Anti-Crime Bill Stalled; Bush Threatens Veto

The omnibus anti-crime bill approved by a Senate-House conference committee a day earlier was on shaky ground Monday with President Bush vowing a veto and congressional supporters uncertain they could round up enough votes for passage.

Bush, speaking in Columbus, Ohio, denounced the bill being pushed through Congress by Democratic leaders as “simply unacceptable” and vowed to veto the legislation if it reaches his desk.

The blunt rebuff from Bush appeared intended to force the Democrats to reconsider last-minute steps that made the bill milder than the White House sought or risk being labeled soft on crime at the outset of a presidential campaign.

Efforts to get enough votes in the House--even among Democrats--were failing late Monday, and the Senate was facing the possibility of a Republican filibuster that would block any final action before Congress adjourns for the year on Wednesday.

The anti-crime bill, approved along partisan lines late Sunday night by a House-Senate conference committee, would expand the federal death penalty and toughen handgun restrictions. But it stopped short of what the White House had demanded in limiting inmate appeals and dropping barriers to the use of evidence in court.

“They basically gutted the bill of all of its meaningful provisions,” complained White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater. “It bears little resemblance to the bill we sent up there.”

However, the differences in fact appeared less dramatic than that, and with the White House eager for a showdown that might divert attention from its mounting troubles, it seemed that the confrontation had more to do with politics than substance.

In an otherwise bland speech on education in Columbus, Bush interrupted himself to issue the veto threat, warning in dire terms that the measure would “weaken our criminal justice system.” On Capitol Hill, Republicans plotted last-ditch efforts to restore White House-sponsored language when the bill returns to the congressional floor.

Such a step--or a successful presidential veto--would also serve as an preemptive election-year strike, preventing the Democrats from taking credit for a anti-crime bill they could call their own.

But Democratic leaders, keenly aware of how important and inflammatory crime issues can become, spent much of Monday seeking to press their cause, insisting that their bill was plenty tough--while the Republican plan was dangerous and extreme.

“You simply cannot argue that this bill is weak on crime when it contains 53 new death penalty offenses, puts hundreds of new cops on the streets and keeps guns out of the hands of convicted criminals,” said Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Democratic leaders of the Senate and the House hoped to push the bill to passage before Congress ends the first year of its two-year legislative session. But Republicans were discussing whether to try to block Senate action with a filibuster. And House Democratic leaders decided to put off a vote scheduled for Monday night until they could round up sufficient votes for passage.

“It’s shaky,” Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.) said of the bill’s future. “Liberals don’t want to vote for it (because of the death penalty) and conservatives don’t want to vote for it (because of gun control.)”

Asked if Republican objections were eroding Democratic support, Obey said: “No. That’s the one thing that might pass it.

What remained most at issue is the extent to which Death Row prisoners should be allowed to ask federal courts to review their sentences.

While the Senate version of the anti-crime bill would have all but eliminated such so-called habeas corpus appeals, the Democratic-led conference committee instead approved a less-restrictive House provision that imposes a one-year deadline on prisoners who seek such reviews and, in some cases, bars successive petitions.

On another controversial provision, the conferees rejected a House proposal that would have allowed evidence seized without a search warrant to be admitted in trial.

Instead, the Democratic majority insisted on a milder Senate provision designed to codify a recent Supreme Court decision. The measure would allow evidence obtained under an invalid search warrant to admitted only as long as police officers acted in “good faith.”

As the Republicans fired volleys of criticism at the Democrats’ bill, Atty. Gen. William P. Barr charged in a letter to GOP congressional leaders that the bill “does more for those convicted of crimes than it does for those victimized by them.”

He charged that the conference-passed provision on the use of illegally seized evidence in criminal trials marks “a step backwards” that would “handcuff police and increase the number of criminals who escape justice.”

Democratic leaders responded to the attacks by pointing to support for the bill from a large group of rank-and-file police officers, the 135,000-member National Assn. of Police Organizations.

And Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) called the Democrats’ bill “much stronger than the one proposed by the President, much more comprehensive and clearly much more effective.”

Key Elements in Crime Bill

Major provisions of the anti-crime package approved by House and Senate negotiators. President Bush says he will veto the measure because it would “weaken our criminal justice system.”

* DEATH PENALTY: The bill imposes the death penalty for some 50 federal crimes, including murder of federal officials ranging from poultry inspectors to the President. It applies capital punishment to espionage, treason and terrorist acts resulting in death. Drug kingpins who operate large-scale operations could also be executed.

* GUN CONTROL: The measure imposes a minimum five-day waiting period for handgun purchases while police conduct checks to determine if the would-be buyer has a criminal record. It sets up a program to automate state criminal records so that “instant checks” can eventually be conducted by computer. The negotiators rejected a Senate-passed ban on 14 assault-style weapons.

* HABEAS CORPUS: The legislation adopted House language that would restrict the appeals state prisoners can file in federal court challenging their convictions. The bill would generally restrict inmates to one habeas corpus petition, limiting additional petitions to claims that a sentence was invalid or that new evidence has surfaced. It would negate a 1989 Supreme Court decision that generally bars state prisoners from benefiting from high court rulings on criminal law that were issued after their convictions.

* EVIDENCE: The measure allows introduction of improperly seized evidence in federal court cases if police acted in “good faith” while executing a search warrant. Negotiators rejected a broader House version that would have allowed improperly seized evidence even if police had no warrant.

* DRUG TREATMENT: The bill earmarks money for states to provide drug treatment for prisoners. It requires drug testing and treatment of federal inmates and sets up 10 regional drug prisons.

* TOUGHER PENALTIES: The legislation triples the penalty for drug crimes that involve minors. It provides tougher penalties for selling drugs in public housing and in other designated drug-free zones. It increases sentences for stealing firearms and smuggling weapons as well as for crimes involving assault weapons and explosives.

* LAW ENFORCEMENT AID: The bill provides aid to states and cities to strengthen local law enforcement by putting more police on street patrols and improving training and juvenile-offender programs.

Source: Associated Press