Andrea Seastrand: “this is day 41 of the new Congress. And what have we really accomplished? Plenty. We passed the balanced budget…”

“this is day 41 of the new Congress. And what have we really accomplished? Plenty. We passed the balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, unfunded mandates reform and the line- item veto. This week we are working to pass the final piece of the crime package that will insure criminals spend their time behind bars in prison, so law abiding citizens do not spend their time behind bars in their homes. Many of us ran for this office on the promise to take power from Washington and return it to the people closest to the problem. Our bill to fight violent crime recognizes that local governments know best how to deal with the problem. It gives them the tools, then gets out of their way. Yesterday, President Clinton's Chief of Staff said Washington politicians should direct crime-fighting dollars. Well, President Clinton may think Washington knows best, I think the American people know best. With this bill we continue to keep our promises to bring real change to Washington, to keep our contract on track and to fight violent crime with local solutions, not Washington-knows-best conclusions.”