July 14, 2016 - Issue: Vol. 162, No. 114 — Daily Edition114th Congress (2015 - 2016) - 2nd Session
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EMMETT TILL UNSOLVED CIVIL RIGHTS CRIMES REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2016; Congressional Record Vol. 162, No. 114
(Senate - July 14, 2016)
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[Pages S5183-S5185] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] EMMETT TILL UNSOLVED CIVIL RIGHTS CRIMES REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2016 Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 2854 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk will report the bill by title. The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (S. 2854) to reauthorize the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007. There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill. Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I rise today to applaud the Senate's passage of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation that I introduced in April with Congressman John Lewis. We were joined in this effort by Senators Leahy, McCaskill and Blunt, as well as Representative Jim Sensenbrenner. The goal of this legislation is simple and noble: to bring truth to light and bring justice to the victims of racially motivated murders. The original bill was championed by Representative Lewis and civil rights activist and cold case researcher Alvin Sykes in 2007, and it aimed to ensure that those who had quite literally gotten away with murder during the civil rights era were prosecuted under the law. And recognizing that while many of these civil rights era cases can't be prosecuted due to legal challenges, the investigation of these cold cases is important to revealing the truth about the injustices committed against African-Americans and the failure of the legal system to protect them. Uncovering and confronting this dark part of our nation's history is invaluable to strengthening our rule of law. [[Page S5184]] Mr. President, it was important to pass this bill today because on August 28--a day that will arrive during the Congressional recess--the Till family and others in the civil rights community will remember the murder of Emmett Till. As my colleagues know, Emmett Till was a 14- year-old-boy from Chicago who was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955 after whistling at a white woman. The two individuals who were charged with the murder of Emmett Till were tried. But after only a 67-minute deliberation of the jury, the two men were acquitted of capital murder. Both men later confessed to the murder to a reporter, but under our Constitution, these individuals could not be retried. Had Emmett Till not been murdered, his family would have been celebrating his 75th birthday this month instead of remembering his death next month. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., once said that ``the time is always right to do what is right.'' We can't bring Emmett Till back, but we can honor his legacy and do what is right by uncovering these unimaginable wrongs. Under the original Emmett Till Act, the Department of Justice and FBI have investigated 105 of 113 cold cases involving 126 victims. There has been one successful prosecution at the State level since the passage of this law, in which a former police officer plead guilty for manslaughter in the death of a civil rights activist. Yet there is growing evidence gathered by activists, lawyers, and researchers that more unsolved murders exist, and the mandate of the original law is not yet complete. For example, in 2012, the Cold Case Justice Initiative at Syracuse University submitted 196 names of victims of racially suspicious cases to the DOJ that warrant review. To my knowledge, these names have not been investigated. The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Right Crimes Reauthorization Act would enable the Department of Justice and FBI to carry on the critical mission of investigating unsolved murders, and when possible, securing justice through our legal system. It would enable them to investigate a broader time span of crimes than the original bill, recognizing that racially motivated violence did not end in 1969. And it would provide for increased collaboration among the federal government, State and local officials, and cold case researchers, to ensure a full array of resources are dedicated to this end. Many of these crimes may not be able to be prosecuted due to statutes of limitations, the death of witnesses, or other legal issues. But even if these investigations do not lead to prosecutions, giving these families the real truth about what happened to their loved ones is not only important to them as they cope with their grief, it is also important for understanding our history, ensuring the rule of law, and sending the message to future generations that every single American is worthy of the protections of our laws. In Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King wrote that ``justice too long delayed is justice denied.'' For many victims, full justice will never be realized because justice has been delayed too long. It is the purpose of this bill to ensure that justice is not delayed any longer, and it is my hope that the House of Representatives will soon pass this bill and the President will sign it into law. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor. Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Burr substitute amendment be agreed to, and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered. The amendment (No. 4975) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to, as follows: (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute) Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016''. SEC. 2. INVESTIGATION OF UNSOLVED CIVIL RIGHTS CRIMES. The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007 (28 U.S.C. 509 note) is amended-- (1) in section 2-- (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end; (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: ``(3) coordinate the sharing of information between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the civil rights community, and other entities; ``(4) support the full accounting of all victims whose deaths or disappearances were the result of racially motivated crimes; ``(5) hold accountable under Federal and State law all individuals who were perpetrators of, or accomplices in, unsolved civil rights murders and such disappearances; ``(6) express the condolences of the authority to the communities affected by unsolved civil rights murders, and to the families of the victims of such murders and such disappearances; ``(7) keep families regularly informed about the status of the investigations of such murders and such disappearances of their loved ones; and ``(8) expeditiously comply with requests for information received pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, (commonly known as the `Freedom of Information Act') and develop a singular, publicly accessible repository of these disclosed documents.''; (2) in section 3-- (A) in subsection (b)-- (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``occurred not later than December 31, 1969, and''; (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the period at the end the following: ``, and eligible entities''; and (iii) by adding after paragraph (2) the following: ``(3) Review of closed cases.--The Deputy Chief shall, to the extent practicable, reopen and review any case involving a violation described in paragraph (1) that was closed prior to the date of the enactment of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016 without an in-person investigation conducted by an officer or employee of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice or by an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. ``(4) Task force.-- ``(A) In general.--The Deputy Chief shall establish a task force that includes representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice, State and local law enforcement agencies, and eligible entities to assist, as appropriate, with conducting a thorough investigation of, and to make recommendations to the Deputy Chief regarding, the cases involving violations described in paragraph (1). ``(B) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition to amounts made available to carry out this Act under section 6, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2017 and each subsequent fiscal year to carry out this paragraph.''; and (B) in subsection (c)-- (i) in paragraph (1)-- (I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``that occurred not later than December 31, 1969''; (II) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``and'' at the end; (III) in subparagraph (G), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and (IV) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the following: ``(H) the number of cases referred by an eligible entity or a State or local law enforcement agency or prosecutor to the Department within the study period, the number of such cases that resulted in Federal charges being filed, the date the charges were filed, and if the Department declines to prosecute or participate in an investigation of a case so referred, the fact that it did so, and the outreach, collaboration, and support for investigations and prosecutions of violations of criminal civil rights statutes, including murders and including disappearances described in section 2(4), within Federal, State, and local jurisdictions.''; and (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the period at the end the following: ``and a description of the activities conducted under subsection (b)(3)''; (3) in section 4(b)-- (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``occurred not later than December 31, 1969, and''; and (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the period at the end the following: ``, and eligible entities''; (4) in section 5-- (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``occurred not later than December 31, 1969, and''; and (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2017'' and inserting ``fiscal year 2017 and each subsequent fiscal year''; (5) in section 6-- (A) in subsection (a)-- (i) by striking ``each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2017'' and inserting ``fiscal year 2017 and each subsequent fiscal year''; and (ii) by striking ``occurred not later than December 31, 1969, and''; and (B) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows: ``(b) Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice.--Using funds appropriated under section 3(b)(4)(B), the Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice shall provide technical assistance by bringing together law enforcement agencies and communities in the investigation of violations described in section 4(b).''; [[Page S5185]] (6) in section 7-- (A) in the heading, by striking ``definition of `criminal civil rights statutes''' and inserting ``definitions''; (B) in paragraph (6), by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and indenting the clauses accordingly; (C) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as subparagraphs (A) through (F), respectively, and indenting the subparagraphs accordingly; (D) by striking ``In this Act, the term'' and inserting: ``In this Act: ``(1) Criminal civil rights statutes.--The term''; and (E) by inserting at the end the following: ``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means an organization whose primary purpose is to promote civil rights, an institution of higher education, or another entity, determined by the Attorney General to be appropriate.''; and (7) by striking section 8. The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read the third time. Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the measure. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Hearing no further debate, the bill having been read the third time, the question is, Shall it pass? The bill (S. 2854), as amended, was passed. Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________
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