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Follow in Bombing's Wake: Plans To Expand Police Po
Follow in Bombing's Wake: Plans To Expand Police Po
LAW/ JUDICIARY
Plans To Expand Police Po
Follow in Bombing’s Wake
Oklahoma disaster has anti- terror ini
tiatives on a fast track,
though some caution against curtailing libertie
s too hastily
irst the World Trade
Center trembled and i EE a
ey wer’ a 3 ™
Neb
s x partisanship, there are
tore, revealing the wer BAE FE digg Ry an,2 Ree
: ° a
some signs of political
dangerous intentions for- snags that could threaten
elgners can import from the undertaking. Republi-
outside national borders. can leaders, as part of their
Then the Alfred P. anti-terrorism bill, are
Murrah Federal Building seeking to curtail death
exploded into the streets of Tow appeals.
Oklahoma City, exposing But the administration
the threats that can grow is reluctant to consider
on U.S. soil. that controversial issue on
The two bombing at- the terrorism bill, while
some Democrats are
tacks have shaken illusions
openly hostile. Senate
that U.S. citizens are im-
Democratic leaders say the
mune to terrorist attacks
death penalty issue should
at home. And they have be taken up, as originally
sent national leaders More than 100 people died in the April 19 Oklahoma City bombing. planned, as part of a pro-
scrambling to construct posed GOP crime bill.
new safeguards against such crimes, more than 100 people inside. The at- At the same time, the Oklahoma
even if it means curtailing some tradi- tack appears to stem from far-right, crisis has worked to delay another
tional freedoms. anti-government, anti-gun control simmering political showdown related
President Clinton and congres- sentiment. to crime policy — whether to repeal
sional leaders have pledged swift and The legislative initiatives were not last year’s ban on certain assault-style
bipartisan cooperation on a package of far behind. Clinton led the charge, weapons. Repeal legislation, which
anti-terrorism initiatives, with several proposing a dramatic new commit- had been slated for House consider-
predicting they can complete work on ment of money and police powers to ation in May with Senate action ex-
a bill by Memorial Day. combat terrorist threats. On April 26, pected soon thereafter, now has been
“We cannot allow our entire coun- he outlined a $1.25 billion package of pushed back one or more months.
try to be subjected to the horror that initiatives to augment an anti-terror-
the people of Oklahoma City have en- ism bill he had sent to Congress in Fighting Back
dured,” Clinton said. “We must do ev- February. (Story, p. 1178) The 1993 World Trade Center
erything we can to prevent it.” The next day, Senate Majority bombing and other incidents had al-
Still, philosophical splits are Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., and Judi- ready fanned an interest in strengthen-
emerging within both parties over how ciary Committee Chairman Orrin G. ing federal anti-terrorism capabilities.
to strike the proper balance between Hatch, R-Utah, introduced a bill (S Senate Republican leaders in-
735) including many of the president’s cluded anti-terrorism provisions in
government power to fight terrorism
initiatives along with their own plans. - their proposed crime bill (S 3), intro-
and traditional civil liberties.
There is broad support for elements duced in January. In early February,
As the proposals circulated, law- the Clinton administration unveiled a
makers stepped up their cautions of both packages, such as stiffening pen-
established alties for certain terrorist offenses, trac- legislative package (HR 896, S 390)
about legislating away aimed at combating international ter-
checks on police power. “Let’s don’t ing explosives and providing federal in-
vestigators with more staff, technology rorist attacks abroad and on U.S. soil.
get so carried away that we wind up In the aftermath of the Oklahoma
in some cases, legal authority to
doing things that we regret later on,” and,
disaster, politicians are dipping deeper
said Senate Majority Whip Trent gather intelligence.
Many lawmakers have cautioned into the pool of suggested anti-terror;
Lott, R-Miss. . ism tactics and seem freer to propose
The Oklahoma assault came April against moving too hastily, though,
policies that give the federal govern-
19, when a powerful bomb decimated and sorting out the proper parameters
ment significant new authority to study,
federal building, killing for any new law enforcement author-
most of the ; pursue and prosecute suspects.
ity may prove complicated. Clinton outlined some proposed
And amid the general aura of bi-
By Holly Idetson
CQ = APRIL 29, 1995 — 1177
Details of Anti-Terrorism Proposals
rrorism was on the na- New Clinton Proposals
tional agenda even before The president’s proposals
the April 19 bombing in Okla- since the bombing would:
homa City, but the “to do” list e Add 1,000 new federal law
has lengthened in the days enforcement employees to
since the attack. track terrorism threats and
The starting point was the prosecute offenders, and cre-
Clinton administration’s Om- ate an interagency center on
nibus Counterterrorism Act of domestic counterterrorism, to
1995 (HR 896; S 390), which be headed by the FBI.
grew out of recommendations @ Provide the FBI with en-
after the 1993 World Trade {, hanced access to various con-
Center bombing. It focuses on Dole Clinton sumer records, such as credit
the threat from international and financial reports, tele-
terrorists. phone bills and hotel records.
Days after the Oklahoma attack, President Clinton e@ Broaden federal wiretap authority under a court or-
called for additional anti-terrorism measures also address- der for terrorism cases (such as allowing roving wire-
ing domestic terrorism — such as seeking to expand FBI taps), and allow even improperly obtained surveillance
access to credit and phone records in a terrorism investiga- information to be used in court as long as investigators
tion. On April 26, Clinton called for still more, including acted in good faith.
1,000 new federal law enforcement employees to deal with e Allow the military to assist federal law enforcement
terrorism threats. The administration has yet to put those in cases involving chemical and biological weapons and
general proposals into detailed legislative language. other weapons of mass destruction.
Republican leaders in both chambers have additional Currently, the military can only assist in cases in-
plans in mind, circulated both before and after the volving nuclear weapons.
bombing. Below is a summary of key proposals: @ Require that chemical tracing agents, known as
taggants, be added to standard explosive raw materials
Original Clinton Bill and study whether other common chemicals can be
As introduced, the Clinton bill would: made less dangerous.
@ Create a federal crime of international terrorism within e Impose a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10
the United States, giving the federal government clearer years for transferring a firearm or explosive with knowl-
and more comprehensive jurisdiction over offenses related edge that it will be used in a violent or drug trafficking
to such terrorism. The bill also would broaden federal crime.
jurisdiction in bomb threats. And it would expand federal
powers to conduct court-authorized wiretaps in interna- Congressional Proposals
tional terrorism investigations by allowing “roving wire- Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., and Judi-
taps” — eavesdropping that follows the suspect rather ciary Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah,
than being fixed to a particular telephone. had already proposed anti-terrorist measures as part of
@ Make it easier to deport aliens linked to terrorism, the GOP anti-crime bill, S 3. On April 27, they intro-
both through ordinary immigration procedures and by duced an expanded anti-terrorism bill (S 735). It in-
creating a court for suspected terrorists. The special cludes key portions of Clinton’s recommendations, such
court could shield classified information from defen- as making it easier to deport aliens suspected of terror-
dants, who might receive only a summary of the charges ism, increasing investigators’ access to certain financial
against them rather than the full evidence. In some and credit records and expanding the FBI. It also would:
cases, they would not even receive a summary. @ Allow the State Department to deny visas to certain
Under normal deportation proceedings, illegal aliens people who belong to groups suspected of terrorism or,
and non-permanent aliens (such as foreign students) in some cases, who come from countries that sponsor
would have no right to see classified information, This terrorism.
would not apply to legal resident aliens. e Seek to crack down on state-sponsored international
@ Allow the president to designate certain foreign orga- terrorism, such as by banning foreign aid to countries
nizations as “terrorist” entities and prohibit U.S. citi- that assist terrorist governments and making it easier
zens from raising or giving money to such groups. The for the U.S. government to provide anti-terrorism assis-
bill would provide a special licensing procedure for giv- tance to other nations.
ing money to groups on the list provided the money @ Increase penalties for federal crimes linked to terror-
would be used only for charitable or education purposes, ism and designate “conspiracy” as one of the legal com-
e Implement an international treaty on plastic explo- ponents of terrorism, giving federal law enforcement
more power to combat crimes before they happen.
sives, requiring that they be manufactured with a chem-
@ Restrict death row appeals in federal courts.
ical detection agent that would help law enforcement
agents track the materials. —Holly Idelson