The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“HELPING SOUTH DAKOTA COMMUNITIES FIGHT CRIME” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S11529-S11530 on Nov. 14, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HELPING SOUTH DAKOTA COMMUNITIES FIGHT CRIME
Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, throughout the past year, I continued working with local and state community leaders and law enforcement officials all across South Dakota in an effort to find solutions to the most pressing problems facing the people of my state. A number of issues that Congress can address were brought to my attention through these meetings, and I continue to find this statewide dialog extremely valuable on further developing a community approach to reducing crime. I've worked on a bipartisan basis with my colleagues in the United States Senate to help South Dakota communities get the resources they need to address the crime problems they face.
Community Policing and the COPS Program
Community Policing has proven effective in reducing crime rates nationwide, and I am optimistic that such efforts in our small towns will prove equally successful. As you know, the majority of potential offenders, both juvenile and adult, in our state are still within reach of rehabilitation and support to put them back on track as productive, law abiding citizens.
I believe the Congress must assist state and local efforts to crack down on crime by continuing federal support through funding for localized programs. One of the most successful programs in South Dakota has been the COPS program. Since 1995, the COPS program has allowed South Dakota communities to hire 290 new police officers. In addition, the COPS program has expanded recently to help school districts hire police resource officers to deal with youth violence in South Dakota schools. The COPS in School's program has committed $1.25 million to South Dakota communities.
Although the COPS program has helped reduce the overall crime rate nationwide and has been extremely popular with local law enforcement in our state, I find myself once again working to make sure the program is adequately funded. I support the Administration's request of $1.3 billion for the COPS program to hire 7,000 new police officers nationwide, provide local law enforcement with advanced crime fighting technology, hire more community prosecutors, expand crime prevention programs, enhance school safety programs, and assist law enforcement on Indian Reservations. At this level of funding, South Dakota would receive an estimated $734,000 next year to help fight crime in our communities and in Indian Country.
However, the Senate and House Leadership's inability to pass the annual appropriations bills has put COPS funding in jeopardy. I will continue to work with my colleagues to increase funding for this critical program and am hopeful that common sense will prevail over partisan gamesmanship on this crucial issue.
The Kyl-Johnson Federal Prisoner Health Care Copayment Act
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and I introduced two years ago a bill to require federal prisoners to pay a nominal fee when they initiate certain visits for medical attention. Fees collected from prisoners will either be paid as restitution to victims or be deposited into the Federal Crime Victims' Fund. I am pleased that the President recently signed into law the Kyl-Johnson Federal Prisoner Health Care Copayment Act.
South Dakota is one of 38 states that have implemented state-wide prisoner health care copayment programs. The Department of Justice supported extending this prisoner health care copayment program to federal prisoners in an attempt to reduce unnecessary medical procedures and ensure that adequate health care services are available for prisoners who need them.
My interest in the prisoner health care copayment issue came from discussions I had in South Dakota with a number of law enforcement officials and U.S. Marshal Lyle Swenson about the equitable treatment between pre-sentencing federal prisoners housed in county jails and the county prisoners residing in those same facilities. Currently, county prisoners in South Dakota are subject to state and local laws allowing the collection of a health care copayment, while Marshals Service prisoners are not, thereby allowing federal prisoners to abuse health care resources at great cost to state and local law enforcement.
As our legislation moved through the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate last year, we had the opportunity to work on specific concerns raised by South Dakota law enforcement officials and the U.S. Marshals Service. Senator Kyl was willing to incorporate my language into the Federal Prisoner Health Care Copayment Act that allows state and local facilities to collect health care copayment fees when housing pre-
sentencing federal prisoners.
Violence Against Women Act
I am pleased the President recently signed into law a reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act. The legislation is part of a larger bill that also includes ``Aimee's Law.'' I've supported Aimee's Law'' in the past and am pleased this provision will help crack down on states that fail to incarcerate criminals convicted of murder, rape, and dangerous sexual offenses for long prison terms.
I've been involved in the campaign to end domestic violence in our communities dating back to 1983 when I introduced legislation in the South Dakota State Legislature to use marriage license fees to help fund domestic abuse shelters. In 1994, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I helped get the original Violence Against Women Act passed into law. Since the passage of this important bill, South Dakota has received over $8 million in funding for battered women's shelters and family violence prevention and services.
In South Dakota alone, approximately 15,000 victims of domestic violence were provided assistance last year, and over 40 domestic violence shelters and outreach centers in the state received funding through the Violence Against Women Act. Shelters, victims' service providers, and counseling centers in South Dakota rely heavily on these funds to provide assistance to these women and children.
The original Violence Against Women Act increased penalties for repeat sex offenders, established mandatory restitution to victims of domestic violence, codified much of our existing laws on rape, and strengthened interstate enforcement of violent crimes against women. I am pleased to support efforts this year that strengthen these laws, expand them to include stalking on the internet and via the mail, and provide local law enforcement with additional resources to combat domestic violence in their communities.
Juvenile Justice
While I am pleased that Congress continued to debate Juvenile Crime legislation this session, I am disappointed that Senate and House Leadership will allow Congress to adjourn without enacting important juvenile crime prevention programs into law. The leadership of several of America's law enforcement organizations, along with prosecutors and crime survivors, have consistently endorsed quality child care and after-school programs as a primary way to dramatically and immediately reduce crime.
I will continue to support significant increases in funding for Head Start, Early Head Start, after-school programs and the Child Care and Development Block Grant program in large part because of the potential these programs have to reduce juvenile crime and domestic violence nationwide.
Combatting Methamphetamine in South Dakota
A number of South Dakota law enforcement officials and local leaders have told me that meth abuse has become one of their top crime-fighting priorities in the past few years. Meth abuse threatens our young people, law enforcement officers, and our environment. Once again, I led efforts to enhance punishments of meth operators, mandate restitution for meth lab clean-up, and increase funding for treatment and prevention efforts. I also joined Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) in successfully securing emergency funding for meth lab clean-up efforts in South Dakota and nationwide.
There is much to be done to bring crime rates in our state down, and to help every South Dakotan feel safe in their home and community. I look forward to continuing my work with state and local leaders, law enforcement agencies in South Dakota, and my Republican and Democratic Senate colleagues in Washington. Together, by focusing on community crime prevention and by investing in our kids, I believe we can make progress in addressing the unique needs of our South Dakota communities.
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