Orrin Hatch: “after months of review and careful Committee action, I am proud that the full Senate is poised to approve the…”

“after months of review and careful Committee action, I am proud that the full Senate is poised to approve the International Crime and Anti-Terrorism Amendments of 1998. Along with Senators Leahy, Biden, and others, the Senate Judiciary Committee has undertaken a careful review of the ambitious and expansive international crime package developed by the administration and introduced by President Clinton on May 12. This proposal took the best ideas developed by the Department of Justice, the Customs Service, the Treasury Department, and other federal agencies involved in the fight against international crime. Senator Leahy and I have worked with the Department to winnow the bill down to 17 sections which are generally noncontroversial but would provide valuable assistance in the fight against international crime, terrorism, and drug trafficking. Potentially controversial sections have been shelved in an effort to broaden support for the legislation, and Senator Leahy supports each of the remaining 17 sections. I hope that next Congress we can undertake a broad review of these issues and confront the more difficult provisions which have been placed aside for the moment. It is clear that the world has become a smaller place, with faster transportation and communication, loosening of borders, and great leaps in transnational economic activity.”