Breaking: Text of H.R. 3076- September 11 Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001

Thomas ^ | 10/16/2001 | Ron Paul

[Demidog]

September 11 Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001 (Introduced in the House) HR 3076 IH

107th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3076

To authorize the President of the United States to issue letters of marque and reprisal with respect to certain acts of air piracy upon the United States on September 11, 2001, and other similar acts of war planned for the future.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 10, 2001

Mr. PAUL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

A BILL

To authorize the President of the United States to issue letters of marque and reprisal with respect to certain acts of air piracy upon the United States on September 11, 2001, and other similar acts of war planned for the future.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `September 11 Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) That the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 upon the United States were acts of air piracy contrary to the law of nations.

(2) That the terrorist attacks were acts of war perpetrated by enemy belligerents to destroy the sovereign independence of the United States of America contrary to the law of nations.

(3) That the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks were actively aided and abetted by a conspiracy involving one Osama bin Laden and others known and unknown, either knowingly and actively affiliated with a terrorist organization known as al Qaeda or knowingly and actively conspiring with Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, both of whom are dedicated to the destruction of the United States of America as a sovereign and independent nation.

(4) That the al Qaeda conspiracy is a continuing one among Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, and others known and unknown with plans to commit additional acts of air piracy and other similar acts of war upon the United States of America and her people.

(5) That the act of war committed on September 11, 2001, by the al Qaeda conspirators, and the other acts of war planned by the al Qaeda conspirators, are contrary to the law of nations.

(6) That under Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, Congress has the power to grant letters of marque and reprisal to punish, deter, and prevent the piratical aggressions and depredations and other acts of war of the al Qaeda conspirators.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF PRESIDENT.

(a) The President of the United States is authorized and requested to commission, under officially issued letters of marque and reprisal, so many of privately armed and equipped persons and entities as, in his judgment, the service may require, with suitable instructions to the leaders thereof, to employ all means reasonably necessary to seize outside the geographic boundaries of the United States and its territories the person and property of Osama bin Laden, of any al Qaeda co-conspirator, and of any conspirator with Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda who are responsible for the air piratical aggressions and depredations perpetrated upon the United States of America on September 11, 2001, and for any planned future air piratical aggressions and depredations or other acts of war upon the United States of America and her people.

(b) The President of the United States is authorized to place a money bounty, drawn in his discretion from the $40,000,000,000 appropriated on September 14, 2001, in the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorists Attacks on the United States or from private sources, for the capture, alive or dead, of Osama bin Laden or any other al Qaeda conspirator responsible for the act of air piracy upon the United States on September 11, 2001, under the authority of any letter of marque or reprisal issued under this Act.

(c) No letter of marque and reprisal shall be issued by the President without requiring the posting of a security bond in such amount as the President shall determine is sufficient to ensure that the letter be executed according to the terms and conditions thereof.

[America's Resolve]

I have no way to answer that Arthur, except to say that that's a possibility for the future and the need is now.

I simply want the reward on this guy to be big enough that he'll be so busy dodging assassins for the rest of his life that he has a problem planning his attacks and controlling his organization.

If it takes mercenaries to hunt down the these mercenaries (hired by a WIDE variety of mid-east muslim interests), I'm willing to at least entertain the idea, unlike some others apparently :)

[harrowup]

The military establishment is simply not going to get the job done. I don't care how many different organizations in funny hats and makeup are sent in to stop thugs and/or terrorists.

You kill a thug while having dinner with him after you sign the contract to buy all the gold teeth he steals from graves.

You kill a thug at his son's wedding...and you don't get invited to a wedding dressed like a seal.

The "War on Terrorism" must be waged with terror...and the military isn't good at that. We need to hire a new bunch of psychopaths who get their jollies duplicating Manson and the whacko who got messages from his dog.

Trust me, the professional 'special operations' groups just don't know how to get really ugly mean and nasty compared to Jack the Ripper.

So, this bill won't go anywhere, but I certainly hope the 'establishment' realizes it needs to get its collective head out, fire the boys from Yale and start recruiting at the local day hire storefront.

[Gorjus]

I wondered if someone would remember this precedent. Indeed, Sir Francis Drake was considered nothing but a pirate by the Spaniards - until the Armada that is.

I think I'll throw in a couple of cents on the issue of treaties renouncing letters of marque. It's long been held by the Supreme Court that treaties or laws which conflict with the Constitution are inherently invalid. As long as the Constitution provides for letters of marque, no treaty can take that away. But, that assumes the words of the Constitution actually mean anything - apparently a disputable item these days.

[Demidog]

Superb post. Perhaps I am an optimist but I do believe that this idea is one that inspires the imagination and thus could catch on.

[MadameAxe]

I think I've shifted the burden through what I've posted.

Posted on this thread? All I've seen you say here is that they were banned in the Hague conferences. Could you post a link to the relevant passage? Who are alleged to be the signatories?

If you have posted other information in another thread, perhaps you could provide a link to your post there.

I see that your contention has apparently been debunked in post 57. Although there's still nothing on this thread that addresses what it actually said..

[l0newolf]

His proposal, regardless of its merit, will be summarily dismissed by the parties in power.

You are probably correct, however it is refreshing to hear at least ONE congressman presenting the facts and reinforcing the notion that we are a Constitutional Republic. That's a damn sight more than can be said of the rest of Congress, the presidency and the Judiciary.

These days I should also add a considerable number of freepers to that list. When you have people like Dog Gone here arguing that a 100 year old treaty supercedes the Constitution then we know public schooling has come here to roost. I thought we had moved beyond PC101. Guess I was wrong.

So whatever success Ron Paul achieves with the only constitutional proposal to surface to date, it is worth noting that it isn't from lack of trying for fear of failure. Secondly, by it's introduction it serves a double role of educating, which is a damn sight more than can be expected from the DoE!

[Demidog]

There wasn't anything he could do to change priorities in the last nine months of the previous budget cycle.

If you think that budget alone was the source of CIA and FBI failures in this matter then you are a bit naiive in my opinion.

[America's Resolve]

What this legislation tells me is that the US government is willing to use any and ALL tools at its command to bring these animals down and I really don't give a rats a$$ what the rest of the world thinks about our military. It's proven itself in the past and will prove itself in the future. I simply don't think it's an answer to every problem that we face.

I mean jeez. It was the military bureaucracy that prevented us from getting Mullah Omar the first night. Too hide-bound. Too many lawyers involved in a govt organization anymore and it will take years and ALOT of deaths to change that.

As Hack said in an article a year or so ago, we've got more officers and NCO's than we've got trigger pullers. And every one of those officers and NCO's believe in the book and NOTHING but the book. And that adds up to paperwork and red-tape that a private organization doesn't have.

[Dog Gone]

Did you bother to read post 45?

[Demidog]

BTW, I'm not angry. I just think your posting this unneeded legislation TWICE on Free Republic is a waste of bandwidth.

I haven't posted it twice. Today was the first day the text of the bill has been available. I think you're just looking for excuses to make doodie on the carpet.

[PrivacyChampion]

Mass email sent and congressmen contacted. Pass it on and get it done. Let the freelancers begin tomorrow as far as I'm concerned.

[Demidog]

Thank you a bunch.

[Demidog]

Thanks alot for getting involved.

[Dog Gone]

These days I should also add a considerable number of freepers to that list. When you have people like Dog Gone here arguing that a 100 year old treaty supercedes the Constitution then we know public schooling has come here to roost. I thought we had moved beyond PC101. Guess I was wrong.

I'm neither PC, nor did I attend any public school, except for one summer class in Drivers Training, if you think that's important.

I'm sure this isn't too complicated for you, but simply because something is permitted under the Constitution doesn't mean that it's a good idea. Lots of BAD ideas are permissible, too.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

I'm a Green Baret fan myself. Not sure if I'm allowed to say why =] Pray for the troops. Freegards....

[KingKongCobra]

I sometimes check in with the DUhsters to see what the truly moronic leftist view of the world is. You know, the 5% on the wacko left fringe. It turns out they have a mirror image on the right. Yall have fun while the other 90% of us go get the job done.

[KingKongCobra]

Defense of the nation

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

I mean jeez. It was the military bureaucracy that prevented us from getting Mullah Omar the first night.

You mean the madman? The guy who goes 'vrrrrrooom' when he sits in a car? Shoot him? LOL. He is the perfect leader for your enemy. Shoot the brains. Not the nuts.

[America's Resolve]

ROFL