140 Cong Rec S 4050, *

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- Senate

Monday, April 11, 1994

103rd Congress 2nd Session

140 Cong Rec S 4050

REFERENCE: Vol. 140 No. 37

TITLE: CRIME

SPEAKER: MR. HATCH

TEXT:  

 [*S4050] 

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I am going to speak here today on the issue of crime and what we need to do.

Today, President Clinton and Attorney General Reno were at the Justice Department and delivered remarks to law enforcement officers about the need to get tough on crime. I am glad they did. At a similar event staged before law enforcement officers in Ohio, President Clinton talked tough about crime saying, ''I care a lot about this problem.'' I believe he does.

Alluding to his years as State attorney general and Governor, the President went on to say:

I know what it means to double the prison capacity of a State, and to sign laws toughening crimes, and to * * * add to the stock of police officers and to deal with all the problems that are facing them. I know this is a tough problem. I also know it is a complicated one. It's easy to demagog, easy to talk about, and quite another thing to do something that will make a fundamental difference in the lives of the people of this Country.

Ironically, despite his statements about the need to enhance our crime-fighting efforts, President Clinton delivered to Congress a budget that cuts Federal prison construction by nearly 30 percent, or a $ 78 million reduction, cuts Federal law enforcement personnel, and cuts existing grants to State law enforcement.

The President's budget does not reflect the rhetoric of enthusiastic support for crime control and the law enforcement that he has been espousing.

The fiscal year 1995 budget cuts 1,523 Department of Justice law enforcement agency positions. According to a Justice Department budget summary, the Federal Bureau of Investigation loses 847 positions; the Drug Enforcement Agency loses 355; the Department's Criminal Division loses 28; the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces lose 150, and Federal prosecutors lose 143 positions.

Absent the fiscal year 1995 budget cuts there are still, without those budget cuts, 431 fewer FBI agents and 301 fewer DEA agents today than there were in 1992, at the end of the 1992 Presidential campaign.

At a time when violent crime and drug control are said to be national priorities, these cuts will reduce the effectiveness of Federal law enforcement, and the President's budget acknowledges this. The administration's own budget figures reveal that Federal prosecutors will be filing 527 fewer criminal cases in fiscal year 1995 than the year before. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program, cut by over $ 12 million, will investigate, indict, and convict fewer criminals. Indeed, former Deputy Attorney General Philip Heymann confirmed this in a recent article he wrote for the Washington Post on February 27, 1994:

With fewer Federal investigators and fewer Federal prosecutors in the years ahead, there  [*S4051]  will not be more Federal law enforcement, but less * * *.

These reductions will only add to an already lagging Federal anticrime effort under the Clinton administration. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts recently reported that in 1993, the number of criminal cases filed by Federal prosecutors decreased by over 3 percent. This was the first decrease in 10 years. The Administrative Office attributes this overall decrease in criminal filings to the Clinton Justice Department's significant reduction in drug prosecutions. Drug prosecutions in 1993 decreased by 7 percent, or 902 cases.

Existing State and local law enforcement block grants, which police have been counting on, are also cut by over $ 400 million in order to fund the crime bill's proposed police hiring program. The money to pay for the police hiring program was supposed to come from savings earned through personnel cuts, not from existing law enforcement grants. Senator Gorton and I succeeded in amending the budget resolution to restore funding for this program, and that was a valuable first step.

Ironically, when it suits the administration's purpose, they will defend the preservation of Federal prosecutors and law enforcement strength. In testifying against the balanced budget amendment, Attorney General Reno recently stated that preserving adequate funding for the FBI, DEA, and U.S. attorney's office are what ''our Nation so desperately needs to fight crime aggressively.'' She went on to state that the effect of cuts on Federal law enforcement could be ''catastrophic.''

At this same hearing, Attorney General Reno discussed the importance of adequate staffing for the Justice Department. She said:

I try, when I travel to different districts, to visit with the U.S. attorney's offices. I ask one question when I go to the offices to begin a discussion: If you were Attorney General of the United States, what would you do to improve the operation of this office? Consistently, they said we need more staff in the civil and criminal division.

There is a substantial increase in overall funding for the Department of Justice. Yet, instead of spending this money on Federal criminal law enforcement agencies, a bulk of this money goes to fund the Department's assorted civil agencies or branches. For example, the Department plans to bring more civil suits-450 more cases-and more antitrust suits, and 33 new positions are created. The Department plans to bring more environmental and natural resource cases-nearly 900 more cases, given an increase of 78 positions.

There is clearly a need for fiscal restraint. Recognizing the need to address the budget deficit, Attorney General Reno has expressed a willingness on behalf of Federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to do their part to regain control over our Nation's financial well-being. But, in a budget of $ 1.5 trillion, priorities can and must be met. We must ensure that the sacrifices we ask law enforcement to make do not impair the Government's ability to meet its obligations to our Nation's law-abiding citizens.

Cutting Federal law enforcement positions, prison construction, and existing law enforcement grants programs is an unwise choice, especially in light of our Nation's crime problem. It is also inconsistent with the President's stated drug strategy and the bravado we are hearing from the administration.

Mr. President, I have a couple of charts here that I would like to point to. This chart shows the Department of Justice law enforcement agency cuts. The President's fiscal year 1995 budget cuts 1,523 total positions, Justice law enforcement agency positions. According to the Justice Department, its own budget survey, the FBI would lose 847 positions; the Drug Enforcement Administration would lose 355; the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces will lose 150; U.S. attorneys will lose 143 positions; the Criminal Division will lose 28 positions between fiscal 1994 and 1995.

These are tremendous losses. With regard to cuts to FBI agents, the number of FBI agents end of the year on-board strength between 1980 and 1994, in 1990, as you can see, there were a little less than 8,000 positions. We gradually got them up through 1992 to a higher point, under Republican administrations. When Reagan took over, we were down here. When Bush left, it was right here. Under Republican administrations, the positions for the FBI reached a peak in fiscal year 1992 when there were 10,475 FBI agents. Beginning with the Clinton administration here, there currently are only 10,044 FBI agents. That is 431 fewer agents than there were in 1992.

The President's budget proposes additional cuts on top of that.

Finally, let us look at the DEA agents at the end of the year on-board strength between 1980 and 1994. When Reagan took over we were here. They gradually built the DEA up to the point  where the Clinton administration took over. As a matter of fact, here again we see increase in agent strength during Republican administrations. The number of agents increased from 1,897 back here in 1980 to 3,702 in 1992. Under the current administration, there has been a cut in the number of DEA agents. Absent the fiscal year 1995 budget cuts, there are still 301 fewer DEA agents today than there were in 1992.

So Mr. President, I am really concerned about it because we are having more and more crime in our society, more and more pressures on the public, more and more pressures on our citizens' right to live freely and without criminal influence, and yet we are cutting back on some of the more important areas this country has.

Mr. President, my time is up, and I yield back any further time I have, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The point of no quorum has been suggested. The clerk will call the roll.

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Mr. DeCONCINI . Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. DeCONCINI . Mr. President, I will be proceeding in morning business.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona is recognized.