    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [March 11, 1991]
    [Pages 244-246]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Announcing Proposed Crime Control Legislation
    March 11, 1991

        Thank you all very much for that warm welcome. Mr. Vice President
    and Mr. Attorney General; and then the State attorneys general with whom
    I just met, so many here today; distinguished Members of the United
    States Congress; other law enforcement officials; and community leaders:
    Really, it is an honor on this occasion to welcome you all back to the
    White House.
        Last week before Congress I saluted a group of hometown heroes, the
    finest combat force that this nation has ever assembled: the brave men
    and women of the United States military. We honored them with our
    cheers, with our prayers, and come this summer, I'm looking forward to
    it, because then I think the whole country will honor them again with
    the biggest Fourth of July since the Liberty Bell first rang.
        But as I said last week, the real way to honor them is to welcome
    them back to an America that is worthy of their sacrifice by joining
    together with Congress to move forward on the domestic front.
        Last month we launched an innovative package designed to assure real
    opportunity for all Americans. And our veterans deserve to come home to
    an America of improved schools, better jobs, stronger laws against
    discrimination, increased homeownership, and families that are healthy
    and together. And most of all, our veterans deserve to come home to an
    America where it is safe to walk the streets. Well, we can't do that
    before they come home, but we can have that on our minds as something we
    are determined to do.
        Economic opportunity is impossible for citizens who cannot be safe
    and feel safe in their homes, in their schools, in their jobs, and yes,
    their churches. And that's what I mean when I say a most basic civil
    right is quite simply the right to be free from fear.
        Some of you may remember that shortly after I took office we met
    with the 50 AG's at the White House. It was 2 years ago almost to the
    day. And I told you how a few days earlier I had gone to New York to
    meet the family and friends of Everett Hatcher, a brave DEA agent who
    was gunned down in the street. And they told me that it used to be
    unthinkable to shoot a cop. But now the culture has changed. And when
    the bad guys hear the word ``police,'' they just turn around and start
    shooting. I'll never forget that conversation.
        Two months later, on that rainy day on Capitol Hill, we launched an
    effort to pass our crime legislation, legislation designed to help
    protect our cops by giving them the tools they need to get their job
    done. We proposed stiff new penalties for criminals using semiautomatic
    weapons, an improved exclusionary rule designed to protect the truth and
    punish the guilty, an habeas corpus reform that would stop frivolous
    appeals and ensure that punishment was not only just but also swift and
    certain, and most of all, it would have finally given us a Federal law
    to uphold a simple rule of justice: Those who kill must be prepared to
    pay with their own life.
        And today, 2 years later, the Congress has still failed to act on
    these critical core provisions. And today, 2 years later, another 294
    police men and women are dead--294, almost 3 times the number of
    precious American lives lost during this entire Gulf war. The killings
    must stop. And it must stop now.
        Today, it's time to stand up and be counted. It's time to stand up
    for what's right. We stood by our troops. And today it's time to stand
    up for America's prosecutors and police.
        Last week, many of you joined together with the Attorney General and
    me in an unprecedented crime summit, America's

    [[Page 245]]

    first. For 3 days, you freely traded ideas, insights, suggestions, and
    support. And when I visited that group Tuesday, the mood was contagious.
    It was powerful and confident and, most of all, driven by a sense of
    urgency. And so, when it was over, we wasted no time: I told Dick
    Thornburgh that we wanted the crime bill ready in final form before
    another week was out. And today, 5 days later, we have it here.
        Of course, we had a head start. The truth is, the vast majority of
    these core proposals are identical to those that we sent up 2 years ago.
    These fundamental, badly needed reforms have been argued over the years.
    But the American people are not clamoring for more debate. Today they're
    demanding action--action to stop violent crime, action that translates
    to a straight up-or-down vote on these core commonsense proposals. As I
    said Wednesday night, if our forces could win the ground war in 100
    hours, surely the Congress can pass this legislation in 100 days.
        Our core proposals have also been strengthened by some potent new
    additions. These include new laws to protect men and women and children
    against violence and abuse. And most important of all, they include
    tough new laws that will protect our people and our police by helping
    prosecutors put away America's most violent offenders.
        One of the most important of these provisions recognizes that
    reducing firearms violence must mean exclusionary rule reform. I'm not a
    lawyer, but I put great stock in common sense. And it never did make
    sense that, because a policeman has made a mistake, a dangerous criminal
    can get off scot-free.
        The Supreme Court has invited legislative experimentation with
    direct action to prevent illegal searches and seizures. And so, today I
    am announcing that we are accepting that invitation. Our plan would
    authorize the Attorney General to develop alternative administrative
    sanctions for any Federal agent who improperly seizes a gun in violation
    of the fourth Amendment. Once these protections were in place, firearms
    in serious drug, violent, and certain other cases would always be
    admissible in certain Federal cases involving armed felons. It is simply
    intolerable that these armed criminals should go free when good solid
    evidence is available.
        Our message is simple: The time to act is now. The time to schedule
    congressional hearings is now. The Attorney General is ready to testify
    now. And most of the other experts needed are probably right here in the
    East Room now.
        So, looking out here today, I see a group of principled, all-
    American heroes whose dedication at home matches that of our people
    overseas. Heroes like Attorney General Mike Moore of Mississippi, who
    stood with us in the Rose Garden last fall and described the terrible
    ordeal, due to current habeas rules, in which victims and their families
    can never draw the curtains on tragic murders and rapes. Heroes like
    Louisiana's district attorney Richard Ieyoub, who called the efforts to
    gut last year's crime bill a major fraud on the American people--the one
    that, for all practical purposes, would have shut down the death penalty
    in the 37 States where it now exists. Heroes like Dan Lungren,
    California's new AG, whose miracle end run in Congress in `84 produced
    some of the most far-reaching criminal law reforms in our nation's
    history.
        Mike and Richard, we are on a 100-day clock. And we hope you and
    your colleagues are ready to roll up your sleeves again today. And Dan,
    we're hoping you can lend your magic to the cause once more. Because
    this week marks the anniversary of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List. And
    I'm here to tell you that this new crime bill is on America's most
    wanted list of pressing national business.
        And as I said last fall, America's prosecutors will not accept a
    phony crime bill that is tougher on law enforcement than it is on
    criminals. No more loopholes; no more rolls of the dice. I urge the
    Congress to heed the voices of our people, our police, our prosecutors,
    and help us take back the streets. Together, let's act on this crime
    bill now.
        Thank you all very, very much for coming. Good luck. May God bless
    our country. And now I'll put a signature to both of these documents.
    Thank you very much.

    [[Page 246]]

                        Note: The President spoke at 11:40 a.m. in the East
                            Room of the White House. In his remarks, he
                            referred to Vice President Dan Quayle; Attorney
                            General Dick Thornburgh; Everett Hatcher, slain
                            Drug Enforcement Administration agent; Mike
                            Moore, Mississippi attorney general; Richard
                            Ieyoub, Louisiana district attorney; and Dan
                            Lungren, California attorney general.