[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 86 (Thursday, June 30, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                                 CRIME

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, the crime conference is the latest victim of 
gridlock, as House and Senate liberals continue to hold the conference 
report hostage to the so-called Racial Justice Act.
  The Racial Justice Act is part of a long tradition here in Congress 
where bad legislation is given a great-sounding name. In the real-world 
of business, this is called false advertising. The bottom line is that 
the Racial Justice Act will not much to advance the cause of civil 
rights, but it will do a great deal to clog the courts and make the 
death penalty virtually unenforceable everywhere it is carried out.
  Of course, no crime bill can stop the violence on our streets. No 
legislation can build good character, which is the most effective 
deterrent to violent crime.
  But legislation that meets the tough-on-crime test--substantial 
funding for prisons, a strong emphasis on truth-in-sentencing, and a 
commitment to mandatory minimum sentences for violent criminals--can, 
and will, make a difference.
  That is why President Clinton's leadership is so critical: Where does 
President Clinton himself stand on the so-called racial justice 
provisions? Does President Clinton believe, as do most law enforcement 
groups, that these provisions would sound the death-knell for the death 
penalty? And if President Clinton agrees that each capital case should 
be judged on the merits, and not on the basis of random statistics, why 
does he not speak out now? Why does he not tell the crime conference to 
drop the racial justice provisions as a way of breaking the legislative 
logjam?
  Mr. President, an American is murdered every 21 minutes, raped every 
5 minutes, robbed every 46 seconds, assaulted every 29 seconds. So, 
each day we delay on passing a tough crime bill means another day of 
unabated violence. Each day of delay means another day of justified 
skepticism by the American people.
  Leadership is not something to be squandered. It is something to be 
used. and that is why President Clinton should step up to the plate and 
tell the American people exactly where he stands. President Clinton 
should publicly and unequivocally denounce the Racial Justice Act for 
what it really is--a back-door effort to gut our Nation's death penalty 
laws.

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