Aprilll, 1994 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE 7003 SENATE-Monday, April 11, 1994 The Senate met at 1 p.m., and was The clerk will call the roll. If the President really wants to make called to order by the President pro The assistant legislative clerk pro­ a difference in the crime debate this tempore [Mr. BYRD]. ceeded to call the roll. week, he would today-publicly and un­ The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unan­ equivocally-endorse the proposed Senate will be led in prayer by the Sen­ imous consent that the order for the House Republican amendment ear­ ate Chaplain, the Reverend Dr. Richard quorum call be rescinded. marking $10 billion for new prison con­ C. Halverson. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. With­ struction and operation. Under this Dr. Halverson, please. out objection, it is so ordered. amendment, only those States that PRAYER The Republican leader is recognized. adopt the truth-in-sentencing and Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, was leader three-strikes-and-you're-out reforms The Chaplain, the Reverend Richard time reserved? would be eligible for the new prison C. Halverson, D.D., offered the follow­ The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Lead­ money. Needless to say, this is one ing prayer: er time has been reserved. tough-on-crime proposal that lives up Let us pray: to its billing, and the President should Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; get behind it. and lean not unto thine own understand­ CRIME LEGISLATION Unfortunately, it is becoming in­ ing. In all thy ways acknowledge him, Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, later this creasingly clear that the administra­ and he shall direct thy paths.-Proverbs week, the House of Representatives tion's actions do not always match its 3:5,6. will finally begin deliberations on tough rhetoric. Gracious God our Father, thank Thee The President talks tough about for a safe return following a profitable anticrime legislation. As the House be­ gins its work, the American people locking up violent offenders. Yet the recess. Thank Thee _for the Senators' administration's 1995 budget actually opportunity to meet face to face with should ask themselves some important questions. slashes funding for Federal prison con­ constituents, to share their views on struction by 29 percent. significant issues. Thank Thee for are­ Will the House pass a bill that de­ votes sufficient resources to incarcer­ The President talks tough about newed sense of the people's thinking. helping law enforcement. Yet the ad­ Thank Thee for family togetherness, ation? Last year, the Senate adopted legislation that earmarked $6.5 billion ministration's 1995 budget reduces law reconciliation and recreation, rest and enforcement block grants by a stagger­ restoration of strength, and vision. for various forms of incarceration, in­ Now, Lord, the Senate confronts a cluding $3 billion to build and operate ing $500 million and eliminates more backbreaking load of legislation on 10 new regional prisons for the most than 1,000 permanent positions in the critical and potentially divisive issues violent offenders. Will the House FBI, the DEA, the Justice Depart­ with a national election approaching match this effort, recognizing that a ment's Criminal Division, and the U.S. rapidly. Grant to Your servants the violent criminal kept behind bars will attorney's offices. not terrorize a single law-abiding citi­ The President says that he wants to wisdom of Proverbs to look to God and stiffen criminal penal ties and supports trust Him for guidance. zen? And, mighty God, awaken the people Will the House follow the Senate's three-strikes-and-you're-out. Yet his to the fundamental reality of our polit­ lead and take steps to slam shut there­ Attorney General has told Federal ical system-"a government of the peo­ prosecutors they may ignore charging volving prison door by promoting defendants with crimes carrying man­ ple, by the people, and for the people." truth-in-sentencing. When it comes to Help them take seriously their respon­ datory minimum sentences if, in their violent criminals, a 15-year sentence subjective view, these sentences would sibility as citizens to inform their lead­ should mean just that--15 years. Not 5 ers of their views, to prepare them­ be unreasonable. This directive re­ years or 10 years. But the full sen­ verses the guidelines established by At­ selves to vote, and then go to the polls tence-no exceptions and no parole. in November. torney General Thornburgh, which re­ Will the House pass a bill that stops quired prosecutors to charge defend­ Blessed Lord, cover the Senate with the endless appeals that clog the court Your grace and guide the Senators in ants with the most serious and readily system and do so much to erode public provable offense. perfect wisdom and righteousness in confidence in our system of justice? Or their debate and decisions. So, the American people should ask will the House make these appeals the President: Does he mean three­ In His name who is the Way, the easier, allowing criminals to escape Truth, and the Life. Amen. strikes-and-you're-out? or three stri­ justice by taking advantage of yet kes-and-maybe- perhaps-you're-out­ more loopholes and more technical­ and only if the Justice Department RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME ities? lawyers think that life imprisonment The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under Will the House bill recognize that is a reasonable sentence? the previous order, the time of the two youthful offenders who commit a vio­ And let us look at the administra­ leaders has been reserved. lent crime have forsaken their inno­ tion's so-called war on drugs. The cence and must be held accountable for President talks tough, yet funding for their actions-as adults? the Office of National Drug Control MORNING BUSINESS And perhaps most fundamentally, Policy is slashed by 94 percent, the De­ The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Also will the House pass a bill that properly partment of Justice cites phony con­ under the previous order, there will views society as the victim of crimi­ stitutional concerns when opposing the now be a period for the transaction of nals, and not the other way around? death penalty for vicious drug king­ morning business not to extend beyond Today, President Clinton is out pro­ pins, funding for drug interdiction is the hour of 2 p.m., with Senators per­ moting the administration's crime bill, severely reduced, and the U.S. Surgeon mitted to speak therein for not to ex­ even though the administration has General tours the country promoting ceed 10 minutes each. not drafted a crime bill, relying instead the misguided idea of legalizing the The Chair, in his capacity as a Sen­ on Democrats and the Republicans in very thing we are trying to stig­ ator from West Virginia, suggests the the Senate and House to do the legisla­ matize-the use of illegal drugs, par­ absence of a quorum. tive heavy lifting. ticularly by our young people. e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. 7004 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE Aprilll, 1994 Mr. President, the sad truth is that CRIME With fewer Federal investigators and fewer no community is safe in America Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I am Federal prosecutors in the years ahead, there today. And, unfortunately, no crime will not be more Federal law enforcement, going to speak here today on the issue but less* * *. bill can guarantee security for the of crime and what we need to do. American people. While the Senate­ These reductions will only add to an Today, President Clinton and Attor­ already lagging Federal anticrime ef­ passed crime bill is a small step in the ney General Reno were at the Justice war against crime, it is nonetheless a Department and delivered remarks to fort under the Clinton administration. step in the right direction. And it law enforcement officers about the The Administrative Office of the U.S. passed this body by a vote of 94 to 4; to­ need to get tough on crime. I am glad Courts recently reported that in 1993, tally bipartisan, as I hope it will be in they did. At a similar event staged be­ the number of criminal cases filed by the House. I do not think the House fore law enforcement officers in Ohio, Federal prosecutors decreased by over 3 should do any less. The American peo­ President Clinton talked tough about percent. This was the first decrease in ple do not want gimmicks. crime saying, "I care a lot about this 10 years. The Administrative Office at­ tributes this overall decrease in crimi­ In fact, I met yesterday morning problem." I believe he does. Alluding to his years as State attor­ nal filings to the Clinton Justice De­ with an outstanding leader in my partment's significant reduction in State, Bill Koch, who has undertaken ney general and Governor, the Presi­ dent went on to say: drug prosecutions. Drug prosecutions an effort to help the Governor there, a in 1993 decreased by 7 percent, or 902 Democrat Governor and Republican I know what it means to double the prison capacity of a State, and to sign laws tough­ cases. legislators. Everybody in Kansas is Existing State and local law enforce­ concerned about crime. They are doing ening crimes, and to * * * add to the stock of police officers and to deal with all the prob­ ment block grants, which police have a lot of focus groups, and a lot of sur­ lems that are facing them.