Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ROONEY. Mr. Speaker, the protections provided by the United States Secret Service are vital to assessing security threats and providing a secure environment for our Nation's leaders.

One key aspect of the Service's mission is to secure buildings and grounds where our leaders work and live, including the White House and the Naval Observatory. My bill would explicitly protect these residences of the President and the Vice President from intruders and would clarify current law to distinguish between those who are able to enter the grounds lawfully, like the Secret Service, and those who enter without permission.

This bipartisan bill would improve existing criminal law to ensure that the Secret Service can continue to implement strategies that prevent potentially catastrophic security breaches. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation to protect our Nation's leaders and national security.

I thank Mr. Smith from Texas for his leadership on this issue, the Judiciary Committee, and Mr. Johnson of Georgia.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source