[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 125 (Friday, September 18, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10609-S10610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN SUPPORT OF ANTI-CRIME LEGISLATION

 Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise to address a bill 
introduced earlier this week called the Safe Schools, Safe Streets, and 
Secure Borders Act of 1998. This bill takes the best ideas and puts 
them to work providing Americans with the tools they need to make their 
families safer, their communities healthier, and their schools freer 
from violence.
  I know all of us would like a simple solution to the crime problems 
facing this great nation. But all of us know, in our hearts, that there 
is no easy solution. We must come together, join with our neighbors, 
our police, our leaders, and our children to tackle the terrifying 
problems facing us.
  We must be tough on criminals. We need to continue to send the 
message that if you do the crime, you will be doing time--hard time. No 
one can accuse the U.S. justice system of coddling criminals. We have 
among the highest percentage of our population in prison, more than 
almost any other country in the world.
  In the Violent Crime Control Act of 1994, which I supported, we 
strengthened penalties for violent, and drug-related crime. We also 
provided grants to states to build jails and prisons if they required 
serious violent offenders to serve at least 75 percent of their 
sentences. We've hired more than 75,000 new police officers to 
implement to time-tested program of community policing. Our crime bill 
has worked.
  Now we need more of the same. We need to extend the Violent Crime 
Reduction Trust fund to pay for these important community-policing and 
grants to state and local government.
  We need to extend the Violence Against Women Act. Preventing domestic 
violence and providing a safe haven for victims of domestic violence 
has been a top priority for me. I intend to introduce legislation to 
ensure victims of domestic violence are not further victimized through 
insurance, job or social security discrimination. Should this bill be 
considered by the Senate, I would seek to amend it by adding provisions 
of my Battered Women Economic Security Act to it.
  Another top priority for me in this bill is reducing crime in our 
schools. As a parent and former educator, I share America's horror that 
our children are not safe in their schools. We simply must invest time 
and resources into solving this fundamental problem. This bill will 
provide an additional $10 million for the Safe and Drug Free School 
program and establish partnerships between schools and local law 
enforcement. Through my Senate Advisory Youth Involvement team, I am 
learning from students how they believe we can best solve school 
violence problems. I will be sharing those ideas with my colleagues 
when we debate this bill.
  In my meetings with law enforcement officers around my state, I 
learned we have some critical problems in our juvenile justice system. 
While I believe juvenile justice is fundamentally an issue for our 
state legislatures to address, there is a federal role in several 
areas. First, we often should treat those 16 and 17-year-olds who 
commit violent federal offenses as adults. This bill gives prosecutors 
important discretion to prosecute these offenders as adults.

  In addition to getting tough on our most hardened young criminals, we 
must replicate successful juvenile crime reduction strategies. There 
are

[[Page S10610]]

many efforts in my state of Washington that bring out the best in kids 
and communities and they are truly making a dent in the juvenile crime 
problem. Best SELF in Skagit county; Teamchild in King county; 
community justice in Spokane county and on the Colville Indian 
Reservation; Safestreets in Seattle; and TOGETHER! in Thurston county 
are several examples of communities joining together to make a 
difference with their youth. It's amazing how far just a few thousand 
dollars can go in these community-based programs; they need our 
continued support.
  Mr. President, this bill also targets gangs, illegal drugs, and 
domestic and international terrorism. It extends a recently-passed bill 
I strongly supported, the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act, and 
provides other safeguards for our law enforcement officers. It 
reauthorizes the Drug Czar's office, which coordinates the High 
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program that is helping establish a 
coordinated campaign against drug importation and use while also 
focusing resources of prevention and treatment of abuse.
  No bill is perfect and I cannot say I agree with every provision 
included in this 1220-page bill. However, the Safe Schools, Safe 
Streets, and Secure Borders Act of 1998 continues to move this country 
in the right direction. Violent crime must continue to drop. With all 
of us joining together to fight crime and embrace healthy communities 
and schools, America can again become a safe place to raise and educate 
all of our children.
  I thank Senator Leahy for his fine leadership on this bill and 
encourage all Senators to work to pass comprehensive, bi-partisan 
legislation to prevent crime and strengthen families and 
communities.

                          ____________________