Why are Trump and the Democrats talking about the 1994 crime bill?

The bill aimed to combat and prevent violent crime, which peaked nationally in the early 1990s. Politically, Clinton and the Democrats hoped that the passing of a law severe would help to blunt or overturn the GOP's longstanding allegations that their party was soft on crime.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, a progressive institute of law and policy, the number of violent crimes began to decline before the passage of the bill.

Who was for that, who was against?

Democrats and Republicans supported the bill, although there were detractors in both parties.

Democrats, including most members of the congressional black caucus, Republicans and a significant number of African American pastors and mayors supported the legislation, according to reports from the time.

Most supporters saw it as a way to respond to the peak of violent crime in the early 1990s, which had followed an escalation of decades, a trend that would soon begin to reverse.

"The American people have been looking forward to this day for a long time," said Clinton at a signing ceremony of the bill in 1994. "Over the past 25 years, half a million Americans have have been killed by other Americans For 25 years, crime has been a hot political subject used too often to divide us, while the system provides excuses not to punish criminals and do the job.

Biden was working with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, including Senator Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., On similar legislation even before Clinton took office.

When the Senate passed its version of the bill in November 1993, the 95-4 appellant, former Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, boasted of it.

"I believe that the American people are beginning to understand that we are talking about crime and that this bill will make a difference," he said at the time. "As with all bills, there may be things I do not particularly like, but overall, this bill is a great addition to the fight against crime. It is, in my opinion, the best anti-crime bill in the history of this country. "

The current leader of the Senate majority, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Was among those who voted for.

But Republicans wondered if the bill was tough enough for offenders, he was spending too much money on crime prevention programs rather than punishment – the "midnight basketball" program became a discussion topic for conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh – and whether it should include a ban on some semi-automatic weapons. Some centrist Democrats shared these objections.

A House-Senate conference committee had to write two different "final" versions of the bill before it could vote, and an unlikely coalition of Republican and Democratic opponents temporarily killed it in the House by winning a procedural vote. Clinton agreed to ask to reduce spending on prevention programs and change the ban on guns in order to get votes in the House.

In the end, 235 members of the House, including 46 Republicans, voted in favor. (The presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, then Vermont Independent Representative, was among the votes in favor.)

But with the National Rifle Association actively engaged against the bill and focusing its arguments on aspects other than gun control, the GOP senator's vote has become much more difficult. Biden and his allies needed 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a procedural blockage, which meant they had to reunite at least six Republicans. They had seven and the bill went to Clinton for his signature. McConnell voted against the second time.

Critics have found fault

Critics at the time warned that the bill co-drafted by Biden was far too punitive and did not put enough emphasis on addressing the broader structural problems that led to the current state of affairs. increase in the number of violent crimes. Although funds were allocated to prevention programs, the bill was essentially aimed at fighting crime and launching the book on criminals.

There were alternative legislative efforts. Then-Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., Said that providing billions for prison expansion was a "simplistic approach to the problem of crime". Conyers introduced a bill focused on employment opportunities, drug treatment and other crime prevention programs.

At the same time, the representative Bobby Scott, D-Va., One of the black caucus members of Congress who voted against the crime bill, said: "You would not ask an opponent to abortion to look into a bill the history of the United States and argue that he should vote in favor of this initiative because it enjoys road financing. "

What Biden is saying now

Biden was confronted with questions and criticisms about the legislation this year, before and after announcing his bid to challenge Trump in 2020. He mainly defended the law and paid tribute to some of his successes.

"You know I've been in this fight for a long time," Biden said in January at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast in Washington, without making explicit reference to the 1994 bill. I have not always been right, I know we have not always done things right, but I have always tried. "

At a campaign stage in New Hampshire in May, Biden spoke of several specific elements of the bill.

"We talk a lot about it, you know," Biden said. "It had three important elements," he said, listing the funds allocated to crime prevention programs, as well as the law on violence against women and women. prohibition of assault weapons, both of which have expired.

Sanders also defended his vote in favor of the bill in the same way, saying to CNN that he had not done so, he would be asked today why he "did not". did not vote for a ban on assault weapons ".

Did this lead to "mass incarceration"?

At the same event in New Hampshire, Biden claimed that the 1994 bill did not lead to massive incarceration.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's clear things up, 92 prisoners out of 100 who are behind bars are in a state prison and not in a federal prison," he said. "This idea that the crime bill has generated mass incarceration has not engendered mass incarceration."

Although the bill is not the root cause of "mass incarceration", it was "the most prominent legislation to increase the number of people in prison," according to an analysis. of the Brennan Center in 2016.

The crime bill provides states with billions of dollars for prison construction if they enact laws requiring inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences, the Brennan Center said, noting that 30 states have adopted or amended laws between 1995 and 1999 in order to comply receive the money. In 1999, 42 states had adopted "sentencing" legislation, which had helped to increase the number of prison sentences.

"By spending bonuses, the crime bill has encouraged states to stay on track," the Brennan Center said.

Allan Smith

Allan Smith is a political journalist for NBC News.

Jonathan Allen and Mike Memoli contributed.