COBLE PRAISES PASSAGE OF PATRIOT ACT

A senior member of the House Judiciary committee praised tonight’s passage of the conference report of the USA PATRIOT Act, which passed the House by a vote of 280-138. U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) said that two provisions he authored dealing with port security and illegal cigarette trafficking were included in the final version of the bill, previously approved by the Senate, and is now on its way to President Bush for his signature.

“Granted, the bill expanded the parameters of law enforcement,” Rep. Coble said on the House floor this afternoon, “but not to the detriment of law-abiding citizens. After 9-11, I made the statement that my next fear – and my most pressing fear – is that the next attack will come by water, at ports and/or harbors; the very point plagues us today with the ports issue. We are indeed still vulnerable, but we’re not as vulnerable as we were on 9-11, and part of that security must be directly related to the PATRIOT Act.”

Rep. Coble’s amendment to the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act will amend the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act (CCTA) by extending its provisions to cover contraband smokeless tobacco and reducing the number of cigarettes that trigger violation of the CCTA from 60,000 to 10,000. The amendment also authorizes state and local governments, and certain persons holding federal tobacco permits, to bring causes of action against violators of the CCTA.

The second Coble provision in the PATRIOT Act deals with port security and was coauthored by Coble and U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Randy Forbes (R-VA). Earlier, Rep. Coble had said this amendment would be a multifaceted approach to beefing up security at our ports. “Our amendment works,” Coble stated, “by (1) controlling access to seaports or sensitive areas; (2) providing additional authority to the Coast Guard to investigate vessels; (3) prohibiting use of dangerous weapons or explosives on a passenger vessel; (4) protecting Coast Guard navigational aids on waterways; (5) prohibiting transportation of dangerous materials and potential terrorists; (6) prohibiting destruction or interference with vessels or maritime facilities; (7) increasing penalties for illegal foreign shipments or vessels; (8) increasing penalties for noncompliance with manifest requirements; (9) increasing criminal penalties for stowaways on vessels; and (10) increasing penalties for bribery of port security officials.”

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