[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 124 (Friday, September 21, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1696-E1697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ACT OF 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 20, 2001

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, yesterday we passed H.R. 1900, the Juvenile 
Justice Delinquency and Prevention Authorization Act,

[[Page E1697]]

which I support and am pleased to have a hand in shaping.
  According to government statistics, juveniles accounted for 17% of 
all arrests and 16% of all violent crime arrests in 1999. Moreover, in 
that same year, 2.5 million children under the age of 18 were arrested.
  We must not be complacent about these figures. Too many young people 
get involved in criminal activity, and we must do all we can to prevent 
juveniles from engaging in such activities.
  H.R. 1900 is a bipartisan effort to improve the juvenile justice 
system and give maximum flexibility to states and local communities in 
preventing and reducing juvenile crime.
  I applaud Representative Greenwood and Representative Scott for 
putting together a bill that has garnered such wide bipartisan support.
  I am particularly pleased, that because of an amendment I 
successfully offered in committee, this bill keeps research and 
statistical analysis within the National Institute of Juvenile Justice. 
It is imperative that we not lose our focus on early prevention and 
this is best accomplished by committing this work to a separate agency.
  I am also pleased that an amendment Representative McCarthy and I 
offered in committee requiring a study be conducted on gun violence-
related injuries and deaths by youth in schools and communities was 
later incorporated in this bill as well.
  This study will focus on the relationship between victims and violent 
youth; the criminal act and location; and the types of weapons being 
used. By learning the source of the problem, we can find and develop 
ways to prevent future violence.
  There is much more that we can do to prevent juvenile crime. However, 
this bill represents a good start and I am happy to support it. I urge 
all of my colleagues to support this important bill.

                          ____________________