[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 125 (Friday, August 26, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  CONFERENCE REPORT ON THE CRIME BILL

                                 ______


                               speech of

                          HON. JOHN J. LaFALCE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Sunday, August 21, 1994

  Mr. LaFALCE. Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives today has an 
opportunity to strike a historic blow against crime across America. For 
the third time in 4 years, we are close to passing major new anticrime 
legislation. Mr. Speaker, ``three strikes and you're out'' is an 
important provision in this crime bill, but it should not be the fate 
of this important crime bill. I urge my colleages to support the rule 
and to support the conference report on the crime bill.
  During the debate about this legislation, the American people have 
been subjected to lies, allegations, and a stream of misinformation 
that I have seldom seen during my years in Congress. Unfortunately, 
during this debate, facts and figures have often been replaced by half-
truths and allegations. Unfortunately, during this debate, programs 
that once had bipartisan support in this body--and that I suspect, 
still do--have now been labeled as ``pork.'' Unfortunately, during this 
debate, we have been forced to listen to television commercials by 
Charlton Heston, a national spokesman for the NRA, now apparently the 
Nation's newest expert on crime legislation.
  Reasonable people may disagree about some of the provisions in the 
crime bill. I don't favor each and every one. There are items in this 
bill that I would prefer to remove or amend. For example, I believe the 
slew of new death penalties contained in this bill--over 60--are, to 
say the least, excessive.

  The problem is, we simply don't have the luxury to demand that every 
single word in this bill be to our liking--not when there are 535 of 
us. It's an impossibility. While Members fiddle and tinker with this 
bill, American citizens are living in fear, locking their doors, 
closing their businesses at night.
  Our purpose must be to wage war against crime--the No. 1 concern of 
the American people today. Waging war against crime requires both 
punishment and prevention. And this bill, in fact, is focused directly 
on both crime punishment and crime prevention. Fully 75 percent of the 
spending in the crime bill is for police, Federal and State law 
enforcement, prisons, and detention facilities. The remaining 25 
percent is for specific prevention programs, almost all of which 
support local community efforts to prevent crime.
  The House Small Business Committee recently held hearings on the 
subject of crime and small businesses. As chairman of this committee, I 
had the opportunity to hear compelling testimony from leading experts 
in this field, including representatives of the Small Business 
Association, the National Association of Convenience Stores, and the 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. In addition to 
offering many useful suggestions for combating small business crime, 
each of these panelists emphasized how important it was for Congress to 
swiftly pass the crime bill. These leaders recognized, as does the 
American public, that putting police on the street and putting 
criminals behind bars are fundamental national priorities. Small 
businesses particularly need this protection--and they need this bill 
now.

  Anyone who calls this bill ``soft on crime'' simply hasn't read it or 
doesn't understand it. In addition to the death penalties and the 
``three-strikes-and-you're-out'' requirement, this bill also increases 
penalties significantly for crimes committed with guns, hate crimes, 
immigration fraud, drunk driving, crimes against the elderly, and 
numerous other types of criminal activity. Make no mistake: This bill 
punishes criminals. This bill builds prisons. This bill helps protect 
our children, and helps safeguard our senior citizens.
  Opponents of the crime bill talk endlessly about social workers, 
dance lessons, arts and crafts, and midnight basketball, implying that 
this bill is about everything but crime. Nothing could be further from 
the truth. This bill does not, contrary to published reports, hire two 
social workers for every new police officer. In fact, there is no money 
in this bill that is designated for the hiring of social workers. Of 
course, you could call anyone a social worker, especially someone 
involved in community policing.
  Further, the prevention measures in this bill are practical and 
sensible. The new local crime prevention block grant contained in this 
conference report gives our States and communities what they need: 
Flexibility to use Federal funding for the prevention methods that best 
fit their specific needs.
  Sure, one can always characterize prevention programs as pork just 
for the sake of stopping this bill--but when many of these programs 
were initially proposed by Republicans, supported by Republicans, and 
voted for by Republicans, it does take some of the sail out of those 
winds.
  When deciding how to vote on this crucial issue, we have a choice of 
who to listen to: The threats of a few, well-entrenched special 
interest groups and Charlton Heston, or the wishes of almost all law 
enforcement officials, the wishes of almost every mayor of plagued 
communities across America, such as Mayor Guiliani of New York City, 
and, most importantly, the wishes of the American people.
  As any law enforcement officer knows, crime fighting requires a 
combination of punishment and prevention. This bill offers both. In 
addition, it offers something else that is critical--HOPE--hope that we 
can reduce the incidence of crime nationwide. For all of these reasons, 
I implore this body to do its duty and to complete its work today. I 
urge my colleagues to support this bill.

                          ____________________