[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]

 
            DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS SUPPORT THE CRIME BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the bipartisan--
indeed nonpartisan--exchange of views on the crime bill during last 
night's special order.
  If you did not hear it, I suggest you read the transcript in the 
Congressional Record. There was one brief, shining moment of high-
minded discussion on the issues before us in this crime bill.
  Mr. Shays, Republican from Connecticut, and Mr. Wyden, Democrat from 
Oregon, cast aside the partisan rancor that has all but consumed debate 
on this issue. They did not agree on every issue, but they did agree on 
this: We must pass this ``punish and prevent'' anticrime bill now.
  I share the Connecticut gentleman's ``real concern that in the 
process of debating this bill, a lot of misinformation has been 
discussed that has distorted the issue.''
  I share his hope that ``in the next day or two we get to focus back 
on how we can deal with crime both from an enforcement and a 
preventative side and what we can do to help our cities.''
  That is what this bill is about. Protecting our families. Putting 
more police into our streets. Ensuring that our children are safe from 
the violence that plagues too many of our communities.
  This bill will punish criminals.
  This bill will prevent crime from happening in the first place. That 
is what the American people want from this legislation. This is what 
they demand that we do.
  Some would turn this serious issue into a political football. You 
see, there is an election coming in November. Every seat in this House 
is up: Some of us will return, some will not. Some feel that their 
return ticket and political fortunes hinge on their political 
gamesmanship with this critical legislation.
  But the people on the frontlines know that crime is no game. They 
know that this bill will make a difference in people's lives.
  On Tuesday, I quoted President Bush's prescient remarks about the 
value of the prevention program this bill provides for. Today, I am 
pleased to quote from a letter signed by 13 mayors from across the 
Nation:

       Ashe of Knoxville,
       Riordan of Los Angeles,
       Mystrum of Anchorage,
       Smith of Newark,
       Drinkwater of Scottsdale,
       Turner of Dayton,
       Mullins of Palatine,
       Lashutka of Columbus,
       Johanns of Lincoln,
       Helmke of Fort Wayne,
       Gardner of Jefferson City,
       Stewart of Provo,
       Norick of Oklahoma City.

  Mayors from across the continent. Mayors on the frontlines. They know 
what works. They think that this bill will work. And they are all 
Republicans. They write:

       Last fall, a bipartisan group of mayors worked with police 
     chiefs to draft the National Action Plan to Combat Violent 
     Crime. Many of the elements of that plan are included in this 
     crime bill: 100,000 officers; local flexibility; more prisons 
     and alternative forms of incarceration; strong prevention 
     measures; enhanced penalties; and strengthened Federal drug 
     control efforts.

  They continue:

       The conference agreement provides important help to us, 
     important tolls in our efforts to prevent and control crime. 
     * * * As the elected officials closest to the people, we know 
     that crime has been and will continue to be the most 
     important concern of our citizens. They are looking to all of 
     us for help, the kind of help that we can deliver through 
     this crime bill.

  They are not alone in urging that this bill be passed. Bipartisan 
support for this crime fighting bill seems to be breaking out all over 
the country if not within this Chamber.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle were rightly proud when 
two Republicans gained the highest office in the Nation's two largest 
cities--New York and Los Angeles.
  New York's Mayor Giuliani, a well-known crime fighter and one of the 
Republican Party's brightest stars, got it right when he said that this 
``crime bill is as much my bill as it is anyone else's * * * It 
reflects my philosophy. It reflects my sense that there has to be a 
balance between enforcement and prevention.''

  Mayor Riordan of Los Angeles said that this ``crime bill is the boost 
that we've all been waiting for to make our cities safe.''
  Ultimately, this comes down to one question: How does this affect 
Americans who play by the rules and pay the bills?
  Carolyn McCarthy is someone who plays by the rules. Her husband was 
killed and son wounded last December on the Long Island Railroad. Mrs. 
McCarthy issued a clarion call to every Member in this Chamber 
yesterday: ``Congressmen need to put aside their differences. This is 
for the common good of all of us. Children are shooting children. 
Something is wrong.''
  Something is wrong, Madam Speaker. We can do something about it: If 
we tone down the rhetoric; if we turn away from partisan bickering; if 
we listen to those Americans on the frontlines, in our communities, in 
our neighborhoods who want this anticrime package.

                              {time}  1920

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Thurman). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlman from Oklahoma [Mr. Istook] is recognized for 5 
minutes.

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