[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 32 (Monday, March 21, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
             URBAN RECREATION AND AT-RISK YOUTH ACT OF 1994

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4034) to amend the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 
to authorize grants for the expansion of recreation opportunities for 
at-risk youth in urban areas with a high prevalence of crime, and for 
other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4034

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Urban Recreation and At-Risk 
     Youth Act of 1994''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Section 1002 of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act 
     of 1978 is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of 
     subsection (d), by striking the period at the end of 
     subsection (e) and inserting ``;'' and by adding the 
     following at the end thereof:
       ``(f) the quality of life in urban areas has suffered 
     because of decline in the availability of park and recreation 
     and systems, including land, facilities, and services;
       ``(g) the deterioration of urban park and recreation 
     facilities is due in part to the underfunding of Federal 
     grant programs intended to assist in the revitalization of 
     urban recreation facilities and allow us to take back our 
     parks from crime, vandalism, and dilapidation;
       ``(h) the urban neighborhoods eligible for assistance under 
     this title have deteriorated, in part, due to the rapid 
     increase in violent crime among youth;
       ``(i) accessible, well-maintained recreational facilities 
     and services have been shown to significantly decrease the 
     incidence of violent crime among youth and can be an 
     effective tool in efforts to prevent crime, increase public 
     safety and improve the quality of life of urban residents; 
     and
       ``(j) urban sport and recreation programs teach important 
     value and life skills including teamwork, individual 
     responsibility, respect, leadership, and self-esteem which 
     help prevent young people from engaging in criminal 
     behavior''.''

     SEC. 3. PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.

       Section 1003 of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act 
     of 1978 is amended by adding the following at the end 
     thereof: ``It is further the purpose of this title to improve 
     recreation facilities and expand recreation services in urban 
     areas with a high incidence of crime and to help deter crime 
     through the expansion of recreation opportunities for at-risk 
     youth. It is the further purpose of this section to increase 
     the security of urban parks and to promote collaboration 
     between local agencies involved in parks and recreation, law 
     enforcement, youth social services, and the juvenile justice 
     system.''

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 1004 of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act 
     of 1978 is amended by inserting the following new subsection 
     after subsection (c) and by redesignating subsections (d) 
     through (j) as (e) through (k) respectively:
       ``(d) `at-risk youth recreation grants' means--
       ``(1) rehabilitation grants,
       ``(2) innovation grants, or
       ``(3) matching grants for continuing program support for 
     programs of demonstrated value or success in providing 
     constructive alternatives to youth at risk for engaging in 
     criminal behavior, including grants for operating, or 
     coordinating recreation programs and services;

     in neighborhoods and communities with a high prevalence of 
     crime, particularly violent crime or crime committed by 
     youthful offenders; in addition to the purposes specified in 
     subsection (b), rehabilitation grants referred to in 
     paragraph (1) of this subsection may be used for the 
     provision of lighting, emergency phones or other capital 
     improvements which will improve the security of urban 
     parks;''.

     SEC. 5. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.

       Section 1005(c) of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery 
     Act of 1978 is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of 
     paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
     (7) and inserting ``; and'' and by adding the following at 
     the end thereof:
       ``(8) in the case of at-risk youth recreation grants, the 
     Secretary shall give a priority to each of the following 
     criteria:
       ``(A) Programs which are targeted to youth who are at the 
     greatest risk of becoming involved in violence and crime.
       ``(B) Programs which teach important values and life 
     skills, including teamwork, respect, leadership, and self-
     esteem.
       ``(C) Programs which offer tutoring, remedial education, 
     mentoring, and counseling in addition to recreation 
     opportunities;
       ``(D) Programs which offer services during late night or 
     other nonschool hours.
       ``(E) Programs which demonstrate collaboration between 
     local park and recreation, juvenile justice, law enforcement, 
     and youth social service agencies and nongovernmental 
     entities, including the private sector and community and 
     nonprofit organizations.
       ``(F) Programs which leverage public or private recreation 
     investments in the form of services, materials, or cash.
       ``(G) Programs which show the greatest potential of being 
     continued with non-Federal funds or which can serve as models 
     for other communities.''.

     SEC. 6. PARK AND RECREATION ACTION RECOVERY PROGRAMS.

       Section 1007(b) of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery 
     Act of 1978 is amended by adding the following at the end 
     thereof: ``In order to be eligible to receive `at-risk youth 
     recreation grants' a local government shall amend its 5-year 
     action program to incorporate the goal of reducing crime and 
     juvenile delinquency and to provide a description of the 
     implementation strategies to achieve this goal. The plan 
     shall also address how the local government is coordinating 
     its recreation programs with crime prevention efforts of law 
     enforcement, juvenile corrections, and youth social service 
     agencies.''.

     SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Program Support.--Section 1013 of the Urban Park and 
     Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 is amended by inserting ``(a) 
     In General.--'' after ``1013.'' and by adding the following 
     new subsection at the end thereof:
       ``(b) Program Support.--Not more than 25 percent of the 
     amounts made available under this title to any local 
     government maybe used for program support.''.
       (b) Extension.--Section 1003 of the Urban Park and 
     Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 is amended by striking ``for 
     a period of five years'' and by striking ``short-term''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Minnesota [Mr. Vento] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from Wyoming [Mr. Thomas] will be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento].


                             general leave

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks of 
H.R. 4034, the bill now under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Minnesota?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand here today instead of the chairman, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Miller], who along with myself had 
advanced this idea and expanded the park and recreation opportunities 
in this bill for at-risk youth in high crime urban areas.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it is clear to most of us that there are severe 
problems in terms of youth in our Nation today. Probably the statistic 
that is most appalling is that which indicates 1 in 5 children, nearly 
1 in 5 children, or over 1 in 5 children, about 23 percent, in fact, 
live below the poverty level.
  The bill, of course, attempts to try and provide some investment in 
these troubled communities in a small way. The bill recognizes the 
important role that urban recreation programs play in developing 
positive values for young people and keeping them away from crime. In 
fact, of course, it is this young population that is most likely to be 
the actors in terms of crime.
  In fact, crime activities peak between the ages of 10 and 20, 
demographically, in our population.
  The bill, and especially this legislation, tries to address that by 
providing some crime prevention dollars in terms of recreation 
facilities and programs. This program has long been in existence, since 
the late 1970's but has been woefully underfunded and has had little 
attention paid to it. In fact, while the authorization has existed, we 
are really expanding the authorization.
  All one has to do, of course, is look at the relative costs in terms 
of the consequences of crime where we can document that an individual 
incarcerated, a juvenile incarcerated, we spend nearly $30,000 a year 
in terms of incarceration.
  So a small investment in terms of trying to prevent that and 
providing some positive alternatives in our troubled communities, many 
times in urban communities, is, I think, a very sound investment.
  Mr. Speaker, we held a lengthy hearing on this matter and had just a 
long list of public officials, of police, of park directors, and others 
that are working privately, the nonprofit sector, the boys' and girls' 
club, the midnight basketball leagues, many others that came from 
troubled communities to testify in favor of the desperate need for the 
types of funds that we are talking about in this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it has become characteristic to look at an urban 
setting and the rusty basketball hoop made with metal as emblematic of 
what has happened in some of our troubled communities and urban areas.
  The history of providing a built environment of recreation 
alternatives within our urban areas, within troubled communities and 
cities has long been a part of the planning that has gone into sound 
cityscapes. In fact, of course, in the 1850's, it is pointed out that 
New York and many other cities in the East began setting aside park 
areas, open-space areas such as Central Park and many others, but today 
those facilities are becoming and continue to be deteriorating.
  Here we are only dealing with a small number of these areas, the 
areas that provide the recreation and organized opportunities to 
attract and respond to some of the very serious needs and the very 
serious needs for positive alternatives for young people in our 
society.

                              {time}  1320

  This is, I think, a very good measure in the sense that we can expand 
on an idea that is proven, there is an administration in place, there 
is a grant and application process in place, and all that is lacking is 
some flexibility in terms of how we can use these funds. And of course, 
the appropriations that go with it.
  Whatever the outcome of the crime bill, I hope that is has a goodly 
amount of prevention, of alternative efforts to provide the 
opportunities for people to follow a different path in terms of their 
behavior.
  These dollars for a particular program, we think, would be especially 
helpful in those instances, based on the hearing record that came 
forth; it provides flexibility, it requires eligible cities to submit 
plans, it uses administrative resources in place, it leverages 
additional resources by requiring a small match of 30 percent local 
match and also requires that they coordinate these activities with law 
enforcement personnel in the communities.
  Very often, of course, the police and law enforcement officials 
themselves are the volunteers who do some of the coaching. It is 
interesting that they see the relationship between the positive 
activities like this and the reduction of what they face on the streets 
under more adverse conditions.

  In fact, as an example, the midnight basketball type activity has 
this activity exactly at the time when incidents of violent crime are 
at the highest in our communities, urban communities. So, providing 
this activity provides them the opportunity, it takes people out of an 
orientation where they might be a perpetrator of an illegal action and 
puts them in a positive setting.
  This is a commonsense notion, one I am sure that all Members of the 
House can endorse. Based upon our budget priorities, I hope this will 
gain a higher priority; based on the flexibility of this legislation, I 
hope it gains renewed interest and usefulness in the communities in 
which we are focusing.
  I want to pay great credit to the gentleman from California [Mr. 
Miller]. Chairman Miller, as Members know, chaired the Youth and 
Families Select Committee prior to assuming the Natural Resources 
Committee. He has been a great friend of education, a great friend of 
recreation and other programs addressing the needs of youth across this 
Nation.
  I think this is a great testament to his support, his forceful 
support for this measure. I hope it enlists the support of all the 
Members of this House and this will receive the renewed type of support 
it deserves.
  Mr. Speaker, we intend to offer this as an amendment, if we have a 
broad crime bill presented to us in the near future; we hope to offer 
this measure as an amendment to it to make certain it becomes part of 
that package and does not get lost in the Senate.
  But in terms of providing some recognition for this bill today and 
providing the policy changes so that Members can look at it more 
closely, I am pleased to present the bill and ask the Members for their 
support on the House floor.
  H.R. 4034 is legislation introduced by Natural Resources Committee 
chairman George Miller and myself to expand park and recreation 
opportunities for at-risk youth in high crime urban areas. The bill 
recognizes the important role that urban recreation programs play in 
developing positive values in our young people and in keeping them away 
from crime. the bill has 30 cosponsors and has been endorsed by the 
U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the 
National Association of Police Athletic Leagues, major league baseball, 
the National Recreation and Park Association, and 30 other 
organizations.
  Crime, especially violent crime, is the No. 1 concern of the American 
people. Later this week, we will take up comprehensive crime control 
legislation on the House floor. We will debate how many billions should 
go into the building of prisons and bootcamps and the hiring of more 
police. The bill before us today recognizes that prevention is an 
essential tool in our struggle against violent crime in this country. 
H.R. 4034 expands the prevention side of the crime equation. In 
addition to our action here today, Chairman Miller and I intend to 
offer this bill as an amendment to the crime bill.
  Recently, the Natural Resources Committee held a lengthy hearing on 
crime and the role that recreation can play in crime prevention. We 
heard testimony from city park directors, policemen, boys and girls 
clubs, midnight basketball leagues, and others who are on the front 
lines of providing recreation services in crime-infested neighborhoods. 
We learned that recreation works as a crime prevention measure and that 
it is less expensive than spending the $29,000 a year it costs to 
incarcerate each juvenile offender. We learned that many young people 
in urban areas have little or no access to sports and recreation 
because of badly deteriorated facilities or because of program 
cutbacks. Unfortunately, we also learned that recreation has been 
grossly neglected as a national priority over the last decade.
  The reason why urban park and recreation programs are so vital to 
anticrime efforts is because they target the age group most prone to 
crime--our youth. Fifty to sixty percent of all crime in the United 
States is committed by people 10 to 20 years of age. The incidence of 
crime peaks between the ages of 16 to 18 and quickly drops after age 
21. If we can reach young people through sport and recreation programs 
before they turn to a life of crime, we will save dollars and lives.
  Urban park and recreation programs have been around since the 
creation of New York's Central Park in the 1850's. Even then, it was 
recognized that young people need safe places to play and constructive 
activities to occupy their time so they don't turn to antisocial 
behaviors. The wisdom of this approach is more true now than ever. 
Urban dwellers, especially those in economically distressed 
communities, are the most dependent on having public parks and 
recreation programs. Low-income residents don't have the time or 
financial resources to travel to distant parks for recreation purposes.

  In 1978 Congress enacted a program to help distressed urban areas 
develop recreation opportunities. The Urban Park and Recreation 
Recovery [UPARR] Program provides matching grants to economically 
distressed cities for repair of park and recreation facilities and for 
innovative recreation-based programs for youth. While the UPAAR Program 
has proven to be effective, it has suffered from a lack of stable 
funding. UPARR received no funding from 1985 to 1990, and the past 2 
years it has received only $5 million annually. The number of requests 
from cities which have matching funds ready to go is two to three times 
what the UPARR Program is able to fund.
  H.R. 4034 would amend the UPARR Act to promote the expansion of 
recreation opportunities in urban areas with a high prevalence of 
crime. The bill authorizes a new category of UPARR grants called at-
risk youth recreation grants. Grants would be for rehabilitation 
projects and programs in urban neighborhoods and communities with a 
high prevalence of crime. Funding would be authorized to increase the 
security of urban parks through capital improvements such as lighting 
and security phones.
  The bill has been drafted to maximize cost efficiency and program 
effectiveness. First, it uses the administrative resources and 
procedures of the existing UPARR Program in order to minimize costs and 
bureaucracy. Second, it leverages additional resources by requiring a 
30 percent local match. Third, it requires park and recreation 
officials to coordinate their efforts with law enforcement, social 
service agencies, and nonprofit community organizations involved in 
youth crime prevention. Fourth, it is flexible enough to allow 
nonprofit organizations such as boys and girls clubs, police athletic 
leagues, and midnight basketball programs to receive funding 
assistance. Fifth, it requires eligible cities to submit a plan which 
states how they intend to improve recreation opportunities in crime 
ridden neighborhoods over the long term. Finally, it requires 
facilities which have been improved as a result of this grant program 
to remain open for public recreation uses in perpetuity.
  Congress has previously recognized the importance of recreation in 
preventing crime and delinquency. Amendments to the Juvenile Justice 
and Delinquency Prevention Act in 1992 and the National Affordable 
Housing Act have specifically included authorization for recreation 
programs. The crime bills making their way through the House and Senate 
also mention recreation, although some of the provisions are 
duplicative of existing programs or create new bureaucracies. H.R. 4034 
is a cost-effective approach because it builds on a successful existing 
program. We don't need to create new programs and bureaucracies to 
stimulate recreation programs when we already have an effective one on 
the books which has been underfunded.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to vote in favor of this important 
measure to help deter crime and promote the positive development of our 
Nation's youth.
                                               National Recreation


                                         and Park Association,

                                    Arlington, VA, March 21, 1994.
     Hon. George Miller,
     Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, D.C.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: We write to commend your committee for 
     its recent hearing on recreation and crime prevention and the 
     timely consideration of legislation to amend the urban park 
     and recreation recovery program, first authorized in 1978. 
     The result of that event was the induction of H.R. 4034 whose 
     passage we strongly support, with the further recommendation 
     that it also be incorporated as an element of anti-crime 
     legislation expected to be considered later this week.
       The March 10 hearing was, to the best of our knowledge, the 
     first and certainly the most comprehensive to explore the 
     relationship between quality recreation opportunities for 
     children, youth and families and prevention of delinquency 
     and crime. The hearing was critical, too, in exposing the 
     relationship between recreation as a social phenomenon and 
     the imperative for access to a wide range of well maintained 
     public facilities and lands. Public park and recreation 
     systems encompass over 5,000 municipal and county entities 
     which manage over 85,000 park and recreation sites. Another 
     20,000 sites are managed by state and interstate units of 
     government. The proven importance of these systems--public 
     services and resources--have thus far been substantially 
     understated in the Congress's debate on the crime control and 
     prevention.
       H.R. 4034 would focus resources on those places in most 
     critical need of help. It would invest public funds in public 
     places and services, while continuing present authority to 
     collaborate with private entities where the public interest 
     is best served by the approach. H.R. 4034 recognizes the 
     record and potential of public park and recreation systems 
     nationwide. It would allow, if funded, the initiation or 
     expansion of scores of other programs. Consider for example, 
     the impact of the following examples which could be 
     replicated:
       Dallas, Texas Parks and Recreation Department coordinates a 
     city-wide gang intervention program in conjunction with 
     public and private groups, including the police department, 
     social services and juvenile justice system.
       The Texas Park and Wildlife Department's ``Buffalo 
     Soldiers'' volunteer program interprets the legacy of 
     African-Americans in the West. In two years 30,000 youth have 
     benefited from this public-private outreach program.
       Phoenix, Arizona's Parks, Recreation and Library Department 
     impacts 1.7 million youth. Enhanced recreation programs have 
     reduced calls for police assistance up to 55 percent in some 
     areas.
       Mesa, Arizona's coalition of community leadership, public 
     agency and private organization gang prevention steering 
     committee collaborates on strategies to prevent and suppress 
     gang activity, placing high priority on recreation 
     opportunities for your and families.
       Rialto, California's Recreation Department and a Task Force 
     on Youth have expanded after-school youth services in high-
     risk neighborhoods to combat drugs and gangs; 70-80 people 
     participate daily.
       Richmond, Virginia Department of Recreation and Parks 
     coordinates a R.E.A.D.Y. (Recreation and Education Activities 
     Designed for Youth) collaborative program reaching over 7,000 
     youth.
       Mobile facilities and ``late night'' programs in hundreds 
     of jurisdictions bring services and qualified staff to 
     underserved communities and populations.
       We commend the committee for its initiative and urge the 
     strong support of the House.
       Thank you for your continuing leadership.
           Sincerely,
                                                     R. Dean Tice,
                                               Executive Director.

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, the issue of crime, and 
especially juvenile crime, has understandably angered and outraged our 
Nation. Today, perhaps 60 percent of violent crimes are committed by 
young people between the ages of 10 and 20 years old.
  For millions of these young people, the only social network and 
family structure they know are the urban gangs that deal drugs, foster 
crime, and slaughter each other in our Nation's streets.
  Today, we are considering H.R. 4034, the Urban Recreation and At Risk 
Youth Act, which was introduced as a means of providing young people 
with constructive, supportive alternatives to street life and gangs.
  We seek to build on an existing, effective, but undersupported 
program, not to create new mandates, new policies, or new 
administrative costs.
  The Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program offers matching grants 
to cities to rehabilitate and repair parks, recreation centers, playing 
fields, and other facilities. Matching grants also are available for 
programs that use recreation as a tool to teach young people the kind 
of skills they need to build constructive, positive lives.
  When UPARR has been funded it has been enormously successful--
hundreds of parks, rec centers, pools, and other facilities that 
otherwise would have been unable to meet the needs of their 
neighborhoods or simply closed their doors have been at work in their 
communities.
  These programs, run by cities, police departments, schools or 
nonprofit entities like the boys and girls clubs bring at-risk youth in 
contact with caring adult mentors who teach them the kind of personal 
skills and job skills they need to stay out of the gangs and in school.
  In its 15 years, more than 500 cities across America have benefited 
from UPARR. Neighborhoods in big cities like New York, Chicago, and Los 
Angeles, but also small- and medium-sized cities like Huntsville, AL, 
and Oxnard, CA, and Shreveport, LA, New Britain, CT, and Pontiac, MI, 
have been grant recipients.
  Yet, since 1979, only $192 million of the $750 million authorized for 
UPARR has been spent. Despite a record of success and a huge backlog of 
applications that typically ran many times the number of grants 
approved, nothing at all was spent on UPARR from 1985 to 1990 as urban 
poverty and crime, and especially youth poverty and youth crime, 
skyrocketed.
  And we have not been doing much better since then, with only $5 
million appropriated in 1991 and 1992. These meager amounts mean that 
program grants must remain small and on a one-time only basis, vastly 
limiting the effectiveness of the program. Many worthy applications are 
turned down for lack of funding; others are not even submitted for 
consideration.
  H.R. 4034 builds on the proven record of success of the Urban Parks 
and Recreation Recovery Act.
  The bill incorporates new findings that make clear the relationship 
between urban parks and recreation and programs to help youth avoid a 
life of crime. It makes clear that urban neighborhoods with a high 
crime rate are to receive priority consideration in grant decisions, as 
well as programs that target at-risk youth, collaborate with nonprofit 
and police groups and leverage non-Federal resources.
  For the first time, it allows the Secretary to make multiyear program 
grants, instead of one-time-only start up grants. And finally, it 
requires cities to update their recreation recovery plans to reflect 
the need to target at-risk youth.
  These changes are modest because UPARR already has demonstrated its 
ability to quickly and effectively provide the places cities need to 
provide recreation for its residents and give teachers of all kinds a 
place to teach children. But these changes also are needed to help 
UPARR better respond to those needs and meet new priorities.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that when the House considers the omnibus 
crime bill it will have an opportunity to incorporate H.R. 4034. Many 
of us in the House recognize that a bill that deals only with the 
aftermath of crime by building more jails and imposing longer sentences 
is doomed if we do not do something to get young people off the track 
that puts them on a collision course with police, courts, and prisons 
in the first place.

  Some provisions in the Senate and House Judiciary Committee bills 
recognize this vital fact. Programs like ounce of prevention, midnight 
basketball, and community schools are important, necessary steps in the 
right direction.
  I strongly believe that the updated urban park program we are 
discussing today is highly compatible with and even necessary to these 
other laudable efforts. The UPARR Program provides places where these 
vital programs can be located. In fact, recreation centers, whether 
they are in buildings owned by schools, municipalities or nonprofits, 
are magnets to young people like no other kind of place.
  Moreover, UPARR already has the structure, the network and the 
working relationships to get millions of much-needed new money 
literally on the streets and serving our young people in no more than 4 
months. This is crucial.
  Mr. Speaker, the extraordinary outpouring of support in just a few 
days is impressive testimony to the simple common sense of this 
approach. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association for 
Sport and Physical Education, the National Police Athletic League, the 
Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Major League Baseball and the National 
Hockey League endorse this legislation. So do Nike, Reebok, Wilson, 
Spalding, Avia, Coleman, the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association, 
the 20,000-member National Sporting Goods Association, and major 
regional retailers as well as parks and environmental organizations.
  Mr. Speaker, this is the right thing to do. The mayors know it, the 
police know it, the kids know it.
  Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as with all Members of this House, I am very concerned 
about the growing violent crime in this country. For that reason, I 
support strong anticrime measures similar to the one that was passed by 
the other body last year on a bipartisan basis. I hope that the 
leadership of this House will permit a strong measure to come before 
the House.
  H.R. 4034, as described by Chairman Vento, authorizes the expenditure 
of Federal funds for recreation programs targeted at at-risk youth in 
urban areas through the Urban Park and Recreation Renewal Program.
  While there is evidence that some youth recreation programs can be 
effective, an effective alternative to violence, there is some question 
as to whether or not this should be the highest priority for the use of 
limited Federal funds available for fighting violence on the streets in 
this country.
  Further, it does not appear that this measure authorizes any new 
programs that do not already appear in the 1978 law. The appropriations 
for this program have gone down from substantial appropriations early 
to very little activity of late.
  I note that recent administrations of both parties have only funded 
this program at a minimal level. Frankly, I expect that that would 
remain unchanged unless, of course, you are successful in getting it 
into the crime bill, which would force, I suppose, some appropriation. 
And that is what this exercise is about, I imagine.
  At any rate, this bill does not lead to the establishment of any new 
Federal programs nor any additional expenditures of Federal dollars, 
and I do not intend to oppose it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Martinez], a subcommittee chairman of 
the Committee on Education and Labor and a supporter of the bill.
  (Mr. MARTINEZ asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this 
time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4034 and I would like 
to offer my thanks to Chairman Miller and Chairman Vento for bringing 
this measure to the floor.
  As noted, this bill amends current authorizing legislation to provide 
a new category of competitive grants under the urban park and 
recreation recovery program.
  In my congressional district, I have found that current law is 
insufficient to ensure that local efforts are able to achieve success, 
even where local activities have garnered wide support, both in terms 
of volunteers and funding to undertake projects to reclaim recreational 
sites to be used to provide sites for activities designed to lessen 
incidences of gang and other criminal activities by at-risk youth.
  The city of El Monte, in my district, raised over $130,000 in 
matching funds for projects under UPARR, and filed a request for 
Federal funding under the act.
  Even though their application was a model under the program, they 
were denied funding because of a lack of available Federal funding.
  I believe that, as we begin to consider prevention of crime in our 
cities this week, it is unconscionable that we cannot fund these 
critical programs.
  I support H.R. 4034, and trust that my colleagues will vote in favor 
of this bill.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I 
do so in order to point out that I have received a list of some 36 
organizations supporting the Urban Recreation and At-Risk Youth Act of 
1994. It does substantively change the basic law that we wrote, written 
actually by a mentor of the gentleman from California [Mr. Miller] and 
myself, the former chairman of the subcommittee at that time, the 
gentleman from California, Mr. Phil Burton.
  I think that Congressman Thomas-- and I appreciate his support for 
this--he points out rightly that if we do not get appropriations, good 
laws, good policies do not serve their desired ends. But at least I 
think with the type of reawakening that is occurring in terms of the 
recognition of youth and their relationship to violent crime, which has 
come to grip our society, that we have an opportunity to do some 
investments, some seed money with programs like this which will have a 
great return in terms of saving money at the other end of the spectrum 
when in fact we are dealing with people on the streets and dealing with 
the violence.
  So I think trying to keep this going, it sounds like such a 
commonsense notion, one that has simply eluded many of our urban areas. 
Our urban areas are having difficulty meeting their budgets because of 
the lack of income, the lack of manufacturing jobs and employment which 
has occurred, and the property and tax base erosion which they are 
experiencing.
  But these 36 organizations, including at the top of the list the U.S. 
Conference of Mayors, a group which is obviously concerned with the 
urban America and towns and cities they represent, and the Boys' and 
Girls' Clubs of America. I mention them because, again, they are active 
in these communities, providing the type of counseling necessary. It 
goes on with 36 other groups, some companies, some of which actually 
sell sporting goods and have an interest here, but more often the 
public-interest and others, all interested in the prevention of crime, 
this law can work, and should be given new emphasis in the 1995 crime 
legislation.

                              {time}  1330

  Mr. Speaker, I hope that our colleagues, we will all join together 
and try to put a priority in terms of funding a program of this nature, 
which has, I think, tremendous potential with the new flexibility, and 
then, too, I think there is a concern that we somehow commit funds, a 
trust fund as it were, for the crime bill that is being considered. I 
do not know if that is going to come to pass. I think that is a 
different debate. But if it does, I would hope that some of these 
dollars, some substantial amounts of them, would be put into this 
crime-prevention type of initiative that we have before us on the floor 
today.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I will put this in the Record and ask my colleagues 
to strongly support this, and again I commend the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Miller], chairman of the Committee on Natural 
Resources, for the outstanding work that he has done on urban youth and 
recreation programs and throughout his service in Congress, especially 
now chairing the Committee on Natural Resources, and I would ask that 
his statement be made part of the Record.
  Mr. Speaker, I am going to put this list of supporters into the 
Record:

Organizations Supporting H.R. 4034, Urban Recreation and At-Risk Youth 
                              Act of 1994

       U.S. Conference of Mayors.
       Boys and Girls clubs of America.
       National Association of Service and Conservation Corps.
       National Association of State Outdoor Recreation Liaison 
     Officers.
       National Association for Sport and Physical Education.
       National Police Athletic League.
       City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation.
       National Hockey League.
       Major League Baseball.
       Inner City Games.
       Soccer in the Streets.
       The Recreation Roundtable.
       Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association.
       National Sporting Goods Association.
       Outdoor Recreation Coalition of America.
       Levi Strauss & Co.
       Nike, Inc.
       Spalding.
       Porter Athletic.
       Reebok.
       Avia.
       Wilson Sporting Goods.
       Shutt Sports Group.
       Oshman's Sporting Goods.
       Sports, Inc.
       FootAction.
       Koenig Sporting Goods.
       Sportmart.
       Hibbett Sporting Goods.
       Coleman Company.
       Inner City Sportsgear.
       National Recreation and Park Association.
       The Trust for Public Land.
       The Wilderness Society.
       American Recreation Coalition.
       Rails to Trails Conservancy.
       Los Angeles Conservation Corps.

  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am, of course, interested, as the gentleman from 
Minnesota [Mr. Vento] is, in urban areas and the crime there. I just 
guess I would like to make the point that we do not all come from urban 
areas, and, when we talk about Federal programs, Mr. Speaker, we see, 
it seems to me, more and more of a tilt constantly, whether it is 
education, crime, whatever, toward urban areas. I think there has to be 
some fairness and equity.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming. I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, the language of this bill refers to urban 
areas, but I have come to recognize, working on serious social 
problems, that they know no bounds, and so I have come, when I have 
worked on homlessness, come to use the term ``troubled communities'' as 
an alternative because they, too, have the same problems that some 
urban areas or some troubled urban areas have, so the use of the words 
``troubled communities'' seems to fit. But it is a case in terms of 
problems with cities, even though one may live in a suburb or they may 
live someplace else, but it is the trouble at the core that emanates 
out, and I understand the gentleman, coming from the ranching and rural 
communities, and that we so often are discussing issues that affect 
them in a different vein. But certainly I think we have to find ways to 
deal with the pockets of problems that exist in these areas. We have 
done that successfully, Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman knows.
  During my service on the Committee on Natural Resources, and I also 
serve on the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, but very 
often the programs that we have written have been responsive, and I 
would hope that this also could meet the very special needs that exist 
in the ranches and rural areas, the pockets of problems, the pockets of 
poverty, the pockets of troubled communities in those areas. Wyoming is 
a great State, but I am certain some of these issues do manifest 
themselves.
  Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Minnesota [Mr. Vento]. I just wanted to make certain.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Florida [Mr. Goss].
  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, sadly, the problem is familiar: children are 
being seduced by drugs, crime, and guns because they have little hope 
of escaping the poverty, despair, and violence of their daily lives.
  Faced with this destructive trend, southwest Florida communities are 
fighting back--and winning. The success through academic and 
recreational support program [STARS] is an innovative approach to 
providing at-risk children between the ages of 8 and 14 with 
alternatives to juvenile crime, drugs, and violence.
  STARS gives kids a place to go after schools where learning, friendly 
athletic competition, and positive role models replace street corners, 
drug trading, and gangs. This program is the product of an 
unprecedented alliance between the city of Fort Myers, an independent 
county school board, the school district of Lee County, the State of 
Florida, the Federal Government, private nonprofit organizations, and 
the private-corporate sector of the local community. STARS, an urban 
recreational and academic program like those envisioned by H.R. 4034, 
has been so successful that it is justly credited with the steady 
decline of juvenile crime in the city of Fort Myers. The positive 
achievements of the STARS Program can be directly credited to the hard 
work, dedication, and cooperation of Florida's leaders, including Fort 
Myers Mayor Wilbur Smith, Fort Myers Police Chief Donna Hansen, and 
U.S. Senator Connie Mack. I am proud to identify STARS as a role model 
for other urban cities in search of effective programs to combat teen 
crime, drugs, illiteracy, and poverty.
  Mr. Speaker, we are talking about a landscape that is littered with 
failure, failed programs that did not work, and so I am offering this 
little bit of a success story, and I am very apt to report that the 
original seed tax money, those tax dollars in this case, were well 
invested and well spent, and I think that is a test that every program 
should be submitted to, and, if they come up as well as this one, we 
will be doing our job very well.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wyoming [Mr. Thomas] for 
having yielded this time to me.
  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, the youth of our Nation are crying 
out for help. Threats of gang warfare are escalating and becoming more 
violent in our inner cities. Violence in parks, vandalism of school 
buildings and torment of many of our citizens mark the daily choices of 
activity a large proportion of youth pick to occupy their free time. We 
must help our younger generations to find healthy, productive ways to 
spend their free hours.
  The Urban Park and At Risk Youth Act is a good bill which will do 
just that. Improved recreational facilities will give youth the pride 
of being able to step onto sparkling courts to shoot some hoops or onto 
clean and trimmed fields to score a few home runs. Let's improve our 
rundown parks and allow our youngsters to play with new equipment.
  This cooperative effort will bring together law enforcement and 
social service agencies and park and recreation officials to positively 
combat juvenile crime.
  Non-profits which care for at risk youth such as the Boys and Girls 
Clubs of America will be able to apply for funding through this bill. 
In the State of Hawaii, very successful late night basketball leagues 
will also be able to receive funds to ensure the continuation of these 
programs. The Honolulu Police Department noted a reduction in the rates 
of juvenile crime during league activities.
  It's sad to see our children sitting around after school with nothing 
to do. Let's give them all a chance at friendly competition in sports 
activities. Every child should have an opportunity to say they're No. 
1.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of this 
thoughtful and urgently-needed legislation. I extend my thanks to the 
crafters of this bill, particularly full committee Chairman George 
Miller and subcommittee Chairman Bruce Vento, who, like many of us in 
this body, recognize that one of the many challenges we face as a 
nation working within the constraints of an ever-tightening budget is 
providing recreational resources and alternatives for the young people 
who can least afford them and who are at greatest risk if they don't 
get them.
  The Urban Recreation At-Risk Youth Act would add a new category of 
competitive grants under the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery 
Program, established in 1978. The new category of ``At-Risk Youth 
Grants'' seeks to address the realities of our times--that crime has a 
chokehold on most of the Nation's urban areas and that the criminals 
are getting younger and younger. The matching grant funds that would be 
authorized under this bill would go to the Nation's urban crime 
hotspots for rehabilitating deteriorating urban recreational facilities 
and developing recreational programs run by State and local governments 
as well as non-profit organizations.
  The bill's focus on urban areas with high crime rates is especially 
critical since many of our cities are producing a new generation of 
criminals--younger, tougher, and remorseless. The more assistance we 
give to our cities in reaching out to youth, even if only with matching 
grants, the more we do to aid cities in combatting our Nation's rising 
juvenile crime rate.
  The District of Columbia provides a prime example of what happens 
when money for recreational facilities and programs evaporates. In our 
city, many of the neighborhoods with the highest crime rates are those 
where the facilities are rusted, broken, or non-existent. A dozen years 
of neglect are yielding a decade of soaring crime rates and overcrowded 
prisons. Thus, it is too late for many. Trying juvenile offenders as 
adults at younger and younger ages has not worked, and neither has 
imprisoning them for longer periods of time. Isn't it time we supported 
the alternatives to crime that kids have shown they embrace?
  The older folk used to say, ``An idle mind is the devil's workshop.'' 
In modern times we witness the truth of this axiom every day, 
particularly in cities full of children and adolescents who have no 
constructive, safe and fun outlets once the school day ends. 
Extracurricular recreation programs, be they in our Nation's parks, 
schools, community centers, provide an ideal outlet for properly 
directing youthful energy so that it will not become destructive. We 
certainly owe our young people opportunities and resources to enjoy 
this time in their lives and to prepare for a productive adult life. 
H.R. 4034 won't do all we need to do, certainly not nearly as much what 
our youth deserve. But it is a thoughtful and well-crafted effort in 
these budget-conscious times. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill 
and I urge its passage.
  Miss COLLINS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the Interior 
Committee for bringing to us today the Urban Recreation and At-Risk 
Youth Act. I will cast an enthusiastic ``aye'' vote.
  This bill would create a new grant program for projects to improve 
recreational facilities and expand recreational services in urban 
communities that have a high crime rate. Grantees could, for example, 
rehabilitate existing facilities or install lights and security 
telephones. Importantly, grants could be awarded for programs to 
prevent young people from entering the criminal justice system and 
priority must be given to youth at greatest risk.
  As one who represents an urban district, a district in which 
unemployment among minority adults is almost 20 percent and among some 
African-American males is 40 percent, I welcome this new initiative. 
Adolescents, we all know, are very vulnerable. What parent has not 
worried about what his or her child is doing after school. Most 
children in America today are raised in homes with two working parents 
or by a single working parent. One study found that 27 percent of 
eighth graders spend two or more hours at home alone every day.
  With 60 percent of their time devoted to essential activities, young 
people have a large chunk of discretionary time. Yet most communities 
are hard strapped to provide quality after-school programs. Faced with 
boredom and neglect, some of our young people stray into unproductive 
activities and delinquency. One authority has said that 25 percent of 
youngsters aged 10 to 17 are at serious risk of not achieving 
productive adulthood.
  It is long past time for us to recognize that we must give our young 
people alternatives to the street. By doing so, we are less likely to 
pay the societal bills for crime, delinquency, substance abuse, teen 
pregnancies, welfare and health care. And our young people deserve this 
kind of support and opportunity.
  Mr. THOMAS of Wyoming. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I, too, yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Montgomery). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento] that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4034, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5, rule I, and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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