    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [August 22, 1994]
    [Pages 1490-1491]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Letter to Members of the Senate on Anticrime Legislation
    August 22, 1994

    Dear __________:
        This week, the Senate has an historic chance to move us beyond old
    labels and partisan divisions by passing the toughest, smartest Crime
    Bill in our nation's history.
        I want to congratulate members of Congress in both houses and both
    parties who have reached across party lines and worked in good faith to
    produce this Crime Bill. This isn't a Democratic Crime Bill or a
    Republican Crime Bill--it's an American Crime Bill, and it will make a
    difference in every town, every city, and every state in our country.
        The Crime Bill produced by House and Senate conferees and passed
    yesterday by Democrats and Republicans in the House achieves all the
    same objectives as the bipartisan Crime

    [[Page 1491]]

    Bill which the Senate passed last November by a vote of 95 to 4.
        Many of the central provisions of this Crime Bill were included in
    the Senate bill:
        * Nearly $9 billion to put 100,000 new police officers on our
    streets in community policing;
        * An additional $4.6 billion for federal, state and local law
    enforcement (a 25% increase above the Senate bill);
        * $9.9 billion for prisons (a 30% increase above the Senate bill),
    coupled with tough truth-in-sentencing requirements that will shut the
    revolving door on violent criminals;
        * Life imprisonment for repeat violent offenders by making three-
    strikes-and-you're-out the law of the land;
        * Federal death penalties for the most heinous of crimes, such as
    killing a law enforcement officer;
        * A ban on handgun ownership for juveniles;
        * Registration and community notification to warn unsuspecting
    families of sexual predators in their midst;
        * A ban on 19 semiautomatic assault weapons, with specific
    protection for more than 650 other weapons; and
        * Innovative crime prevention programs, such as the Community
    Schools program sponsored by Senators Danforth, Bradley, and Dodd, and
    the Violence Against Women Act sponsored by Senators Biden, Hatch, and
    Dole.
        One of the most important elements of this Crime Bill is the
    creation of a Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund, which ensures that
    every crime-fighting program in the bill will be paid for by reducing
    the federal bureaucracy by more than 270,000 positions over the next six
    years. The idea for the Trust Fund came from Senators Byrd, Mitchell,
    Biden, Gramm, Hatch, and Dole, and the Senate approved it by a vote of
    94 to 4. The Trust Fund will ensure that the entire Crime Bill will be
    fully paid for, not with new taxes, but by reducing the federal
    bureaucracy to its lowest level in over 30 years.
        The Senate led the way in passing these important anti-crime
    proposals last November, and I urge you to take up this Crime Bill in
    the same bipartisan spirit that marked that debate. The American people
    have waited six years for a comprehensive Crime Bill. It's time to put
    politics aside and finish the job. After all the hard work that has gone
    into this effort by members of both parties acting in good faith, we owe
    it to the law-abiding citizens of this country to pass this Crime Bill
    without delay.
        Sincerely,

                                                                Bill Clinton

    Note: Identical letters were sent to Senators of the 103d Congress. This
    letter was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on August 23.