[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 17, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H5173-H5174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CRIME AND PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Stupak] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, when U.S. Marshal Robert Forsyth of Augusta, 
GA was shot and killed in January 1794 while trying to serve court 
papers, he became the first peace officer in the United States to die 
in the line of duty. Since then about 13,500 police officers from all 
types of law enforcement fields have fallen in the line of duty.
  My district in northern Michigan has been hard hit by the all-too-
common tragedy of police officer slaying. In the Upper Peninsula, which 
has about 3 percent of Michigan's population, 18 police officers have 
died since the 1920's. In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed that for 1 
week in the month of May Americans would commemorate National Police 
Week. National Police Week honors the service related deaths of law 
enforcement officers.
  As a former state trooper, as an Escanaba City police officer, this 
week has special meaning for me. And as a former police officer and now 
as a legislator, I am particularly concerned about recent Republican 
efforts to weaken legislation designed to reduce crime in America.
  In 1994, Congress passed the toughest crime bill in this Nation's 
history. The President's crime bill has several very important elements 
designed to fight crime on our streets. Most importantly, the crime 
bill directs that additional police officers be put on the streets to 
fight crime, because there is no better crime fighting tool than police 
officers proactively patrolling our neighborhoods.
  The President's plan to put 100,000 more police on America's streets 
represents the Federal Government's largest commitment ever to local 
law enforcement.
  The President's COPS program is already working. Half of the Nation's 
law enforcement agencies from jurisdictions of all sizes throughout 
this country have already received grants to add 17,000 additional 
police officers. Unfortunately, the new Republican majority wants to 
turn back the clock by gutting the most effective element of last 
year's crime bill, the COPS program.
  Not only do they want to scrap the President's plan to put 100,000 
more police officers on the street, but they also [[Page H5174]] intend 
to delete every single prevention program.
  Additionally, the Republican budget measure that we debated here 
today proposes a $5 billion cut in the crime trust fund over the next 6 
years. The measure directs that the justice assistance grant programs 
would be consolidated into a single block grant program. This plan will 
only serve to weaken our crimefighting ability by taking money away 
from law enforcement officers.

                              {time}  2115

  Certainly there is much more Congress can and must do to reduce crime 
and violence in this country. Crime continues to be the number one 
concern for millions of working families. That is why it is imperative 
that Congress not gut the crime bill as a means of playing partisan 
politics.
  Therefore, I say to my friends on this side of the aisle, I say to 
the Republicans, stop playing politics with the crime bill. Respect the 
men and women in law enforcement. Instead of providing them with a few 
encouraging words during National Police Week, give law enforcement the 
financial assistance they need to keep them secure in their jobs and to 
keep us all secure in our neighborhoods.


                          ____________________