R. 2882 (now Public Law No. 107-37), which provides for the expedited payment of benefits for public safety officers killed or injured in the line of duty in connection with the September 11 terror attacks, to Senate Joint Resolution 23, which authorizes the use of military force against those responsible for the September 11 attacks. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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