Congressional Record: January 9, 2003 (Senate)

By Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Biden, Mr. Kennedy,
Mr. Schumer, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Dayton,
Mr. Corzine, and Mr. Reed):
S. 22. A bill to enhance domestic security, and for other purposes;
to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased today to join Senator Daschle
and other Democratic Senators in introducing the Justice Enhancement
and Domestic Security Act of 2003. This comprehensive crime bill builds
on prior Democratic crime initiatives, including the landmark Violent
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, that worked to bring the
crime rate down.
This year marked an unfortunate turn after a decade of remarkable
declines in the Nation's crime rate. The decade of progress we made
under the leadership of a Democratic President helped revitalize our
cities and restore a sense of security for millions of Americans.
According to the latest FBI report, however, the number of murders,
rapes, robberies, assaults, and property crimes is up across the United
States in all regions of the country except the Northeast, the first
year-to-year increase since 1991. This upswing has been fueled by the
faltering economy and high unemployment rates. The President's ill-
conceived tax cut in 2001, along with the new cuts he proposes now, are
likely to exacerbate these economic woes by plunging us deeper into
deficit spending.Read More