[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 100 (Tuesday, July 15, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H5193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE JUVENILE CRIME AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ACT

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, today the House will consider a very 
important issue of juvenile crime. It should be noted that 20 percent, 
1 out of 5, of all murders, rapes, robberies, and assaults in this 
country are committed by individuals under the age of 18. Furthermore, 
population experts are predicting a 31 percent increase in the youth 
population by the year 2010.
  We must act on this issue immediately. H.R. 1818, the Juvenile Crime 
and Delinquency Prevention Act, is a very important piece of 
legislation in this battle. This bill, authored by my Republican 
colleague, the gentleman from California [Mr. Riggs] provides block 
grants to States in order to fund juvenile crime control activities, 
giving much greater flexibility to local officials to best utilize 
their resources. Equally important, this bill reauthorizes programs to 
serve runaways and homeless youth and the National Missing Children's 
Center.
  Mr. Speaker, earlier this year this body passed H.R. 3, which 
provided for more effective punishment of juvenile offenders. This 
legislation will focus on prevention of juvenile crime. I commend the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Riggs] and the Republican leadership for 
bringing this bill to the floor, and I urge its passage.

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