--- title: Democratic Debate: Clinton Struggles To Defend 1994 Crime Bill description: Hillary Clinton was put on defense at Thursday's Democratic debate when it came to the controversial 1994 crime bill that her husband passed as president. canonical: https://time.com/4295463/hillary-clinton-struggles-to-defend-1994-crime-bill/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-15T02:09:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:50:06.132Z article:section: Politics og:title: Democratic Debate: Clinton Struggles To Defend 1994 Crime Bill og:description: "My husband has apologized. He was the president who signed it" og:url: https://time.com/4295463/hillary-clinton-struggles-to-defend-1994-crime-bill/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4c8972e0943badc/69888f3ecf40a821a2c42d52/democratic_debate_timepol.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5082 og:image:height: 2859 og:image:alt: TIMEPOL Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Democratic Debate: Clinton Struggles To Defend 1994 Crime Bill twitter:description: "My husband has apologized. He was the president who signed it" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc4c8972e0943badc/69888f3ecf40a821a2c42d52/democratic_debate_timepol.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hillary Clinton Struggles to Defend 1994 Crime Bill > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0843d96a-bb58-497d-8f2a-d9e85b71cf6e&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: CNN Democratic Debate: Clinton Struggles To Defend the 1994 Crime Bill [Watch (HLS stream): CNN Democratic Debate: Clinton Struggles To Defend the 1994 Crime Bill](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/s3qNevdD.m3u8) (1:32)  _Published 2016-04-15_  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 15, 2016 2:09 AM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 15, 2016 2:09 AM UTC Hillary Clinton was put on defense at Thursday’s Democratic debate when it came to the controversial 1994 crime bill that her husband passed as president. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act that President Bill Clinton signed built more prisons and increased the number of federal and death-penalty crimes. Hillary Clinton lobbied for it in Congress, but it has since come under criticism for fueling the rise of [mass incarceration](http://time.com/3839892/hillary-clinton-calls-for-an-end-to-mass-incarceration/?iid=sr-link1), with a racially disparate impact. When asked if she thought the bill was “a net positive” or a mistake, Clinton struggled to respond. “I think that it had some positive aspects to it,” she said, citing the violence against women act. “So if we were to have the balance sheet on one side there are some positive actions and changes. On the other side there were decisions that were made that now we must revisit and we have to correct,” saying that nonviolent sentences have become too long. Clinton also deflected responsibility for the bill, saying, “My husband has apologized. He was the president who signed it. Senator Sanders voted for it. I’m sorry for the consequences that were unintended and that had a very unfortunate impact on people’s lives.” (On the trail stumping for his wife, Bill Clinton has [tangled with Black Lives Matter activists](http://time.com/4285794/bill-clinton-black-lives-matter/?iid=sr-link2) on both the 1994 crime bill and the 1996 welfare reform legislation.) **Read More:** [What Today’s Democrats Can Learn from Bill Clinton’s Crime and Welfare-Reform Bills](http://time.com/4293546/what-todays-democrats-can-learn-from-bill-clintons-crime-and-welfare-reform-bills/?iid=sr-link4) Sanders, who voted for the crime bill while he was in the Senate, swiped at Clinton in a slightly different direction: on her infamous 1996 remarks when she referred to kids with “no conscience, no empathy” who committed crimes as “[superpredators](http://time.com/4238230/hillary-clinton-black-lives-matter-superpredator/?iid=sr-link1).” “It was a racist term and everybody knew it was a racist term,” Sanders said. ## Transcript Now earlier this year, South Carolina voter told your daughter Chelsea quote, I think a lot of African Americans wanna hear, you know what we made a mistake. Chelsea said she's heard your apologise but went on to say that if the voter hadn't heard it then quote it's clearly insufficient. Do you regret your advocacy for the crime bill? Well look, I I supported the crime bill, my husband has apologized. He was the president who actually signed it, Senator Sanders But what about you, senator? I'm sorry for the consequences that were un intended and that have a very unfortunate impact on people's lives. I've seen the results Of what has happen in families and in communities. That's why I choose to make my very first speech a year ago on this issue Ariel, because I want to focus the attention of our country and to make the changes we need to make and i also want people, especially I want. I want white people, I want white people to recognize that there is systemic races and also in employment, it's in housing, but it is in criminal This system as well. Senator Sanders, earlier this week at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, you called out President Clinton for defending Secretary Clinton's use of the term, super predator back in the 90s when she supported the crime bill. Why did you call him out? Because it was a racist term and everybody knew it was a racist term. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4295463/hillary-clinton-struggles-to-defend-1994-crime-bill/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4295463/hillary-clinton-struggles-to-defend-1994-crime-bill/"},"headline":"Hillary Clinton Struggles to Defend 1994 Crime Bill","datePublished":"2016-04-15T02:09:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T08:50:06.132Z","description":"\"My husband has apologized. 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