[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             THE CRIME BILL

  (Mr. WHITE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. WHITE. Mr. Speaker, I have looked forward to this moment for a 
long time. These are my first remarks on the floor of the House.
  I have waited for this moment for an important reason. The crime bill 
that we are about to consider this week is one of the most important 
things that this Congress will do in the entire 2 years we are here.
  I have said many times that the crime bill that passed last year was 
not an example of everything that is wrong with Congress. It was 
directed at an important national problem, but it did not solve that 
problem. It spread social spending out in every congressional district, 
a little bit of pork for every Congressman. It was the worst tradition 
of politics as usual.
  This year we are going to be different. This year's bill focuses on 
what the Federal Government can do to solve the crime problem, 
including building more prisons, changing some of our procedural rules, 
and sending the responsibility back to the local governments to decide 
what to do.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be here. I am proud of this Congress. And 
I look forward to dealing with this crime bill over the next week.


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