SENATE APPROVES KYL-FEINSTEIN COUNTERTERRORISM ACT
November 15, 2000

Washington, DC -- The U.S. Senate last night approved legislation sponsored by Senators Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) and Dianne Feinstein (D-California) to improve our nation’s ability to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.

The measure, the Counterterrorism Act of 2000 (S. 3205), is based on many of the recommendations of the Congressionally mandated National Commission on Terrorism, a ten-member bipartisan group of experts recommending improvements in the United States’ counterterrorism efforts.

Senator Kyl is chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information and Senator Feinstein is the Ranking Member.

The following is Senator Feinstein’s statement on the legislation:

“I believe that we need to take strong action to combat terrorism. There is no question that terrorist attacks will continue and that they will become more deadly. Terrorists today often act out of a visceral hatred of the United States or the West and seek to wreak maximum destruction and kill as many people as possible.

At the same time, I believe that our counterterrorism policy must be conducted in a way that remains consistent with our democratic values and our commitment to an open, free society.

The Kyl-Feinstein Counterterrorism Act of 2000 is not a panacea for the problem of terrorism. Rather, it seeks to implement a number of specific improvements to our counterterrorism policy unanimously suggested by the Commission on Terrorism, a bipartisan group of experts.

Specifically, the Counterterrorism Act of 2000 would:

* Urge that the U.S. government continue to take strong and effective actions to investigate the recent attack on the U.S.S. Cole and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. The assault on the Cole is the worst against the U.S. military since the bombing of an Air Force barracks in Saudi Arabia killed 19 airmen in 1996. It is also the worst attack on a Navy ship since an Iraqi missile struck an American guided-missile frigate in 1987, killing 37 sailors.

* Require the U.S. Department of Justice to review legal authority of federal agencies responsible for responding to a catastrophic terrorist attack and determine whether additional legal authority is necessary.

* Require the President to establish a program for long-term research and development to counter catastrophic terrorist attacks and submit a report to Congress on this program. It also expresses the sense of Congress that there should be more long-term research and development in this area.

* Mandate that the attorney general issue a report on how to improve U.S. controls on biological pathogens and the equipment necessary to produce biological weapons, and requires the Health & Human Services secretary to issue a report on any appropriate actions that should be taken to protect against unlawful diversion of pathogens.

* Require that the President establish a joint task force to develop a broad approach toward discouraging the fund-raising activities of international terrorist organizations and that the task force issue a report.

* Require the FBI to report on whether it can set up a central mechanism to distribute intelligence information it gleans about international terrorists to other members of the intelligence community.

* Direct the President to review the type of information shared by U.S. law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies as well as legal limitations on the sharing of this information. The president shall provide any recommendations regarding the sharing of foreign intelligence or counterintelligence information between such agencies.

* Mandate that the CIA shall issue a report responding to the Commission on Terrorism’s finding that the CIA should scrap a internal classified guideline requiring CIA agents to get approval from headquarters before recruiting unsavory individuals to act as informants about terrorism.

* Express the Sense of Congress that Syria and Iran should remain on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

* Ensure that federal counterintelligence personnel be fully reimbursed for buying insurance they purchase to protect themselves from liability if they are sued for their officially authorized activities. Currently, the government reimburses federal criminal law enforcement officers, supervisors, and management officials for one-half of their insurance expenses. These individuals purchase professional liability insurance because government representation may not be available to them

However, FBI special agents and CIA officers who do counterterrorism work may not be reimbursed at all when they buy such insurance. This is particularly unfortunate because counterterrorism work is so risky–especially when the work occurs overseas. There can be few more dangerous tasks than infiltrating a terrorist cell in, say, Yemen or Afghanistan.

The bill also lays the groundwork for a number of further improvements. We will be revisiting many of the issues covered by the bill in the next Congress once we receive more detailed information and recommendations from the Executive Branch. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress and with the next Administration to implement S. 3205.

In many ways, the Kyl-Feinstein Counterterrorism Act of 2000 is a counterpart bill to the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act that recently passed the Senate 95 to 0. That legislation, which I cosponsored, will make it easier for American victims of terrorism abroad to collect court-awarded compensation and ensure that the state sponsors of terrorism pay a price for their crimes.

While I strongly support assisting terrorist victims, I also believe that we need to do more to prevent Americans from becoming victims of terrorism in the first place. Thus, I am glad that the Senate has acted to pass S. 3205 with such dispatch. It is crucial to act now before terrorists strike again, killing and injuring more Americans and leaving more families grieving. I urge the House to pass S. 3205 before we adjourn.

In conclusion, I want to thank my good friend Senator Kyl for his tireless efforts to get this bill passed. His work, as always, has been invaluable. I also thank my other colleagues for their assistance in helping us pass this bill. I know Senator Leahy, for instance, initially had a number of concerns with the legislation. I am grateful for the time he spent working through these issues with us, and I am glad that we can move this bill forward unanimously.”