[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       CRIMINAL CODE MODERNIZATION AND SIMPLIFICATION ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                    HON. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR.

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 29, 2006

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the 
``Criminal Code Modernization and Simplification Act of 2006.''
  This measure revises the criminal code to update, simplify and 
consolidate many of the criminal provisions in Title 18 of the United 
States Code. It has been over 50 years since the criminal code was last 
revised. The existing criminal code is riddled with provisions that are 
either outdated or simply inconsistent with more recent modifications 
to reflect today's modern world.
  As my term as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee comes to a close, I 
am introducing this measure to begin the dialogue and process for 
rewriting the criminal code. It is my hope that this bill will trigger 
a dialogue and input from other interested parties to develop a more 
comprehensive re-write. Further, it is my hope that a careful review of 
the code will lead to even more of a reduction in the 
``federalization'' of what many consider local crimes. I am well aware 
that federal prosecutions constitute only 7 percent of the criminal 
prosecutions nationwide. We need to ensure that the federal role 
continues to be limited and that the State and local offenses are not 
subsumed within an ever expanding criminal code.
  Through the years, the criminal code has grown with more and more 
criminal provisions, some of which are antiquated or redundant, some of 
which poorly drafted, some of which have not been used in the last 30 
years, and some of which are unnecessary since the crime is already 
covered by existing criminal provisions.
  This bill cuts over \1/3\ of the existing criminal code; reorganizes 
the criminal code to make it more user-friendly; and consolidates 
criminal offenses from other titles so that title 18 includes all major 
criminal provisions (e.g., drug crimes in title 21, aviation offenses 
and hijacking in title 49).
  In redrafting the criminal code, I applied several drafting 
principles: (1) added a uniform set of definitions for the entire 
title; (2) revised the intent requirements to apply a consistent 
definition of intent in response to Supreme Court criticisms of intent 
requirements for criminal offenses; (3) eliminated excess language that 
confuses, or potentially complicates, use of a criminal statute; and 
(4) added new headings to make the code more user friendly.
  I attempted to the extent possible to make these changes policy 
neutral; however, two general policy changes were made: (1) attempts 
and conspiracies to commit criminal offenses are generally punished in 
the same manner as the substantive offense unless specifically stated 
otherwise; and (2) criminal and civil forfeiture and restitution 
provisions were consolidated unless a more specific policy was adopted 
for a crime.
  I wanted to take a moment to thank the Legislative Counsel's Office 
and in particular Doug Bellis, the Deputy Counsel of that Office, who 
devoted substantial efforts to preparing this bill and should be 
commended for his extraordinary efforts.
  I recognize that additional input from outside interested parties 
will be needed, and look forward to working with other Members, the 
Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Treasury 
Department and other parties on this worthwhile project.

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