[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 25, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: January 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            ABOLISH PAROLE FOR VIOLENT AND REPEAT OFFENDERS

                                 ______


                        HON. MICHAEL A. ANDREWS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 25, 1994

  Mr. ANDREWS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this new year had hardly begun 
before the alarming tallies of 1993's crimes and homicides began 
rolling in.
  It is no wonder that Americans are gripped by a fear of crime and 
violent attack more real than at any other time in our history. Since 
1983, we have witnessed a nearly 20 percent jump in crime. In the past 
year, 1 in 13 Americans was a victim of murder, rape, or other violent 
attack.
  Combatting our country's crime problem has been frustrating, largely 
because we have been hesitant to commit the necessary resources to lock 
these felons up and keep them there. If we are ever to end the 
skyrocketing crime, we must end the parole of violent and repeat 
offenders and help States build the prisons to house them.
  The reasons are glaringly obvious. Of the 13 million arrests police 
make in a year, less than 2 percent result in a prison sentence. Less 
than one in six murders a year results in incarceration. It has gotten 
so bad that the expected punishment for committing a serious crime now 
averages about 22 months.
  The problem is too many of these criminals are serving their time on 
our streets and not a prison cell. My home State of Texas, right now, 
has nearly 420,000 convicts on either probation or parole, after 
serving an average of only 2.4 years--21 percent--of their prison 
sentences. Experts predict that a criminal serving only 4 years of a 
10-year sentence will commit approximately 70 more crimes during his 
unserved time.
  Those are sobering figures, especially when two-thirds of the violent 
crime is committed by repeat offenders who have at least five previous 
arrests. In Texas, for example, nearly half--47 percent--of violent 
crimes are committed by repeat offenders.
  Clearly we must change that record. If we are ever to stem the rising 
tide of violence and crime we must get dead serious in locking up 
violent and repeat offenders for their full prison time.
  That is why I am introducing the Violent and Repeat Offenders Act of 
1994, which seeks to get rid of parole for violent and repeat offenders 
and help States double the amount of prison space in this country.
  The act provides nearly $50 billion in Federal grants from the U.S. 
Bureau of Justice Assistance [BJA] to States to build and operate more 
prisons, with the goal of doubling total Federal and State prison space 
to 2 million beds. To be eligible for these grants, States must 
eliminate parole for violent and repeat offenders. At the same time, 
the bill also eliminates Federal warden discretion for supervised 
release of Federal convicts.

  In essence, these Federal grants will cut nearly in half the States' 
costs for building and operating prisons, while creating space where 
violent and career felons can serve their full sentences. Previous 
proposals, like the crime bill passed by the U.S. Senate, would create 
a national network of Federal prisons to house the States' excess 
prison populations. This nationalization of our correctional facilities 
would be needlessly inefficient and result in the Federal Government 
infringing upon the States' jurisdiction over their correctional 
systems.
  In addition, my bill targets the career criminals currently preying 
on our neighborhoods. It authorizes the BJA to give grants to help law 
enforcement arrest and prosecute repeat offenders and parole violators. 
It also establishes a nationwide computer data base of criminal arrest 
histories of major offenders and other relevant information for 
apprehension of parole offenders. It further eliminates the double 
victimization of society by denying Federal benefits to third-time 
felons.
  Beyond the security for our citizenry, locking up career criminals 
saves money. A recent study shows that the over 2 million violent 
crimes committed each year cost victims $170 billion. When added with 
the other costs of crime, such as criminal trials, property loss, 
increased police and private protection, the total cost of violent and 
property crime in America is a staggering $425 billion a year. With the 
average cost of housing a criminal at about $27,000 a year, the cost of 
keeping these criminals in prison is far less than letting them back 
out on the streets.
  The madness that puts revolving doors on our prisons must stop. How 
can we continue to allow some violent criminal the freedom to commit 
barbarous acts repeatedly, then put that same criminal back on the 
streets within days? Clearly we need to act now to make sure that these 
career criminals serve time for their crime.

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