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OCR Page 1 of 76DRAFT
SAT. 8 PM
October 25, 1993
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
BRUCE REED
JOSE CERDA III
SUBJECT:
CRIME BILL FUNDING
I.
ACTION-FORCING EVENT
The crime bill will be taken up on the Senate floor and in the House Judiciary
Committee next week. As the crime issue takes on increasing urgency in Congress and the
countryside, we face the prospect of a bidding war in both houses, in which Republicans and
even liberal Democrats compete to prove that they care more about crime than the
Administration. Senator Biden and others are urging us to pre-empt this debate by pledging
more resources for cops, drug treatment, and prisons.
II.
BACKGROUND
A. House Update
The outlook for passing some kind of crime bill by Thanksgiving may have improved
significantly. In the House, Chairman Brooks has given up trying to find habeas reform and
death penalty provisions that can attract a majority of House Democrats, and has decided to
postpone consideration of those issues until next year. The Black Caucus opposed his habeas
proposal, even though it was more liberal than ours and much more liberal than current law,
and he does not believe he could get a majority to vote the crime bill out of committee
without substantial prodding from the Administration or unacceptable revisions in habeas.
Brooks plans instead to break out the key components -- cops, boot camps, drug
courts, Safe Schools, and the Brady Bill -- and pass them all separately. If the Republicans
go along, the crime measures can then be passed quickly under suspension in the House, and
easily reconciled with Senate versions. This strategy avoids the specter of an irreconcilable
conference, and should assure that the Brady Bill and most key elements of the crime bill will
be on your desk by Thanksgiving.
reduces the chance of a gridlocked
Biden is considering a similar strategy in the Senate, but he has less control over the
outcome. Hatch may agree to drop habeas, but Gramm and other Republicans will force
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