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“THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION MUST ENFORCE THE LAWS ON ILLEGAL OBSCENITY AND PORNOGRAPHY” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H1768-H1769 on April 5, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION MUST ENFORCE THE LAWS ON ILLEGAL OBSCENITY
AND PORNOGRAPHY
(Mr. GARY MILLER of California asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. GARY MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, we have a grave problem in our country today: illegal pornography and obscenity. It is rampant in our society. It is readily available to all our children on the Internet, and the health and safety of our children are at risk.
Under the Reagan and Bush administrations, the Department of Justice successfully and aggressively prosecuted illegal pornographers. They rarely lost any of the hundreds of cases brought to court. In one 2-
year span, they successfully prosecuted over 200 obscenity cases.
Since President Clinton took office, prosecution of illegal pornographers and obscenity has all but ceased. Prosecutions are down 75 percent.
In 1997, there were only 6 prosecutions of illegal pornographers by all 93 U.S. attorneys. In March 1998, the Adult Video News Magazine, the trade magazine for the porn industry, announced it is a great time to be an adult retailer.
This lack of prosecution has sent a clear message to the makers of illegal pornography and illegal obscenity that it is okay to make and distribute such material. Under the Clinton administration they will not even be prosecuted for their crimes.
It is time for the Clinton administration to get to work and enforce existing anti-obscenity laws.
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