Cornyn Statement on Two Men Arrested for Alleged Plot to Purchase Shoulder-Fire Missile

CORNYN STATEMENT ON TWO MEN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED PLOT TO PURCHASE SHOULDER-FIRE MISSILE

WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, made the following statement Thursday regarding the arrest of two men in Albany, New York connected with an alleged plot to purchase a shoulder-fired missile. As part of a comprehensive anti-terror legislation package introduced in July, Sen. Cornyn introduced the Prevention of Terrorist Access to Destructive Weapons Act of 2004 (S. 2664), and the Weapons of Mass Destruction Prohibition Improvement Act (S. 2665).

"The arrests today are another reminder that the threat against our homeland is both frightening and real, and that our prevention and response must always be more aggressive than our enemies' intent. In the wrong hands, weapons such as shoulder-fired missiles have the ability to cause widespread harm to the American people and the U.S. economy, and to threaten our national security.

"Current penalties for the unlawful possession of such weapons do not adequately reflect the serious threat to public safety and national security posed by their enormous destructive power. The legislation I introduced recently will impose strong, mandatory penalties for even the possession of these weapons, which are among the greatest threat to civil aviation today."