Dianne Feinstein

Mrs. FEINSTEIN

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a true champion of public service: Clara Shin of Orange, CA. Ms. Shin is a former AmeriCorps program officer and is currently a distinguished White House Fellow. One of the greatest gifts that Clara Shin has been endowed with is an appreciation and a passion for public service. Her background is filled with notable accomplishments that have provided her with a sense of community and an unfailing commitment to helping others. Ms. Shin received her bachelor's degrees in physiobiopolitics and government from Smith College and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School. As a law student, she worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development, serving as a legal intern to the Regional Legal Advisor for Southern Africa. She later joined AmeriCorps as its youngest program officer and was responsible for developing the first national grant applications for local programs seeking funding. She then managed a $25 million grant portfolio for the program and coordinated a service network spanning the Southwest. Ms. Shin also co- designed the $100 million community service component of a Housing and Urban Development initiative to revitalize severely distressed public housing developments. She founded KOSOMOSE Women's Journal, a magazine for Asian American women, and helped start the Tahoe-Baikal Institute, a bi-national environmental institute in California and Siberia that trains environmentalists in land and water issues. As one of 17 White House Fellows, Ms. Shin has achieved the nation's most prestigious fellowship for leadership development and public service. Her assignment to the White House Office of the Chief of Staff allows her to work hand-in-hand with leaders in government on immigration, race, and science and technology issues, where she coordinates working group meetings, tracks and manages issues, and meets with advocacy groups. For more than thirty years, White House Fellows have carried out the program's mission to encourage active citizenship and service to the nation. Ms. Shin is an individual who exemplifies this notion. Her efforts to serve those around her are an inspiration to us all. Mr. President, it is with great honor that I pay tribute to Clara Shin for her accomplishment and dedication to public service. Her enthusiasm for social and environmental causes is both uplifting and encouraging. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing Clara Shin many more years of success.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to salute the work and dedication of Major John Tien, a distinguished White House Fellow from Long Beach, CA. Major Tien was chosen as one of the selected few to participate in the distinguished 1998-99 White House Fellowship Program. Since 1965, the program has offered outstanding individuals, like Major Tien, the opportunity to apply their considerable talents to public service. Past U.S. Army White House Fellow alumni, including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin L. Powell, have emerged as great military leaders, and I have no doubt that Major Tien will be successful in his future endeavors. As a White House Fellow, Major Tien has been assigned to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. He conducts research on consumer, labor, and environmental groups in an effort to educate the American public about the benefits of international trade. Other responsibilities include coordinating partnerships with important business groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Round Table, and the President's Export Council, to develop trade education ideas and advance a free trade agenda. He is a member of the lead team for planning the Third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Seattle, Washington. He is also a member of the steel import crisis response team, where he is responsible for drafting reports for the Congressional Steel Caucus. Major Tien is the special assistant to the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative on all WTO matters. Major Tien was an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He received his bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from West Point, where he was the top-ranked military cadet in his class. He later attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. As a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, he was among the first soldiers to cross the Saudi Arabia-Iraq border. He has commanded an M1A1 main battle tank company and a headquarters company, and has served as the chief logistics officer for a thousand- soldier brigade. Additionally, Major Tien has successfully balanced several extracurricular activities with his military commitments. For example, he has served as a volunteer tutor for inner-city elementary and high school youth, as a co-organizer of the New York, Orange County Special Olympics and as a youth league soccer and baseball coach. Mr. President, the importance of the public service should be recognized, and Major Tien stands as an especially admirable role model in this regard. For his efforts, and in recognition of the well- deserved honor of serving as a White House Fellow, I am privileged to commend and pay tribute to Major John Tien.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. If I may have 30 seconds to wrap up.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I rise to make a brief statement.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. About 5 minutes.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Thank you very much.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. That is correct.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Staff Sergeant Andrew Ramirez who has served his country with bravery and valor. For Sergeant Ramirez, a resident of East Los Angeles, public service runs in the family--his brother is a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. On March 31, 1999, Sergeant Ramirez was taken as a prison of war by the Yugoslavia Army while he was serving as part of a U.S. Army detachment assigned to a U.N. monitoring force patrolling Yugoslavia's southern border. Sergeant Ramirez was part of the 4th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division based in Wurzburg, Germany. He had arrived in Macedonia in early March to relieve another contingent. I cannot begin to imagine the terror experienced by Sergeant Ramirez and his fellow soldiers, Christopher J. Stone and Steven M. Gonzales, when they were surrounded, and under heavy fire, taken as prisoners of war. Just a few days later, the soldiers were shown on Serbian television, battered and bruised. It is a picture that every mother hopes she will never see. It is a picture that every American hoped was not true. But, it was true, and these three men paid a dear price of over a month in captivity. They did not know what fate would befall them and if they were ever going to see their families again. During the past weeks, Kosovo has witnessed carnage and bloodshed unseen in Europe for almost fifty years. These events are the culmination of a decade-long campaign of terror and bloodshed in the Balkans--and it has created a refugee crisis unparalleled in recent years. Sergeant Ramirez was in Yugoslavia because his country asked him to go. He was there to protect our promise that the civilized world will never again do nothing in the face of genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass rape and rampant violence to thousands of innocent people. If the most powerful alliance in the world fails to stop ethnic cleansing, it will send a green light to every tyrant and dictator with similar intentions that they can do the same, and that the world community will be unable or unwilling to muster the resolve to stop it. None of these words would mean anything without individuals like Sergeant Anthony Ramirez. He is the truest of patriots--the bravest of the brave. Our country is forever indebted to him, and there are not words nor deeds that could every repay his dedicated service--or that of his family. He is a testament to the human spirit that keeps the light of peace and human freedoms alive. Sergeant Ramirez, we thank you, we honor you, and we are so very, very glad that you are home.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Thank you very much, I say to the Senator. And thank you, Mr. President. This amendment essentially has four parts. One relates to gangs that move across interstate lines practicing criminal enterprise, the second is body armor, the third is bombmaking, and the fourth is animal terrorism. Essentially, with respect to gangs, this bill will increase sentences for gang members who commit Federal crimes. It will enhance the ability of Federal prosecutors to prosecute gangs for this crime. And it will add serious juvenile drug offenses to the Armed Career Criminal Act. With respect to body armor, there are about 10,000 surplus pieces of body armor that the FBI and DEA have.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I will be happy to.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to oppose the amendment. The amendment really is developed because of problems with alcohol being shipped to minors, and the amendment has major concern to the California wine industry. We believe it opens the Federal courts to State law. It does not focus on underage drinking, it is not supported by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and it is opposed by the largest Internet trade group and by the wine industry. Rather, my amendment would focus directly on underage drinking by requiring that any shipment be clearly marked with a label as to what the contents are and require that the recipient be qualified to receive it--in other words, be able to present identification that that person is, in fact, an adult.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, the modification I have sent to the desk changes the penalty, and I will explain that in a moment. The amendment, as I have just described it, would require persons who ship alcoholic beverages across State lines to: First, clearly and prominently label the contents as alcoholic beverages; second, state the full name of the person causing the package to be shipped; i.e., the seller; and third, state that an adult's signature is required. It would require the shippers--for example, Federal Express--to not deliver a package so labeled unless they can: One, verify that the person receiving the delivery is of legal age for purchasing alcoholic beverages; and, two, obtain that person's signature. Mr. President, the amendment I sent to the desk to modify would simply provide that existing penalties would apply to this bill. Those are criminal penalties of up to 1 year imprisonment and fines of up to $200,000 for organizations or $100,000 for individuals. A seller who violates this requirement on three or more occasions may have their ATF basic permit revoked. That is the effect of the law today, and we would repeat that penalty in this particular instance. I thank the Chair.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, if I may, I ask unanimous consent to modify my amendment No. 354.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I thank the ranking member for his comments. My views parallel his. I think the Byrd method is very well intentioned. I happened to be on the floor when the Senator presented it. However, I must say I believe it is overly broad. It would essentially permit States to deputize the Federal courts which exist to enforce Federal laws, not State laws. I believe it would have the unintended consequence of dramatically expanding the power of any one State in a matter which would diminish consumer choice and really harm legitimate businesses. This is more or less an intra-industry fight. California is home to 90 percent of the domestic wine industry. The vast majority of these wineries are small family farms. The wine industry is certainly vital. Many of these small wineries essentially have wine tastings. Individuals come in, taste the wine. They do not have shelf space. The wine is expensive, and they will use the Internet to be able to ship this wine. The problem which has been presented for remedy is children obtaining this kind of alcoholic beverage through the Internet. I happen to doubt that children would buy $90 bottles of wine, but, nonetheless, the second amendment I will present in essence tackles the question at hand by saying that any of these shipments must be clearly labeled, and they must be received by someone who has the qualification to receive them, identification showing that that individual is entitled to receive them and is in fact an adult. Therefore, I do not believe this throwing of State alcohol law into the Federal courts is necessary to solve the problem at hand. I urge a no vote on the Byrd amendment and an aye vote on the Feinstein amendment.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I believe so, Mr. President. I thank the Senator. Amendment No. 339

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I will ask to print in the Record a list of counties and cities where we have had incidents directly following Littleton: Salt Lake; Cobb County in Georgia; Port Aransas, TX; Wichita Falls; Wimberley, TX. More than 50 threats of bombs and other acts of violence have occurred in the last few weeks since Littleton, CO. This amendment essentially says it will become a Federal crime to teach or distribute information on how to make a bomb or other weapon of mass destruction if the individual intends the information be used to commit a Federal violent crime or knows that the recipient of the information intends to use it to commit a Federal violent crime. The Justice Department has reviewed the legislation. We believe that it is constitutional. The Fourth Circuit has heard a case and has effectively declared the methodology herein as constitutional. The final part of this bill is the James Guelff Body Armor Act. It speeds body armor of 10,000 surplus pieces from the FBI and the DEA to local and State governments. It makes body armor more difficult to obtain by felons. And we are very hopeful this will be included. So we have the gang amendments, we have the lawmaking amendment, and the body armor. I thank the Chair and yield the floor.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I thank the Chair. I thank the distinguished chairman of the Judiciary Committee. I want him to know it has been a great pleasure for me to be able to work with him on these three issues, and now on the gang bill, for the past 3 years. Mr. President, I think the chairman has very accurately and adequately stated what these amendments do. I would like to just provide a little bit of filler material with respect to the need. There are over 23,000 youth gangs in all 50 States in the United States. I think it will come as no surprise for people to learn that California is the No. 1 gang State, with almost 5,000 different gangs, more than three times as many as the next State. Overall, there are over 600,000 members of gangs. And they have increased tenfold since 1975. This legislation is a direct result of the importuning of many in local law enforcement who have come to me and others in this body and said: Could the Federal Government give us a hand in fighting gangs? In Los Angeles alone, over the past 16 years, 7,300 people were murdered from gang warfare--more people than have been killed in all the terrorist fighting in Northern Ireland. Today, modern gangs are organized. Take, for one, the Bloods and Crips, which began in Los Angeles. They now have a presence in 119 American cities, as you can see on this chart. Take, for instance, Chicago's Gangster Disciples, which have expanded into 34 Midwest and Southern cities, with a board of directors inside prison and a board of directors outside prison. These gangs operate very often as modern Mafia-type enterprises. They move across State lines. They move drugs. They practice a whole series of crimes. And they do so in a very organized way. In Los Angeles alone, the 18th Street Gang now deals directly with Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. They have expanded their operations to Oregon, Utah, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico. And it goes on and on and on; virtually every ethnic and racial group has some gang that is operating in the United States. The chairman has accurately stated what this amendment would do. It increases sentences for gang members who commit Federal crimes. It enhances the ability of Federal prosecutors to prosecute gangs. It amends the Travel Act to include some offenses which gangs perpetrate. It adds serious juvenile drug offenses to the Armed Career Criminal Act. And it provides a 3-year mandatory minimum sentence to knowingly transferring a firearm for use in a violent crime or drug trafficking crime where the gun is transferred to a minor. Let me move now to the second part of it. This has to do with bomb making on the Internet. In the Judiciary Committee not too long ago, I remember somebody presenting a manual called ``The Terrorist Handbook'' that could be pulled up on the Internet. I went back and we downloaded it from the Internet. What I saw really chilled me, because what I saw was accurate information on how to steal chemicals, how to break into chemistry labs, what to buy in stores, and how to go home and make pipe bombs, telephone bombs, letter bombs, and mailbox bombs. Virtually every use in the manual is illegal. And you have to ask, Why? The youngsters in Colorado who perpetrated the crime indicated they got the formula for the pipe bombs directly from the Internet. It well could have been from this very volume I hold up today. Since Littleton, CO, there has been a rash of these. Police arrested five students in Brooklyn for possessing this manual that they found on the Internet.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent just for one additional minute.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I would like to add my voice to those of my colleagues who have risen today to talk about the remarkable service given this body, and our nation, by Admiral James W. Nance, majority staff director of the Foreign Relations Committee. Although I am no longer on the Committee, I had the honor and pleasure of serving as a member of that Committee in the 105th Congress, and to come to know and admire ``The Admiral.'' In many ways, Admiral Nance was the living embodiment of what Tom Brokaw, in his recent book, has called ``The Greatest Generation.'' He had a distinguished career in the Navy, serving in combat in World War II, as a test pilot, and later as commander of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Forrestal. Following his Naval career, he served as deputy assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in the Reagan administration, and then joined his boyhood friend, the distinguished Senator from North Carolina, in offering his service, and his expertise, to the U.S. Senate as staff director for the Foreign Relations Committee. His kindness to me--as a junior member of the minority party--in getting to know the ins and outs of the Committee was always appreciated, and his sage council and advice were always a welcome addition to the Committee's consideration of a range of pressing national security issues. The Admiral will be sorely missed--but I join my colleagues in celebrating his life of service to the United States.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I ask unanimous consent to send an amendment to the desk.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I do not believe it has been.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. If possible, yes.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. First degree.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Reserving the right to object.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Reserving the right to object.