[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 110 (Wednesday, August 10, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1920
 
                          TRUTH TIME ON CRIME

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Clyburn). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Kreidler] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  (Mr. KREIDLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. KREIDLER. Mr. Speaker, we have come to the moment of truth on the 
crime bill. It is time to stop striking poses, stop playing politics 
with people's fears, stop the phony rhetoric, and start facing up to 
the facts.
  Fact: This bill will put more cops on the streets and more criminals 
behind bars, all over this country. We could add 2,000 officers to 
local police forces, and more than 500 more prison cells, in Washington 
State.
  Fact: This bill will help the courts deal with criminals, by 
supporting drug courts like the ones already planned for Pierce County 
and King County, WA.
  Fact: This bill does more to help victims of domestic violence and 
sexual assault than anything we have ever passed before. It will help 
groups like the Seattle-King County and Tacoma, YWCAs, DAWN, and 
Safeplace, which provide safe havens for women and children in my 
district.
  Fact: This bill will help stop crime before it starts, with 
prevention programs that work--programs like Safe Streets, in Pierce 
County, where they have organized 120,000 people, block by block, and 
shut down over 800 drug locations. Where they organized an effort to 
help the people of Tillicum take back their community.
  Fact: This bill will help children and young people survive the war 
zone of adolescence with programs like Youth Fair Chance, which 
provides a second chance for young people out of school; the Jam 
Session Teen Program at the Klahanee Lake Community Center in Federal 
Way; the Pierce County Alliance, which runs a number of programs to 
help at-risk youth; the Eastside Neighborhood Center and the Eastside 
Family Support Center in Shalishan, which serve the children and 
families of East Tacoma.
  Fact: This bill will stop the spread of deadly semiautomatic assault 
weapons--killing machines that no responsible gun owner would use.
  If you are going to vote against this bill because it isn't ``tough'' 
enough, explain that to the women who are beaten by their husbands, to 
the families who have lost loved ones to random gunfire, to the victim 
whose attacker goes free because the prisons are full.
  Explain that to Mary Glenn of SeaTac, whose 15-year-old son, Shaun 
Proctor, was robbed and killed with a Chinese-made assault rifle when 
he went out for pizza.
  Explain that to Jackie Spears of Federal Way, whose 16-year-old son, 
Zachary, was killed by a 15-year-old with a gun.
  Explain that to the girl who has been sexually abused but has to wait 
weeks or months for help because rape crisis centers are overwhelmed.
  Explain that to the widow of the police officer who was slain by 
teenagers in June. She supports prevention programs like the ones in 
this bill. She said, ``There's got to be better programs out there for 
kids to build their self-esteem * * *. We've got to make sure on the 
Federal, State and local levels that funding (for programs) has got to 
be there for those kids.''
  Some people will look for any excuse to kill this bill because it 
does not include something they wanted, or has something they do not 
like--or just because they do not want the President and the Congress 
to get any credit for doing the right thing.
  Just this morning, the Republican whip complained because this bill 
is paid for by reducing the number of Federal employees. That shows how 
far some people will go to make sure gridlock wins, instead of the 
American people.
  Other Republicans say they will not vote for the bill because it does 
not require that communities be notified when sexual predators have 
completed their sentences--it only requires notice to the police. I 
voted for community notification, and I am disappointed too. But I came 
here to produce results, not to walk away if I don't get 100 percent my 
way.
  This is not a perfect bill. But this is not the time for sour grapes. 
Let us get on with it, quit the partisan bickering, and pass this bill.

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