Pornography is on the rise in America, and it is worse than ever. The proliferation of smut through the Internet into our homes is a national disgrace. Four million men hit 10 or more "porn sites" every day in our country.

Worse still, this hard-core, adult pornography is going into the minds of some of our most vulnerable people - adolescent boys.

Much of it is illegal and comes in porn magazines, adult videos and increasingly over the Internet. But, unfortunately, the Clinton Administration Justice Department is doing relatively little to combat this sickness.

In fact, the U.S. Justice Department's prosecution of interstate shipment and sale of unlawful pornography has fallen by 75 percent since 1992. This huge reduction has come despite the fact that in 1996 Congress specifically amended the law against unlawful distribution of smut to include sending it over the Internet. The Justice Department has not yet prosecuted a single Internet porno merchant, even though we in Congress gave the department the authority four years ago!!! In one recent year - 1997 - there were only six federal ILLEGAL pornography prosecutions in the entire nation.

During a recent hearing of the Commerce, Justice and State Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, I had several questions for U.S. Attorney

General Janet Reno about what the Justice Department is - or is not - doing in this area.

Here are a few of the questions I asked:

• In 1997, the Justice Department said it needed more resources to prosecute illegal obscenity, so Congress provided another $1 million. How many cases have been brought with this money? How many prosecutors were hired?
• The pornography industry has exploded in recent years. Can the Justice Department tell us who the major producers are?
• Have you had the Justice Department?s Criminal Division or the Bureau of Justice statistics study the nature and extent of the problems caused by pornography?

I am still awaiting formal answers. But it is already clear that the all-too-free flow of grotesque, unhealthy pornography, particularly into the minds of our children, is a serious national problem.

Some people very mistakenly believe that efforts to halt the flow of this spiritual pollution involve limiting "free-speech" and First Amendment Rights. But the smut we are trying to stop is no more legitimate speech than a forest fire is a campfire.

Adult hard-core pornography contributes to societal decay and crime in many, many ways. Here are just a few examples of what research tells us:

• Eighty-six percent of convicted rapists admitted that they regularly used pornography.
• Fifty-seven percent said that they consciously imitated pornographic scenes as they committed their crimes.
• Adolescent males between 12 and 17 are among the largest consumers of pornography
• Ninety percent of men with serious sexual addictions said that pornography is a significant factor in their problems.

And there are other - at least as troubling - effects of the explosion of this cancer into our society. The women depicted in pornography are REAL women. And the portrayal of them in degrading and even violent situations desensitizes all who come into contact with the material, particularly vulnerable young boys. Pornography teaches young people the awful lesson that women are mere objects to be toyed with and abused at will.

Strong federal enforcement of anti-pornography laws is badly needed and can be very effective. The pornography industry is big business. This sleazy enterprise generates more money than the rock and country music industries COMBINED. And yet those of who have studied the matter believe that only a few operators are responsible for most of the illegal pornography sent over the Internet

.No wonder Adult Video News Magazine, the trade magazine of the industry, declared "It's a great time to be an adult retailer." But it's NEVER a great time to be a rape victim. It's NEVER a great time to be a battered or abused spouse. It's NEVER a great time to grow up in a culture corrupted by graft and illicit activity. It's high time that the full resources of our federal government be thrown into this battle, a fight America cannot afford to lose!!!!