The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, H.R. 3355, Pub.L. 103-322, was an act of Congress dealing with crime and law enforcement that became law in 1994. It is the largest crime bill in the history of the US at 356 pages and will provide for 100,000 new police officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons and $6.1 billion in funding for prevention programs which were designed with significant input from experienced police officers.[1] Sponsored by U.S. Representative Jack Brooks of Texas, the bill was originally written by Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.
Following the 101 California Street shootings, the 1993 Waco Siege, and other high-profile instances of violent crime, the act expanded federal law in several ways. One of the most noted sections was the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Other parts of the act provided for a greatly expanded federal death penalty, new classes of individuals banned from possessing firearms, and a variety of new crimes defined in statutes relating to immigration law, hate crimes, sex crimes, and gang-related crime.
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Title XI, subtitle A, formally known as the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, but commonly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban or Semiautomatic Assault Weapons Ban, barred the manufacture of 19 specific semi-automatic firearms, classified as "assault weapons" (a non-technical term), as well as any semi-automatic rifle, pistol, or shotgun that is capable of accepting a detachable magazine, and which has two or more of the following features: A telescoping or folding stock, a pistol grip, a flash suppressor, a grenade launcher, and a bayonet lug.
This law also banned possession of newly-manufactured magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.
This section took effect September 13, 1994, and expired because of a vote in congress and now it is, once again, legal to own or possess a military-style semi-automatic rifle and magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. This expiration occurred on September 13, 2004 through a sunset provision.
The National Rifle Association and other organizations argued that the ban was unconstitutional and violated the Second Amendment. See firearm case law.
Title VI, the Federal Death Penalty Act, created about 60 new death penalty offenses, for crimes related to acts of terrorism, murder of a federal law enforcement officer, drug trafficking, civil rights-related murders, drive-by shootings resulting in death, the use of weapons of mass destruction resulting in death, and carjackings resulting in death.
The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing occurred a few months after this law came into effect, and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 was passed in response, further increasing the federal death penalty. In 2001, Timothy McVeigh was executed for the murder of eight federal law enforcement agents under this title.
One of the more controversial provisions of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act overturned a section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 permitting prison inmates to receive a Pell Grant for postsecondary education while incarcerated. The amendment is as follows:
| “ | (a) IN GENERAL- Section 401(b)(8) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(b)(8)) is amended to read as follows:
(8) No basic grant shall be awarded under this subpart to any individual who is incarcerated in any Federal or State penal institution.'. [1] |
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Because of this, the VCCLEA effectively eliminated the ability of lower income prison inmates to receive college educations during their term of imprisonment, thus ensuring the education level of inmates remains unimproved over the period of their incarceration.[2]
Title IV, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), allocated $1.6 billion to help prevent and investigate violence against women. VAWA was renewed in 2000 and in 2005. This includes:
Part of VAWA was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in United States v. Morrison (2000).
Another provision of the act was to authorize the hiring of 100,000 more police officers, initiate "boot camps" for delinquent minors, and allocated a substantial amount of money to build new prisons.
In addition, there were 50 new federal offenses, including provisions making membership in gangs a crime. Some argued that these provisions violated the guarantee of freedom of association in the Bill of Rights. The act also generally prohibits individuals who have been convicted of a felony involving breach of trust from working in the business of insurance, unless they have received written consent from state regulators.
The act also made drug testing mandatory for those serving on federal supervised release.