Senate Passes $22-Billion Bill to Battle Crime

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a $22-billion crime bill Friday to put 100,000 more police officers on the streets, build more prisons and stiffen mandatory sentences for gun-toting criminals.

The measure, described as the most comprehensive crime-fighting legislation in history, was approved on a 95-4 vote and sent to a conference committee, where it will be reconciled with a less ambitious House version of the bill. It appeared unlikely that the final legislation would emerge until after Congress returns in January.

The bill vastly expands federal law enforcement authority, asserting U.S. jurisdiction over nearly every crime committed with a gun and imposing severe federal penalties for gun-related crimes in addition to those called for by state and local laws.

The Senate bill contains scores of provisions, including new federal powers to combat street gangs and to confront violence against women. It imposes the death penalty for 47 more crimes and encourages the use of “boot camps” or other alternative confinement for young first-time offenders.

Two major gun control measures--one that bans handgun possession by most juveniles and another that outlaws the manufacture, sale and possession of assault weapons--also are part of the Senate bill.

Bipartisan backing for the legislation in the Senate contrasted sharply with the outcome of a 1992 crime bill. Then, Senate Republicans prevented the measure from becoming law with a filibuster.

This year, however, strong bipartisan majorities, responding to widespread voter anger over street crime, supported stiffer mandatory penalties for a long list of violent and drug-related offenses.

Law enforcement groups welcomed the Senate’s action. The National Assn. of Police Organizations, representing more than 2,000 police groups, said: “At last, the Congress has listened to our pleas. . . . They have given us meaningful tools to control the vast proliferation of guns and to provide for thousands of additional police officers on the streets.”

The key provisions include:

* $9 billion over five years to put 100,000 more police officers on the streets.

* $6 billion to build 10 regional prisons for violent offenders and military-style camps for nonviolent and first-time offenders 25 and younger.

* Death penalties for 47 more crimes, including convictions of major drug dealers--generally those with gross receipts in excess of $20 million annually.

* Grants of $1.2 billion to states and localities for drug rehabilitation programs, including mandatory drug testing for people arrested for federal crimes and long-term treatment for prisoners.

* Establishment of a police corps, modeled on the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, that would provide $200 million to help pay college tuition for students who agree to work for four years on a local police force after graduation.

* $500 million in grants to help improve school security.

* A requirement that convicted criminals make restitution to victims and that victims be able to testify at sentencing hearings.

The bill also provides $1.8 billion over the next five years for grants to states and localities to develop programs aimed at preventing violence against women, including stepped-up enforcement of laws against domestic violence.

And it would break precedent by giving U.S. prosecutors the right to go after youths who belong to criminal gangs or induce others to join. It would extend federal jurisdiction over gang-committed murders, kidnapings, robberies or drug deals. Related provisions would authorize $100 million to hire more prosecutors and another $100 million for grants to states and cities for programs to prevent formation of street gangs or drug use by young people.

In contrast to the omnibus measure passed by the Senate, the House approved a far smaller package of crime bills, with a modest price tag of less than $5 billion over five years.

Senate leaders hope to negotiate a compromise, combining elements from the Senate and House legislation in a new version of the bill that would be sent back to both chambers for ratification when Congress returns early next year after its holiday recess, which begins Wednesday.

Even before the bill was passed, however, Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Ida.) warned that he would try to scuttle a Senate-House compromise if it contains a ban on 19 assault weapons, a bill sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

Similarly, Sen. Phil Gramm (D-Tex.) said that he would resist a compromise if it does not include his proposal for a mandatory 10-year federal sentence for anyone convicted of carrying a gun in commission of a violent or drug-related crime and a mandatory 20-year term for firing a gun during a crime.

Under an unprecedented procedure devised by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), the $22 billion would be met by earmarking savings from a reduction of 252,000 federal jobs over the next five years. Congress still would have to appropriate funds each year, however.