Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - May 11, 2007)

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By Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. KYL, and Mr. LIEBERMAN):

S. 1369. A bill to grant immunity from civil liability to any person who voluntarily notifies appropriate security personnel of suspicious activity believed to threaten transportation safety or security or takes reasonable action to mitigate such activity; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation that would provide immunity to individuals who report suspicious activities that may reflect terrorist threats to our transportation system. I am very honored that Senators Kyl and Lieberman have joined me in introducing this important bill.

The recent arrest in New Jersey of six men charged with conspiring to murder American soldiers at Fort Dix underscores the need for this bill. Law enforcement officials have noted that their investigation was triggered by the report of an alert store clerk who said a customer had brought in a video that showed men firing weapons and shouting in Arabic. This reminded the store clerk of the 9/11 terrorists.

But for the report of this store clerk, it is unlikely this potential plot against Fort Dix--a plot that if executed would have caused the loss of lives--would have been uncovered. That store clerk's action may have saved literally hundreds of lives and represents 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 civil responsibility of ordinary American citizens, including the peaceful and tolerant people who form the vast majority of America's Muslim communities.

We must encourage average citizens to be watchful and report behavior that appears to be suspicious or threatening. That imperative is especially strong in the area of mass transportation, where there is the potential for mass casualties, where vehicles and aircraft can be used as weapons, and where there is often only a brief period of time for assessing and reacting to alarming behavior. That is why the slogan ``See something, say something,'' is used in the New York subway.

Unfortunately, we have seen that plaintiffs can misuse our legal system to chill the willingness of average citizens to come forward and report possible dangers. As was widely reported last fall, six Islamic clerics were removed from a USAirways flight after other passengers expressed concerns that some of the clerics had moved out of their assigned seats and had requested, but apparently were not using, seatbelt extenders that could possibly double as weapons.

As a result of that incident, what happened? Well, the USAirways officials decided to remove these individuals from the plane so they could further investigate. What happened to the individuals who courageously came forward and reported this suspicious behavior? Unbelievably, they were sued for voicing their fears that the clerics could be rehearsing or preparing to execute a hijacking. These honestly concerned passengers found themselves as defendants in lawsuits that were filed in March.

The existence of this lawsuit clearly illustrates how unfair it is to allow private citizens to possibly be intimidated into silence by the threat of litigation. Would that alert clerk in the store have come forward if he thought there was a chance he was going to be sued? Would the passengers have spoken up if they had anticipated 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.

Our bill would provide civil immunity in American courts for citizens
acting in good faith who report threats to our transportation systems.

The bill would encourage people to pass on information to appropriate transportation system officials and employees, to law enforcement or transportation security officials, or to the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, or Transportation, without fear of being sued just for doing their civic duty.

Only disclosures made to those responsible officials and employees would be protected by the legislation's grant of immunity. Once a report is received, those officials would be responsible for assessing its reasonableness and determining whether further action is required. If these officials 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 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 bill, should it become law, as I hope it will, as a 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 is an important qualification in this bill--protecting citizens who make good-faith reports 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. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Senator Lieberman and I have been holding a series of hearings, starting last year, in the Homeland Security Committee, to look at the threat of home-grown terrorists, domestic radicalization. We have learned a lot in the past 6 months. What we have learned has only strengthened my determination to push ahead with this bill.

The fact is, each of us has an important responsibility. The fight against domestic terrorism--or, indeed, any kind of terrorism--requires the active involvement of the citizenry of this country. It is not a fight that can be left simply to law enforcement. We simply could never have a sufficient number of law enforcement or intelligence officials to take care of every threat. Indeed, the foiled threat at Fort Dix shows us how important citizen involvement is.

I think this is a reasonable bill. It requires this immunity would be granted only for reports made in good faith. This would help encourage passengers on airlines and on trains to report suspicious activities. I think that is a necessary protection in this day and age.

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