[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 108 (Monday, September 13, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9121-S9122]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIOLENT CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT
OF 1994
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, today marks the 10-year anniversary of the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The bill, which
was the product of bi-partisan compromise, took a balanced position to
criminal justice policy, strengthening many Federal penalties,
providing funding to build prisons and promoting truth-in-sentencing.
Most importantly, the act made important investments in programs
designed to prevent crime in the first place, including putting 100,000
community policing officers on the street and reducing violence against
women and children.
To ensure this bill's passage, I worked harder than I ever had in the
U.S. Senate. Prior to the final vote, in August of 1994, I stated that
``I will vote for this bill, because, as much as anything I have ever
voted on in 22 years in the U.S. Senate, I truly believe that passage
of this legislation will make a difference in the lives of the American
people. I believe with every fiber in my being that if this bill
passes, fewer people will be murdered, fewer people will be victims,
fewer women will be senselessly beaten, fewer people will continue on
the drug path, and fewer children will become criminals.''
Fortunately, this turned out to be right. With the passage of the
Biden crime bill we were able to form a partnership amongst Federal,
State, and local law enforcement and create programs that helped drive
down crime rates for 8 consecutive years. In 1994 we had historically
high rates of violent crimes, such as murders, forcible rapes, and
aggravated assaults. We were able to reduce these to the lowest levels
in a generation. We reduced the murder rate by 37.8 percent; we reduced
forcible rapes by 19.1 percent; and we reduced aggravated assaults by
25.5 percent. Property crimes, including auto thefts, also were reduced
from historical highs to the lowest levels in decades.
How were we able to achieve such great results? Well, we all know it
was a combination of factors, but most law enforcement officials credit
the Office of Community Oriented Policing with a pivotal role. Indeed,
in the words of Attorney General Ashcroft, the Community Oriented
Policing program has been ``a miraculous success.'' COPS has funded
over 118,000 local officers to patrol our neighborhoods and towns and
help drive down crime rates. Because of COPS, the concept of community
policing has spread to cities and towns across the country.
A testament to the success of the program is the fact that it has
been endorsed by every major law enforcement group in the country,
including the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the
National Association of Police Organizations, the National Sheriff's
Association, the International Brotherhood of Police Organizations, the
National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Officials, the
International Union of Police Associations, the Fraternal Order of
Police, and others.
Completely disregarding the overwhelming success of COPS, the Bush
administration and Republican leadership have set their sights on
eliminating this program. President Bush has proposed cuts each year he
has been in office, and while we have fought to maintain funding for
COPS, we are fighting an uphill battle. Funding for 5 State and local
law enforcement programs run out of the Department of Justice is down
75.6 percent since fiscal year 2002. To me, this approach is
inexplicable, particularly because the need for Federal assistance
remains pressing.
Recent articles from USA Today and the New York Times highlighted the
fact that many cities are being forced to eliminate officers because of
their woeful local budgets. In fact, New York City has lot 3,000
officers in the last few years. Other cities, such as Cleveland, OH,
Milwaukee, MN, and Houston, TX, are facing similar shortages. As a
result, local police chiefs are reluctantly pulling officers from the
proactive policing activities that were so successful in the nineties.
This has not been a choice taken lightly. Police chiefs understand the
value of proactive policing; however, they simply don't have the
manpower to do it all. Basically, we have been asking them to do more
with less, and responding to emergency calls must take precedence over
proactive programs. However, I fear that we are starting to see the
results. Local chiefs are reporting increased gang activity. Murder
rates and auto thefts--two very accurate indicators of crime trends--
have gone up for 3 consecutive years.
The Bush administration's response to these criticisms is that
funding for first responders is way up. Undoubtedly, these are
critical, necessary expenditures, and I believe that the administration
has not invested enough for our first responders. However, this
argument misses the point entirely. We have an obligation to do both.
We must fund our first responders and invest in the programs that help
reduce traditional crime and prevent terrorism. As the President has
stated on many occasions, it is the solemn duty of the Federal
Government to keep Americans safe. We simply can't achieve this goal
without investing in our State and local law enforcement partners. The
COPS office has been a critical lynchpin in the Federal, State, and
local partnership that has been effective since the passage of the 1994
Biden crime bill, and I hope that the Bush administration and this
Congress will reverse its current course and provide critical funding
for this program.
Another component of the 1994 Biden crime bill was the Violence
Against Women Act. With the passage of the Violence Against Women Act
we started talking about that dirty little secret that no one wanted to
say out loud, and as a result women and children have become safer.
Instead of suffering alone, a rape victim or battered wife can now turn
to a trained police officer, an emergency room nurse, or a 1-800
telephone operator. We've transformed so-called ``family matters'' into
public crimes that hold the offender accountable and provide the victim
with meaningful services.
Since fiscal year 1995, nearly $3.8 billion has been appropriated for
the programs created by the Violence Against Women Act. In Delaware
alone, the Office on Violence Against Women has overseen 21 grant
awards totaling $9.5 million. These investments have paid off. Domestic
violence has dropped nearly 50 percent. Incidents of rape are down by
60 percent. The number of women killed by an abusive husband or
boyfriend is down 22 percent. Today, more than half of all rape victims
are stepping forward to report the crime, and over a million women have
found justice in our courtrooms and obtained domestic violence
protection orders.
Of course, we need to do more. As more and more brave women step
forward to report a rape or seek a restraining order, more demands are
placed on women's shelters, State prosecutors, victim advocates, and
other resources. As we encourage victim reporting and swift responses
by our criminal justice system, we must continue to create and support
services for families in distress. We cannot let the Violence Against
Women Act become a victim of its own success.
To ensure that VAWA is passed on to the next generation, we have
begun
[[Page S9122]]
working on the next version of the act. This is a collaborative effort.
We are listening closely to those on the front lines--police, trial
judges, emergency room nurses and many others--and making targeted
improvements to existing grant programs and tightening up criminal
laws. We are learning about the new challenges and the persistent
problems of old. Frankly, there are still far too many women and their
children vulnerable to cowardly abusers. As such, the new act may
include heightened penalties for repeat Federal domestic violence
offenders, and update the Federal stalking statute to incorporate new
technologies that can terrorize women.
This past spring, I was in my home State at an event honoring the
winners of our high school poster contest. To enter this first-ever
``Teens Against Sexual Assault'' contest, any Delaware high school
student could submit a poster that somehow visually depicted the
message ``no means no.'' The two young winners were quite shy, but they
both joined me at the podium in front of 200 people. They stunned the
audience, admitting that they both had been victims of rape and hoped
that through their efforts they could help other young women find the
courage to report their attacker and seek help. As I listened to these
courageous young women, I was reminded of the essential purpose of the
Violence Against Women Act. We simply can't stop now.
Prior to the enactment of the 1994 crime bill, many doubted that the
Federal Government could have a measurable impact on crime in the
United States. Programs such as COPS and VAWA proved the critics wrong.
COPS and VAWA have made Americans safer and changed fundamental
societal attitudes about domestic violence and sexual assault.
In this new age of terrorism, we simply cannot lose site of
traditional crimes in our neighborhoods and homes. While the threat of
terrorism is very real, the likelihood of becoming a victim of a
``traditional'' crime is exponentially far greater than becoming a
victim of a terrorist attack. Last year, there were over one million
incidents of violent crime and over 16,000 murders reported to the
police. If we are going to continue to progress and make this country
safer, we must continue to invest in the programs that have proven
successful, and during the last few weeks of this legislative session,
I hope Congress and President Bush will do just that.
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