---

  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I would like to thank Bob Dole for his 
strong leadership. It was an honor to work with him. Arlen Specter for 
his legal acumen, Joe Biden for his statesmanship and Don Nickles and 
James Inhofe for their able input. All of these Senators were vital to 
the passage of this bill.
  I would also like to commend the following staffers for their long, 
hard work:
  Democrats: Cynthia Hogan, Ankor Gouel, Chris Putals, Demetra Lambros, 
Mimi Murphy, Tracy Doherty, and Mike O'Leary.
  Republicans: Mike O'Neill and Mike Kennedy. These two men worked, 
literally, around the clock. Also, Ashley Disque, John Gibbons, Dennis 
Shea, Richard Hertling, Lee Otis, Eric Mayfield, and Manus Cooney.
  All of these people helped make this bill possible. The President 
called on Congress for swift action, and we delivered.
  Mr. DOLE. Madam President, immediately after the Oklahoma City 
tragedy, President Clinton was right on target when he said that the 
perpetrators of this vicious crime should face justice that was 
``swift, certain, and severe.''
  I am pleased to report to the American people and to the President 
that, with today's passage of the antiterrorism bill, we are one giant 
step closer to achieving this important goal.
  The most critical element of this bill, and the one that bears most 
directly on the tragic events in Oklahoma City, is the provision 
reforming the so-called habeas corpus rules.
  By imposing filing deadlines on all death row inmates, and by 
limiting condemned killers convicted in State or Federal court to one 
Federal habeas petition--one bite of the apple--these landmark reforms 
will go a long, long way to streamline the lengthy appeals process and 
bridge the gap between crime and punishment in America.
  It is dead wrong that we must wait 8, or 9, or even 10 years before a 
capital sentence is actually carried out. And, of course, it is 
terribly unjust to the innocent victims of violent crime and their 
families.
  As I said yesterday, if the Federal Government prosecutes the 
Oklahoma City case and the death penalty is sought and imposed, the 
execution of the sentence could take as a little as 1 year once these 
reforms are enacted into law.
  I want to thank President Clinton for his efforts this past week in 
discrouraging Democratic amendments. No doubt about it, the President's 
involvement has helped speed up the process here in the Senate. I 
particularly commend the President for finally coming around to the 
view that habeas reform is an essential ingredient of any serious anti-
terrorism plan.
  I want to thank the two managers, Senator Hatch and Senator Biden, 
for their persistence in guiding this legislation through the Senate. 
On this side of aisle, Senator Hatch has provided the intellectual glue 
that has kept this effort together. And, of course, I want to thank my 
two colleagues from Oklahoma, Senator Nickles and Senator Inhofee, 
whose help in this process has also been invaluable.
  Finally, I commend the good people of Oklahoma City, who self-
sacrifice and resiliency during this very difficult time has been an 
inspiration for us all. The families of some of the bombing victims 
travelled all the way to Washington this past Monday to let us know 
that we must take action now to put an end to the endless delays and 
appeals that have done so much to weaken public confidence in our 
system of criminal justice. It is gratifying to see that their efforts 
have had such a profound impact here in the Senate.
  Mr. HATFIELD. Madam President, it has been a difficult process, but 
we have now reached the conclusion of this worthy debate. I want to 
commend Majority Leader Dole and Minority Leader Daschle and the 
managers of this legislation, Chairman Hatch and [[Page S7878]] Senator 
Biden, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, for their skill 
and resolve in moving this important and complex measure through the 
Senate.
  It is proper for the Senate, at the request of the President, to 
undertake this legislative action to put in place safeguards to ensure, 
to the extent we can, that terrorism does not occur in the future. It 
is my hope that this legislation will provide one more avenue toward 
the national healing that is needed in the aftermath of one of the most 
senseless and disturbing acts in the history of man.
  I have joined with all my colleagues to condemn this act in the 
harshest terms. However, despite my abhorrence of this horrible crime, 
I am unable to support this legislation. As many of my colleagues are 
aware, I am a long-time opponent of capital punishment. This 
legislation, under section 2332b, on page 7 of the bill, provides for 
the imposition of the death penalty in the following manner:

       (1) Whoever violates this section shall, in addition to the 
     punishment provided for any other crime charged in the 
     indictment, be punished--
       (A) if death results to any person, by death, or by life 
     imprisonment for any term of years or for life;

  Madam President, I could support this provision if the clause ``by 
death'' were excluded. Because it has not been deleted, and because the 
death penalty is so repugnant me, I am unable to support this 
legislation which has many meritorious provisions.
  I would like my colleagues to take note of a recent event in the 
country of South Africa. I am informed that the highest court in South 
Africa has struck down the death penalty in that country on the basis 
that it constitutes cruel and inhumane punishment. In his opinion, 
Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson said, ``Retribution cannot be accorded 
the same weight under our constitution as the right to life and 
dignity.'' He went on to make a point made by death penalty opponents 
on this floor many times: ``It has not been shown that the death 
sentence would be materially more effective to deter or prevent murder 
than the alternative sentence of life imprisonment.''
  I believe it is time for this country to follow the lead of the South 
Africans. I have long held that capital punishment is a barbaric 
penalty, certainly one that should be abhorrent to a society such as 
our own.
  I have marveled at the strides the South Africans have made over the 
past decade. It was not too many years ago that the United States put 
great pressure on the Government of South Africa to improve their 
horrible human rights record. While this new decision is being met with 
the expected cries of opposition, it now appears to me that the South 
Africans are setting an example for us on human rights.
  I merely make note of this enlightenment in South Africa as this body 
continues down the road of support for capital punishment. It is my 
hope that some day my colleagues will realize this is a failed, 
primitive and sickening policy. I regret that, on that basis, I am 
unable to support S. 735.


               the comprehensive terrorism prevention act
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Madam President, I am deeply concerned that the Senate 
has chosen in this legislation to radically alter the ancient writ of 
habeas corpus an subjiciendum. Four separate Democratic amendments that 
would have moderated the bill's extreme habeas corpus provisions were 
rejected today.
  It is troubling that the Senate has undertaken to revise the Great 
Writ of Liberty in a bill designed as a response to the Oklahoma City 
bombing. Habeas corpus reform has very little to do with terrorism. The 
Oklahoma City bombing was a Federal crime and will be tried in Federal 
courts. The controversy over habeas corpus is a result of excess 
litigation by State court prisoners who believe they were wrongly 
convicted in State courts. According to the Emergency Committee to Save 
Habeas Corpus, a group of 100 of the Nation's most distinguished 
attorneys, scholars, and civic leaders, ``Cutting back the enforcement 
of constitutional liberties for people unlawfully held in State custody 
is neither necessary to habeas reform nor relevant to terrorism.''
  Article I, section 9 of the U.S. Constitution provides that:

       The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be 
     suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the 
     public Safety may require it.

  The Habeas Corpus Act of 1867 permitted State prisoners convicted in 
State courts to challenge the constitutionality of their imprisonment 
in Federal district court. This is a right we have honored in the 
United States for well over a century.
  The legislation before us will require our Federal courts to defer to 
State court judgments unless a State court's application of Federal law 
is unreasonable. Our Federal courts will be powerless to correct State 
court decisions--even if a State court decision is wrong. The bill 
requires deference by the Federal courts unless a State court's 
decision is unreasonably wrong. This is a standard that will 
effectively preclude Federal review.
  This Senator understands the need for habeas corpus reform, and I 
would support legislation to impose reasonable limitations on appeals. 
But this bill goes far too far. It will in many cases transform the 
State courts--not the Federal courts established under article III of 
the U.S. Constitution--into the arbiters of Federal constitutionality.
  This legislation will eviscerate the writ of habeas corpus, and that 
is something this Senator in good conscience must oppose. Mr. 
President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter from the Emergency 
Committee to Save Habeas Corpus, and the list of its members, be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                               Emergency Committee


                                        To Save Habeas Corpus,

                                     Washington, DC, June 1, 1995.
     Hon. Daniel Patrick Moynihan,
     Russell Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Moynihan: We understand that the Senate may 
     act next week on the habeas corpus provisions in Senator 
     Dole's terrorism legislation. Among these provisions is a 
     requirement that federal courts must defer to state courts 
     incorrectly applying federal constitutional law, unless it 
     can be said that the state ruling was ``unreasonably'' 
     incorrect. This is a variation of past proposals to strip the 
     federal courts of the power to enforce the Constitution when 
     the state court's interpretation of it, though clearly wrong, 
     had been issued after a ``full and fair'' hearing.
       The Emergency Committee was formed in 1991 to fight this 
     extreme proposal. Our membership consists of both supporters 
     and opponents of the death penalty, Republicans and 
     Democrats, united in the belief that the federal habeas 
     corpus process can be dramatically streamlined without 
     jeopardizing its constitutional core. At a time when 
     proposals to curtail civil liberties in the name of national 
     security are being widely viewed with suspicion, we believe 
     it is vital to ensure that habeas corpus--the means by which 
     all civil liberties are enforced--is not substantively 
     diminished.
       The habeas corpus reform bill President Clinton proposed in 
     1993, drafted in close cooperation with the nation's district 
     attorneys and state attorneys general, appropriately 
     recognizes this point. It would codify the long-standing 
     principal of independent federal review of constitutional 
     questions, and specifically reject the ``full and fair'' 
     deference standard.
       Independent federal review of state court judgments has 
     existed since the founding of the Republic, whether through 
     writ of error or writ of habeas corpus. It has a proud 
     history of guarding against injustices born of racial 
     prejudice and intolerance, of saving the innocent from 
     imprisonment or execution, and in the process, ensuring the 
     rights of all law-abiding citizens. Independent federal 
     review was endorsed by the committee chaired by Justice 
     Powell on which all subsequent reform proposals have been 
     based, and the Supreme Court itself specifically considered 
     but declined to require deference to the states, in Wright v. 
     West in 1992.
       We must emphasize that this issue of deference to state 
     rulings has absolutely no bearing on the swift processing of 
     terrorism offenses in the federal system. For federal 
     inmates, the pending habeas reform legislation proposes 
     dramatic procedural reforms but appropriately avoids any 
     curtailment of the federal courts' power to decide federal 
     constitutional issues. This same framework of reform will 
     produce equally dramatic results in state cases. Cutting back 
     the enforcement of constitutional liberties for people 
     unlawfully held in state custody is neither necessary to 
     habeas reform nor relevant to terrorism.
       We are confident that the worthwhile goal of streamlining 
     the review of criminal cases can be accomplished without 
     diminishing constitutional liberties. Please support the 
     continuation of independent federal review of federal 
     constitutional claims through habeas corpus.
           Sincerely,
     Benjamin Civiletti. [[Page S7879]] 
     Edward H. Levi.
     Nicholas DeB. Katzenbach.
     Elliot L. Richardson.
                                                                    ____


Statements on Proposals Requiring Federal Courts in Habeas Corpus Cases 
      to Defer to State Courts on Federal Constitutional Questions

       Capital cases should be subject to one fair and complete 
     course of collateral review through the state and federal 
     system * * * . Where the death penalty is involved, fairness 
     means a searching and impartial review of the propriety of 
     the sentence--Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr., presenting the 
     1989 report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Federal Habeas Corpus 
     in Capital Cases, chaired by him and appointed by Chief 
     Justice William Rehnquist.
       The federal courts should continue to review de novo mixed 
     and pure questions of federal law. Congress should codify 
     this review standard * * *. Senator Dole's bill [containing 
     the ``full and fair'' deference requirement' would rather 
     straightforwardly eliminate federal habeas jurisdiction over 
     most constitutional claims by state inmates--150 former state 
     and federal prosecutors, in a December 7, 1993 letter to 
     Judiciary Committee Chairman Biden and Brooks.
       Racial distinctions are evident in every aspect of the 
     process that leads to execution * * *. [W]e feverently and 
     respectfully urge a steadfast review by federal judiciary in 
     state death penalties as absolutely essential to ensure 
     justice--Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, President, Southern 
     Christian Leadership Conference, U.S. House Judiciary 
     Committee hearing on capital habeas corpus reform, June 6, 
     1990.
       The State court cannot have the last say when it, though on 
     fair consideration and what procedurally may be deemed 
     fairness, may have misconceived a federal constitutional 
     right--Justice Felix Frankfurter, for the Court, in Brown v. 
     Allen, 344 U.S. 443, 508(1953)
       [There is no case in which] a state court's incorrect legal 
     determination has ever been allowed to stand because it was 
     reasonable. We have always held that federal courts, even on 
     habeas, have an independent obligation to say what the law 
     is--Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, concurring in Wright v. 
     West, 112 S.Ct. 2482(1992), citing 29 Supreme Court cases and 
     ``many others'' to reject the urging of Justices Thomas, 
     Scalia and Rhenquist to adopt a standard of deference to 
     state courts on federal constitutional matters.
                                                                    ____

               Emergency Committee To Save Habeas Corpus


                                 chairs

       Benjamin Civiletti, Former Attorney General of the United 
     States.
       Nicholas DeB. Katzenbach, Former Attorney General of the 
     United States.
       Edward H. Levi, Former Attorney General of the United 
     States.
       Elliot L. Richardson, Former Attorney General of the United 
     States.


                                members

       Floyd Abrams, Attorney.
       Robert Abrams, Former Attorney General, New York.
       Philip S. Anderson, Attorney.
       Dennis W. Archer, Mayor of Detroit; Former Justice, 
     Michigan Supreme Court.
       Birch Bayh, Former U.S. Senator, Indiana.
       Francis X. Bellotti, Former Attorney General, 
     Massachusetts.
       Lindy Boggs, Former Member of Congress, Louisiana.
       Hyman Bookbinder, Washington Representative Emeritus, 
     American Jewish Committee.
       Albert Brewer, Former Governor of Alabama.
       Allen E. Broussard, Former Justice, California Supreme 
     Court.
       John Buchanan, Former Member of Congress, Alabama.
       Haywood Burns, Dean, City University of New York Law 
     School.
       Guido Calabresi, Dean, Yale Law School.
       Julius Chambers, Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and 
     Educational Fund.
       L. Stanley Chauvin, Jr., Former President, American Bar 
     Association.
       Dick Clark, Former United States Senator, Iowa.
       W.J. Michael Cody, Former Attorney General, Tennessee.
       William T. Coleman, Jr., Former U.S. Secretary of 
     Transportation.
       Joseph Curran, Attorney General, Maryland.
       John J. Curtin, Jr., Former President, American Bar 
     Association.
       Lloyd N. Cutler, Former Counsel to the President.
       Talbot D'Alemberte, Former President, American Bar 
     Association.
       Samuel Dash, Professor, Georgetown Law School; Former Chief 
     Counsel, Senate Watergate Committee; Former District Attorney 
     of Philadelphia.
       John A. Dixon, Jr., Former Chief Justice, Louisiana Supreme 
     Court.
       John Douglas, Former Assistant Attorney General of the 
     United States.
       Father Robert Drinan, Former Member of Congress, 
     Massachusetts.
       Thomas Eagleton, Former U.S. Senator, Missouri.
       Raymond Ehrlich, Former Chief Justice, Florida Supreme 
     Court.
       Arthur J. England, Jr., Former Justice, Florida Supreme 
     Court.
       Marvin Frankel, Former U.S. District Judge, New York.
       John Hope Franklin, Historian.
       Donald Fraser, Mayor of Minneapolis; Former Member of 
     Congress, Minnesota.
       Stanley H. Fuld, Former Chief Judge, New York Court of 
     Appeals.
       Susan Getzendanner, Former U.S. District Judge, Illinois.
       Joseph I. Giarrusso, Former Superintendent, New Orleans 
     Police Department.
       John J. Gibbons, Former Chief Judge, United States Court of 
     Appeals for the Third Circuit.
       William A. Grimes, Former Justice, New Hampshire Supreme 
     Court.
       Joseph R. Grodin, Former Justice, California Supreme Court.
       Gerald Gunther, Professor, Stanford Law School.
       William J. Guste, Former Attorney General, Louisiana.
       Reverend Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., President Emeritus, 
     University of Notre Dame.
       L. Eades Hogue, Former Trial Attorney, Criminal Division, 
     U.S. Department of Justice.
       Elizabeth Holtzman, New York City Comptroller; Former 
     Member of Congress, New York.
       Shirley Hufstedler, Former Judge, United States Court of 
     Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Former U.S. Secretary of 
     Education.
       Richard J. Hughes, Former Governor and Supreme Court Chief 
     Justice, New Jersey (deceased).
       Charles J. Hynes, District Attorney for Kings County 
     (Brooklyn), New York.
       Thomas Johnson, Former County Attorney, Hennepin County, 
     Minnesota.
       Barbara Jordan, former Member of Congress, Texas.
       Robert W. Kastenmeier, former Member of Congress, 
     Wisconsin.
       William W. Kilgarlin, former Justice, Supreme Court of 
     Texas.
       Coretta Scott King, President, Martin Luther King Center.
       Lane Kirkland, President, AFL-CIO.
       Richard H. Kuh, former Manhattan District Attorney.
       Phillip Kurland, Professor, University of Chicago Law 
     School.
       Phillip Lacovara, former Deputy Solicitor General of the 
     United States.
       Shelby Lanier, Jr., Chairman, National Black Police 
     Association.
       William Leech, former Attorney General, Tennessee.
       George N. Leighton, former U.S. District Judge, Illinois.
       Arthur Liman, former Chief Counsel, U.S. Senate Iran/Contra 
     Committee.
       Hans Linde, former Justice, Oregon Supreme Court.
       Robert MacCrate, former President, American Bar 
     Association.
       Charles McC. Mathias, former U.S. Senator, Maryland.
       Darrell McGraw, Attorney General, West Virginia.
       Robert S. McNamara, former U.S. Secretary of Defense; 
     former President, World Bank.
       Jim Mattox, former Attorney General and Member of Congress, 
     Texas.
       Harry McPherson, former Counsel to the President.
       Walter F. Mondale, former U.S. Vice President; former U.S. 
     Senator and Attorney General, Minnesota.
       James Neal, former Chief Watergate Special Prosecutor; 
     former United States Attorney.
       William G. Paul, General Counsel, Phillips Petroleum 
     Company.
       John H. Pickering, Attorney.
       Jack Pope, former Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court.
       Edward E. Pringle, former Chief Justice, Colorado Supreme 
     Court.
       Thomas Railsback, former Member of Congress, Illinois.
       Joseph Rauh, Attorney (deceased).
       Robert Raven, former President, American Bar Association.
       Cruz Reynoso, former Justice, California Supreme Court.
       Leroy C. Richie, Vice President, General Counsel, Chrysler 
     Corporation.
       Peter W. Rodino, Jr., former Chairman, U.S. House Judiciary 
     Committee.
       Stephen Sachs, former Attorney General and former United 
     States Attorney, Maryland.
       Carl Sagan, Astronomer.
       Whitney North Seymour, Jr., former United States Attorney, 
     New York.
       James Shannon, former Attorney General, Massachusetts.
       Robert L. Shevin, former Attorney General, Florida.
       Seymour Simon, former Justice, Illinois Supreme Court.
       Chesterfield Smith, former President, American Bar 
     Association.
       Nicholas Spaeth, former Attorney General, North Dakota.
       Robert Spire, former Attorney General, Nebraska (deceased).
       Geoffrey Stone, Dean, University of Chicago Law School.
       Alan Sundberg, former Chief Justice, Florida Supreme Court.
       Leonard v.B. Sutton, former Chief Justice, Colorado Supreme 
     Court.
       Telford Taylor, Professor, Columbia Law School; former 
     Prosecutor, Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal.
       James Tierney, former Attorney General, Maine.
       Joseph D. Tydings, former U.S. Senator and United States 
     Attorney, Maryland. [[Page S7880]] 
       Harold R. Tyler, Jr., former U.S. District Judge, New York; 
     former Deputy Attorney General of the United States.
       Cyrus Vance, former U.S. Secretry of State.
       James Vollers, former Judge, Texas Court of Criminal 
     Appeals.
       Andrew Young, former Ambassador to the United Nations, 
     former Mayor, Atlanta, Georgia.


                           executive director

       H. Scott Wallace, 1625 K Street, N.W., Suite 800, 
     Washington, D.C. 20006.

  Mr. GRASSLEY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa is recognized.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business 
briefly for the purpose of introducing a bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The remarks of Mr. Grassley pertaining to the introduction of S.  
888 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced 
Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

                          ____________________