[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 112 (Friday, August 12, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                               CRIME BILL

                                 ______


                          HON. NYDIA VELAZQUEZ

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 12, 1994

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I voted for the rule on H.R. 
3355 and was prepared to vote for the conference report on the Violent 
Crime Control and Enforcement Act, despite strong reservations. I was 
and remain very distressed that the conferees dropped a major provision 
passed by this Chamber--the Racial Justice Act. Without exaggeration, 
that provision dealt with a life or death issue. It would have 
prevented people from being executed on the basis of their race.
  By adopting the Racial Justice Act, this Chamber demonstrated that we 
would not let ignorance, bias, and intolerance send Latinos and African 
Americans to their death while their white counterparts got jail time. 
By dropping those provisions, we again turned a blind eye to a death 
penalty that is anything but colorblind.
  Nevertheless, I had decided to support the conference report because 
it addressed the No. 1 concern of my constituents. I supported the 
conference report because it would have put 6,100 more cops on the beat 
in New York, and taken 19 types of assault weapons off the streets.
  Even more importantly, the conference report would have provided 7.4 
billion dollars for crime prevention. Opponents argued that the crime 
problem could be solved by building more prisons, and putting more 
people to death. They are wrong. It is much too late to start fighting 
crime when the defendant stands before the judge for sentencing. We 
have got to start much earlier. We must get to the kids and show them 
another way before the jailhouse door slams shut.

  That is exactly what the conference bill would have done. It 
supported education, job, and substance abuse programs, and provided 
for intensive community services in high-crime areas. It increased 
recreational opportunities for youth, targeting neighborhoods with high 
youth unemployment rates, crime rates, drug use, or school drop-out 
rates. The conference report also put the full weight of the Federal 
Government behind the prevention of violence against women.
  However, instead of a crime bill, what the American people got was a 
stark lesson on special interest politics at its worst. They got mugged 
by the National Rifle Association and their gang of gunlovers who 
pulled out all the stops to kill this legislation. The people want 
safer streets. What they got, care of the NRA, was Street Sweepers. I 
sincerely hope that next week we can return and take this Chamber back 
from the special interests, and return it to the people.

                          ____________________