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Crime
Law Enforcement *
Racial Profiling * DNA
Technology * Corporate Accountability
* Identity Theft * Gang
Violence * Protecting
Children * Hate Crimes
Our law enforcement officers are on the frontlines every
day, working to preserve and improve public safety in the
4th District of Connecticut I am committed to providing our
law enforcement officers with the resources and tools necessary
to fight crime.
Law Enforcement
I recognize the success the Department of Justice's law enforcement
assistance programs have had in reducing crime rates, and
I support continued funding of the Community Oriented Policing
Services (COPS) program, the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant
program (LLEBG), and the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant program.
In April 2004, I joined 58 of my colleagues in writing to
the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee
on Commerce, Justice, and State, expressing support for restoring
the cuts outlined in the President's budget proposal to the
COPS program, the LLEBG program and the Edward Byrne Memorial
Grant program.
The letter requests that the Subcommittee restore the cuts
proposed in the president's budget proposal and fund the COPS
program at the fiscal year 2004 (FY 04) level of $756 million,
and the new Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program, which
would combine the LLEBG program and the Edward Byrne Memorial
Grant program, at the combined FY 04 level of the two old
programs of $844 million.
Racial Profiling
Congressman John Conyers and I introduced H.R.
3847, the End Racial Profiling Act of 2004, which
will eliminate racial profiling by federal, state and local
law enforcement officials.
Decades ago, with the passage of sweeping civil rights legislation,
this country made clear race should not affect the treatment
individual Americans receive under the law.
The practice of using race as a criterion in law enforcement
flies in the face of progress we have made toward racial equality
and must be stopped. The End Racial Profiling Act reaffirms
our commitment to judge individuals by their actions, not
by the color of their skin.
H.R. 3847 requires federal law enforcement agencies -- including
the DEA, FBI, INS and Customs Service -- to cease encouraging
racial profiling and adopt policies and procedures to eliminate
the practice. The legislation holds states and localities
to the same standard and permits the Attorney General to take
away federal grant funding from areas where racial profiling
persists.
DNA Technology
Thousands of DNA samples are sitting in police evidence rooms
across the country. It is a shame that we have this technology
but we are not realizing its full potential to solve crimes
and protect the innocent.
On November 5, 2003, I voted for H.R.
3214, the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of
2003, which passed the House by a vote of 357 to 67.
I was also a cosponsor of this legislation because it will
make much-needed federal resources available to state and
local governments to combat crimes with DNA technology, and
will provide safeguards to prevent wrongful convictions and
executions.
H.R. 3214 addresses the backlog in the analysis of DNA in
criminal cases by providing $151 million annually for states
to test DNA samples. These tests will compare samples of DNA
profiles of known offenders nationwide and solve hundreds
of cases where no known suspect currently exists.
H.R. 3214 also provides grants for training and technical
assistance relating to the identification, collection, preservation,
analysis and use of DNA samples and DNA evidence by law enforcement
personnel and other first responders who collect or examine
crime scene evidence. Similar grants are authorized for the
collection of evidence for sexual assault crimes.
Finally, this legislation includes the Innocence Protection
Act. I have supported this legislation in the past, and am
pleased it was included in H.R. 3214. Specifically, the Innocence
Protection Act would:
-Ensure federal and state inmates are afforded an opportunity
to prove their innocence through DNA testing. Currently, many
inmates are denied access to testing or are prevented from
introducing this evidence in court.
-Improve the quality of legal representation for indigent
defendants in capital cases through federal incentives to
states.
-Enable those who can prove their innocence to recover greater
compensation for their unjust incarceration.
Identity Theft
Identity Theft has become a serious problem. The Federal
Trade Commission recently reported that 10 million Americans
were victimized by identity thieves in 2002. I believe Congress
needs to address this problem.
According to the FTC study, identity theft cost consumers
nearly $53 billion, not counting the 300 million hours spent
trying to repair damaged credit records. Victims may incur
damaged credit records, unauthorized charges on credit cards,
and unauthorized withdrawals from bank accounts. Identity
theft also presents a national security risk.
On November 21, 2003, I voted for H.R.
2622, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act,
which passed the House by a vote of 379 to 49. The President
signed this legislation into law on December 4, 2003. H.R.
2622 contains several provisions aimed at preventing identity
theft and assisting victims of identity theft.
H.R. 2622 makes changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act
to protect against identity theft including:
-Requiring credit card companies to investigate change of
address requests if the company receives a request for an
additional card within 30 days of receiving a notification
of a change of address.
-Requiring consumer reporting agencies to include fraud alerts
in a consumer's file upon the request of the consumer.
-Requiring reporting agencies to develop procedures for providing
consumers who believe they've been a victim of identity theft
with a summary of their rights.
-Requiring reporting agencies to block any information identified
by a consumer in their credit file as fraudulent, as having
resulted from an alleged identity theft.
While much remains to be done to protect consumers from identity
theft, H.R. 2622 makes significant improvements to America's
credit system. As a member of the Financial Services Committee,
I will continue to monitor legislation that addresses these
crimes.
Gang Violence
Gang violence is a serious problem, and I believe we need
to address it with determination and creativity.
I voted for H.R.
1279, the Gang Deterrence and Community Protection
Act, which passed the House by a vote of 279 to 144 on May
11, 2005. I believe this bipartisan legislation represents
a balanced approach to the issue of increased gang violence.
H.R. 1279 authorizes increased federal funding to support
Federal, State and local law enforcement efforts against violent
gangs, and to coordinate law enforcement agencies’ efforts
to share intelligence and jointly prosecute violent gangs.
The legislation also creates new criminal gang prosecution
offenses, enhances existing gang and violent crime penalties
to deter and punish illegal street gangs, proposes violent
crime reforms needed to prosecute effectively gang members,
and proposes to reform the federal juvenile justice system
to authorize prosecution of 16 and 17 year old gang members
who commit violent crimes.
We need to make sure juvenile offenders understand the consequences
of their action, but at the same time, we need to make every
effort to help youth who are at risk of becoming juvenile
offenders. Incarceration will put criminals away, but it won't
save more kids from falling through the cracks and turning
to a life of crime. Prevention programs are essential to addressing
crime problems in urban areas.
You may be interested to know, in 2002, I voted for
H.R.
2215, the 21st Century Department of Justice
Appropriations Authorization Act, which passed the House on
September 26, 2002, by a vote of 400 to 4, which was signed
into law on November 2, 2002. This legislation included provisions
to promote greater accountability in the juvenile justice
system. Specifically, H.R. 2215
- included grants to develop and implement graduated sanctions
for juvenile offenders;
- provided funding to enable prosecutors to address drug,
gang, and youth violence problems more effectively;
- provided funding to hire and provide training programs
for detention and corrections personnel.
Protecting
Children
On September 14, 2005, I voted for H.R.
3132, the Child Safety Act, which passed the
House by a vote of 371 - 52.
H.R. 3132 addresses the growing epidemic of violence against
children. It enhances the safety of children from convicted
sex offenders through coordinated State sex offender registration
and notification programs.
The bill improves the Sex Offender Registration and Notification
Program to ensure that sex offenders register, and keep current,
where they reside, work and attend school. It also requires
each state to maintain a state-wide internet site to provide
current information about sex offenders in neighborhoods,
including facts of the case underlying the sex offender’s
conviction, vehicles owned or used by the sex offender, a
picture and other current information needed by community
members to assess the risk of the sex offender.
The bill also requires States to enact a felony criminal
offense for sex offenders who fail to register or comply with
requirements that he or she maintain current information
within 5 day time limits and expands the collection and use
of DNA evidence to include persons legally arrested or detained.
You may also be interested to know, in the last Congress,
I voted for H.R. 1104, the Child Abduction Prevention Act,
when it passed the House on March 27, 2003 by a vote of 410
to 14. This important legislation strengthens our laws protecting
children, creates a national AMBER alert system, and doubles
the annual grant to the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children. The President signed the bill into law on April
30.
The AMBER alert system, which is named for Amber Hagerman,
a 9-year-old girl kidnapped and murdered in Texas, is an important
tool to protect our children. AMBER alerts instantaneously
distribute information, including the alleged abductor's vehicle,
license plate and physical appearance, and a description of
the missing child, to electronic highway signs, as well as
various radio and television stations.
Having a child kidnapped is a parent's worst fear. The Child
Abduction Prevention Act not only assists law enforcement
by spreading information about the abduction quickly, but
also takes strong steps to ensure that those who would do
our children harm are kept behind bars.
Hate Crimes
I am an original cosponsor of H.R.
2662, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. H.R. 2662
defines a "hate crime" as a violent act causing
death or bodily injury "because of the actual or perceived
race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation,
gender, gender identity or disability" of the victim.
Under current law, federal prosecution of a hate crime is
permitted only if the crime was motivated by bias based on
race, religion, national origin, or color and the assailant
intended to prevent the victim from exercising a "federally
protected right," such as voting or attending school.
This dual requirement substantially limits the potential for
federal prosecution of hate crimes, even when the crime is
particularly heinous.
Under the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, hate crimes that cause
death or bodily injury because of prejudice can be investigated
federally, regardless of whether the victim was exercising
a federally protected right.
In my judgment, violence based on prejudice is a matter of
national concern that federal prosecutors should be empowered
to punish if the states are unable or unwilling to do so.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said:
We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties
of all citizens,
whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression,
any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our
civilization.
That statement is no less true today than it was back then,
and I will continue working to enact this important legislation.
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