The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TERRORIST REWARDS ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2009” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E21-E22 on Jan. 6, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TERRORIST REWARDS ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2009
______
HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK
of illinois
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, today I am introducing the Terrorist Rewards Enhancement Act. This bill will assist in our fight against terrorism around the globe. Currently, the terrorist rewards program run by the State Department assists in our hunt for terrorists by promising a cash reward or other type of reward for information leading to the arrest of some of the world's most deadly terrorists. This program has been very successful in the past in apprehending key people including Mir Amal Kansi, a terrorist who had murdered two CIA employees and injured three others in a 1993 shooting outside CIA headquarters in Virginia.
Under current law, the U.S. may not pay a reward to an officer or employee of another government. I have traveled to Pakistan each of the last 4 years, where I met with a number of government officials. At the strong suggestion of Pakistan's ISI and IB intelligence and police bureaus, I believe the President should be able to pay such a reward to anyone having information leading us to the greatest terrorists. If there is anyone, anywhere, even if they work for a Pakistani government agency, who has information about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, we should be doing all we can to elicit that information.
With the increasing number of cross-border incursions into Afghanistan coming from the Waziristan region of Pakistan, it is more important than ever to develop a complete picture of where al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists are hiding. We need to provide our State Department and intelligence officials with all the possible tools to aid in the capture of the world's number one terrorist. The Terrorist Rewards Enhancement Act will provide one more of these tools.
____________________
