Luis Gutiérrez

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I move today in support of the amendment of the gentleman from Vermont. All of us believe that we must find ways to ease the budget burden on States and municipalities. That is not, however, what we are really debating effort to get our budget under control and legislate more reasonably. We are deciding whether in a frantic, unreasonable rush to claim that we are not passing on costs to localities, whether the Congress of the United States will completely abandon its vital role in protecting American working people. A vote for H.R. 5 without this amendment is an unconditional surrender, an unconditional surrender of our obligation to ensure that American workers earn a decent wage and that they work in decent conditions. Is our drive to congratulate ourselves and pretend we are helping States and localities so great, so immense that we are willing to risk the safety of working people all across our Nation? Is our desire to take credit for so-called accountability so great that we are willing to risk child labor and minimum wage standards? If, Mr. Chairman, in this committee, in the People's House we will not stand up for American workers, stand up so that they are paid a decent salary, stand up so that their children will not be forced to work, stand up so that they can all work in safety, then, Mr. Chairman, who will stand up for the American working men and women? We all want to help States and localities. I want to help the city of Chicago. But we should not do it by risking the health, the safety, and the protection of American workers. This is not an abstract problem, Mr. Chairman. The dangers are real. In 1990, there was a 177 percent increase in child labor violations. If we pass this bill ignoring this important amendment, we will not be able to take steps to remedy this growing crisis. My friends, we do not have to say no to workers, especially on a day like today when we have seen tens of thousands of marchers for pro- life. Is it not pro-life to guarantee that a mother can raise and feed and clothe and educate a child? Is it not pro-life that once that child is here with us, that we guarantee that that child is able to work under some reasonable conditions of safety and not at a young and tender age? Is it not pro-life, and I see my colleagues on the other side smiling. They deny a woman's right to choose and then say we will not protect the children once they are here with us. Is it not pro-life to guarantee that people can smell the air and drink decent water and that our environment is not contaminated? Is that not what life is really all about? That we can raise our children, educate them and live in peace.

Mr. GUTIERREZ

Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, the opening day of the 104th Congress, I reintroduced my bill, H.R. 250, to ban the manufacture and sale of Saturday Night Specials. I did so because I know these guns are used to commit crimes, from armed robbery to murder, every day. As crime in this country has grown so has the prevalence of Saturday Night Specials. I believe that taking these dangerous weapons off of our streets is a key to reducing violent crime and saving the lives of our Nation's citizens. We have all heard the cliche ``Guns don't kill people; people kill people.'' However, on the streets of our cities and in the schools of our neighborhoods guns kill people, some types of guns kill more often than others. Although we have successfully banned semi-automatic assault type weapons, we have failed to ban Saturday Night Specials, a type of handgun that dominates ATF's list of guns used most often in crime. One model, the Raven P-25, has topped that list since 1991. Saturday Night Specials are cheap, easily concealed handguns. Many sell for between $70 and $115 while the average handgun costs approximately $400. Often they are made with deficient materials and do not possess any safety features. The guns my legislation addresses have already been banned from import by ATF because of their inherently dangerous characteristics. Five of the ten guns traced most often to crime by ATF in 1994 would be banned under the import criteria. Additionally, of all crimes committed with guns appearing on ATF's top ten list, the percentage committed with Saturday Night Specials increased from 58 percent in 1991 to 73 percent in 1994. ``Made in America'' usually means quality and pride, but not in the production of Saturday Night Specials. automatic, introduced the CAT-9 semi-automatic pistol. This new weapon weighs just 18 ounces and measures 5.74 inches overall, perfect for any criminal. Not only is it relatively cheap and very small, it has the capability to shoot seven rounds of 9 mm ammunition in a short amount of time. Guns and Ammo found that it is ``designed for relative ease of concealment and close range shooting.'' I know of no sporting or defensive purposes that demand such features. This gun, too, would be banned under the import criteria but instead is in full production today. Crime with guns is increasing. Saturday Night Specials, because of their design, are clearly the favorite weapon of criminals. H.R. 250 uses the same criteria ATF established for imports and does not apply to all handguns. Therefore, it is both easily implemented and easily enforced. The basic fact is that passage of such legislation is critical to the survival of too many people for us to ignore.