Ultralight Aircraft Smuggling Prevention Act of 2012

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3801) to amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to clarify the definition of aircraft and the offenses penalized under the aviation smuggling provisions under that Act, and for other purposes,

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, as a former sheriff, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3801 because it would address the increasing use of ultralight aircraft in the smuggling of contraband across our borders.

We also move this bill today in honor of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the sponsor of this bill. She ably represented Arizona's Eighth Congressional District since being elected to the United States House of Representatives in November of 2006. In fact, our offices were next door to each other when she first arrived in Congress, and we had an opportunity to walk and talk and share some stories, and I learned from her that she came to Congress for the right reasons--she is concerned about her constituents and cares and loves this country deeply. So we got to know each other just a little bit. And one of her foremost

concerns has been the safety of her constituents. This bill is but one way in which she addressed those concerns, working together with her good friend and tireless colleague, Representative Flake. I'm delighted that we can move this bipartisan bill. We look forward to the day when Gabrielle fully recovers.

The use of ultralights, which are small, slow, highly maneuverable, single-seat recreation air vehicles is a proven way to smuggle contraband. These planes fly at a very low altitude and do not even have to land; they simply drop their bundles of contraband at a predestined point and fly back undetected.

A sheriff in Luna County, New Mexico, was quoted as saying that we need the ability to detect smugglers' flights before they cross the border to track them and give us a good indication of where they're dropping their contraband so that we can pre-position our response teams.

This legislation provides the tools to stop these smugglers from using ultralight aircraft. First, the bill adds ultralights to the definition of aircraft for purposes of smuggling and stiffens the penalties for using this type of aircraft to smuggle contraband. Secondly, it enhances the ability of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to detect, track, and halt illicit trafficking across the international borders between the United States and Mexico and the United States and Canada by calling for a collaborative effort between the Department of Defense and Customs and Border Protection. For these reasons, I'm in favor of expanding our abilities to combat smuggling and support this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the other side may have some additional speakers. We have one additional speaker. So I would yield to Mr. Levin to continue with the further speakers on his side.

I will continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Flake) and also take a moment to recognize him for his continuing efforts and dogged determination to ensure the safety of our country's borders.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional Members seeking time, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I will keep my closing statement short.

This obviously is an important bill to this country for our Nation's security and is especially important on this day when our good friend, Gabrielle Giffords, has presented her resignation.

I urge all Members to join me in support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam President, I rise today to discuss H.R. 3801, the Ultralight Aircraft Smuggling Prevention Act of 2012, and I urge the Senate to pass this legislation today. Passing this bill will not only help to secure our southwest border, but it also affords us the opportunity to honor an incredible colleague.

I had the privilege of serving with Congresswoman Gabby Giffords in the House of Representatives, and she is the force behind this legislation. She originally introduced it in 2010, before the senseless act of violence that took place, and she won its passage. But the Senate failed to take it up.

Over this past year, we have been working with Gabby's staff, and I was honored to introduce her bill in the Senate with Senators Heller, Bingaman, and Feinstein. It passed by unanimous consent in December but was held up in the House because of a procedural issue. This allowed Gabby to reintroduce it in the House this week with Congressman Jeff Flake. Yesterday, as we all bid Gabby an emotional farewell, the House overwhelmingly passed it by a vote of 408-0.

I commend the House leadership for working to make sure this important legislation passed as Gabby's final legislative act before resigning. I want to especially say how honored I am to have worked on this legislation with her.

Like all Americans, I have watched in awe at Gabby's courage and her remarkable grace. She inspires us all. She represents the best of our Nation. Dr. Martin Luther King once said that darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Gabby is truly a shining light to all who know her.

The Ultralight Aircraft Smuggling Prevention Act is a testament to Gabby's commitment to securing our borders from illegal activity. A new trend in drug smuggling is to fly a one-person ultralight aircraft over the border to drop drugs. Hundreds are flown across the southwest border each year. Each one can carry hundreds of pounds of narcotics.

Because ultralights are not categorized under existing law as aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration, they do not fall under the provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930. This means a drug smuggler piloting an ultralight is subject to weaker criminal penalties than one who uses a small plane.

Ultralight presents a unique challenge for Border Patrol and prosecutors. Our legislation will close any unintended loopholes. It will give our law enforcement and prosecutors the additional tools they need to combat drug smuggling. It will also add an attempt and conspiracy provision to the aviation smuggling law. This enables prosecutors to charge people other than the pilot who are involved in aviation smuggling. It gives prosecutors a new tool to go after the ground crews who aid pilots as well as those who pick up drugs that are being dropped off in the United States.

This bill will also direct the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to establish and collaborate in identifying the equipment and technology for border protection to detect ultralights. The ultimate purpose of this legislation is to make our communities safer, and it is fitting that Gabby, from the very beginning, has been so instrumental in making it happen. I also want to acknowledge the hard work of her staff who worked on this bill tirelessly every day. Peter Ambler is one of her staff members who has been key. I know Gabby's staff is very dedicated to her, and I know Gabby's perseverance to advance her legislative priorities during her recovery demonstrate what a good public servant she is.

Gabby, we know you will be back. But until then, we wish you and Mark all the very best, and we thank you for your extraordinary service to our Nation.

Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support H.R. 3801, the Ultralight Aircraft Smuggling Prevention Act of 2012. This bill, as you have heard, will help prevent drug smuggling across our borders, and it does it, really, in three ways:

It amends the current law to give our prosecutors the authority to charge smugglers who fly ultralight aircraft the same way as they charge smugglers who fly conventional aircraft.

Second, the bill adds both an ``attempt'' and a ``conspiracy'' provision to the aviation smuggling law. That means our prosecutors will be able to seek higher penalties when it makes sense.

And finally, the bill directs the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security to collaborate in identifying equipment and technology that could be used by our Customs officials to detect these ultralight aircraft.

This is a commonsense piece of legislation that addresses a real problem and does so in a way that deserves broad bipartisan support. A very similar bill passed the House in the last Congress by a vote of 412-3. So this is a broad bipartisan bill. I expect this bill to pass with the same kind of bipartisan support today.

What's unique about it is that it comes on the day when Gabby Giffords is going to resign from the Congress, the woman who brought this bill to the floor. And I want to congratulate her, not only on this important piece of legislation, but for the impressive record she developed over the 5 years that she was representing the Eighth District of Arizona.

We all know Gabby's spirit well enough to know she will be back to serve the public as soon as she possibly can. She has an office down the hall from mine, and I occasionally walked with her from the office over here in the times when we came over to vote, and I got to know her on a human basis. She is truly a wonderful woman, and we will miss her. She had a bright future before her here, and it's sad to us that she's leaving, but it's important for her to take care of herself.

I'm a physician. I'm a psychiatrist, and I have seen cases like hers in the past and know that the possibilities for rehabilitation are very good. But it takes time, and running political campaigns and doing the kinds of things that you have to do in this business doesn't give you much time to take care of yourself. So we want Gabby to go home and take care of herself and return to her highest level of ability, because she has much to offer the people of the State of Arizona and her husband and the country.

So it's with a great deal of sadness that we say good-bye to her, but on the other hand, we're very happy for her. We very much urge everyone to vote for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise very much in support of the Ultralight Aircraft Smuggling Prevention Act of 2012. It is crucially important in two respects:

It is important in and of itself. It's clear we need to act. Every year, hundreds of these aircraft are flown across our borders. They are carrying drugs. Smugglers favor them because they are hard to detect, they are inexpensive, and they can often avoid radar detection. The problem is that under current law, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, and the prosecutors don't have the authority to charge the users, these offenders, with the existing statute, so they can't seek the higher penalties or lower the burden of proof.

This bill--and this is the second significance--was introduced by Representative Gabby Giffords, and it would close this loophole. So I think for all of us, colleagues and friends, this is a special moment. This legislation was characteristic of the devotion, the dedication, and the hard work of Representative Giffords, representing so ably the people of her district, the people of her State, and the people of our entire Nation.

Gabby Giffords has been a spectacular star in the congressional galaxy. And we say, as friends, with love and affection, we know that that star will continue to shine brightly, and it will inspire us all.

Gabby Giffords will be sorely missed, but her dedication, her vitality, and her courage have set an example that I think, hopefully, will lead us to undertake our duties with the same devotion as she has given to her work here in the House.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman from Washington.

It is my pleasure now to yield 3 minutes to another distinguished gentleman from the State of Washington and member of our committee, Mr. McDermott.

(Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, it is now my privilege to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), a gentleman who has been very much involved in issues relating to this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

I yield the gentlewoman an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, as we wrap up, I look about and think of this institution. It sometimes can be quite impersonal. I think for all of us today, this is a very personal moment, and I think all of us join in saluting Gabby and Mark.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise today in support of this legislation. It is needed and will help on the border to close this loophole to make sure that we can better protect the border.

I also want to pay tribute at this time to my friend and colleague Gabby Giffords for bringing this bill forward and for her work on this over the years. I have traveled to the border many times to meet with those property holders there, particularly the ranchers--the Glenns, the Ladds, and others--that she knows so well, that she has worked with over the years to develop legislation like this and the other legislative initiatives that she has pushed to make sure that we have a secure border.

She met with these groups and then committed to have conference calls routinely to make sure that she was hearing their concerns, and she did so over a long period of time. And I can tell you, those who reside at the border, those who live there, who have property there, who work there, who have been there for generations appreciate so deeply the work that she has done over these years.

I want to pay tribute also to her family, especially her good husband, Mark, for this difficult and challenging year, for supporting her, and for making sure that she had what she needed and that she is recovering. What a wonderful story they have together and will continue to have.

I also want to pay tribute to Gabby Giffords' wonderful staff. This has

been a challenging year for them, and they have done everything possible to ensure that the people from the Eighth District have received the representation that they deserve. They've worked long hours under difficult circumstances and have made sure that those constituents were well served. I was down in Sierra Vista last week and spoke to many of her constituents who recognize the efforts of Gabby and her good staff in this difficult time.

We, as the Arizona delegation, will miss her in Congress deeply. We are so appreciative of the service that she has rendered; and we know that she will continue to serve, whether in the future in an elected office or in whatever capacity, she will continue to serve the good people of Arizona and this country.