[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 2, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12419-S12420]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      UNSOLVED CIVIL RIGHTS CRIMES

  Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I objected to a unanimous consent request 
to pass S. 535/H.R. 923, the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime 
Act. I objected, not because I disagree with the well intended motives 
of the legislation, but because the authors of the bill refused to work 
with me to make some commonsense changes.
  Let me be clear, I absolutely support the goals of this legislation 
and believe that those who committed civil rights crimes must be 
brought to justice, but I believe that we can and must do so in a 
fiscally responsible manner.
  Just last week, the Senate voted to increase the Federal Government's 
debt limit to $9.815 trillion. It is beyond irresponsible to pass any 
bill that will add to this debt that will be inherited by our children 
and grandchildren. Even our best intentions need to be paid for with 
offsets from lower priorities or wasteful spending.
  On February 5, 2007, I sent a letter to my colleagues outlining my 
intent to object to any legislation authorizing new spending that is 
not offset by reductions in real spending elsewhere. I strongly believe 
that Congress should stop borrowing and spending beyond our means. 
Instead, Congress, like all families, ought to prioritize spending and 
reduce less important spending when greater priorities arise.
  S. 535/H.R. 923 violates two of the principles that I outlined in my 
February letter. These are: If a bill authorizes new spending, it must 
be offset by reductions in real spending elsewhere; and if a bill 
creates or authorizes a new Federal program or activity, it must not 
duplicate an existing program or activity.
  This bill authorizes unpaid for new spending and creates a new 
government program that duplicates existing government efforts. Both of 
these concerns could be easily addressed if the sponsors of the bill 
were interested in securing its passage.
  In June of this year, my office contacted the bill's sponsors to 
suggest possible offsets so that I could give my consent--but there was 
no desire, at the time, to amend the bill. This was unfortunate because 
last Congress, when Senator Jim Talent was the lead sponsor, he agreed 
to include offsets in exchange for my consent, but the compromise 
language was opposed by an unidentified Senator.
  It is also unfortunate because there is no shortage of potential 
offsets for this bill within the Department of Justice, which would 
administer the proposed program. The bill authorizes $12 million each 
year for 10 years. The Department has $1.6 billion in unobligated 
balances, which are funds that have been appropriated but which there 
are no plans to spend. In fiscal year 2006, the Department spent $45.9 
million on conferences, a 34-percent increase since fiscal year 2000. 
The inspector general examined just 10 conferences and found that the 
Department spent an estimated $1.5 million on food and beverages. This 
included paying $4 per meatball at one lavish dinner and spreading an 
average of $25 worth of snacks around to each participant at a movie-
themed party. It is estimated that the current fiscal year 2008 
Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill contains congressional 
earmarks totaling $587 million and the bill exceeds the President's 
request by more than $2 billion. Clearly, there is wasteful spending 
that can be reduced to pay for this program.
  Just like American taxpayers, Congress needs to learn to pay for what 
it spends. This is a reasonable expectation but one that has been 
ignored by Washington politicians who tend to put off difficult 
decisions and, as a result, have charged up a $9 trillion debt.
  This bill also creates a new Federal program that duplicates an 
existing Federal Government initiative that seeks to address unsolved 
civil rights crimes. The Department of Justice and the Civil Rights 
Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are currently working 
with States and nonprofit groups to pursue unsolved civil rights era 
crimes that resulted in death.
  In February 2006, the FBI began an initiative to identify hate crimes 
that occurred prior to December 1969, and resulted in death. Since 
then, the Bureau's 56 field offices began to reexamine their unsolved 
civil rights cases

[[Page S12420]]

and determine which ones might still be viable for prosecution. To 
date, they have identified nearly 100 case referrals. Furthermore, the 
U.S. Attorney General and the FBI Director announced a partnership with 
the NAACP, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Urban 
League to investigate unsolved crimes from the civil rights era.
  I am very supportive of this effort and I am also encouraged that 
these cases are currently being pursued.
  On August 2, 2007, I sent a letter to the Attorney General requesting 
more information about these efforts to ensure that any legislation 
passed by Congress would assist the Department to meet its goals. I am 
awaiting a response.
  I do believe that solving these crimes is imperative to remedying 
past injustices and ensuring future justice. These types of crimes 
should never have been and never again tolerated or ignored.
  I also believe that because of the nature of the crime, the time 
elapsed, and the fact that many witnesses and potential murderers have 
moved to different States, this is an area of the law that rightly 
requires Federal assistance.
  Consequently, it is my hope that the bill's sponsors will support my 
efforts to find funding for this worthy program. It is unfortunate that 
such a well intentioned effort is being held up because Washington 
politicians refuse to live under the same budget rules that every 
family in America adheres to. In the meantime, the American people can 
rest assured knowing that the Department of Justice and the FBI are 
already conducting the investigations that this bill seeks to address.

                          ____________________