[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 118 (Friday, August 19, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 YOUNG PEOPLE, VIOLENCE, AND PREVENTION

  (Mrs. CLAYTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, again this morning I want to speak about 
prevention, youth, and violence. I want to speak about prevention in 
the sense of the increase in crime.
  Crime, violent crime has been increasing by grade 4 steps, and it has 
been increasing among young people--young people who are the victims of 
crime, young people who are the perpetrators of crime, young people 
killing young people, young people killing senior citizens and women, 
and young people maiming people. So crime indeed has increased, and who 
indeed is in there? Young people are involved.
  Yet, Mr. Speaker, there are those who escape the logic that with 
young people involved in crime, we should be spending our money where 
the crime is increasing. Yet that escapes the rationality of many in 
this Chamber. There are Members on both sides of the aisle in this 
Chamber who would have the American people think that it is just poke, 
that it is frivolous not to invest in the young people of this Nation. 
They would rather have the house burn down and then put the fire out. 
They would rather have people killed and then put people in jail.
  Mr. Speaker, we must maintain prevention in this crime bill because 
this is the only thing that makes sense. Shame on us if we fail to 
understand that. Shame on us if we fail to have the vision of our 
youth. Prevention is part of the strategy to fight crime.

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