[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 118 (Friday, August 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       THE OMNIBUS CRIME PACKAGE

                                 ______


                        HON. NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, August 18, 1994

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to take strong exception 
to the rightwing attacks on the crime bill. To those of my colleagues 
who oppose this bill because of its prevention programs, I say, ``Wise 
up.'' These programs are not pork, they are prevention, and are 
essential to an effective anticrime initiative. Prosecution without 
prevention is a formula for failure, and maybe if you came down from 
your ivory suburban towers to inner-city areas like my district, you 
would learn to recognize the difference between pork and prevention.
  Groups and individuals closest to the crime problem can tell the 
difference. The prevention programs are endorsed by every police 
organization in this country, and are supported by the Republican 
majors of our two largest cities, Los Angeles and New York.
  The critics call them waste. They're wrong. These provisions are an 
investment, an investment in our youth. Prevention programs are vital 
to inner-city kids. They provide an alternative to a life of crime, 
poverty, and drug use--an escape from the harsh realities that too many 
of our kids face every day of their lives.
  Throughout my district we have areas where our youth have little to 
do; there are few job opportunities, no recreational facilities, and 
few ball fields. When school is out, these kids are limited to hanging 
out on street corners where they are seduced by drug dealers by offers 
of easy money, and by the temptations of the streets.
  Just one block away from my home in Brooklyn is a park that last year 
hosted a summer softball league for teenagers. This program was run by 
the local police precinct, and it involved over 100 local teenagers. 
This year, due to budget constraints, the police had to cancel the 
program. Not surprisingly, there has been an increase in petty street 
crimes, drug sales, and youth gang activity in the neighborhood this 
summer. The local police captain is convinced that the increase is 
directly related to the elimination of the softball league.
  He and his youth officer, on the front lines in the battle against 
crime, recognize firsthand the need for prevention programs. Parents in 
my district also recognize the need for prevention programs. They face 
a daily struggle to offer options to their children.
  These programs are cost-effective deterrents, prudent alternatives. 
Attacks on these programs are nothing more than transparent disguises 
to hide the true opposition behind the bill: Republican hopes to 
embarrass the President and to get rid of an assault weapons ban 
supported by the majority of the voting population.
  Mr. Speaker, I had strong reservations about the conference report 
brought before this body last week. I thought then, and still do now, 
that a provision on racial justice should have been included for 
prisoners sentenced to death based on racially biased decisions. 
Nevertheless, I voted for the rule and was prepared to support the bill 
because it has struck a balance between prevention and punishment.
  I urge the President and the leadership of this House to maintain 
that delicate balance. I cannot, and will not support a compromise that 
slashes critical social programs in order to appease the critics on the 
right. I will not play politics with the future of America's youth. I 
urge my colleagues and the American people to see through this charade 
of deception and support this legislation.
  To quote Major Rudolph Giuliani, ``Crime is not a political issue; 
it's a public safety issue.'' We must support prevention today for less 
prisons tomorrow.

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