Angie Craig: “let me say how blessed I am to be a cosponsor of the Stop Allowing Felons Early Release Act, known as the SAFER Act. Let…”

“let me say how blessed I am to be a cosponsor of the Stop Allowing Felons Early Release Act, known as the SAFER Act. Let me, in a very sincere way, congratulate my colleague from North Dakota for what is a very sensible approach to crimefighting and for his outspoken leadership on this issue. This bill that he has just outlined for us all this morning would help stop one of the most significant causes of crime in America. It is amazing to me, but it is true by fact and statistic, that the way our criminal justice system is operated today, Mr. President, results in increased crime. We know that a relatively small percentage of our population is responsible for a relatively large percentage of violent crimes. Study after study has shown that a vast number of violent crimes are State crimes committed by repeat offenders--repeat offenders. Although there are many causes of violent crime and many factors contributing to our crime rate, it appears that the most immediate and significant is the career criminal. Since that is the cause, we clearly have an opportunity to save lives and prevent crime-related losses by getting the hard-core criminals off the streets and out of our communities.”