Washington (CNN) Sen. Bernie Sanders said Sunday he is "not happy" he voted for the controversial 1994 crime bill.

"No, I'm not happy I voted for a terrible bill," the 2020 presidential hopeful said when asked by CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" in an exclusive interview if he was glad he voted for the bill. But, he said, "I am happy I was honest with the people of my state."

The Vermont senator running for the Democratic nomination said the bill had a ban on assault weapons and a provision that addressed violence against women, which he said he had campaigned on in 1988 and 1990. In a large bill, he said, with "many features in it, many provisions in it, you have to make a choice."

In 1994, Sanders made a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives raising concerns about the bill and mass incarceration. He said, "We are dooming today tens of millions of young people to a future of bitterness, misery, hopelessness, drugs, crime and violence."

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Sanders told Tapper on Sunday since then, "I've been doing my best helping to lead the effort for real criminal justice reform, so that we end the disgrace of having more people in jail than any other country." Sanders said he has also helped lead the effort against the "terrible war on drugs."