Judiciary Committee Approves Local Lawmaker’s Amendments to
Secure Nuclear Stockpiles, Prosecute Nuclear Smugglers Under
RICO, Provide Tougher Penalties for Making “Dirty Bomb”
WASHINGTON, DC – The House Judiciary Committee yesterday approved five important amendments proposed by Congressman Adam Schiff (CA-29) to the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act (H.R. 10).
To prevent terrorist or rogue nations from acquiring nuclear materials, Schiff’s first amendment requires the President to develop a plan to secure the most vulnerable of nuclear sites and destroy nuclear stockpiles around the world. Another amendment would require the President to develop a comprehensive counter-proliferation strategy, including efforts to secure nuclear material in the former Soviet Union. A third calls for the United States to develop an international legal structure to prevent the smuggling of nuclear materials and technology – an item taken directly from the 9/11 Commission report.
“The most dangerous national security threat faced by the United States today is unsecured nuclear material,” Congressman Schiff said. “The 9/11 Commission noted that Osama Bin Laden wants to carry out another ‘Hiroshima.’ We cannot allow nuclear materials to get into the wrong hands, and my amendments are an important step in fully addressing this threat.”
Congressman Schiff has been a longtime advocate of securing nuclear material, most recently testifying in May before the House Rules Committee in favor of adding $200 million to various nonproliferation programs in the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Energy (DOE). In April, he authored the “Global Cleanout” bill (H.R. 4212) which would make significant investments in these efforts.
The Committee also approved Congressman Schiff’s move to use racketeering laws (RICO) to crack down on nuclear material smugglers. The Schiff amendment adds illegally dealing in chemical, biological and nuclear materials to the racketeering statutes and gives law enforcement powerful new tools to go after proliferators, like Pakistan’s notorious A.Q. Khan. Another amendment authored by Schiff provides the death penalty or life in prison for illegally developing a radiological “dirty bomb.” “As a former federal prosecutor, I know how crucial it is to have tough laws on the books,” Congressman Schiff said. “This will be a powerful new addition in a prosecutor’s legal arsenal.”
The Committee also adopted an amendment co-sponsored by Congressman Schiff to create a bipartisan Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to advise the Administration on how best to implement new anti-terrorism laws and policies without infringing on the private lives of law-abiding citizens. “We need to maintain a careful balance between effectively rooting out terrorist cells and maintaining our traditional freedoms,” Congressman Schiff said. A later amendment, opposed by Schiff, removed important subpoena powers from the Board.
In addition, the Committee rejected an amendment co-sponsored by Congressman Schiff that would have replaced the bill’s language with the much more comprehensive provisions of the McCain-Lieberman 9/11 Commission Report Implementation Act of 2004 (S. 2774) currently being considered in the Senate.
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks released its findings and recommendations on July 22, most prominently advocating the creation of a National Intelligence Director within the Executive Office of the President to oversee all intelligence-gathering functions. H.R. 10 is now moving through the legislative process to implement many of their recommendations, passing the House Judiciary Committee yesterday.
Congressman Schiff is the co-founder of the Democratic Study Group on National Security and a member of both the House Judiciary and International Relations committees. He represents California’s 29th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, East Pasadena, East San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City.