[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 27, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2993-S2994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Smith 
        of Oregon, Mr. Leahy, Ms. Collins, Mr. Leiberman, Ms. Snowe, 
        Mr. Wyden, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Akaka, 
        Mr. Ensign, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Biden, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. 
        Breaux, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Carnahan, Mr. Carper, Mr. Cleland, 
        Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Dayton, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Dorgan, 
        Mr. Durbin, Mr. Edwards, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
        Harkin, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. 
        Levin, Mrs. Lincoln, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Miller, Mrs. Murray, Mr. 
        Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Reed, Mr. Reid, 
        Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Sarbanes, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Torricelli, 
        and Mr. Wellstone):
  S. 625. A bill to provide Federal assistance to States and local 
jurisdictions to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. President, today's introduction of the bipartisan 
Local Law Enforcement Act, with 50 original sponsors in the Senate, is 
the first step toward passing this important legislation this year. 
This bill has the support of a wide range of law enforcement, 
religious, and civil rights organizations.
  Although America experienced a significant drop in violent crime 
during the 1990s, the number of hate crimes has continued to grow. In 
fact, according to FBI statistics, in 1999 there were 7876 reported 
hate crimes committed in the United States. That's over 20 hate crimes 
per day, every day.
  Hate crimes are a national disgrace, an attack on everything this 
country stands for. They send a poisonous message that some Americans 
are second class citizens who deserve to be victimized solely because 
of their race, their ethnic background, their religion, their sexual 
orientation, their gender or their disability. These senseless crimes 
have a destructive and devastating impact not only on individual 
victims, but entire communities. If America is to live up to its 
founding ideals of liberty and justice for all, combating hate crimes 
must be a national priority.
  Yet for too long, the Federal government has been forced to stand on 
the sidelines in the fight against these senseless acts of hate and 
violence. The bill we are introducing today will change that by giving 
the Justice Department greater ability to investigate and prosecute 
these crimes, and to help the states do so as well.
  We look forward to bringing this legislation to the Senate floor for 
a vote in the near future.
  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce with 
Senator Kennedy the Local Law Enforcement Act of 2001, legislation that 
would add new categories to current hate crimes law. I want to keep my 
remarks brief, so I speak to you from the heart about hate crimes.
  Many of you know I am a Republican, a conservative man of faith from 
a religious minority. I have known firsthand persecution and 
discrimination because of my faith. As a member of the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee, I have taken great interest in religious freedom 
and fighting anti-Semitism abroad. I found that all of my colleagues 
have joined me in that goal in many ways. We have all asked other 
countries to stop hate, to stop ethnic violence and persecution of 
minorities. Today, I ask every Senator to take the same stand in our 
own country.
  If it were easy to speak out against hate thousands of miles away, 
then it must be easy to speak out against hate in your own backyard. 
Backyards in Wyoming--where Matthew Shepard was brutally beaten and 
left to die tied to a cattle fence off a lonely road. Backyards in 
Texas, where James Byrd, Jr. was dragged to death behind a pick-up 
truck. Backyards in Virginia, where Roanoke native Danny Lee Overstreet 
was brutally shot down in a hate crime last fall. Backyards in Alabama, 
where Jack Gaither was bludgeoned to death and set on fire. And 
backyards in Oregon, my state, where two women, Roxanne Ellis and 
Michelle Abdill of Medford, were killed in late 1995 because of their 
sexual orientation.
  This hate crimes legislation sends a signal that violence of any kind 
is unacceptable. I look to my party and look for inclusion--a big tent 
approach to this issue. I hope that the President can join in this 
effort, I believe that given the opportunity, the White House can 
participate in this effort and play a significant role in the outcome. 
Further, I am committed to making sure that partisan rhetoric stays out 
of this issue and together we can work on both sides of the aisle to 
make this legislation public law. I fear any strain of hate or 
homophobia, any isolationism or xenophobia in politics today, and I 
believe that all my colleagues share this fear. Taking a stand against 
hate crimes isn't a liberal or a conservative issue--it's something we 
should all do.
  I believe that government's first duty is to defend its citizens, to 
defend them against the harms that come out of hate, to defend them 
regardless of their status, be they female, disabled or gay. The Local 
Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2001 is now a symbol that can become 
substance. By changing this law we can change hearts and minds as well.
  The law is a teacher and we should teach our fellow citizens that all 
crime is hateful. But we can also teach that some crime is so odious 
that an extra measure of prosecution is demanded by us, so that it will 
never again be repeated among us.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I join with my colleagues in 
expressing my strong support for the Local Law Enforcement Act of 2001, 
legislation of which I am an original cosponsor.
  Popularly known as the ``Hate Crimes Prevention Act,'' this 
legislation would expand current federal protections against hate 
crimes based on race, religion, and national origin; amend the criminal 
code to cover hate crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and 
disability; authorize grants for State and local programs designed to 
combat and prevent hate crimes;

[[Page S2994]]

and enable the federal government to assist State and local law 
enforcement in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.
  While past efforts to enact this legislation have received strong 
bipartisan support, we have not been able to get it to the President's 
desk for his consideration. We must now work to ensure that this 
legislation is not simply supported, but actually passed and signed 
into law by the President.
  This important legislation would enhance current hate crimes law and 
enable the federal government to offer assistance to states and 
localities in investigating and prosecuting bias-motivated crimes. Even 
with the strides we have made in combating hate crimes thus far, these 
crimes are still frequently under-reported and therefore go 
unprosecuted.
  In California, I have seen, first-hand, the devastating impact these 
crimes have on victims, their families and their communities. Hate 
crimes divide neighborhoods and breed a sense of mistrust and fear 
within communities. This is why I have long supported legislation aimed 
at protecting citizens from crimes based on races, ethnicity, religion, 
gender, disability, or sexual orientation.
  Prior to 1990, while we knew that hate crimes existed, we had no 
tools to measure the number of instances in which such crimes were 
committed. In 1990, Congress enacted the Hate Crimes Statistics Act. 
Because of this law, we are now able to quantify the extent of the 
problem. What we found was disturbing. For the first time, data was 
collected and analyzed on the incidence of hate crimes. In 1991, the 
first year after the Act took effect, 4,588 hate crimes were reported 
nationwide. In 1998, the last year for which we have statistics, that 
number rose to 7,755. These statistics provide federal and state law 
enforcement officials the tools to recognize the problems particular to 
their communities and have encouraged many to come up with solutions.
  In 1993, I sponsored the Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act in 
1993, which was subsequently signed into law as part of the Violent 
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. This act increased 
penalties for hate crimes targeting individuals because of their race, 
color, religion, national origin, gender, disability or sexual 
orientation.
  While current hate crime laws help us better understand the problem 
and penalize those who would resort to such violent acts, these laws do 
not extend to the thousands of people who are victimized because of 
their gender, sexual orientation or disability. Nor are they broad 
enough to help those who were not engaging in such federally protected 
activities as attending school, or voting, when they were victimized.
  In New Jersey, for example, a mentally disabled man was tortured by 
eight different people at a party. The man was burned with cigarettes, 
beaten, choked, and then left alone in the wilderness. Investigators 
found that this man was tortured only because of his disability. This 
was the third time this man had been attacked at a party.
  Just recently, my staff met with a constituent who is a teacher at a 
Beverly Hills high school. The teacher expressed concern about the 
safety of gay students, many of whom had been targeted and attacked by 
other students on account of their sexual orientation. She felt that 
teachers like herself did all they could to protect the students while 
they were on school property. She feared for their safety, however, 
once the students were off school grounds. Even within the school, the 
teacher, explained, some officials did little to create an environment 
of tolerance and mutual respect for the students. As a result, the 
bias-motivated acts committed against them often went unreported, 
whether they took place in the school or within their communities.
  My constituent's appeal for help on behalf of her young students 
amplifies the need to send a strong message of mutual tolerance and 
respect to our youngsters. Nearly two-thirds of these crimes are 
committed by our nation's youth and young adults. In many ways, 
reinforcing the strength of our diverse nation must begin with our 
youth.
  As these stories illustrate, the perpetrators of hate crimes have no 
respect for boundaries. They are neither confined to any one region of 
the country, nor any one age group. The perpetrators of these crimes 
target individuals not because of what the victims have, or what they 
have done, but for who they are. Hate crimes are not like other crimes 
of violence. Their impact is pervasive.
  Opponents of hate crimes legislation argue that these crimes are no 
different from any other crime; that they should be treated like other 
crimes of violence. Research by the American Psychological Association, 
APA, suggest otherwise. According to the APA, hate crime victims and 
their communities are often left with psychological wounds that run 
deeper and take significantly longer to heal than the wounds of victims 
of non-bias related crimes.
  Much like victims of non-bias related crimes, victims of hate crimes 
are likely to exhibit symptoms of depression, post-traumatic stress 
disorder, anxiety, high levels of anger, and a decreased sense of 
control. Unlike victims of non-bias related crimes, however, hate crime 
victims experience psychological after-effects at a much higher level. 
According to the APA, hate crime victims need ``as much as five years 
to overcome the emotional distress of the incident,'' compared with 
``victims of non-bias crimes who experience a drop off in crime-
related psychological problems within two years of the crime.'' The 
financial costs for mental health and medical treatment following an 
attack only add to the psychological stress of the victim.

  Hate crimes pose a very real threat to the social health of the 
community. Individuals who live in communities where hate crimes have 
occurred often experience an increased sense of fear and intimidation. 
They also tend to feel a heightened sense of vulnerability and are much 
less likely to report such crimes should they occur again, for fear of 
retaliation. Hate crimes also breed mistrust within the community. 
Members of the victimized groups are likely to believe that law 
enforcement agencies are biased against their group and, that when 
needed, the law enforcement community will not respond.
  In essence, hate crimes have been shown to produce deep psychological 
wounds in the victim. They engender a sense of disunity and division 
within the community, which undermines the basic tenets on which this 
nation was founded. As a country that prides itself on its diversity, 
our nation cannot continue to withstand these acts of hatred and 
intolerance. No individual or group should be targeted for violence and 
no such act of violence should go unpunished.
  No American should have to live in fear because of his or her 
perceived race, sexual orientation, ethnicity or disability. No 
American should be afraid to walk down the street for fear of a gender-
motivated attack. No American should be deterred by intimidation from 
living in the home of his or her choice. And certainly, no American 
should be deterred from reporting a hate-based crime because they are 
afraid that the police lack the will or the resources necessary to 
protect them.
  This legislation is not only overdue, it is necessary for the safety 
and well being of millions of Americans. It is necessary for our 
National unity.
  Certainly, none of us in this body would condone an act of brutality 
based on an individual's race, religion, sexual orientation, 
disability, ethnicity or gender. None of us would be willing to send 
the message that today, basic civil rights protections do not extend to 
every American, but only to a few and under certain circumstances.
  By introducing this legislation today, we are sending a signal that 
we are unwilling to turn a blind eye to this epidemic of hate that 
threatens to envelop our Nation. I urge my colleagues to join in this 
message by supporting the enactment of ``The Local Law Enforcement 
Enhancement Act of 2001.''
                                 ______