[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 44 (Wednesday, April 20, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: April 20, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
CRIME BILL
(Mrs. KENNELLY asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Mrs. KENNELLY. Mr. Speaker, so often when you pickup the Washington
Post in the morning there is a story about a horrible crime committed
the night before. And, unfortunately, crime has become a fairly common
story in my hometown paper, the Hartford Courant, as well.
There is no easy solution to crime, no simple way to eliminate the
fear that so many people live with. But the bill we have been
considering offers hope. It offers the tools we need to attack crime
head on. It talks about punishment and prevention and rehabilitation.
And one of the most important provisions in this bill is one to place
50,000 more police officers on the streets.
Community policing is an effective weapon in the war on crime, but
most police departments across the country face manpower shortages and
budgets which are stretched too thin. We need to send them
reinforcements, so police can be placed where they are needed most.
The families of our Nation have talked to all of us. They are
concerned about crime, worried about their children's safety. We must
put our differences aside and pass this crime bill. This bill is
historical. For the first time Federal law has addressed violence
against women. Fact, a child that observes violence is 700 times more
apt to be an abusive adult.
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