Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy
The Federal Judiciary Protection Act (S.1099)
July 26, 2001
I am pleased that the Committee is considering the Smith-Leahy Federal Judiciary Protection Act, S. 1099.
In the last two Congresses, I joined as an original cosponsor of identical legislation introduced by Senator Gordon Smith, which unanimously passed 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 public servants in our Federal government.
Our bipartisan legislation would provide greater protection to Federal judges, law enforcement officers, and United States officials and their families. Federal law enforcement officers, under our bill, include United States Capitol Police Officers. United States officials, under our bill, include the President, Vice President, Cabinet Secretaries and Members of Congress.
Specifically, our legislation would: increase the maximum prison term for forcible assaults, resistance, intimidation or interference with a Federal judge, law enforcement officer or United States official from 3 years imprisonment to 8 years; increase the maximum prison term for use of a deadly weapon or infliction of bodily injury against a Federal judge, law enforcement officer or United States official from 10 years imprisonment to 20 years; and increase the maximum prison term for threatening murder or kidnapping of a member of the immediate family of a Federal judge or law enforcement officer from 5 years imprisonment to 10 years.
Our bipartisan bill has the support of the Department of Justice, the United States Judicial Conference, the United States Sentencing Commission and the United States Marshal Service.
It is most troubling that the greatest democracy in the world needs this legislation to protect the hard working men and women who serve in our Federal government. Just last month, I was saddened to read about death threats against my colleague from Vermont after his act of conscience in declaring himself an Independent.
Senator Jeffords received multiple threats against his life, which forced around-the-clock police protection. These unfortunate threats made a difficult time even more difficult for Senator Jeffords and his family.
We are seeing more violence and threats of violence against officials of our Federal government. This week we commemorated the lives of two Capitol Police officers, Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson, who were slain in the line of duty in the Capitol Building in 1998. A courtroom in Urbana, Illinois, was firebombed recently, apparently by a disgruntled litigant. And we also continue to mourn the victims of the horrible tragedy of the bombing of the federal office building in Oklahoma City in 1995.
In my home state during the summer of 1997, a Vermont border patrol officer, John Pfieffer, was seriously wounded by Carl Drega, during a shootout with Vermont and New Hampshire law enforcement 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, Drega 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 Pfieffer in the hospital and met his wife and young daughter. As a federal law enforcement officer, Agent Pfieffer and his family will receive greater protection under our bill.
We are fortunate to have dedicated women and men throughout the Federal Judiciary and Federal government in this country who do a tremendous job under difficult circumstances. They are examples of the hard-working public servants that make up the federal government, 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 the Federal Judiciary, law enforcement officers or U.S. officials, to remind everyone that these are people with children and parents and friends. They deserve our respect and our protection.
# # # # #