[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 49 (Monday, April 12, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S3600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000

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                        HATCH AMENDMENT NO. 246

  (Ordered to lie on the table.)
  Mr. HATCH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to 
the concurrent resolution, S. Con. Res. 20, supra; as follows:

       In the matter proposed to be inserted by Amendment Number 
     167, strike the matter proposed to be inserted, and insert 
     the following:

     SEC.   . SENSE OF THE SENATE ON REAUTHORIZING STATE AND LOCAL 
                   LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

       (a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
       (1) as of December, 1998, the Community Oriented Policing 
     Services (COPS) Program had awarded grants for the hiring or 
     redeployment to the Nation's streets of more than 92,000 
     police officers and sheriffs' deputies;
       (2) according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the 
     United States Department of Justice, the Nation's violent 
     crime rate declined almost 7 percent during 1997, and has 
     fallen more than 21 percent since 1993;
       (3) enhanced community policing, state enactment of truth 
     in sentencing laws requiring violent criminals to serve at 
     least 85 percent of their sentences, and increased reliance 
     on new crime detection and crime solving technology have 
     significantly contributed to this decline in the violent 
     crime rate;
       (4) the policies and priorities of recent Congresses and 
     the Nation's governors have provided significant increases in 
     law enforcement funding and have enacted legislative 
     initiatives that have given federal and state prosecutors and 
     judges the tools to detect, prosecute, and punish violent 
     criminals;
       (5) foremost among these federal funding initiatives have 
     been the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant, the Violent 
     Offender Incarceration and Truth in Sentencing Incentive 
     Grant program, and the Juvenile Offender Accountability 
     Incentive Block Grant program, which have distributed nearly 
     $5.7 billion in funding to State and local governments since 
     fiscal year 1996; and
       (6) The President's FY 2000 budget provides zero funding 
     for each of the three crucial programs.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that the levels in this resolution assume that--
       (1) the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Program, the 
     Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant Program, the 
     Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program, the 
     Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth in Sentencing 
     Incentive Grants Program, the State Criminal Alien Assistance 
     Program, and the Byrne Memorial Grant program should be 
     reauthorized; and
       (2) the COPS Program should be reauthorized and improved in 
     order to provide continued federal funding for the hiring, 
     deployment, and retention of community law enforcement 
     officers, to provide greater flexibility to state and local 
     authorities to purchase capital equipment, and to provide 
     greater incentives to state and local law enforcement to 
     invest in zero tolerance and crime tracking strategies used 
     successfully in New York City and elsewhere.
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                 COLLINS (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 247

  Mr. DOMENICI (for Ms. Collins for herself, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Reed, 
Mr. Dodd, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Lieberman) proposed an amendment to the 
concurrent resolution, S. Con. Res. 20, supra; as follows:

       Amend section 315 to read as follows:

     SEC. 315. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON NEED-BASED STUDENT FINANCIAL 
                   AID PROGRAMS.

       (a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
       (1) public investment in higher education yields a return 
     of several dollars for each dollar invested;
       (2) higher education promotes economic opportunity for 
     individuals, as recipients of bachelor's degrees earn an 
     average of 75 percent per year more than those with high 
     school diplomas and experience half as much unemployment as 
     high school graduates;
       (3) higher education promotes social opportunity, as 
     increased education is correlated with reduced criminal 
     activity, lessened reliance on public assistance, and 
     increased civic participation;
       (4) a more educated workforce will be essential for 
     continued economic competitiveness in an age where the amount 
     of information available to society will double in a matter 
     of days rather than months or years;
       (5) access to a college education has become a hallmark of 
     American society, and is vital to upholding our belief in 
     equality of opportunity;
       (6) for a generation, the Federal Pell Grant has served as 
     an established and effective means of providing access to 
     higher education for students with financial need;
       (7) over the past decade, Pell Grant awards have failed to 
     keep pace with inflation, eroding their value and threatening 
     access to higher education for the nation's neediest 
     students;
       (8) grant aid as a portion of all students financial aid 
     has fallen significantly over the past 5 years;
       (9) the nation's neediest students are now borrowing 
     approximately as much as its wealthiest students to finance 
     higher education; and
       (10) the percentage of freshmen attending public and 
     private 4-year institutions from families below national 
     median income has fallen since 1981.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that within the discretionary allocation provided to the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the Senate for function 500--
       (1) the maximum amount of Federal Pell Grants should be 
     increased by $400;
       (2) funding for the Federal Supplemental Educational 
     Opportunity Grants Program should be increased by 
     $65,000,000;
       (3) funding for the Federal capital contributions under the 
     Federal Perkins Loan Program should be increased by 
     $35,000,000;
       (4) funding for the Leveraging Educational Assistance 
     Partnership Program should be increased by $50,000,000;
       (5) funding for the Federal Work-Study Program should be 
     increased by $64,000,000;
       (6) funding for the Federal TRIO Programs should be 
     increased by $100,000,000.

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