mr. chairman , i rise in opposition to the amendments . 
mr. chairman , the gentleman from virginia 's opposition to both mandatory minimum penalties and the death penalty is well-known and respected . 
i believe in this case he is wrong . 
first of all , we do need to have a swift and effective death penalty in the case of violent offenders who murder children . 
there have been several scientifically balanced , statistical studies that consistently show that the death penalty is a deterrent ; and i think that if it is just a little bit of a deterrent when we are dealing with our kids , that is enough to say that the amendment should be defeated . 
secondly , we have talked quite a bit about mandatory minimum penalties in the context of the previous amendment that was offered by the gentleman from south carolina ( mr. inglis ) xz4006490 . 
let me say that if all mandatory minimum penalties contained in this bill for sexual abuse and exploitation of children are eliminated , it does allow judges to send out into society on probation people who have been convicted of sex offenses for or against children . 
when i think of anybody who does something like that , we should tell society and those who might be thinking of committing such a crime that if you do the crime , you are sure to do some time . 
i kind of listened with interest and with respect to the argument of the gentleman from south carolina ( mr. inglis ) xz4006490 on mandatory minimums in the previously debated amendment . 
he says that if judges do not comply with sentencing guidelines , then maybe what congress should do is impeach them . 
impeachment is a severe penalty , and if you look at the 17 impeachments that the house of representatives has voted on in its history , the only time where there has been an impeachment voted is when a federal civilian official ends up conducting himself or herself in a manner that obstructs the functioning of government , whether it is the branch that that official serves in or the other two equal and separate branches . 
simply saying that if a judge makes a discretionary call to give a child sex offender probation even when the crime is terrible is an impeachable offense i do not think comports with the history of impeachment , because it is within the discretion of the court . 
i am saying that , in this case , the discretion of the court should be eliminated and those who are convicted should go to jail , and that is why the mandatory minimums ought to stay in this bill . 
mr. chairman , i urge the defeat of this amendment en bloc . 
