15254 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS July 18, 2000 It’s hard to argue that someone who kills have served enough time for their crime. dent and athlete with a bright future was a child deserves a second chance. U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon’s proposal would lost and we hurt for her family and friends. Pass the law. force states to put them away forever or pay But with the conviction and sentencing of the price. her killer, the book did not close on this ter- [From the Richmond Times-Dispatch, May The Arizona Republican has the support of rible chapter in county history. Aimee Wil- 23, 1999] parents of murder victims, including Fred lard lives on with the crafting of legislation Goldman, whose son Ron was killed with Ni- aimed at preventing a tragedy such as the AIMEE’S LAW cole Brown Simpson, and Marc Klaas, whose one that befell her. Last summer in this space we supported a daughter Polly was murdered by a repeat of- This week the U.S. House of Representa- measure introduced by Arizona Congressman fender in California. tives will consider ‘‘Aimee’s Law.’’ Matt Salmon to hold states liable if their re- Whether we like it or not, released crimi- Labeled as a bipartisan effort, the law leased sex offenders committed subsequent nals roam from state to state. States have turns up the heat on states to impose strong- crimes in other states [‘‘No Second no recourse to prevent this immigration, er sentences for criminals convicted of rape, Chances,’’ August 12]. even though one in seven repeat crimes oc- murder and child molestation. ‘‘Aimee’s Law’’—in memory of college stu- curs in a different state from the original of- Gail Willard, Aimee’s mother, testified at dent Aimee Willard who was kidnapped, fense. a Congressional hearing last year, urging raped, and murdered near Philadelphia by a Each year, according to Department of stiffer state sentencing guidelines for career brute paroled by Nevada—strikes a com- Justice studies, released killers drifting from criminals such as Arthur Bomar. mendable balance. It creates an incentive for one part of the country to another murder Bomar had been convicted of killing a man states to monitor predators more closely in- more than 100 people. Each year rapists cross in Nevada over a parking spot. He served 11 stead of merely chasing them out of town, state lines and claim 445 new victims. Each years in jail in Nevada before being paroled, while not federalizing crimes that ought to year these criminals cross state lines and despite showing a propensity for violence in remain under local jurisdiction. sexually assault more than 1,200 people, in- prison. Last week the Senate passed the measure cluding 935 children. ‘‘Right now, life criminals are running the as an amendment to a larger crime bill. (And we don’t have to remind you of the system,’’ said Gail Willard during her testi- Similar legislation is pending in the House, many bad actors who wend their way to the mony in Washington. and it ought to be approved as well. Giving Sunshine State when winter looms.) U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon says the early re- a one-way bus ticket to a sex offender might Critics of the proposal say the recidivism lease of violent felons is plain wrong. improve the community he leaves, but it is rate for these most heinous crimes is low, ‘‘The average time served in a state prison the equivalent of shipping toxic waste to but some studies suggest these offenses are for rape is just 51⁄2 years,’’ Weldon said. ‘‘For unsuspecting states. repeated more often than not. The critics child molestation, it is about four years. And ‘‘Aimee’s Law’’ would make states bear the complain that state laws already allow for murder, it is just eight years. That’s ab- costs of such a repugnant practice. It is good judges to put repeat offenders away for life, solutely unacceptable.’’ legislation the House should pass and the but those arguments do not address the vic- Aimee’s Law requires a state that releases President should sign into law. timization of innocent people or the victim- a convicted murderer, rapist or child mo- ized state’s ability to pay for its prisoners. lester who goes on to commit another crime [From the Tampa Tribune-Times, Aug. 16, Specifically, the proposal would require in another state to compensate the second 1998] the Justice Department to transfer federal state for the cost of apprehending, pros- ‘‘NO SECOND CHANCES’’ BILL DESERVES crime-fighting dollars from one state to an- ecuting and incarcerating the criminal. The money loss would come in the form of CAREFUL CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION other to pay for the costs of reincarceration as a repeat offender. withholding federal crime grants from the Lawrence Singleton should have died lone- first state and adding the amount to the sec- ly and despised in a California prison. In- Half of the amounts transferred would be deposited in the state’s crime victims’ fund, ond state’s share, according to one of the stead, the infamous criminal who hacked off law’s sponsors, U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon, R– the arms of a teenage girl after raping her and half would be deposited in the state ac- count that collects federal law enforcement Ariz. walked out of his cell and returned to make Whether the financial stick and carrot will his home in Florida. funds. Additionally, the proposal would pro- vide $100,000 to the victims of the subsequent work remains to be seen, but several ques- It wasn’t long before he was under arrest tions remain: again, this time for murder. attack. Interestingly, the bill mandates nothing. Will the threat of grant money loss make Singleton is sentenced to die in Florida’s parole boards more accountable—or at least electric chair, but he’s an old man in failing The states are required to do nothing. But a state would run the risk of losing federal look with a little more scrutiny at who is health who still has appeals to exhaust. As a being allowed to walk out the front gate? prisoner, he costs taxpayers $26,000 a year. crime-fighting funds if it let a killer or child molester out of jail and then that convict Why must the taxpayers foot the bill for We taxpayers are paying for his legal costs. screw-ups in the state prison system? Under a Federal bill making its way committed a crime again. The proposition raises other issues. If a Should we keep building prisons and ignor- through the House of Representatives, the ing the issue of rehabilitation? state of California, which let Singleton out state decides to make life prisoners of these criminals, it has to have a place to house Despite those concerns, we see the consid- of jail, would have to pay Florida’s expenses. eration of ‘‘Aimee’s Law’’ as a step in the It also would have to compensate, to the them. The state must also have a parole or probation system to judge accurately when right direction as it puts a victim’s face on tune of $100,000, the family of Tampa murder the problem of repeat violent offenders and victim Roxanne Hayes. to release prisoners. Lawmakers considering the bill must also the need to place responsibility on the shoul- The bill, called No Second Chances for ders of our state prisons. murderers, rapists or child molesters, de- figure out how to handle those prisoners who serves a fair hearing. have served their time. States have no au- f It attacks a national crime problem with- thority to detain someone who has served his out costing more federal money. It alerts sentence and should not be penalized for fu- AMERICAN SHIPBUILDERS CRUISE states that they will assume a financial risk ture crimes in other states. INTO A NEW MILLENNIUM when they release their most violent crimi- There are no simple answers to this vexing nals back into society. It does not federalize problem, but Salmon’s approach would at HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE crimes or infringe on state and local respon- least force a state to face the consequences sibilities for law enforcement. of its decision. The Goldmans and Klaases of OF HAWAII At the same time, the bill merits careful the world will not remain silent, and they IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES scrutiny. have thrown their considerable celebrity be- Monday, July 17, 2000 It was written to prod states into drafting hind this effort. laws that would not allow violent sex offend- The proposal bears watching—and talking Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker. On June ers and murderers to go free. If states don’t about—as the measure makes its way 30, 2000, Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding cut steel decide to put those criminals in jail for life, through Congress. on the first cruise ship to be built in the United then they risk a financial penalty for giving States in nearly 45 years. This historic event their prisoners ‘‘a second chance.’’ And some [From the Delaware County Sunday Times, marks another milestone in the U.S.-flag prisoners, unlike Singleton, deserve a second March 26, 2000] Cruise Ship Pilot Project, enacted as part of chance—after they have paid their debt to society in full. TIME FOR THE HOUSE TO ENACT AIMEE’S LAW the MARITECH program in the Department of That’s the crux of the problem. Prisoners The brutal and senseless murder of Aimee Defense Appropriations Act of 1998, and rep- locked up for despicable offenses are going to Willard in June 1996 touched the very heart resents America’s re-entry into the burgeoning get out of jail, and many of them will not of Delaware County. A vivacious college stu- cruise travel market.

VerDate Aug 04 2004 12:23 Nov 17, 2004 Jkt 079102 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 0689 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR00\E18JY0.000 E18JY0 July 18, 2000 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 15255 People have been saying for years that oceangoing cruise ship operating in my State Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see a resur- America cannot build ships competitively on of Hawaii, there are no U.S.-flag oceangoing gence of interest in the U.S.-flag cruise busi- the world market. The construction of the two passenger liners. The U.S.-flag Cruise Ship ness. At least three companies have publicly cruise ships for American Classic Voyages Pilot Project, enacted to help jumpstart the expressed a desire to build U.S.-flag cruise Co. at Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding demonstrates U.S.-flag cruise industry, will change that and ships in a U.S. shipyard for the American that America can build ships competitively on will give Americans a foothold in a cruise in- cruise market. Future construction in this area the world market. At a fixed price of $440 mil- dustry now dominated by foreign cruise lines. will improve the worldwide competitiveness of lion a piece, the ships are only slightly above The revitalization of the American cruise U.S. shipyards, and Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding the price being charged for cruise ship con- business is vital to our economic and national is leading the way for America’s re-entry into struction in European yards, where nearly all security. The Department of Defense has stat- this growing marketplace. These efforts are new cruise ships are built. The price of the ed that the Pilot Project alone could save it important to the future of the U.S. shipbuilding America ships would be even more competi- ‘‘tens to hundreds of millions of dollars’’ in industry, a U.S.-flag maritime industry, and our shipyard overhead costs. It also helps to sus- tive in the world market if the worldwide ship national security. construction subsidies were eliminated. tain the shipbuilding industrial base of the The cruise industry is one of the fastest U.S., which is vital to national security. The I am looking forward to the day when Amer- growing segments of the travel and leisure in- thousands of jobs created will help maintain ican Classic begins operating these new ships dustry, growing at a pace of about nine per- the manpower necessary for building and in Hawaii, bringing with it thousands of sea- cent annually. Loopholes in U.S. laws and reg- crewing ships in times of national emer- going and shoreside jobs. Projects such as ulations have essentially ceded this bur- gencies. The Department of Defense has also this will help renew America’s leadership in geoning vacation business to companies oper- expressed an interest in utilizing the hull de- commercial ship construction and in the cruise ating cruise ships under flags-of-convenience. signs for cruise ships for command and con- industry. I hope that Congress will do all it can With the exception of the single U.S.-flag trol vessels in the future. to help revitalize this vital American industry.

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