Appointment of Conferees on H.R. 4200, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005
APPOINTMENT OF CONFEREES ON H.R. 4200, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005 -- (House of Representatives - September 28, 2004)
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Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) for yielding me this time.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. WOOLSEY. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) that his position is a perfectly legitimate one, and for anyone to attack him as a racist on that regard I would take issue with. I want the gentleman to know that would not be the sentiments of anyone I know here in the Congress on this side of the aisle, and we apologize for any misunderstanding which may have resulted from that.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, every day at least four hate crimes are reported in the United States, at least four. But even worse are the crimes that are not reported. They are not reported out of fear of retaliation or feeling that law enforcement just will not follow through.
That is why we need tough Federal hate crime language to protect all Americans, and we need to include it in the Department of Defense authorization bill. If we do that, then the lack of response will change because no one in this country should live in fear, even for one day, because of his or her ethnic background, his or her religious affiliation, gender, disability, or sexual preference.
Mr. Speaker, that is why it is so important to pass meaningful hate crimes legislation and pass it now, today; and today we can send a message to all Americans that hateful behavior is wrong and will not be tolerated any longer. It is clear that existing Federal law is inadequate to vigorously fight and prosecute hate crimes.
Too often our law enforcement officials lack the resources and/or the education required to deal with these crimes. They do not have what they need within their own communities to step up to these criminal charges.
In California, for example, a report called "Reporting Hate Crimes," a study commissioned by Attorney General Bill Lockyear, reveals there is a general lack of understanding by California law enforcement agencies on how to deal with hate crimes in local communities. The study found that in some communities, and this is horrible, in some communities public officials and business leaders actually discourage law enforcement officers from reporting hate crimes for fear of adverse publicity.
If law enforcement officers do not report hate crimes, what in the world happens to their credibility when they are supposed to be addressing the problem in the first place? Their credibility diminishes.
What is even more alarming is that hate crimes based on gender and disability are generally not reported at all. It is obvious we need hate crimes language in the Department of Defense authorization bill. We need it now. We need not have one person ever faced with a hate crime based on who they are. I urge my colleagues to support this motion to instruct.