Political Quotes

“I think there is another reason to support H.R. 667, and that is it represents the idea of truth in legislation. During the consideration of the crime bill which was enacted last year, from the beginning all the way through to the time the President signed it last September, news report after news report in all aspects of the media said this bill includes $7.9 billion for prisons. The only problem with that representation is, it is not true. The crime bill as written and enacted last year, does not guarantee that a dime of that money goes to prisons. The actual wording of the legislation says that the money can go for prisons or for alternatives to prisons, including keeping convicted criminals right there in the community. Now, is there a time when alternative sentencing is appropriate? I think so. Though I was a career prosecutor before having the privilege of serving in Congress, I never felt that every single criminal convicted of every offense should go to prison.”