Mr. Chairman, I am glad to see the Committee reporting S. 113, Federal Judiciary Protection Act of 1999, today. It is troubling that the greatest democracy in the world needs to examine and pass legislation to protect the hard working men and women who serve in our federal government. But, unfortunately, we are seeing more violence and threats of violence against our federal officials.

Last year, a courtroom in Urbana, Illinois was firebombed, apparently by a disgruntled litigant. This followed the horrible tragedy in 1995 of the bombing of the federal office building in Oklahoma City. In my home state of Vermont during the summer of 1997, a Vermont border patrol officer, John Pfeiffer, was seriously wounded by Carl Drega during a shootout with Vermont officers in which Drega lost his life. Earlier that day, Drega shot and killed two state troopers and a local judge in New Hampshire apparently because he was bent on settling a grudge against the judge who had ruled against him in a land dispute.

I had a chance to visit John Pfeiffer in the hospital and met his wife and young daughter. Thankfully, Agent Pfeiffer has returned to work along the Vermont border. As a federal law enforcement officer, Agent Pfeiffer and his family deserve our utmost respect and gratitude.

There is, of course, no excuse or justification for someone taking the law into their own hands and attacking or threatening a judge or law enforcement officer. Still, the United States Marshal Service is concerned with more and more threats of harm to our judges and law enforcement officers.

I was proud to join with Senators Gordon Smith, Thurmond, Jeffords, Hagel, and Cochran last year to introduce S. 113, the Federal Judiciary Protection Act. Our bipartisan legislation would provide greater protection to federal judges, law enforcement officers and their families. Specifically, it would do the following: increase the maximum prison term for forcible assaults, resistance, opposition, intimidation or interference with a federal judge or law enforcement officer from three years imprisonment to eight years; increase the maximum prison term for use of a deadly weapon or infliction of bodily injury against a federal judge or law enforcement officer from ten years imprisonment to twenty years; and increase the maximum prison term for threatening murder of kidnaping of a member of the immediate family of a federal judge or law enforcement officer from five years imprisonment to ten years. It has the support of the Department of Justice, the United States Judicial Conference, the United States Sentencing Commission and the United States Marshal Service.

In the last Congress, I was pleased to cosponsor nearly identical legislation introduced by Senator Smith. Our bill was unanimously passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate but was not acted upon by the House of Representatives. I commend the Senator from Oregon for his continued leadership in protecting our federal judiciary.

The extreme rhetoric that some have used in the past to attack the judiciary only feeds the hysteria. For example, one of the Republican leaders in the House has been quoted as saying: “The judges need to be intimidated,” and if they do not behave, “we’re going to go after them in a big way.” I know that this official did not intend to encourage violence against any federal official, but this extreme rhetoric only serves to degrade federal judges in the eyes of the public. Let none of us in Congress contribute to the atmosphere of hate and violence in this country. Let us treat the judicial branch and those who serve within it with the respect that is essential to preserving its public standing.

We have the greatest judicial system in the world, the envy of people around the globe who are struggling for freedom. It is the independence of our third, co-equal branch of government that gives it the ability to act fairly and impartially. It is our judiciary that has protected our fundamental rights and freedoms and served as a necessary check on over-reaching by the other two branches, those more susceptible to the gusts of political winds of the moment.

We are fortunate to have dedicated women and men throughout our federal government who do a tremendous job under difficult circumstances. There are numerous examples of hard-working public servants who are too often maligned and unfairly disparaged. It is unfortunate that it takes acts or threats of violence to put a human face on our federal bureaucracy and remind everyone that these are people with children and parents and cousins and friends. They deserve our respect and our protection.

I am glad we are reporting this important measure today and urge my colleagues to support the Federal Judiciary Protection Act when it comes before the full Senate.

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