Steven Schiff: “in the last several minutes we have heard several lectures from members of the majority party to us on the minority…”

“in the last several minutes we have heard several lectures from members of the majority party to us on the minority side, particularly demanding that we on our side not politicize the coming crime bill. I find that remarkable, because the majority party has already highly politicized the crime bill through its control of the Committee on Rules. Under action by the Committee on Rules, a number of amendments which Republicans would have liked to have offered to the crime bill and which, in my opinion, would have vastly improved it will not even be considered because they are not allowed to be considered. Let me just give three examples: If allowed, there would have been an amendment offered that would have said that for two convictions for violent crimes, particularly two convictions for being a serial violent crime committer, violent crime criminal, then life in prison would apply. That amendment will not be heard on the House floor today. The bill, as written, says that it lowers, actually lowers, the penalty for certain drug traffickers. A Republican offered an amendment to take that provision out of the bill, but that amendment will not be considered here today. In the prevention section, quite a number of pork-barrel projects have been put in there, bills Members have been trying to pass for years without success. They have added the words to their bill for the purpose of preventing crime, and we are not allowed to amend to take those out.”