[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.

                          ____________________