[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 40 (Thursday, April 14, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1040
 
      REDUCED TAXES WILL HELP THE AMERICAN FAMILY AND FIGHT CRIME

  (Mr. DUNCAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, before coming to Congress, I spent 7\1/2\ 
years as a criminal court judge in Tennessee trying the felony criminal 
cases. I certainly favor tougher sentences, particularly on repeat and 
violent offenders, but the first day I was judge I was told that over 
98 percent of the defendants in felony cases came from broken homes.
  I went through thousands of cases, and over and over again I would 
read, ``Defendant's father left home when defendant was two and never 
returned; defendant's father left home to get pack of cigarettes and 
never came back.''
  Several weeks ago, Senator Moynihan held some hearings in New York 
City. The headline in the New York paper the next day said, ``Moynihan: 
It is not Poverty, Stupid, it is the Family.'' We will never do 
anything real and meaningful about crime until we at least slow down or 
start reversing the breakdown of the family.
  How do we do that? By decreasing the size and cost of Government. The 
average person today pays almost half of his or her income in the form 
of taxes.
  Most families break up over finances. We need desperately to lower 
the taxes in this country and leave the individuals and families of 
America more money so they can support themselves and their families in 
the way they need to. That will do more to fight crime than anything we 
could possibly do in the crime bill today.

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