[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 120 (Sunday, August 21, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          PASS THE CRIME BILL

  (Mr. VENTO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, it is a difficult weekend for Members. Many 
of us stayed and encouraged our leadership to stay and try and work out 
the crime bill.
  Today we are faced with a crime bill that someone said, ``I have not 
read all the provisions of;'' well, there has been work on it for over 
a year. Many of the provisions, I think, are well understood by Members 
and have been read and reread.
  That is why it comes as some surprise that, instead of moving forward 
and acting, voting this bill up or down, some are proposed today under 
the rule to provide an alternative to send this back to conference, 
that they really do not want to finish this crime bill work today or 
tomorrow on common ground. In fact, they want to substantially gut what 
is in the crime bill, to destroy what ostensibly is a compromise by, 
for instance, cynically taking out various provisions that many of us 
feel very strongly about, like the death penalty. I strongly oppose the 
death penalty--but I understand the votes on this floor.
  We ought to understand the reality. Both the House and Senate version 
has the death penalty provision in their bills, strongly supported by 
the House and Senate; so send it back to conference, send it back to 
languish, postpone dealing with it the crime bill.
  We will be back here in October, and that bill will have the death 
penalty back in it. The ultimate objective, perhaps the only objective 
is to eliminate the assault weapon ban, to eliminate the death penalty 
appeal process, to destroy the bill, to defeat it, to defund it, and to 
leave the people without a crime bill before we leave this House today 
or tomorrow. Support the crime bill today. Support the police and 
enforcement, the prevention, and the prison funding. Support the crime 
bill and the people of this Nation, who want the crime issue addressed.

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