[Congressional Record: April 23, 2009 (Senate)]
[Page S4680-S4682]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Lieberman):
S. 879. A bill to amend the Homeland Security Act to provide immunity
for reports of suspected terrorist activity or suspicious behavior and
response; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai,
India, are a sobering reminder that terrorists continue to threaten our
Nation and civilized people throughout the world. An alert citizenry is
our first line of defense against terrorist attacks, particularly
attacks like those in Mumbai. Our laws must protect individuals from
frivolous lawsuits when they report, in good faith, suspicious behavior
that may indicate terrorist activity. That is why I am introducing
legislation, with Senator Lieberman, that will provide these important
protections.
In the 2007 homeland security law, Chairman Lieberman and I
coauthored a provision to encourage people to report potential
terrorist threats directed against transportation systems. This new
legislation would expand those protections to reports of suspicious
behavior in sectors other than transportation. For example, reports of
suspicious activity could be equally important in detecting terrorist
plans to attack ``soft targets'' like the hotels, restaurants, and
religious institutions targeted in Mumbai.
Real life examples highlight the need for this bill. In December
2008, a Federal jury convicted 5 men from New Jersey of conspiring to
murder American soldiers at Fort Dix. According to law enforcement
officials, the report of an alert store clerk, who reported that a
customer had brought in a video showing men firing weapons and shouting
in Arabic, triggered their investigation. But for the report of this
vigilant store clerk, law enforcement may not have disrupted this plot
against Fort Dix.
That store clerk's action likely saved hundreds of lives. It also
reveals a core truth of the dangerous times in which we live. Our
safety depends on more than just police officers, intelligence
analysts, and soldiers. It also depends on the alertness and civic
responsibility of all Americans.
We must encourage citizens to be watchful and to report suspicious
activity whenever it occurs. That imperative is even stronger in the
aftermath of the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, where it
appears that the terrorists performed reconnaissance on a number of the
targets before the actual attacks.
Senator Lieberman and I recently convened two hearings in the
Homeland Security Committee to examine lessons learned from those
horrific attacks. These hearings have reinforced our long-standing
concern that terrorists might shift their attention from high-value,
high-security targets to less secure commercial facilities, where there
is the potential for mass casualties and widespread panic. As we
witnessed during the three-day siege of Mumbai, commercial facilities
or ``soft
[[Page S4681]]
targets,'' such as the Taj Mahal, Trident, and Oberoi Hotels, are
vulnerable, tempting targets.
Many of the Committee's witnesses during these hearings, including
Charles Allen, DHS's Chief Intelligence Officer, Donald Van Duyn, the
FBI's Chief Intelligence Officer, New York City Police Commissioner
Raymond Kelley, and Al Orlob, Marriott International's Vice President
for Corporate Security, endorsed the idea of expanding the 2007 law
beyond the transportation sector. Indeed, Commissioner Kelley said that
the 2007 law ``made eminently good sense'' and recommended ``that it be
expanded [to other sectors] if at all possible.''
Unfortunately, we have seen that our legal system can be used to
chill the willingness of citizens to come forward and report possible
dangers. As widely reported by the media in 2006, US Airways removed 6
Islamic clerics from a flight after other passengers expressed concerns
that some of the clerics had moved out of the their assigned seats and
had requested, but were not using, seat belt extenders that could
possibly double as weapons. In response to these concerns, US Airways
officials removed these individuals from the plane so that they could
further investigate.
For voicing their reasonable fears that these passengers could be
rehearsing or preparing to execute a hijacking, these honestly
concerned travelers found themselves as defendants in a civil rights
lawsuit and accused of bigotry. The old adage about how ``no good deed
goes unpunished'' is quite apt here.
The existence of this lawsuit clearly illustrates how unfair it is to
allow private citizens to be intimidated into silence by the threat of
litigation. Would the passengers have spoken up if they had anticipated
that there would be a lawsuit filed against them? Even if such suits
fail, they can expose citizens to heavy costs in time and legal fees.
The bill we introduce today would provide civil immunity in American
courts for any person acting in good faith who reports any suspicious
transaction, activity, or occurrence related to an act of terrorism.
Specifically, the bill would encourage people to pass on information to
Federal officials with responsibility for preventing, protecting
against, disrupting, or responding to a terrorist act or to Federal,
State, and local law enforcement officials without fear of being sued
for doing their civic duty. Only disclosures made to those responsible
officials would be protected by the legislation.
Once a report is received, those officials would be responsible for
assessing its reasonableness and determining whether further action is
required. If they take reasonable action to mitigate the reported
threat, they, too, would be protected from lawsuits. Just as we should
not discourage reporting suspicious incidents, we also should not
discourage reasonable responses to them.
Let me make very clear that this bill does not offer any protection
whatsoever if an individual makes a statement that he or she knows to
be false. No one will be able to use this protection as cover for
mischievous, vengeful, or biased falsehoods.
Our laws and legal system must not be hijacked to intimidate people
into silence or to prevent our officials from responding to terrorist
threats. Protecting citizens who make good faith reports--and that's an
important condition in this bill--of potentially lethal activities is
essential to maintaining our homeland security. Our bill offers
protection in a measured way that discourages abuses from either side.
Each of us has an important responsibility in the fight against
terrorism. It is not a fight that can be left to law enforcement alone.
The police simply can't be everywhere. Whether at a hotel, a mall, or
an arena, homeland security and law enforcement officials need all
citizens to alert them to unattended packages and behavior that appears
out of the ordinary.
Many national organizations, such as the Fraternal Order of Police,
the National Sheriffs' Association, the National Troopers Coalition,
and the National Association of Town Watch, support this legislation.
If someone ``sees something'' suspicious, Congress has an obligation
to ensure that he or she will ``say something'' about it. This bill
promotes and protects that civic duty. I urge my colleagues to support
it.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be placed in
the Record, as follows;
National Troopers Coalition
March 24, 2009.
Hon. Susan Collins,
Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Collins: On behalf of the National Troopers
Coalition and its 40,000 members comprised of State Troopers
and Highway Patrol Officers, I am writing in support of your
efforts to pass the ``See Something, Say Something Act''. We
applaud your efforts to keep this country safe.
Our nation is currently at war against terrorists that want
to destroy our country and disrupt our way of life. It is
vital that we remain vigilant in our efforts to combat
terrorism and keep our country safe. The See Something, Say
Something Act, will provide necessary liability protections
for citizens that report suspicious activity and for law
enforcement officers that act upon these reports. We live in
a litigious society and one should not be fearful of
litigation when determining if he or she should report
suspicious activities that could prevent catastrophic loss of
life. What we have learned in our efforts to combat terrorism
is that everyone needs to remain vigilant and report all
suspicious activities.
We support your efforts to provide liability protections
for citizens acting in good faith that report suspicious
activity. We can not turn a ``blind eye'' to the terrorists
we are fighting and we must encourage and support an ever
vigilant society.
Respectfully,
A. Bradford Card,
Federal Government Affairs (NTC), for: Michael Edes,
Chairman, National Troopers Coalition.
____
National Sheriffs' Association,
Alexandria, VA, March 24, 2009.
Hon. Susan M. Collins,
Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Collins: On behalf of the National Sheriffs'
Association (NSA), I am writing to express our support for
the See Something, Say something Act of 2009.
As you may know, the National Sheriffs' Association is the
creator of the Neighborhood Watch Program which is one of the
oldest and best-known citizen and law enforcement based crime
prevention concepts in the United States. In the late 1960s,
an increase in crime heightened the need for a crime
prevention initiative focused on residential areas involving
local citizens. We responded, creating the National
Neighborhood Watch Program in 1972 to assist citizens and law
enforcement.
For nearly four decades, particularly after the terrorist
attacks in 2001, the nation's sheriffs have witnessed
firsthand, citizens becoming more empowered by becoming
active in homeland security efforts through participation in
Neighborhood Watch. Thus, we understand and recognize the
importance of encouraging citizen involvement and the role
they play in ensuring homeland security.
The proposed measure would build on this concept by
providing the needed legal protections to individuals who
report suspicious activity to an authorized official, in good
faith, that might reflect terrorist threats. Additionally, it
would provide qualified immunity from civil liability for an
authorized official who takes reasonable action in good faith
to respond to the reported activity.
We thank you for your continued leadership and support of
the nation's emergency responders.
Sincerely,
Sheriff David A. Goad,
President.
____
National Association of
Town Watch,
Wynnewood, PA, March 24, 2009.
Hon. Susan M. Collins,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Collins: On behalf of the National Association
of Town Watch (NATW), I am writing to express our support for
the See Something, Say Something Act of 2009.
The National Association of Town Watch is a nonprofit,
crime prevention organization whose members include citizen
crime watch groups, law enforcement agencies and other
organizations across the country involved in organized,
anticrime activities. NATW also sponsors the annual
``National Night Out'' crime prevention event which has grown
to involve over 15,000 communities from all 50 states on the
first Tuesday each August.
Since 1981, NATW has always promoted the concept of
citizens working in close cooperation with their local law
enforcement and serving as ``extra eyes and ears.'' The
proposed legislation blends beautifully with NATW's mission.
It is critical to legally protect individuals who report
suspicious activity to an authorized official, in good faith,
that might reflect terrorist threats. This legislation also
would provide qualified immunity from civil liability for an
authorized official who takes reasonable action in good faith
to respond to the reported activity.
We thank you for bringing this legislation forward and for
supporting law enforcement
[[Page S4682]]
and concerned citizens across our great nation.
Sincerely,
Matt A. Peskin,
Executive Director.
____
National Fraternal Order
of Police,
Washington, DC, April 22, 2009.
Hon. Susan M. Collins,
Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Collins, On behalf of the membership of the
Fraternal Order of Police, I am writing to advise you of our
strong support for the bill you have introduced entitled the
``See Something, Say Something Act.''
Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 every
American, especially law enforcement officers, have become
more vigilant. Unfortunately, the increasingly litigious
nature of our society may result in many citizens choosing to
``stay out of it''--even if they see something or someone
suspicious. Citizens who have reported suspicious activity
and law enforcement officers who have acted on these reports
have been sued in Federal, State and local courts even though
their concerns were reasonable and without malice. The result
is that all of us may be more hesitant to report or act upon
any suspicious behavior we might see.
Congress took a step in the right direction in 2007 when it
passed legislation granting immunity from civil liability for
citizens who report suspicious activity and law enforcement
officers who act upon such reports involving threats to
transportation security. Your bill would expand this immunity
to cover all suspicious activity whether it is in a train
station, a Federal building, or a sports stadium. This bill
will not only protect vigilant individuals from frivolous
lawsuits, but it also greatly increases our nation's
security.
On behalf of the more than 327,000 members of the Fraternal
Order of Police, I would like to thank you again for your
leadership on this issue. If I can be of any further
assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me, or
Executive Director Jim Pasco, in my Washington office.
Sincerely,
Chuck Canterbury,
National President.
______
