Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding an amendment to the 9/11 Commission Bill that would close existing loopholes and strengthen national security in five key areas. The following are his remarks from the floor.
“This modification is a series of provisions related to terrorism, and in a moment I will describe those provisions. The Majority Leader has indicated that he will file a cloture motion tonight in order to bring the bill to a close. Because we’ve been unable to get an agreement to vote on several of these terrorist-related amendments, I’m prepared to file cloture on this amendment and, therefore, I send a cloture motion to the desk.”
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“By way of explanation, this modified amendment aims to improve our national security in five key areas:
“For the first time, it would make it a crime to recruit people to commit terrorist acts on American soil.
“For the first time, it would allow for the immediate deportation of suspected terrorists whose visas have been revoked for terrorism-related activities.
“For the first time, it would prevent the release of dangerous illegal immigrants whose home countries don’t want them back.
“For the first time, it would make it a crime to reward the families of suicide bombers.
“And it would increase the penalty for those who torment the families of our servicemen and women by calling their families and falsely claiming that their loved ones have been killed in the field of battle.
“It contains five provisions that would make our homeland more secure — by penalizing recruiters, deporting terrorist suspects, keeping dangerous criminals behind bars, and protecting the families of our troops.
“Voting on this amendment won’t slow down the bill. We’ll gladly agree to vitiate cloture in exchange for a Unanimous Consent vote on this. Or, if cloture is invoked, we’ll agree to yield back the 30 hours of post-cloture time to move ahead.
“The war against terrorism requires that we adapt our methods to emerging threats. And that’s precisely what these new and vital provisions would allow us to do.
“Let me just conclude, Madam President, by saying we believe these amendments are definitely related to the bill. We had hoped to be able to get an agreement to have this amendment considered. So far, that’s not occurred, but I want to reiterate, we have no desire to slow down the passage of the bill, and that’s why I felt compelled to file cloture at this time. I yield the floor.”
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“This modification is a series of provisions related to terrorism, and in a moment I will describe those provisions. The Majority Leader has indicated that he will file a cloture motion tonight in order to bring the bill to a close. Because we’ve been unable to get an agreement to vote on several of these terrorist-related amendments, I’m prepared to file cloture on this amendment and, therefore, I send a cloture motion to the desk.”
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“By way of explanation, this modified amendment aims to improve our national security in five key areas:
“For the first time, it would make it a crime to recruit people to commit terrorist acts on American soil.
“For the first time, it would allow for the immediate deportation of suspected terrorists whose visas have been revoked for terrorism-related activities.
“For the first time, it would prevent the release of dangerous illegal immigrants whose home countries don’t want them back.
“For the first time, it would make it a crime to reward the families of suicide bombers.
“And it would increase the penalty for those who torment the families of our servicemen and women by calling their families and falsely claiming that their loved ones have been killed in the field of battle.
“It contains five provisions that would make our homeland more secure — by penalizing recruiters, deporting terrorist suspects, keeping dangerous criminals behind bars, and protecting the families of our troops.
“Voting on this amendment won’t slow down the bill. We’ll gladly agree to vitiate cloture in exchange for a Unanimous Consent vote on this. Or, if cloture is invoked, we’ll agree to yield back the 30 hours of post-cloture time to move ahead.
“The war against terrorism requires that we adapt our methods to emerging threats. And that’s precisely what these new and vital provisions would allow us to do.
“Let me just conclude, Madam President, by saying we believe these amendments are definitely related to the bill. We had hoped to be able to get an agreement to have this amendment considered. So far, that’s not occurred, but I want to reiterate, we have no desire to slow down the passage of the bill, and that’s why I felt compelled to file cloture at this time. I yield the floor.”
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