Bart Stupak: “With violent crime still the No. 1 concern of most Americans, the voters should know why this proposal will do nothing…”

“With violent crime still the No. 1 concern of most Americans, the voters should know why this proposal will do nothing to decrease instances of violent crime. In fact, having been a police officer for 12 years, as a police officer, we get angry when we hear these proposals about new crime bills, angry because crime is an emotional issue. But unfortunately it is always being used for political purposes. Crime is not political. Crime is not Democrat nor Republican. It is not independent. It is personal. Crime violates the self-respect of every individual touched by crime, and elected officials who play politics with crime, or try to seize upon the fear of crime for political gain do a disservice to this country, to their constituency, and to the civility of our own country. For the past 7 years, there had not been a crime bill. In August 1994 we passed a crime bill. In the past, crime bills were always defeated because this group or that group or a President would veto a crime bill. While they were busy playing politics with crime, crime has tripled. Violent crime has gone up 300 percent. It has tripled in the last 10 years. Yet the number of police officers on the street helping to combat violent crime has only gone up just a mere 10 percent. So why are we here today on H.R. 728 after 4 months of passing a crime bill? Pure and simple, we are here because of politics.”