    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [April 22, 1991]
    [Pages 411-413]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a White House Ceremony for the Observance of National Crime
    Victims' Rights Week
    April 22, 1991

        Welcome to the White House. A while ago it seemed a little warm, and
    now I don't know what's happened to us. But I'm delighted to be here,
    and I'm also very pleased to welcome all of you to the Rose Garden, very
    pleased to be with the Attorney General, who is doing an outstanding job
    in this area--many areas, but this one that brings us together in
    expressing our concern in trying to help the victims of crime. I'm
    pleased to see so many Members of the House and the Senate here with us
    today. We welcome you all.
        I'm glad to see Jane Burnley, the Director of the Office for the
    Victims of Crime. And also Mayor Daley, from Chicago, honoring us, who's
    been long interested in this. Rich, welcome, sir, to the White House.
    And I want to thank the State legislators as well who are with us.
        Over the past couple of years, 2 years, we've traveled across the
    country praising those involved in service to others. And our crime
    victims effort is a very special part of that tradition. Shortly after I
    took office, the Attorney General invited 1989's honorees to meet me in
    the Oval Office. A year ago this week, we gathered here in the Rose
    Garden to salute the 1990 honorees. And moments ago, I signed a
    proclamation declaring this National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
        And now it is again a privilege to stand with a new group of
    honorees and salute you not only as Points of Light, helping other
    people, but also as points of courage.
        Ladies and gentlemen, standing before you are seven good Americans
    who simply refused to surrender, seven good Americans who won against
    the odds, representing seven good reasons why our efforts for crime
    victims will continue to triumph and to grow.
        Far too often, for too many years, victims of crime became the
    forgotten people, subjected to continued victimization by the system
    itself. Then people like Virginia's Frank Carrington, rightly regarded
    as one of the founding fathers of the movement, stepped into the breach.
    They fought back. They got involved. And they proved to America that one
    man or one woman can make a difference.
        Maybe you heard about this 11-year-old

    [[Page 412]]

    girl up in Alaska. She tried to help when her mom was attacked at home
    just after Christmas. The assailant got away, but not without the girl
    showing the police where the man left his fingerprints. And 10 weeks
    went by without a lead. And then the girl spotted the accused at a
    convenience store. And she didn't hide. She didn't run away. She called
    the police, and then, unbelievably, she grabbed a neighbor and chased
    this man down the street. And when the police made the arrest she was
    holding onto his hair for all she was worth. True story.
        Like a real-life version of the gutsy child in ``Home Alone,'' Diana
    Bowles stood up for family, stood up against crime, and stood up to be
    counted when the chips were down. Like the seven all-American heroes we
    honor today, she symbolizes a new America where people refuse to be the
    victims anymore.
        And I think of pioneers like California's Gail--this one's a tough
    one--Abarbanel and Jayne Crisp, of South Carolina. A generation ago, a
    continent apart, each of these two women helped cultivate the grassroots
    effort to assist the victims of rape. Out of efforts like these, America
    came to understand a simple truth: that every victim of every crime
    deserves to be treated with dignity and compassion.
        Over the past decade, community efforts like those represented here
    have been backed up by a new partnership with the White House and
    America's cities and States. While the crime bill I signed last year
    fell far short of the effective criminal justice reform that I had
    sought, it did create the first-ever Federal crime victims bill of
    rights. It gave the Justice Department enhanced authority to ensure that
    the system treats crime victims fairly. And it contains new measures to
    protect child victims and witnesses.
        Working with Congress, we not only reauthorized the 1984 Victims of
    Crime Act, we also boosted its annual Victims Compensation and
    Assistance Fund to $150 million--dollars that came not from taxpayers
    but from criminals' fines and penalties. We stepped up efforts to fully
    implement the Victim-Witness Protection Act and the new Victims' Rights
    and Restitution Act. And there's probably no better model of their
    success than one of today's honorees, Nancy Stoner Lampy, our victim-
    witness coordinator in South Dakota, an outstanding advocate for Native
    American crime victims.
        We've made real gains. But many challenges remain. Two of today's
    honorees can help point the way: California's John Gillis and
    Tennessee's Barbara Reed. They've both made their mark fighting for
    tougher laws. They know the real way to help the crime victims of
    tomorrow is by taking dangerous criminals off the streets today.
        Almost exactly 1 year ago, on this same occasion, I stood here and
    called on the Congress to enact our full range of tough new anticrime
    proposals. Regrettably, most of them never made it back to my desk in
    there. And we've got to do better. Each day that passes is one too many.
    Each victim lost is more than we can afford.
        Our Violent Crime Control Act of 1991 contains a wealth of new
    proposals that support the growing national concern for innocent victims
    of all crimes. And it includes new protections for witnesses and abused
    kids, new rules to enhance the Federal prosecutions of sexual violence
    involving children, mandatory HIV testing of accused sex offenders, and
    it guarantees a victim's right to address the court at sentencing. Just
    as important, our crime bill proposes bold new reforms of habeas corpus
    appeals, the exclusionary rule, and the death penalty. These three
    reforms are based on three simple and fundamental virtues: First, that
    victims should not have to endure endless years of frivolous appeals;
    second, that victims have an interest in knowing that courts will
    consider all relevant evidence when deciding guilt or innocence; and
    third, that victims and survivors have an interest in knowing that the
    punishment imposed will be commensurate with the brutality of the crime.
        Seven weeks ago I put a challenge to Congress, and I said: If our
    forces could win the ground war in 100 hours, then surely the Congress
    can pass this legislation in 100 days. The clock is running. America
    wants it done right, and America wants it done responsibly, and, in my
    view, America wants it done now.
        I've saved one honoree for last. She's Jo-

    [[Page 413]]

    sephine Bass, who founded a shelter in Chicago for women and children
    who are victims of domestic violence. It's called the Neopolitan
    Lighthouse. And I like the symbolism. Like each of you, a lighthouse
    shines through the storm and gives hope at night. And like each of you,
    it is a beacon to hundreds of others, an immovable light by which to
    chart one's course to safety. And like each of you, it is proof that
    each Point of Light matters. Each time your message gets through can
    mean one life changed and another life saved.
        Together, let's pledge to take back our streets. Congratulations to
    all of you. Congratulations to the winners. And thanks to all of you,
    and may God bless our great country. Thank you very much.

    [At this point, the awards were presented.]

        May we invite the Members of Congress to come up and congratulate
    our winners.

                        Note: The President spoke at 2:11 p.m. in the Rose
                            Garden at the White House. In his remarks he
                            referred to Attorney General Dick Thornburgh;
                            Jane Nady Burnley, Director of the Office for
                            Victims of Crime; Richard M. Daley, mayor of
                            Chicago; crime victim Diana Bowles; and the
                            following recipients of Department of Justice
                            awards for outstanding public service on behalf
                            of victims of crime: Frank Carrington, Gail
                            Abarbanel, Jayne Crisp, Nancy Stoner Lampy, John
                            Gillis, Barbara Reed, and Josephine Bass. The
                            proclamation is listed in Appendix E at the end
                            of this volume.