April 2004

Welcome to the April edition of my Washington Report. I hope this newsletter keeps you informed about some of the important issues facing our State, our Nation, and the U.S. Senate.

In this edition, I'll be addressing several of the major issues that have been in the news lately, including:

  • Protecting the rights of crime victims
  • Update on the situation in Iraq
  • Improving the way we gather intelligence
  • Fighting to preserve a woman's right to choose
  • Smarter energy policies, lower gas prices

If you have any comments or questions on these or any other issues, please don't hesitate to let me know. I also welcome your feedback on this newsletter and suggestions about ways in which I can better communicate with my constituents.

Please send any comments you have through my website.

Best wishes,

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein

Protecting the rights of crime victims
Today, the scales of justice are out of balance. While criminal defendants have an array of rights under law, crime victims have few meaningful rights. For more than 8 years I've been working to ensure that crime victims in America are included in the criminal justice process.

I am pleased to report that on April 22 the Senate passed legislation I introduced giving victims of violent crime a core set of procedural rights under federal law and ensure that they have standing to assert their rights before a court.

Specifically, the legislation gives victims 8 specific rights under civil law including the right to:

  • Be reasonably protected from the accused offender;
  • Reasonable and timely notice of any public proceeding involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused;
  • Not be excluded from any such public proceeding;
  • Be heard at any public proceeding involving release, plea, sentencing, reprieve, and pardon;
  • Confer with the Government attorney in the case;
  • Full and timely restitution as provided in law;
  • Timely and accurate information about public proceeding involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused; and
  • Be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim's dignity and privacy.

I am hopeful that this measure will soon pass the House and be signed into law by the President. Passage of this measure is a great step toward in ensuring that the rights of crime victims are taken into account in our criminal justice system.

For more information about the crime victims' rights legislation recently passed by the Senate, please go to: Senate Approves Kyl/Feinstein Crime Victims' Rights Bill (4/22/04)

Update on the situation in Iraq
In his recent news conference on the situation in Iraq, the President was asked whether his Administration had made any mistakes with regard to the war. In essence, he said he couldn't think of any, but it is clear now that very serious mistakes were made. In particular, our intelligence reports failed to provide accurate information on whether weapons of mass destruction existed in Iraq.

It was based on this flawed intelligence and Secretary of State Colin Powell's testimony before the United Nations that I joined 76 members of the U.S. Senate in voting to give the President authorization to use force in Iraq.

Now, we find ourselves in an extremely perilous situation - April has been the deadliest month so far for our soldiers in Iraq. As of April 29, 736 American men and women have been killed including 82 Californians, but we are there and we must make this effort work. The questions now are:

  • Whether the U.S. should turn over authority to an interim Iraqi regime on June 30?
  • Whether we have enough troops in the country to help guarantee that Iraq does not erupt into civil war?
  • Whether we can convince the international community to help stabilize Iraq?

If we are going to be successful going forward, we need to make sure that General John Abizaid, commander of the U.S. forces in the region, has the resources and troops that are needed. I also believe that we must involve the United Nations and the international community in Iraq's transition to a new constitution and government.

A clear and comprehensive plan of action is needed. It is my hope that the President will lay out such a plan soon.

To view my recent Washington Report in San Jose in which I discuss Iraq, please go to: Senator Feinstein Delivers Speech to San Jose Business Leaders (4/14/04)

Improving the way we gather intelligence
President Bush has said he is open to suggestions as to how to reform our Intelligence Community. In my view, the first thing we should do is start our reform efforts at the top by establishing a single Director of National Intelligence.

The current U.S. intelligence structure is inadequate to address our nation's security needs. With 15 separate agencies, offices and departments responsible for collecting or analyzing intelligence, our intelligence-gathering efforts are fragmented and inefficient.

A Director of National Intelligence would be able to concentrate full-time on coordinating intelligence resources, setting priorities for the Intelligence Community, and advising the President on intelligence matters, ultimately setting clear lines of authority and accountability in our Intelligence Community. As a member of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, I'll continue to push for this important reform. We cannot afford to wait any longer.

For more information about my legislation to create a Director of National Intelligence, please go to: Senator Feinstein Calls for Restructuring of the Intelligence Community (2/5/04)

Fighting to preserve a woman's right to choose
Last month, the Senate passed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, putting into federal law the notion that life begins at conception. This measure will create a definition of life in federal law that will be used to chip away at a woman's constitutional right to choose.

Criminals who attack pregnant women should be punished severely. I offered an alternative measure that would have established harsh punishments for this crime without addressing the profound and deeply divisive issue of when life begins. Unfortunately, anti-choice advocates defeated the measure.

I'm deeply concerned about where this attack on women's rights will go. Fortunately, many other Americans are concerned as well. On April 25, as many as 1.15 million women and men from across the country came to Washington, DC to make a powerful statement in support of women's reproductive rights. I was proud to join in this critically important March for Women's Lives.

To view my recent op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle on this issue, please go to: New Front in the Abortion Debate - We cannot return to a time without choice (3/30/04)

To view my floor statement on the April 25 March, please go to: A March For Women's Lives (4/26/04)

Smarter energy policies, lower gas prices
Gas prices in many parts of California are at or near their highest levels on record. This sharp increase is the result of many forces including high crude oil prices, growing demand in California, and strict regulations for the quality of our gasoline. In fact, California has some of the cleanest gas in the world due to State standards enacted in 1992.

I've asked the Environmental Protection Agency to help ease gas prices by waiving the Federal requirement for the use of oxygenate in our gasoline. Oxygenate is used to reduce pollutants in gasoline, but because of our State's high environmental standards, it is an unnecessary additive.

For more information about my efforts to reduce gas prices, please go to: Senator Feinstein Requests Oxygenate Waiver for California (4/2/04)

I've also introduced legislation with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) to ensure the security and reliability of the nation's electric grid while easing natural gas and electricity prices though a gradual reduction in demand. The bill would provide targeted tax incentives and standards for energy efficiency in commercial buildings resulting in reduced energy demand, the construction of new and retrofitted homes, and the use of more energy efficient appliances.

During the Western Energy Crisis, California faced energy shortages and rolling blackouts, but it could have been much worse. We ultimately escaped further blackouts because Californians made a major effort to conserve energy. This bill will help us avoid power shortages and blackouts in the future by creating incentives to reduce energy use. Still, we must continue to look for ways to reduce our demand for energy and create more efficient technologies.

For more information on this bill, please go to: Snowe - Feinstein Introduce Legislation to Ensure Electricity Reliability and Greater Energy Efficiency (4/9/04)

Please send any comments through my web site.