[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 115 (Tuesday, August 16, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         MORE ON THE CRIME BILL

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House 
for 1 minute.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Traficant). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentlewoman from California?
  Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, we can get 
up here and give our 1-minutes on why the crime bill is a terrible bill 
for the people of this country, why it increases the national debt 
while doing little to fight crime. We can do these rhetorical 
flourishes, too.
  I thought we were here for the purpose of dealing with suspensions, 
no discourtesy to the gentlewoman from California, only that she 
happened to be the unfortunate victim when I got up to object to this. 
That is my concern, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would inform the gentleman that we 
are proceeding, waiting for suspensions. If he is on his feet in a 
timely manner the gentleman could be recognized as well.
  Without objection, the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi] is 
recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise for two purposes, one is following up 
on what our colleague from New Mexico was talking about in terms of the 
crime bill. I particularly wanted to address the issue of midnight 
basketball.
  Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge the gentleman's concern about regular 
order, and I do not consider myself an unfortunate victim of his 
reservation in terms of my unanimous-consent request. But I did want to 
say, because my minute is fast going by, that in our community, 
midnight basketball is a giant plus.
  In the western division, at the Illhutch Community Center, young 
people who have some disadvantages in their lives see this as something 
to say yes. In the Mission District of San Francisco, we have 
experimented with a successful demonstration of the effectiveness of 
midnight basketball. So I hope that it will not be trivialized, that 
Members will not take the matter lightly. It is an important part of 
saying yes and having the crime bill mean something directly to the 
lives of these young people in our streets who, as I said before, need 
something to say yes to.

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