[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 24, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S9834]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. Kyl):
  S. 1860. A bill to control violent crime; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a crime bill 
that I hope all of my colleagues will support. Several of my colleagues 
and I have worked with the Department of Justice to develop an 
important comprehensive crime bill which will provide new tools to law 
enforcement and prosecutors across the country.
  This is an important issue. The New York Times wrote recently that 
violent crime was on the rise in our larger cities. Murder, robbery and 
gun assaults seem to be on the rise in midsized to large cities. 
Experts attribute this increase, in part, to the spread of drug use, 
gangs, high poverty, a record number of people being released from 
prison, and easy access to guns and a willingness to settle disputes 
with them.
  This comprehensive crime bill will help law enforcement officers and 
prosecutors beat back this rise in violent crimes. It is an extensive 
bill but let me discuss a few of its provisions here.
  Over the past several years, Congress has worked to crack down on 
child predators. From the PROTECT Act in 2003 to last year's Adam Walsh 
Act, Congress has made clear that those who commit crimes against our 
children will face swift and severe punishment. The bill I am 
introducing today builds on this momentum and adds additional tools to 
the prosecutorial arsenal. Among the changes provided in this bill is 
an increase in the punishments for a variety of sex offenses, including 
providing mandatory minimums for possession of child pornography. The 
bill would triple the criminal fines available against electronic 
service providers who knowingly and willfully fail to report child 
pornography and would make it a Federal crime to participate in the sex 
tourism trade in order to produce child pornography.
  We must protect the most vulnerable of us, children, and these 
provisions will continue this progress.
  The bill amends the armed career criminal statute to create a tiered 
punishment approach such that defendants with more serious criminal 
histories who use guns will face harsher punishments, including 
mandatory minimum prison sentences. Additionally, the bill also 
increases the statute of limitations for violent crimes from 5 to 10 
years.
  The bill also makes some technical but important changes to the gun 
statutes. For instance, the bill inserts an interstate commerce 
jurisdictional statement in 18 U.S.C. 924h cases, the statute that 
prohibits the transfer of firearms to others who intend to use those 
firearms in a drug trafficking or violent crime. This corrects a post 
Lopez congressional oversight and ensures that if this statute is used, 
it will not be struck down. Additionally, this bill provides that those 
felons who are arrested for possession of firearms will be detained 
without bail pending trial.
  We need to send a strong message of deterrence to those who would 
illegally use firearms. This bill sends that message loud and clear.
  Finally, the bill includes some significant changes to critical 
terrorism statutes. For instance, this bill criminalizes providing 
financial support to families of suicide bombers. It also increases 
penalties for those convicted of material support and denies Federal 
benefits to convicted terrorists.
  These are but a few of the provisions contained in this bill. 
Congress must continue to evaluate and, when necessary, provide needed 
tools to law enforcement to enable those public servants to effectively 
do their job.
  This bill does that and I hope that my colleagues will support it.
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