Political Quotes

“I want to thank Chairman Brooks for the opportunity to offer my amendment to create a National Commission on Crime and Violence as part of the en bloc. I rise to support the en bloc amendment and to discuss my amendment, which is contained therein. It has been 27 years since the Brown Commission defined the Federal Government's response to crime in our society. Since that time, crime has been transformed by guns, drugs, and gangs into an ultra-violent epidemic that has left no neighborhood feeling safe. The Nation's police, courts, and prisons are overwhelmed, and every week seems to bring a new, unthinkable outrage into bloody reality. The Brown Commission could not have envisioned the nature of criminal activity in today's society. The men and women who form the thin blue line that protects us are improvising desperately in a continual effort to gain the upper hand in the fight against crime. It's time that the Federal Government take active steps to assist them. My amendment would create a National Commission on Crime and Violence that would use the experience of a cross-section of talented Americans to seek innovative crime fighting and prevention techniques for the 21st century.”