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PUBLIC LAW 103-322
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BILL NO. 3355 OF 1994
AS SIGNED ON SEPTEMBER 13, 1994 AS CODIFIED IN 108 UNITED STATES STATUTES 2099, ET SEQ.
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Sections 2721 through 2725 of Title 18 of the United States Code were added in 1994 following congressional approval of House of Representatives Bill No. 3355 [hereinafter referred to as “H.R. 3355”], which enacted the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. (See Exhibit A, #1) Sections 2721 through 2725 were in the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994, which was a part of the main 1994 Act, in Title XXX of Public Law 103-322. (Id. at page 2099)
Representative Jack Brooks of Texas introduced H.R. 3355 on October 26, 1993. (See Exhibit A, #3a) As this bill was considered by the House and the Senate, the House proposed amendments that were not accepted by the Senate. (See Exhibit A, #4a and #4b) When the House insisted on its amendments, it also requested a Conference Committee. (Id.) The purpose of a Conference Committee is to bring together legislators, called “conferees,” from the Senate and the House of Representatives in an attempt to reach a compromise on a bill’s language which is acceptable to both.
There was political disagreement over various aspects of the bill but the House and Senate conferees approved a final version of the anti-crime measure. (See Exhibit A, #5) However, this conference report was blocked by anti-gun control politicians. (See Exhibit A, #9b, page 281 through 285) The House and Senate ultimately agreed to a second published conference report on August 21, 1994. (See Exhibit A, #4b, and #9b, page 285) The bill was presented to President William J. Clinton, who signed it on September 13, 1994, enacting Public Law 103-322. (See Exhibit A, #1 and #8)
President Clinton stated in his remarks the following regarding passage of the “Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994”:
When I sign this crime bill, we together are taking a big step toward bringing the laws of our land back into line with the values of our people and beginning to restore the line between right and wrong. There must be no doubt about whose side we’re on. People who commit crimes should be caught, convicted, and punished. This bill puts Government on the side of those who abide by the law, not those who break it; on the side of the victims, not their attackers; on the side of the brave men and women who put their lives on the lien for us every day, not the criminals or
those who would turn away from law enforcement. That’s why police and prosecutors and preachers fought so hard for this bill and why I am so proud to sign it into law today.
(See Exhibit A, #8, page 1540)