Joseph Woodrow Hatchett United States Courthouse and Federal Building

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share my concerns regarding the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. While I support the underlying bill and appreciate that several Republican Senators finally came to the table to work with Democrats to address our nation's gun violence epidemic, I remain troubled by the legislation's possible expansion of the federal death penalty and the creation of broad new criminal offenses that may disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities.

Specifically, with regard to the expansion of the federal death penalty, I have not been given a clear answer as to the impact of the legislation's additions to the definition of ``racketeering activity'' in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1961(1), commonly known as ``RICO predicates.'' On its face and cross referencing the impacted provisions in Title 18, it appears that murder committed in the furtherance of these new RICO predicates would trigger the federal death penalty. In states that do not have the death penalty, this creates an opportunity for federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in states where it does not currently exist. It is possible that but for these changes, a new universe of defendants would now be subject to the federal death penalty.

The Senate Judiciary Committee staff circulated a document that appears to confirm my reading of this provision. However, the Department of Justice sent a dismissive e-mail to staff simply stating that ``changes to RICO laws do not constitute an expansion of the potential applications of the federal death penalty as a matter of law.'' While I hope this is indeed the case, DOJ provided no citation to federal law or reference to internal Department memorandum directing charging decisions. I hope that the Department provides Congress with their legal authority on this matter expeditiously.

I also consulted several experts in the criminal justice defense community who also confirmed that this bill expands federal death penalty-eligible offenses. However, there is no consensus as to the magnitude of these expansions. While this may in fact not be a measurable expansion, I have been troubled by the lack of comprehensive legal analysis available for a reasonable understanding of the breadth of this legislation.

While I find this troubling, I will vote in favor of this bill. It should not go uncelebrated that this is the first significant legislative effort in thirty years that attempts to address the scourge of gun violence in our country. I have a long record of supporting measures to curb the epidemic of gun violence and it includes provisions I have long supported. This bill closes the boyfriend loophole for domestic abusers, enhances background checks for those aged 18 to 21 when purchasing a gun, and provides incentives to states to enact red flag laws that protects individuals in crisis from perpetuating further harm on themselves or others. But without adequate time for members and the American public to review the unintended consequences of the many provisions within the bill, many questions are left unanswered where they should not be for such a significant piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, despite my strong concerns, I applaud the bipartisan effort that went into crafting this legislation. With reservations about the bill's potential to expand the federal death penalty, I will vote for yes because of the assurance from the Department of Justice and the positive strides towards creating safer communities that the bill seeks to achieve.

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