Mr. FAIRCLOTH addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of the antiterrorism conference report.
First, it is with great sadness that we approach the first anniversary of the bombing in Oklahoma City. It was truly a tragic event carried out by premeditated and dreadful murderers. I just hope that the people that carried out that act get the justice they so deserve.
Mr. President, one of the most important reforms made by this bill are those reforms to our death penalty procedures. For too long, murderers have been on death row, filing appeal after appeal, in the hopes of finding some small legal loophole--anything they can find that will nullify their sentence.
The people of this country are sick and tired of murderers being put on death row and then sitting there, as Senator Inhofe said, watching television, getting fat, and at an enormous cost to the American taxpayers.
Mr. President, since the death penalty was reestablished in 1977, over 400,000 people have been murdered. But only 200 have been executed. This is hardly a message that our justice system is swift or sure to those that break the law.
In my home State of North Carolina, we have over 100 people on death row, with an estimated cost of close to $50,000 a year to keep them there--per person. Yet, in the last 16 years, only 5 people have had the death sentence carried out in North Carolina, with 100 waiting. There have been delays, delays, and more delays, simply using one loophole behind another. Simply, the executions have not been carried out, at an enormous cost to the State of North Carolina for attorneys to fight these endless appeals.
In the United States, as a whole, there are over 2,700 people on death row. Over half have been there longer than 6 years. Further, of those on death row, over half were on probation or parole when they were arrested for murder. What does this say about the justice system?
Is it any wonder that crime has increased 41 percent in the last 20 years? Is it any wonder that violent crime has increased by 100 percent in the last 20 years? Our judicial system has been made a mockery by those who set out to break the law.
For those that carried out the Oklahoma City bombing, they probably never thought they would get caught. Fortunately, and luckily, with good police work, they were caught. But they probably believe that they can beat the system. I hope not, but I am sure they believe it. They probably think they can make a mockery of the justice system, as so many others have. Certainly, we will be hiring the most expensive lawyers out there to help them to beat the system.
In this country, we need to reestablish a respect for the law. Criminals need to know that if they commit murder, they will receive the death penalty. And, more importantly, they need to know that it will be carried out, and they will not be held on death row with endless delays.
With this bill, we finally have broken the logjam on the issue. We keep passing bill after bill that increases penalties and provides new capital offenses; yet, we do nothing to reform our justice system to see that the punishment is carried out.
Finally, we have done something to end the frivolous appeals filed by death row inmates.
Mr. President, I support this conference report. I thank Senator Hatch, and others, who have pushed death penalty reform to the forefront in this bill.
I yield the floor.
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I hope both of my friends from Oklahoma and my friend from North Carolina--speaking to my friends from Oklahoma--understand that we do not want the delay in this bill. This bill got delayed in the House of Representatives for close to 6 months. I did not hear people coming to the floor with me and saying, `Where is the bill, where is the bill, where is the bill, where is the bill?' Now we are told to make this bill workable, and we should not attempt to do better.
I cannot believe the Senator from North Carolina would support a provision allowing, for example, someone to be taught how to make another fertilizer bomb to blow up another Federal building--maybe this one in North Carolina--and maybe learn how over the Internet. He would not want that to happen. Yet, he is probably going to vote against adding that provision back into the bill. He will probably vote, `No, I will not send it back to the conference and have them include that provision.'
We had a provision saying you cannot teach people how to make fertilizer bombs, plastic bombs, and baby food bombs on the Internet, when you know the intent is for that person to use it. Yet, they are all going to stand here and vote against me on that. I find that fascinating.
I hope the folks in every one of our districts remember this. They are going to vote against me when I say we want to prevent future Oklahomas. We want to take care of those victims of Oklahoma and make sure retribution is had. That is why the crime bill I authored set the death penalty for it. And there would not even be a death penalty had President Clinton's crime bill not passed. Those people in Oklahoma would not be able to get the death penalty.
Some of my colleagues voted against the crime bill, and now they are hailing the death penalty. The only reason why those people are being tried and, if convicted, will get death, is because of the crime bill they voted against. I find this kind of fascinating logic going on here.
The third thing I point out, and that was tried in Federal court--and then I will yield to my friend from Georgia, who has a very important amendment or very important motion to make--I also point out that we should be worried about future victims. Future victims.
The comment was made--and a legitimate comment--by one of my colleagues a moment ago, when he said, `On behalf of the victims of the bombing in Oklahoma, please pass this bill.' On behalf of the tens of millions of Americans who may be the next victims, on behalf of them, please give the police the authority they need to enhance their ability to prevent future Oklahomas by allowing them to wiretap these suspected terrorists under probable cause, just like we do the Mafia.
What is good enough for the Mafia ought to be good enough for a bunch of whacko terrorists.
So not only mourn those who died, which I do, but pray for those who are living that they continue to be able to live. I mean, how in the Lord's name can we, after Oklahoma, stand here on the floor and vote against the motion I predict they will vote against which says you cannot teach someone how to make a fertilizer bomb on the Internet when you know it is going to be used? They are going to vote against that. What about future Oklahomas?
I see my friend from Georgia is ready to proceed. So I will yield the floor for the purpose of his making his motion after I make a concluding statement.
In each of these amendments that I offered yesterday, Chairman Hyde in the transcript of yesterday's proceedings said--this is what this is all about--and I quote. He said:
[Page: S3370]
Mr. Chairman, [Chairman Hyde speaking] may I say something? Mr. Chairman, let us cut to the chase. I agree with the Senator [i.e. Senator Biden] and have always agreed with the Senator on this issue, the wiretap issue. The facts of life are that we lose about 35 votes in the House if we pass the wiretap provision.
That is what this is about--35 folks in the House who do not like it. That is why we are going to vote against our interest probably in the next couple of hours.
I yield the floor.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, if I could take a second.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brown). The Senator from Utah.
Mr. HATCH. I agree with the 35, but all of those oppose the bill anyway. But it is a lot more than 35 people who will vote. I just wanted to make that statement.
I thank the Senator from Georgia.
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