[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 45 (Tuesday, April 11, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S2532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. 
        Sessions, Mr. Helms, and Mr. Abraham):
  S. 2390. A bill to establish a grant program that provides incentives 
for States to enact mandatory minimum sentences for certain firearms 
offenses, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.


     project exile: the safe streets and neighborhoods act of 2000

 Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I come to the floor today because I 
am troubled. Guns are falling into the wrong hands. It's killing our 
children. It's killing our friends and our neighbors. It's creating 
mayhem in communities across America. That's why I'm introducing 
Project Exile: The Safe Streets and Neighborhoods Act of 2000.
  It's no secret that gun control measures are very controversial and 
are subject to a great deal of debate--as they should be. But, in the 
heat of that debate, we must not lose sight of the real issue--gun 
violence. There is nothing controversial about protecting our children, 
our families and our communities by keeping guns out of the wrong 
hands--the hands of armed criminals--not law-abiding citizens, Mr. 
President, but criminals.
  The Safe Streets and Neighborhoods Act offers a simple, commonsense 
approach to fighting gun violence. My bill would provide $100 million 
in grants over 5 years to those states agreeing to impose mandatory 
minimum 5-year jail sentences on criminals who use or possess an 
illegal gun. As an alternative, a state can also qualify for the grants 
by turning armed criminals over for federal prosecution under existing 
firearms laws. Therefore, a state has the option of having armed felons 
prosecuted in state or federal courts. Qualifying states can use their 
grants for any purpose that would strengthen the ability of their 
criminal or juvenile justice systems to deal with violent criminals.
  Back in 1991, the Federal Government implemented a program to aim 
antigun violence efforts at the root of the problem--at criminals. This 
program--known as project Triggerlock--directed every U.S. attorney to 
coordinate with federal, state, and local investigators to bring 
federal weapons charges against armed criminals. Sentences for these 
prosecutions wee generally more severe than they would have been under 
state laws. The program was hugely successful. In fact, simply by 
making gun prosecutions a federal priority, starting in 1991, Project 
Triggerlock took away over 2,000 guns from violent felons in just 18 
months.
  Tragically, Mr. President, despite the success of Project 
Triggerlock, the current administration has not aggressively prosecuted 
all armed criminals. Between 1992 and 1998, for example, the number of 
gun cases filed for prosecution dropped from 7,048 to about 3,807--
that's a 46-percent decrease. As a result, the number of federal 
criminal convictions for firearms offenses have fallen dramatically.
  Even worse, some federal firearms laws are almost never enforced by 
this administration. While Brady law background checks have stopped 
nearly 300,000 prohibited purchasers of firearms from buying guns, less 
than one-tenth of one percent have been prosecuted. Similarly, federal 
criminal prosecutions for possession of a firearm on school grounds 
numbered just eight in 1998, despite the fact that 6,000 individuals 
were caught carrying guns to school. There's something wrong with this 
picture, Mr. President, something terribly wrong.
  I believe most Americans would agree that we should take guns out of 
the hands of armed criminals. I believe that most Americans would agree 
that criminals who possess a firearm or use a firearm during the 
commission of a violent crime or a serious drug trafficking offense 
should face severe penalties. And, Mr. President, I also believe that 
most Americans would favor legislation that offers a single, 
noncontroversial, commensense approach to fighting gun violence.

  So, today, I, along with my colleagues, introduce Project Exile: The 
Safe Streets and Neighbors Act, which builds on the previous success of 
programs like Project Triggerlock and offers the kind of practical 
solution we need to thwart gun crimes.
  This approach works, Mr. President. For example, in 1997, Virginia 
revived Project Triggerlock under the name ``Project Exile.'' 
Specifically, the city of Richmond and the U.S. attorney implemented a 
program based on one simple principle: any criminal caught with a gun 
serves a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years in federal prison. 
Period. End of story. As a result, gun-toting criminals are being 
prosecuted six times faster, and serving sentences up to four times 
longer than they otherwise would under state law. Moreover, the 
homicide rate in Richmond already has dropped 40 percent.
  It is clear that programs like Project Triggerlock and Virginia's 
Project Exile work, while at the same time being very simple. But 
still, federal gun prosecutions have declined considerably during this 
administration because it has not emphasized these programs. Why? I 
have repeatedly questioned Attorney General Reno and her deputies about 
this decline, and their standard response is that the Department of 
Justice is focusing on so-called ``high-level'' offenders, instead of 
``low-level'' offenders who commit a crime with a gun. With all due 
respect, I consider that response to be bureaucratic nonsense. One 
thing I learned as Greene County Prosecutor in my home state of Ohio is 
that any criminal who commits a crime with a gun is a high-level 
offender. And, I'm willing to bet that any citizen who has ever been a 
victim of a gun-crime would agree.
  Furthermore, the idea that there are a lot of so-called ``low-level'' 
offenders, who commit only one crime with a gun, is just plain wrong. 
The average armed criminal commits 160 crimes a year; that is an 
average of three crimes per week. These people are, by themselves, 
walking crime waves.
  Along the same lines, Attorney General Reno recently said that she 
would aggressively prosecute armed criminals, but only if they commit a 
violent crime. Again, that type of law enforcement policy just does not 
make sense. Current law prohibits felons from possessing guns--we 
should enforce the law. We should aggressively prosecute armed 
criminals before they use those guns to injure and kill people.
  We need to take all of these armed criminals off the streets. That is 
how we will prevent crime and save lives. Why wait for armed criminals 
to commit more heinous crimes before we prosecute them to the full 
extent of the law? Why wait when we can do something that will make a 
difference now, before another Ohioan--or any American--becomes a 
victim of gun violence.
  Every state should have the opportunity to implement Project Exile in 
their high-crime communities. The bill that we are introducing today 
will make this proven, commonsense approach to reducing gun violence 
available to every state. Programs like Project Triggerlock and Project 
Exile will take guns out of the hands of violent criminals. They will 
make our neighborhoods safer. They will save lives.
  We can take concrete steps toward making our streets and 
neighborhoods safer from armed criminals by passing the ``Safe Streets 
and Neighborhoods Act.'' I urge my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to support and pass this legislation. It's time to protect our 
children and our families. It's time to get guns out of the wrong 
hands. It's time we take back our neighborhoods and our communities 
from the criminals and take action to stop gun crimes.
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