[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8413]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, in a speech in Philadelphia on Monday, 
President Bush spoke out about gun violence in this country. Citing 
alarming statistics about the number of Americans killed and injured by 
handguns each year, he stated that ``this is unacceptable in America. 
It's just unacceptable, and we're going to do something about it.'' The 
President emphasized that ``we're going to reduce gun violence in 
America, and those who commit crimes with guns will find a determined 
adversary in my administration.'' I commend the President for his 
commitment to helping eliminate gun violence.
  In his speech, the President introduced ``Project Safe 
Neighborhoods,'' an initiative to combat gun violence. The main focus 
of this initiative is on the increased enforcement of existing gun laws 
and more vigorous prosecution of crimes committed with handguns. The 
President plans to devote $550 million in funding to this initiative 
over the next 2 years. The majority of the funding will be dedicated to 
hiring new Federal and State prosecutors to focus on gun crimes, 
updating State criminal record systems, improving Federal ballistics 
testing that trace illegal guns and developing regional task forces of 
Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies to catch and 
prosecute criminals in gun cases.
  Although there is often disagreement about the best approach to 
ending gun violence, we can all agree that enforcement of our gun laws 
and prosecution of people who use guns illegally are essential elements 
to any successful approach. Since 1993, increased law enforcement and 
prosecution efforts have resulted in a 16 percent increase in the 
number of gun cases filed and a 41 percent increase in the number of 
offenders sentenced to more than 5 years in prison. These increases in 
enforcement efforts enjoy broad bipartisan support. I commend the 
President for building upon this consensus by taking another step 
toward ensuring that gun criminals are prosecuted to the fullest extent 
of the law.
  While I agree with the aims of the President's initiative, I believe 
that it is not enough. We must also make it harder for criminals to get 
guns in the first place, by closing the gun show loophole that allows 
the purchase of handguns without a background check. Although he stated 
during the presidential campaign that he supported closing the gun show 
loophole, President Bush did not mention it in his speech on Monday. 
The President expressed that ``Project Safe Neighborhoods is one step, 
an important step'' toward making domestic tranquility a reality. I 
hope that the President will take the next, necessary step toward 
protecting the citizens of this country by supporting efforts to close 
the gun show loophole.

                          ____________________