[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 43 (Tuesday, April 19, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: April 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
{time} 1230
LET US NOT PLAY POLITICS WITH THE CRIME ISSUE
(Mr. RICHARDSON asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, let us not play politics with the crime
issue. Let us remember that violent crime is a national issue and not a
political issue. Victims of crime do not care whether they are helped
by Democrats or Republicans, they just want to be helped.
Listening to some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, I
detect a little bit of concern that the Democrats will get too much
political credit if a crime bill passes. Let us also remember that
action on the habeas corpus and racial justice provisions could upset
the fragile coalition that is holding this bill together.
Mr. Speaker, this is the best crime bill that an administration and a
Congress, working together, have set forth. It contains measures for
more police, more punishment, and more prevention, just what the public
wants.
Mr. Speaker, let us not allow Members of Congress to get in the way
of a good piece of legislation, one that the public wants.
President Clinton has called upon Congress to vote for a crime
package that is strong, smart and tough. A package that will punish
offenders, yet will also promote measures to prevent crime. This crime
bill does just that--it punishes criminals and offers good prevention
measures!
This crime bill is tough. The ``three strikes you're out'' provision
will send criminals with three serious offenses to prison for life with
no possibility of parole. Those who commit certain Federal offenses
will be subject to the death penalty making this crime bill tough on
criminals.
This bill is also smart with smart crime prevention measures.
Literally billions of dollars will be directed to youth crime
prevention including measures to keep kids occupied and off the
streets.
Furthermore, with 50,000 new cops on the beat, criminals will want to
think twice before harming anyone, including citizens who live in rural
areas!
Let us in Congress show America that we will no longer tolerate
criminals! This crime bill is our chance to help Americans feel safe.
Mr. Speaker, I include correspondence and commentary regarding the
crime legislation:
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, April 6, 1994.
Dear Republican Colleague: While you're back in your
district, I thought you might be interested in reading the
enclosed op-ed published today in the Washington Times before
the House reconvenes next week to debate the Crime Bill.
If we work together we can defeat this bill and craft a
real crime bill that will give the crime issue back to
Republicans for the upcoming elections.
Should you have any questions about specifics in the Crime
Bill, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.,
Member of Congress.
____
President Clinton's Saturday Radio Address Saturday, April 16, 1994
Now we must move swiftly on the crime bill before Congress.
The bill provides the right balance of protection,
punishment, and prevention. It will put 100,000 more police
officers on the streets for community policing efforts that
work. It will make ``three strikes and you're out'' the law
of the land and provide money for new prisons. And it will
pay for a wide variety of prevention programs to give our
young people a future they can say ``yes'' to.
This is a crucial moment in the crime bill debate. It's
time to tell Congress you've waited long enough for
comprehensive national crime legislation, that you don't want
political posturing or frivolous amendments, and instead you
need help to take back your communities.
This crime bill is for all our people. But nobody needs it
more than the people like the mother of three who lives right
here in Washington. A week ago this 33-year-old mother came
home after celebrating her 10-year-old daughter's birthday to
find a gang of gunmen ransacking her apartment. The mother
had one plea for the intruders, ``if you believe in God,
please don't shoot my children, shoot me.'' The reply was
cold and terrifying, ``I don't believe in God,'' said one of
the gunmen. Then he shot her daughter dead. Before the
gunfire ceased, another child and the mother were both shot.
And her 3-year-old son witnessed the whole thing.
The sad fact is the police now believe the shootings were
carried out by youths who hang out in the very apartment
complex where that mother was trying to raise her children.
There are many rights that our laws and our constitution
guarantee to every citizen. But that mother and her children
have certain rights we are letting slip away. They include
the right to go out to the playground and the right to sit by
an open window, the right to walk to the corner without fear
of gunfire, the right to go to school safely in the morning,
and the right to celebrate your 10th birthday without coming
home to bloodshed and terror.
The crime bill will help us take back those rights for all
of our people. So will our new policy to protect public
housing residents. We must decide we will not tolerate more
tragedies like that mother's. When we do that together, we
can replace our children's fear with hope.
Thanks for listening.
____________________