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Obama signs Giffords' final bill into law

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By KEVIN FREKING, The Associated Press Updated 1:16 PM Friday, February 10, 2012

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama signed into law Friday a final bill authored by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was wounded in an Arizona shooting rampage a year ago.

Giffords took part in the signing ceremony at the White House. She resigned from Congress last month as she continues to recover from a gunshot wound to the head.

The legislation increases the penalties for using ultra-light aircraft when smuggling drugs into the country. The small, single-seat planes are an increasingly favored tool that smugglers use to fly at night and then release their haul without detection.

Obama said he told Giffords that he expected to see more of her in the months and years to come.

"I'm confident that, while this legislation may have been her last act as a congresswoman, it will not be her last act of public service," Obama said in a statement released by the White House.

Giffords stepped down on the day the House passed her bill by a vote of 428-0.

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February 10, 2012 06:12 PM EST

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