[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S366-S368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Biden, Mr. Kennedy, 
        Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
        Lautenberg, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Breaux, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. 
        Bingaman):
  S. 9. A bill to combat violent and gang-related crime in schools and 
on the streets, to reform the juvenile justice system, target 
international crime, promote effective drug and other crime prevention 
programs, assist crime victims, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.


     the safe schools, safe streets, and secure borders act of 1999

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, in September 1998, I introduced, with the 
support of Senator Daschle and several other Democratic Senators, a 
comprehensive crime bill, S. 2484, and am pleased today to join in 
introducing an updated version of that bill, the Safe Schools, Safe 
Streets, and Secure Borders Act of 1999. A number of provisions from S. 
2484 were enacted last year and it is my hope that this new bill, S. 9, 
will have similar success.
  The Safe Schools, Safe Streets, and Secure Borders Act of 1999, S. 9, 
is designed to keep our Nation's crime rates moving in the right 
direction--downward. This bill builds on prior Democratic crime 
initiatives, including the landmark Violent Crime Control and Law 
Enforcement Act of 1994, that have reduced violent crime rates by 21 
percent over the past five years. Property crime rates have also fallen 
by more than 20 percent since 1993. The Nation's serious crime rates 
are now at their lowest level since 1973, the first year the national 
crime victimization survey was conducted. We are proud of the 
significant reduction in crime rates, but we must not become 
complacent. Too many Americans still encounter violence in their 
neighborhoods, workplaces, and unfortunately, even in their homes. This 
bill would ensure that the crime rates continue their downward trend 
next year, the year after, and beyond.
  The Safe Schools, Safe Streets, and Secure Borders Act builds on the 
successful programs we implemented in the 1994 Crime Law while also 
addressing emerging crime problems. The bill is comprehensive and 
realistic. The new program initiatives are also funded without 
downsizing other Federal programs or touching any projected Federal 
budget surplus, but instead by extending the Violent Crime Reduction 
Trust Fund for two more years.
  I am optimistic that we can enact this bill, without partisan or 
ideological controversy. In fact, the bill contains a number of 
initiatives that enjoy bipartisan support. We have tried to avoid the 
easy rhetoric about crime that some have to offer in this crucial area 
of public policy. Instead, we have crafted a bill that could actually 
make a difference.
  The Safe Schools, Safe Streets, and Secure Borders Act targets 
violent crime in our schools, reforms the juvenile justice system, 
combats gang violence, cracks down on the sale and use of illegal 
drugs, enhances the rights of crime victims, and provides meaningful 
assistance to law enforcement officers in the battle against street 
crime, international crime and terrorism. It also authorizes funding to 
deploy 25,000 additional police officers on the streets in the coming 
years. The Act represents an important next step in the continuing 
effort by Senate Democrats to enact tough yet balanced reforms to our 
criminal justice system.
  The bill has nine comprehensive titles to address crime in our 
schools, crime on our streets, and crime on our borders and abroad. I 
should note that the bill contains no new death penalties and no new or 
increased mandatory minimum sentences. We can be tough without imposing 
the death penalty, and we can ensure swift and certain punishment 
without removing all discretion from the judge at sentencing.
  Title I of the bill deals with proposals for combating violence in 
the schools and punishing juvenile crime. This title provides technical 
assistance to schools, reforms the Federal juvenile system, assists 
States in prosecuting and punishing juvenile offenders and reduces 
juvenile crime, while also protecting children from violence, including 
violence from the misuse of guns.
  Assistance to Schools. Americans were dismayed and grief-stricken at 
the school shootings across the country last year. While homicides at 
American schools have remained relatively constant in recent years, the 
number of students who have experienced a violent crime in school 
increased 23 percent in 1995 compared to 1989. We need to make sure our 
children attend school in a safe environment that fosters learning, not 
fear.
  In response to these concerns, this bill contains an inventive 
proposal developed by Senator Bingaman to establish a School Security 
Technology Center using expertise from the Sandia National Labs, and 
provides grants from the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program to enable 
schools to access technical assistance for school security.
  Federal Prosecution of Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders. The 
bill would also make important reforms to the Federal juvenile system, 
without federalizing run-of-the-mill juvenile offenses or ignoring the 
traditional prerogative of the States to handle the bulk of juvenile 
crime. One of the significant flaws in the Republican juvenile crime 
bills last year was that they would have--in the words of Chief Justice 
Rehnquist--``eviscerate[d] this traditional deference to State 
prosecutions, thereby increasing substantially the potential workload 
of the federal judiciary.'' The Chief Justice has repeatedly raised 
concerns about ``federalizing'' more crimes and in his 1998 Year-End 
Report of the Federal Judiciary noted that ``Federal courts were not 
created to adjudicate local crimes, no matter how sensational or 
heinous the crimes may be. State courts do, can, and should handle such 
problems.'' The Democratic proposals for reform of the Federal juvenile 
justice system heed this sound advice and respect our Federal system.

[[Page S367]]

  Among other reforms, the Safe Schools, Safe Streets, and Secure 
Borders Act would allow Federal prosecution of juveniles only when the 
Attorney General certifies that the State cannot or will not exercise 
jurisdiction, or when the juvenile is alleged to have committed a 
violent, drug or firearm offense.
  Prosecutors would be given sole, nonreviewable authority to prosecute 
as adults 16- and 17-year-olds who are alleged to have committed the 
most serious violent and drug offenses. Limited judicial review is 
provided for prosecutors' decisions to try as adults 13-, 14-, and 15-
year-old juveniles, and those 16- and 17-year-olds who are charged with 
less serious Federal offenses.
  Assistance to States for Prosecuting and Punishing Juvenile 
Offenders, and Reducing Juvenile Crime. The bill authorizes grants to 
the States for incarcerating violent and chronic juvenile offenders 
(with each qualifying State getting at least one percent of available 
funds), and provides graduated sanctions, reimburses States for the 
cost of incarcerating juvenile alien offenders, and establishes a pilot 
program to replicate successful juvenile crime reduction strategies.
  Protecting Children from Violence. The bill contains important 
initiatives to protect children from violence, including violence 
resulting from the misuse of guns. Americans want concrete proposals to 
reduce the risk of such incidents recurring. At the same time, we must 
preserve adults' rights to use guns for legitimate purposes, such as 
home protection, hunting and for sport.
  The bill imposes a prospective gun ban for juveniles convicted or 
adjudicated delinquent for violent crimes. It also requires revocation 
of a firearms dealer's license for failing to have secure gun storage 
or safety devices available for sale with firearms. The bill enhances 
the penalty for possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime 
of violence or drug offense and for violation of certain firearm laws 
involving juveniles. In addition, the bill authorizes competitive grant 
programs for the establishment of juvenile gun courts and youth 
violence courts.
  Title II of the bill addresses the problem of gang violence which has 
spread from our cities into rural areas of this country. According to 
the Department of Justice, more than 846,000 gang members belong to 
31,000 youth gangs in the United States, and the numbers are growing.
  This part of the bill cracks down on gangs by making the interstate 
``franchising'' of street gangs a crime. It will also increase 
penalties for crimes during which the convicted felon wears protective 
body armor or uses ``laser-sighting'' devices to commit the crime. The 
bill doubles the criminal penalties for using or threatening physical 
violence against witnesses and contains other provisions designed to 
facilitate the use and protection of witnesses to help prosecute gangs 
and other violent criminals. The Act also provides funding for law 
enforcement agencies in communities designated by the Attorney General 
as areas with a high level of interstate gang activity.
  Title III of the bill sets forth a number of initiatives in nine 
subtitles to combat violence in the streets. The Safe Schools, Safe 
Streets, and Secure Borders Act continues successful initiatives in the 
1994 Crime Act by putting more police officers on our streets, 
providing for the construction of more prisons, preventing juvenile 
felons from buying handguns, and assisting law enforcement and 
community groups in better protecting women and children from domestic 
violence. Specifically, the bill would extend COPS funding into 2001 
and 2002 (which should lead to at least 25,000 more officers on the 
streets); establish a state minimum of .75 percent for Truth-in-
Sentencing grants and extend this program and the Violent Offender 
Incarceration prison grant program into 2001 and 2002; and extend 
authorization for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) funding and 
local law enforcement grant programs.
  A significant problem that arose last year was the loss of 
confidentiality that had previously attached to the important work of 
the U.S. Secret Service. The Departments of Justice and Treasury and 
even a former Republican President advise that the safety of future 
Presidents may be jeopardized by forcing U.S. Secret Service agents to 
breach the confidentiality they need to do their job by testifying 
before a grand jury. I trust the Secret Service on this issue; they are 
the experts with the mission of protecting the lives of the President 
and other high-level elected official and visiting dignitaries. I also 
have confidence in the judgment of former President Bush, who has 
written, ``I feel very strongly that [Secret Service] agents should not 
be made to appear in court to discuss that which they might or might 
not have seen or heard.''
  The Safe Schools, Safe Streets, and Secure Borders Act provides a 
reasonable and limited protective function privilege so future Secret 
Service agents are able to maintain the confidentiality they say they 
need to protect the lives of the President, Vice President and visiting 
heads of state.
  This title of the bill also includes a number of provisions to 
address the following matters:
  Domestic violence: In addition to extending authorized funding for 
the Violence Against Women Act, the bill would punish attempts to 
commit interstate domestic violence, expand the interstate domestic 
violence offense to cover intimidation, and punish interstate travel 
with the intent to kill a spouse.
  Protecting Law Enforcement and the Judiciary: The Act recognizes that 
law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day. 
According to the FBI, over 1,000 officers have been killed in the line 
of duty since 1980. The Safe Schools, Safe Streets, and Secure Borders 
Act contains provisions to protect the lives of our law enforcement 
officers by extending the Bulletproof Vest Partnership grant program 
through 2004. It also establishes new crimes and increases penalties 
for killing federal officers and persons working with federal officers, 
including in their work with federal prisoners, and for retaliation 
against federal officials by threatening or injuring their family 
members. The Act enhances the penalty for assaults and threats against 
Federal judges and other federal officials engaged in their official 
duties.
  Cargo/Property Theft: The bill also contains an important initiative 
proposed by Senator Lautenberg to deter cargo thefts.
  Sentencing Improvements: This subtitle doubles the maximum penalty 
for manslaughter from 10 to 20 years, consistent with the Sentencing 
Commission's recommendation, applies the sentencing guidelines to all 
pertinent federal statutes (such as criminal prohibitions in statutes 
outside titles 18 and 21 of the United States Code), and other 
improvements.
  Civil Liberties: The bill includes the ``Hate Crimes Prevention 
Act,'' which was originally introduced by Senator Kennedy and has the 
strong bipartisan support of over twenty Members, and other initiatives 
designed to bolster support for enforcement of civil rights.
  National Drunk Driving Standard: The bill includes a provision 
sponsored by Senator Lautenberg which requires States to establish a 
.08 alcohol standard for driving while intoxicated by 2002 or risk 
losing a portion of their federal highway funds.
  Title IV of the bill outlines a number of prevention programs that 
are critical to further reducing juvenile crime. These programs include 
grants to youth organizations and ``Say No to Drugs'' Community 
Centers, as well as reauthorization of the Runaway and Homeless Youth 
Act, Anti-Drug Abuse Programs and Local Delinquency Prevention 
Programs. Additional sections include a program suggested by Senator 
Bingaman to establish a competitive grant program to reduce truancy, 
with priority given to efforts to replicate successful programs.
  The bill would also reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention Act (JJDPA) in a similar fashion to H.R. 1818, a bill passed 
by the House with strong bipartisan support in the last Congress. This 
section creates a new juvenile justice block grant program and retains 
the four core protections for youth in the juvenile justice system, 
while adopting greater flexibility for rural areas.
  Last year, the Senate Republicans tried to gut these core protections 
in their juvenile crime bill, S. 10. This Democratic crime bill puts 
ideology aside, and follows the advice of numerous child advocacy 
experts--including

[[Page S368]]

the Children's Defense Fund, National Collaboration for Youth, Youth 
Law Center and National Network for Youth--who believe these key 
protections must be preserved in order to protect juveniles who have 
been arrested or detained. These core protections ensure that juveniles 
are not housed with adults, do not have verbal or physical contact with 
adult inmates, and any disproportionate confinement of minority youth 
is addressed by the States. If these protections are abolished, many 
more youth may end up committing suicide or being released with serious 
physical or emotional scars.
  Title V of the bill contains five subtitles on combating illegal drug 
use. Illegal drugs are too often at the heart of crime. This Act would 
protect our children by increasing penalties for selling drugs to kids 
and drug trafficking in or near schools, and cracking down on ``club 
drugs.'' It goes a step further and encourages pharmacotherapy research 
to develop medications for the treatment of drug addiction, a proposal 
Senator Biden has urged. It also funds drug courts, which subject 
eligible drug offenders to programs of intensive supervision.
  Title VI of the bill is intended to increase the rights of victims 
within the criminal justice system. The criminal is only half of the 
equation. This bill guarantees the rights of crime victims. All States 
recognize victims' rights in some form, but they often lack the 
training and resources to make those rights a reality. This bill 
provides a model Bill of Rights for crime victims in the federal 
system, and makes available to the States grants to fund the hiring of 
State and Federal victim-witness advocates, training, and the 
technology necessary for model notification systems. This bill would 
help make victims' rights a reality.
  Specifically, this title reforms Federal law and evidence to enhance 
victims' participation in all stages of criminal proceedings by giving 
victims' a right to notice of detention hearings, plea agreements, 
sentencing, probation revocations, escapes or releases from prison, and 
to allocution at hearings, as well as grants for obtaining state-of-
the-art systems for providing notice. In addition, this title would 
provide grant programs to study the effectiveness of the restorative 
justice approach for victims.
  Title VII of the bill of details provisions for combating money 
laundering. Crime increasingly has an international face, from drug 
kingpins to millionaire terrorists, like Usama bin Laden. The money 
laundering provisions of this bill hit these international criminals 
where it hurts most--in the pocketbook.
  These provisions would provide important tools not just to combat 
international terrorism but drug trafficking as well. We must have 
interdiction, we must have treatment programs; we must tell kids to say 
``No'' to drugs. But we have to do more, and taking the profit away 
from international drug lords is an effective weapon. This Democratic 
crime bill would strengthen these laws.
  FBI Director Freeh testified last year before the Senate Judiciary 
Committee that enhanced money laundering provisions would be an 
important tool against the likes of international terrorists, such as 
bin Laden. Director Freeh praised the following provisions set forth in 
this title of the bill.
  Fugitive Disentitlement to stop drug kingpins, terrorists and other 
international fugitives from using our courts to fight to keep the 
proceeds of the very crimes for which they are wanted. Criminals should 
not be able to use our courts to their benefit at the same time they 
are evading our laws.
  Immediate seizure of U.S. assets of foreign criminals, so terrorists 
and drug lords will not be able to keep their money one step ahead of 
the law enforcement.
  Limits on Foreign Bank Secrecy to stop criminals from hiding behind 
foreign bank secrecy laws while they use U.S. courts.
  These and other money laundering provisions in the bill should find 
bipartisan support for quick passage before the end of this Congress.
  Title VIII sets forth important proposals for combating international 
crime. In particular, the bill would punish violent crimes or murder 
against American citizens abroad, deny safe havens to international 
criminals by strengthening extradition, promote cooperation with 
foreign governments on sharing witnesses and evidence, and streamline 
the prosecution of international crimes in U.S. courts. Provisions 
include:
  Giving the FBI authority to investigate and prosecute the murder or 
extortion of U.S. citizens and state and local officials involved in 
federally-sponsored programs abroad;
  Providing for extradition under certain circumstances for offenses 
not covered in a treaty or absent a treaty;
  Giving the Attorney General authority to transfer and share witnesses 
with foreign governments, and obtain and use foreign evidence in 
criminals cases;
  Prohibiting fugitives from benefitting from time served abroad 
fighting extradition;
  Adding serious computer crimes as predicate offenses for which 
wiretaps may be authorized; and
  Providing court order procedures for law enforcement access to stored 
information on computer networks.
  Finally, Title IX contains provisions to strengthen the air, land and 
sea borders of this country. The bill would punish violence at the 
borders, increase authority of maritime law enforcement officers at the 
borders, increase penalties for smuggling contraband and other 
products, strengthen immigration laws to exclude fleeing felons, and 
persons involved in racketeering and arms trafficking. Specific 
sections include:
  Punishing ``port-running,'' which is driving or crashing through 
Customs entry ports;
  Sanctions for not cooperating with maritime law enforcement officers 
by obstructing lawful boarding requests and commands to ``heave to''; 
and
  Denying admission into the U.S. of persons whom consular officials 
have reason to believe are involved in RICO acts, arms trafficking, or 
alien smuggling for profit, or are fleeing foreign prosecution.
  The Safe Schools, Safe Streets, and Secure Borders Act is a 
comprehensive and realistic set of proposals for keeping our schools 
safe, our streets safe, our citizens safe when they go abroad, and our 
borders secure. I look forward to working on a bipartisan basis for 
passage of as much of this bill as possible during the 106th Congress.
                                 ______