[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 119 (Saturday, August 20, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 20, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1220
 
       MICHIGAN NEWSPAPER LISTS MANY OBJECTIONS TO THE CRIME BILL

  (Mr. EHLERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak because I heard the first 
speaker once again raising the issue of the NRA and assault weapons and 
saying that is why the crime bill has not passed. I simply want to say 
that that is not true. There is much more to it than that.
  I refer to an independent party, the newspaper in my hometown of 
Grand Rapids, MI, which, incidentally, supported the assault weapons 
ban and was critical of me for not voting for it. But they are strongly 
opposed to the crime bill with very good reason. In fact, they give 
many, many good reasons. Let me summarize by quoting a few items from 
their editorials.
  The first one: ``This bill isn't about fighting crime so much as 
about creating the appearance of fighting crime. At a cost of $33 
billion, that appearance comes at a very high price.''
  Then after we defeated the rule last week, they said this:

       Last week's defeat for the $33.2 billion anticrime 
     extravaganza need not be the end of crime legislation this 
     year, but it ought to drain considerable sham and demagoguery 
     out of the issue.

  Mr. Speaker, I certainly hope they are right, and I hope that we can 
get rid of the sham and demagoguery and get a good bill passed.

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