[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 6 (Tuesday, February 1, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  URGING A RESPONSIBLE DEBATE ON CRIME

  (Mr. SCOTT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, on the issue of crime, I feel compelled to 
ask my colleagues whether our intent is to play politics or 
substantively and responsibly address the issue. From the rhetoric I 
have heard in recent days, it seems that many of my fellow Members have 
chosen to follow the misguided lead of the Senate and enact gimmicks 
such as the ill-defined three-time loser, new mandatory minimum 
sentences, and requiring 13-year-olds to be tried as adults.
  I can only hope that when this body continues its deliberations on 
crime, it will resist the political posturing of those individuals more 
interested in campaign propaganda than preventing the crime that has 
robbed, raped, and murdered our communities.
  There is no evidence that the three-time-loser bill, or new death 
penalties will have any effect on reducing crime. Education and jobs, 
the very elements which received little attention in the $22 billion 
crime bill, have been proven to reduce crime. I invite everyone to step 
off of their pedestals and deal with this issue responsibly. Politics 
is for campaigns; it is out of place in a responsible debate on crime.

                          ____________________