[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 105 (Wednesday, August 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1240
 
 CRIME BILL GIVES PROMISE OF BETTER SECURITY TO AMERICA'S NEIGHBORHOODS

  (Mr. MOAKLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, everyday life in this country is not what 
it used to be. It used to be you could walk down the street at night 
for an ice cream and not have to worry about who was waiting for you 
around the corner.
  It used to be you could leave your house unlocked when you went away 
for vacation so your neighbors could water the plants.
  Mr. Speaker, sad to say, those days are over.
  Today, thousands of people from Massachusetts and across the country 
feel like prisoners in their own homes and helpless spectators to the 
loss of our streets.
  Mr. Speaker, the crime bill we will vote on in the next few days does 
something about that. It funds about 2,300 new police officers in the 
Commonwealth alone and provides for 100,000 new police officers 
nationwide.
  It helps build new prisons and expand old ones. It also includes boot 
camps for young offenders so that prison does not turn into a finishing 
school for criminals.
  And it bans military style assault weapons that no one can mistake 
for hunting rifles and that are turning our streets into war zones.
  And the crime bill does not just stop with today's crime. It helps 
stop tomorrow's by reaching young delinquents before they become adult 
criminals with 28 new programs including antigang initiatives, job 
training, and antidrug programs for which Massachusetts can expect at 
least $96 million.
  Mr. Speaker, American families are tired of watching their 
neighborhoods taken over by criminals. Let us pass this bill and do 
something about it.

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