[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.

                          ____________________