[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5425-S5426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE SCHOOL TRAGEDY IN SPRINGFIELD, OREGON

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, we were all shocked and saddened by the 
tragic shooting incident at the Thurston High School in Springfield, 
Oregon. I listened with sympathy this morning to my colleagues from 
Oregon, and share their sentiments. My heart goes out to the victims of 
this horrendous crime, and my prayers are with the injured, and with 
the families of all the victims in the Springfield community. I know 
that every parent or grandparent who sends a child to school shares the 
grief of the Springfield families.
  This kind of tragedy has become far too common. It was only two 
months ago that we were shocked by the violence and horror of the 
schoolyard shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Every day, it seems, we are 
assailed by new stories of senseless crimes committed by juveniles who 
should be too young to be capable of such acts.
  Our juvenile crime problem has taken a new and sinister direction. I 
can imagine few acts more heinous than some of the crimes recently 
committed by juveniles around the country. We seem now to be in a new 
era, in which juveniles are committing sophisticated adult crimes. This 
disturbing trend demonstrates the need to reform the juvenile justice 
system that is failing the victims of juvenile crime, failing too many 
of our young people, and ultimately, failing society.
  The Senate has before it comprehensive youth violence legislation. S. 
10, the Hatch-Sessions Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Act, 
reported out of the Judiciary Committee last year on bipartisan vote. 
The goal of S. 10 is to reform and redirect the role played by the 
federal government in addressing juvenile crime in our Nation.
  Responding to the testimony and advice of many state and local 
officials, S. 10 reauthorizes and streamlines the Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), which provides assistance to the 
states in fighting juvenile crime. S. 10 also creates a $500 million 
per year incentive block grant program for the states. These block 
grants can be used for a multitude of purposes, such as incarceration, 
graduated sanctions, serious and habitual offender programs, juvenile 
criminal record sharing, drug testing and treatment of juvenile 
arrestees, and numerous prevention programs.
  In the face of tragedies such as the Springfield and Jonesboro 
murders, it is tempting to look for easy answers. I do not believe that 
we should succumb to this temptation. We are faced, I believe, with a 
problem which cannot be solved solely by the enactment of new criminal 
prohibitions. It is at its core a moral problem. Somehow, in this case 
and too many others like it, we have failed as a society to pass along 
to the next generation the moral compass that differentiates right from 
wrong. This cannot be legislated. It will not be restored by the 
enactment of a new law or the implementation of a new program. But it 
can be achieved by communities working together to teach accountability 
by example and by early intervention when the signs clearly point to 
violent and antisocial behavior, as seems to be the case in some of 
these tragedies.

[[Page S5426]]

  S. 10 provides the framework to address the modest federal role in 
this effort. We should not let politics overwhelm this issue. I believe 
that this legislation must move forward. This will require us to work 
together. It will also require leadership from the Administration. In 
the ten months since this legislation was ordered reported from the 
Judiciary Committee, we have heard no productive comment from the 
Administration on the bill. The President must show leadership on this, 
and support S. 10. Otherwise, I am afraid that another year will pass 
without our having taken action on this critically important issue.
  I also ask my colleagues to join me in this effort, and to join me in 
extending the sympathy of the Senate to the families and victims, to 
the community of Springfield, and the State of Oregon.

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