Angie Craig: “My colleague from North Dakota is right. We are not talking tough. We are not even beginning to talk tough on behalf of…”

“My colleague from North Dakota is right. We are not talking tough. We are not even beginning to talk tough on behalf of the victims. The families that have been destroyed, torn apart by acts of violence of the type that this legislation will be directed toward. I think the American public expect us to talk tough. If Federal tax dollars are going to be used under the assumption that the communities of our Nation will be safer when those dollars are appropriately spent, then it is our responsibility as Senators that those dollars get well spent. What we are saying to the States in this instance, if you have a revolving door in your criminal justice system where known hardened criminal repeat offenders are back on the streets, then you are not going to get as much of the Federal dollar as is now available. You have to examine the way you handle these criminals and keep them in and let them do their time. Only under special circumstances where it is clearly evident that rehabilitation has worked and this person can return to society and live a safe and law-abiding life, can they or should they be returned. I hope that all Senators would take a look at this legislation as we introduce it today. We would certainly hope that all would become cosponsors of it. We think it is responsible and tough when it comes to dealing with the criminal element of our society. It just does not make sense to use U.S. taxpayer dollars to support policies that might actually increase crime.”