IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 180

Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should not have granted

clemency to terrorists.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 8, 1999

Mr. FOSSELLA (for himself, Mr. DREIER, Mr. HYDE, Mr. BLILEY, Mr. ARCHER, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr.

BALLENGER, Mr. DELAY, Mr. STUMP, Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr.

PICKERING, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. COX, Mr.

TANCREDO, Mr. UPTON, Mr. ISTOOK, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. ROGAN, Mr.

PACKARD, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. BUYER, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. VITTER,

Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon,

Mr. SWEENEY, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. WICKER, Mr. FRANKS of New

Jersey, Mr. WELLER, Mr. EWING, Mr. LARGENT, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr.

COBURN, and Mr. SHADEGG) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should

not have granted clemency to terrorists.

Whereas the Armed Forces of National Liberation (the

FALN) is a militant terrorist organization that claims responsibility for the bombings of approximately 130 civilian, political, and military sites throughout the United

States;
2

•HCON 180 IH

Whereas its reign of terror resulted in 6 deaths and the permanent maiming of dozens of others, including law enforcement officials;

Whereas 16 members of the FALN were tried for numerous

felonies against the United States, including seditious

conspiracy;

Whereas at their trials, none of the 16 defendants contested

any of the evidence presented by the United States;

Whereas at their trials, none expressed remorse for their actions;

Whereas all were subsequently convicted and sentenced to

prison for terms up to 90 years;

Whereas not a single act of terrorism has been attributed to

the FALN since the imprisonment of the 16 terrorists;

Whereas no petitions for clemency were made by these terrorists, but other persons, in an irregular procedure, sought

such clemency for them;

Whereas on August 11, 1999, President William Jefferson

Clinton offered clemency to these 16 terrorists, all of

whom have served less than 20 years in prison;

Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal

Bureau of Prisons, and 2 United States Attorneys all reportedly advised the President not to grant leniency to

the 16 terrorists;

Whereas the Federal Bureau of Prisons reportedly based its

decision in part on the existence of audio recordings indicating that some of the 16 have vowed to resume their

violent activities upon release from prison;

Whereas the State Department in 1998 reiterated two longstanding tenets of counterterrorism policy that the
3

•HCON 180 IH

United States will: ‘‘(1) make no concessions to terrorists

and strike no deals; and ‘‘(2) bring terrorists to justice

for their crimes’’;

Whereas the President’s offer of clemency to the FALN terrorists violates longstanding tenets of United States

counterterrorism policy;

Whereas the President’s decision sends an unmistakable message to terrorists that the United States does not punish

terrorists in a severe manner under the law, making terrorism more likely; and

Whereas the release of terrorists is an affront to the rule of

law, the victims and their families, and every American

who believes that violent acts must be punished to the

fullest extent of the law: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that making

3 concessions to terrorists is deplorable and that President

4 Clinton should not have offered or granted clemency to

5 the FALN terrorists.

Æ