Prepared Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Executive Business Meeting
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Good morning. Today we have two bills on the agenda, they’ll both be held over if we get a quorum. Both of these bills would help strengthen our national security at a time when doing so is critically important.
S. 247 is the Expatriate Terrorist Act, authored by Senator Cruz. I’m proud to co-sponsor it. The bill would provide a way for the government to recognize a U.S. citizen’s renunciation of his citizenship by joining a terrorist group like ISIS, as well as a way to revoke his passport on that basis.
Also on the agenda is S. 1318, the Nuclear Terrorism Conventions Implementation and Safety of Maritime Navigation Act of 2015. I was glad to partner with Senator Whitehouse on this bill. Much of it became law earlier this year, with passage of the USA FREEDOM Act. But three important provisions in the bill that were requested by both the Bush and Obama administrations were omitted from what passed Congress. One of those provisions would ensure that nuclear terrorists would be eligible for the death penalty if their acts of terror killed someone. So the committee will consider a manager’s amendment that will restore those provisions.
-30-