mr. chairman , the legislation under consideration today represents a vast improvement over the version of the bill as originally introduced .  thanks to the hard work and commitment of democratic members on the committee , it now offers grants to state courts so that they can make meaningful enhancements to courtroom safety and security .  it provides the us marshals service with an additional $ 100 million , over the course of the next five years , to increase ongoing investigations and expand the protective services it currently offers to members of the federal judiciary .  and it authorizes the attorney general to establish a grant program for states to establish threat assessment databases .  even with these valuable improvements , however , the bill still suffers from two fatal flaws .  specifically , its inclusion of 16 new mandatory minimum sentences and its establishment of one new death penalty eligible offense .  mandatory minimums have been studied extensively and have been proven to be ineffective in preventing crime .  they also have been proven to distort the sentencing process , and waste valuable taxpayer money .  with more than 2.1 million americans currently in jail or prison -- roughly quadruple the number individuals incarcerated in 1985 -- it 's hard to see how anyone can continue with such a deeply flawed strategy .  today , this country incarcerates its citizens at a rate 14 times that of japan , 8 times the rate of france and 6 times the rate of canada .  we spend an estimated $ 40 billion a year to imprison criminal offenders , we choose to build prisons over schools and we fail to provide inmates released from prison with the necessary tools and assistance for a successful re-entry into society .  thanks to mandatory minimum sentences , almost 10 percent of all inmates in state and federal prisons are serving life sentences , an increase of 83 percent from 1992 .  in two states alone , new york and california , almost 20 percent of inmates are serving life sentences .  we 've also noted the numerous problems that exist with regard to the death penalty .  namely , that all of the available evidence clearly demonstrates that the current system is flawed , defendants rarely receive adequate legal representation and that its application is racially discriminatory .  there are now over 100 americans that have been sentenced to death , only later to be exonerated .  proving that many of the people convicted and sentenced to death are actually innocent .  in the end , the few grants that this bill purports to offer in the area of witness protection and court security ca n't make up for its two fatal flaws .  i urge my colleagues to oppose this measure .  