[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 117 (Thursday, August 18, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 18, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
      CONFRONTATION POLITICS THREATENS ENACTMENT OF THE CRIME BILL

  (Mr. HUGHES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HUGHES. Mr. Speaker, the eyes of the world are upon us, and we 
are looking at how we are going to deal with the crime bill. As a House 
conferee and a Member of this House for 20 years, I am saddened as I 
leave because I see confrontation politics being the order of the day, 
and it is very evident, particularly in the crime bill.
  The crime bill is not essentially different than it was when it left 
the House. This side of the aisle, unfortunately, or much of this side 
of the aisle, does not want to see a crime bill. Thirty-seven Members 
on this side of the aisle voted for the crime bill when it left the 
House, and it had midnight basketball in it. It also had a lot of other 
initiatives that have been criticized but which most of the Members 
support--such things as alternatives for youthful offenders, to try to 
do something to provide sentencing judges with more options so we can 
intervene with juvenile offenders earlier in the process and not wait 
for the 15th time they get into the system, but try to intervene the 
third time.
  On this side of the aisle we lost a lot of votes because of assault 
weapons. On both sides of the aisle we have seen confrontation 
politics, and that is why the crime bill is in trouble.

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