[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 6 (Tuesday, February 1, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
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]

 
      THE NEED TO RETAIN THE ANTI-GANG PROVISION OF THE CRIME BILL

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, in my opinion, it is time for President 
Clinton to call on the Congress to pass certain key provisions that are 
currently a part of the Senate crime bill and that he has not yet 
addressed. We cannot afford to have this crime bill follow the pattern 
of last Congress' crime bill conference where, over the objection of 
several conferees, a majority of conferees adopted the softest, most 
liberal provisions passed by either body on a range of criminal issues. 
I am concerned that without President Clinton's strong, specific 
support and leadership on several worthy, tough-on-crime provisions, 
they will be jettisoned in conference or significantly weakened.
  One such provision is the Dole-Hatch-Brown gangs amendment. This 
amendment passed the Senate by an overwhelming vote of 60 to 38. The 
Senate was responding to the epidemic of gang violence which is 
gripping our Nation's urban and rural areas. Our Nation's heartland is 
witnessing an unprecedented growth in gang violence--a scourge known 
all too well to cities like Los Angeles and New York City.
  Once thought to only be a problem of our Nation's largest cities, 
gangs have invaded cities like Salt Lake City, UT. The problem of gang 
violence is of great concern to the citizens of my State. According to 
the Salt Lake Area Gang Project, a multijurisdictional task force 
created in 1989 to fight gang crime in the Salt Lake area, there are at 
least 215 identified gangs in our region with over 1,700 members. 
Juvenile involvement in Utah's gangs is substantial, accounting for 34 
percent of gang membership. Members are usually from 15 to 22 years of 
age.
  The young people of our cities need to be steered away from gang 
involvement. As well, law enforcement needs tools to intervene early in 
the lives of these troubled minors. Gang intervention efforts are 
critical to the Salt Lake valley, the entire State of Utah, and every 
State of the union. Federal involvement is also crucial to our Nation's 
ability to effectively and efficiently control gang violence. That is 
why we need to ensure that the Senate antigang title of the crime bill 
is not weakened in conference.
  The Senate crime bill ensures continued funding for antigang 
intervention projects. It also includes a provision providing for the 
powerful arm of the Federal Government to be made available to State 
and local law enforcement agencies to help combat gang violence. This 
amendment makes it a Federal offense to engage in gang-related crime 
and subjects gang members to tough mandatory minimum penalties. For 
example, gang members who recruit others into criminal gangs or engage 
in criminal conduct shall be subject to a mandatory minimum penalty of 
5 years imprisonment. If a gang offense involved attempted murder, the 
perpetrator faces a mandatory minimum 20 years imprisonment and, if 
there is a murder, the gang member faces a possible death sentence. As 
well, our amendment makes it a RICO predicate [Racketeer Influenced and 
Corrupt Organizations], punishable with up to 20 years imprisonment, to 
involve juveniles in criminal enterprises. That is, criminal gang 
leaders who use juveniles in criminal enterprises for financial gain 
will be subject to the same penalties as organized crime leaders.

  The Senate crime bill also provides for adult prosecution of serious 
juvenile offenders. An amendment offered by Senator Moseley-Braun and 
me requires adult prosecution of teenagers who use a firearm to commit 
a crime. In addition, the Senate bill provides $100 million for 
additional Federal prosecutors who will be assigned to fight gang 
violence. These additional prosecutors will make implementation of this 
gang measure a reality by ensuring that additional prosecutors will be 
assigned to cities where most needed.
  Finally, the Senate crime bill provides $150 million for grant 
programs to assist in prevention and enforcement programs aimed at 
fighting juvenile gangs.
  Mr. President, I am concerned that this aspect of the crime bill will 
be gutted in conference, particularly the part that makes gang offenses 
a Federal crime. This aspect of the bill was opposed by some of my 
colleagues from the other side of the aisle. Now we learn that some 
Members of the other body object to this provision.
  Those who oppose the Senate gang provisions argue that this amendment 
unnecessarily federalizes matters that are better left to the States. 
Yet, I can think of no area where there is a greater Federal interest 
than in assisting the States in the prosecution and incarceration of 
violent offenders. This is especially true given that much of the drugs 
and firearms used by gangs in States like Utah cross State lines.
  The first responsibility of government is to ensure the safety of the 
public. It is true that State and local government now handle over 95 
percent of the criminal cases filed each year. The Senate crime bill 
recognizes this fact by proposing a significant increase in financial 
assistance to States to hire additional police, build more prisons and 
jails, and make schools safer. I submit, however, that the Federal 
Government's role in assisting the States fight against violent crime 
must be measured by more than just dollars.
  The Federal Government, as a result of the Controlled Substance Act, 
has jurisdiction over virtually all drug trafficking, manufacturing, 
and distribution offenses. Yet, most drug cases are still prosecuted at 
the State and local level. This is because the Federal law enforcement 
agencies have worked in a coordinated manner with local officials so 
that the United States' resources can be used most effectively.
  The Dole-Hatch-Brown antigang amendment does not transfer the 
exclusive jurisdiction of gang offenses from the States to the Federal 
Government. Rather, it permits the Federal Government to assist the 
States in their ongoing effort to fight gang violence. This amendment 
does not relieve the States of any responsibility for prosecuting gangs 
or other violent crime. It simply permits Federal assistance.

  I fear that, without the President's strong support for this 
provision, the conferees from the other side of the aisle in both 
bodies will gut this provision. Absent the President's leadership, I 
fear the conference will pass a sham Federal antigang initiative. The 
original crime bill supported by President Clinton contained a weak 
provision. It appeared to make gang offenses a Federal crime but was 
too narrow to be of any practical use to prosecutors. In fact, in order 
for a gang offender to be prosecuted under their proposal, he or she 
must have committed a Federal crime and have had a prior felony 
criminal conviction for drug trafficking or a crime of violence.
  I appreciate the fact that Federal judges are opposed to the 
increased trend toward federalizing crimes. Yet, claims that criminal 
cases are taking up a disproportionate amount of Federal filings are 
not supported by the facts. According to the Administrative Office of 
U.S. Courts, the criminal caseload per judge is nearly 50 percent below 
that of 1972. The number of criminal cases reached a 40-year peak in 
1972 and, despite all of the cries from the defense bar, the number of 
criminal cases filed in 1992 was actually 14 percent below the 1972 
figures. There were fewer criminal cases in Federal courts in 1992 than 
there were in 1972 even though the number of authorized judges is now 
62 percent higher than in 1972.
  Mr. President, the choice is clear. If the President truly wants to 
provide the States the assistance they need in fighting gang violence, 
both financial support and jurisdictional support, then he should voice 
his support for the Dole-Hatch-Brown antigang amendment to the crime 
bill.

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