Senate Floor: VIOLENT CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1994


VIOLENT CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1994 [1994-05-19]

Joe Biden
Phil Gramm
Al D'Amato
Orrin G. Hatch
Dennis DeConcini
Byron Dorgan
Pete Domenici
Paul Simon
Slade Gorton
Alan Simpson
Not Labeled
Ted Stevens
Senate
House
State
one
New York
Unknown

Phil Gramm
Phil Gramm
Very Positive
Joe Biden
But let me tell you, let us assume that the Presiding Officer is the Governor of Connecticut or the Governor of Texas or the Governor of California. I walk up, and I am your administrative assistant, and I walk in and say, "Good news, Gov, you know that prison population problem we have? The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House just passed a bill and they sent it to the President. There are $6 -- $ 8 -- probably closer to $8 or $10 billion -- $6 or $8 billion in there for prison construction for the States." And you go, "Wow, boy, I dodged that bullet. I do not have to go to the legislature now to ask for a tax increase to build more prisons to solve our problems. The Federal Government is coming to our rescue." "Wait a minute. That's the good news. The bad news is, in order to even put in an application to get any of that prison construction money we have to prove to the Feds that we are keeping our prison population in jail for 85 percent of the time, like the Federal Government does -- 85 percent of the time for which they have been convicted." Even for a very slow Governor -- and the Senator from Connecticut would be a very quick Governor -- even for a very slow Governor it does not take long to calculate that in his mind or her mind. If they are only having their folks serve 43 percent of the time now, and they have to serve 85 percent of the time -- unless they pass a law saying no more crime in Texas this year, we will have a moratorium on crime, unless that happens, if the crime rate continues roughly at the same rate, the Governor has to go down to the State legislature and say, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the House and Senate of the State of Texas, Delaware, Connecticut, North Dakota -- we have a chance to get money, Federal money to build prisons. But before we can get a penny we have to double our prison budget, build twice as many cells as we now have, so we can keep the people we now have in jail for 85 percent of the time, which is twice the time they are now serving. And you have to go to the taxpayers -- of Connecticut or Delaware or New York or California -- and tell them I am going to increase your taxes to do that before we can get any Federal money." I think Governors should do that. I think they should be honest with you. I think they should be honest with the American people and say, "We have a problem here in the State of X. We have prison overcrowding. We are letting our folks out of jail early. It should stop and I am going to raise your taxes by $500 million, $1 billion" -- whatever the size of the State.
Very Negative
Byron Dorgan
Orrin G. Hatch
Orrin G. Hatch
Joe Biden
Slightly Negative
Orrin G. Hatch
Joe Biden
Positive
Joe Biden
Orrin G. Hatch
Slightly Negative
Joe Biden
Somewhat Positive
Joe Biden
Ted Stevens
Somewhat Positive
Al D'Amato
Somewhat Positive
Al D'Amato
Positive
Joe Biden
Al D'Amato
Pete Domenici
Slightly Positive
Dennis DeConcini
Somewhat Positive
Dennis DeConcini
Pete Domenici
Pete Domenici
Pete Domenici
Dennis DeConcini
Pete Domenici
Pete Domenici
Dennis DeConcini
Unknown
Pete Domenici
Dennis DeConcini
Pete Domenici
Positive
Dennis DeConcini
Pete Domenici
Dennis DeConcini
Positive
Al D'Amato
Unknown
Pete Domenici
Al D'Amato
Dennis DeConcini
Dennis DeConcini
Dennis DeConcini
Joe Biden