Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
SENATE
Sept. 14, 2004
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. GRASSLEY:

S. 2799. A bill to amend title 18 of the United States Code to increase the penalties for smuggling goods into the United States; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President. The safety and security of our Nation's borders has been on all of our minds lately. In the past, we have approached the problem in a stovepipe manner, focusing on what illegal items criminals were bringing across our borders. We need to begin thinking about these challenges differently.

Increasingly, smuggling organizations do not tie themselves to the movement of one particular commodity, but are specialists in smuggling merchandise of any type into the United States undetected. So long as there is profit to be made, smugglers don't really care what they smuggle. If we are going to encourage effective investigations and prosecutions of these smuggling organizations, we must ensure sufficient penalties to send a clear message that smuggling-whether it's heroin, pirated CDs, AK-47s, or look-a-like designer hand bags-is wrong, and will be severely punished.

Today I am introducing a bill that will do just that. It is very simple. Raise the penalty for smuggling contraband into the United States from a maximum of 5 years to a maximum of 20 years. This will give prosecutors and law enforcement agents a better tool to go after those who try and evade our customs, border, and port security efforts. If we are serious about securing our borders, then we need to be serious about punishing those who try and evade our controls. I urge my colleagues to join me in sponsoring this legislation.