[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

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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-

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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.