Saturday, 22 September 2001
.....
I have been trying to determine how members of Congress have been spending their legislative time since the terrorist attacks on 11 September. One way to do that is to read the speeches they've given.
That was a good idea and a bad experience. The speeches are uniformly terrible, often embarassingly so. I had finally to abandon to the historical obscurity they deserve, if for no other reason than to preserve my blood pressure and my sanity.
Then it occurred to me to look at what Congress has been doing, and one way to do that is to look at the 100 plus bills that the House and Senate have either jointly or separately introduced, passed, or debated (from 12 to 20 September). There's also important legislative drafts floating around, which await introduction in the Congress; most notably, Ashcroft's Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001, which in its present state is very troubling with regard to privacy rights.
To be clear: not all of this proposed legislation is or will become law. But it is a good indication of what Congress has been doing.
H.C.R. 223 Permitting the use of the rotunda of the Capitol for a prayer vigil in memory of those who lost their lives in the events of September 11, 2001.
H.C.R. 224 Expressing the sense of the Congress that, as a symbol of solidarity following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, every United States citizen is encouraged to display the flag of the United States.
H.J.61 Expressing the sense of the Senate and House of Representatives regarding the terrorist attacks launched against the United States on September 11, 2001.
S.1416 To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2002 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe personnel strengths for such fiscal year for the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.
H.R.2877 To require that United States assistance may be provided to the government of a foreign country only if a treaty of extradition between that country and the United States is in force, or the government of that country and the United States have entered into negotiations to conclude a treaty of extradition.
H.J.R.62 Declaring a state of war between the United States and international terrorists and their sponsors.
H.J.R.63 Declaring that a state of war exists between the United States and any entity determined by the President to have planned, carried out, or otherwise supported the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, and authorizing the President to use United States Armed Forces and all other necessary resources of the United States Government against any such entity in order to bring the conflict to a successful termination.
H.R.2886 To amend title 10, United States Code, to authorize the award of the Purple Heart to civilian employees of the Department of Defense who are killed or wounded by a terrorist attack.
H.R.2882 To provide for the expedited payment of certain benefits for a public safety officer who was killed or suffered a catastrophic injury as a direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty in connection with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
H.R.2884 Victims of Terrorism Relief Act of 2001. To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax relief for victims of the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.
H.R.2888 Making emergency supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2001 for additional disaster assistance, for anti-terrorism initiatives, and for assistance in the recovery from the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
S.1421 To direct the Federal Aviation Administration to re-implement the sky marshal program within 30 days.
S.1422 To provide for the expedited payment of certain benefits for a public safety officer who was killed or suffered a catastrophic injury as a direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty in connection with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
S.1429 To provide for the improvement of security at airports and seaports.
H.R.2889 To lift the nuclear test sanctions against India.
S.1430 To authorize the issuance of Unity Bonds in response to the acts of terrorism perpetrated against the United States on September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
S.1431 To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to issue War Bonds in support of recovery and response efforts relating to the September 11, 2001 hijackings and attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, and for other purposes.
S.1432 To authorize the issuance of United States Defense of Freedom Bonds to aid in funding of the war against terrorism, and for other purposes.
H.R.2894 To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to increase the maximum amount of an award paid under the Department of State rewards program in connection with the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
H.R.2891 To preserve the continued viability of the United States air transportation system.
H.R.2895 To amend title 49, United States Code, to require that the screening of passengers and property on flights in air transportation be carried out by employees of the Federal Aviation Administration, to expand the Federal Air Marshal program of the Federal Aviation Administration, to establish requirements for carry-on baggage on flights in air transportation, and for other purposes.
H.R.2896 To provide for the safety of United States aviation and the suppression of terrorism.
H.C.R.227 Condemning bigotry and violence against Arab-Americans, American Muslims, and Americans from South Asia in the wake of terrorist attacks in New York City, New York, and Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001.
H.C.R.230 Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the establishment of a National Day of Remembrance.
H.C.R.238 Condemning any price gouging with respect to motor fuels during the hours and days after the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001.
H.C.R.239 Providing Capitol-flown flags to each surviving victim, and the family of each deceased victim, of the terrorist attacks which occurred on September 11, 2001.
H.C.R.228 Expressing the sense of the Congress that the children who lost one or both parents or a guardian in the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center and Pentagon tragedies (including the aircraft crash in Somerset County, Pennsylvania) should be provided with all necessary assistance, services, and benefits and urging the heads of Federal agencies responsible for providing such assistance, services and benefits to give the highest possible priority to providing such assistance, services and benefits to those children.
H.R.2897 To provide for the granting of posthumous citizenship to certain aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence who died as a result of the hijackings of 4 commercial aircraft, the attacks on the World Trade Center, or the attack on the Pentagon, on September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
H.J.R.64 To authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States.
H.R.2899 War Bonds Act of 2001 To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to issue War Bonds in support of recovery and response efforts relating to the September 11, 2001 hijackings and attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, and for other purposes.
H.R.2900 Victory Bonds Act of 2001 To authorize the issuance of Victory Bonds in response to the acts of terrorism perpetrated against the United States on September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
S.C.R.66 To express the sense of the Congress that the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor should be awarded to public safety officers killed in the line of duty in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
H.R.2902 Phoenix Fund for Victim Assistance Act of 2001 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to designate that part or all of any income tax refund be paid over to a Phoenix Fund for Victim Assistance.
S.1435 To provide that covert investigative practices involving Federal attorneys in criminal investigations and prosecutions shall not be considered dishonest, fraudulent, deceitful, or misrepresentative, and for other purposes.
H.R.2916 To authorize the President to award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to the passengers and crew of United Airlines flight 93 in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001.
H.R.2917 To authorize the President to award gold medals on behalf of Congress to the people aboard United Airlines Flight 93 who helped resist the hijackers and caused the plane to crash prematurely.
H.R.2921 To authorize the President to award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to Jeremy Glick of West Milford, New Jersey, a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 for acts of bravery, courage, and patriotism.
H.R.2905 To require that the United States Postal Service issue a special commemorative postage stamp under section 416 of title 39, United States Code, in order to provide assistance in the case of emergency relief personnel who were killed or who suffer permanent disability as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
H.R.2907 To provide for the issuance of a semipostal for the benefit of victims of the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, and for other purposes.
H.R.2909 To direct the Federal Aviation Administration to re-implement the sky marshal program within 30 days, and for other purposes.
H.R.2913 To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to carry out the screening of passengers and property on flights in air transportation, and for other purposes.
H.R.2915 To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to the interception of communications, and for other purposes.
See also Congress Must Not Abdicate to Bush <http://monkeyfist.com/articles/779>
This is Congressional Response to Terrorist Attacks <http://monkeyfist.com/articles/783>