Improving America's Security Act--Continued

IMPROVING AMERICA'S SECURITY ACT--Continued -- (Senate - March 07, 2007)

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Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, just by way of explanation, this modified amendment aims to improve our national security in five areas. For the first time, it will make it a crime to recruit people to commit terrorist acts on American soil. For the first time, it would allow for the immediate deportation of suspected terrorists whose visas have been revoked for terrorism-related activities. For the first time, it would prevent the release of dangerous illegal immigrants whose home countries actually don't want them back. For the first time, it would make it a crime to reward the families of suicide bombers, and it would increase the penalty for those who torment the families of our service men and women by calling their families and falsely claiming that their loved ones have been killed in the field of battle. It contains five provisions that would make our homeland more secure by penalizing recruiters, deporting terrorist suspects, keeping dangerous criminals behind bars, and protecting the families of our troops.

Voting on this amendment will not slow down the bill. We are not interested in doing that. We will gladly agree to vitiate cloture in exchange for a unanimous consent vote on this amendment or, if cloture is invoked, we will agree to yield back the 30 hours of postcloture time in order to move ahead.

The war against terrorism requires that we adapt our methods to emerging threats, and that is precisely what these new and vital provisions would allow us to do.

Let me conclude by saying we believe these amendments are definitely related to the bill. We had hoped to be able to get an agreement to have this amendment considered. So far, that has not occurred, but we want to reiterate we have no desire to slow down the passage of the bill. That is why I felt compelled to file cloture at this time.

I yield the floor.

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