[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 158 (Thursday, October 18, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13072-S13073]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SCHOOL SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT IMPROVEMENT ACT

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, more than 2 months ago, the Senate 
Judiciary Committee originated the School Safety and Law Enforcement 
Improvement Act of 2007, a legislative package that responds to the 
tragic deaths that occurred this past April, almost exactly 6 months 
ago, on the campus of Virginia Tech and to the ongoing problem of 
violence in our schools. We have attempted to show deference to 
Governor Kaine and the task forces at work in Virginia and to 
complement their work and recommendations. Working with several 
Senators, including Senators Boxer, Reed, Specter, Feingold, Schumer, 
and Durbin, the committee originated this bill and reported it before 
the start of the academic year in the hope that the full Senate could 
pass these critical school safety improvements this fall.
  Over the past few weeks, Senator Schumer and I have tried separately 
to pass the component of the bill designed to fix flaws in the Nation's 
background check system. Regrettably, our efforts were blocked by a 
single Senator.
  I do not think the Senate should continue to stand by and wait for 
the next horrific school tragedy to make the critical changes necessary 
to ensure safety in our schools and on our college campuses. Risks of 
school violence will not go away just because Congress may shift its 
focus. In just the last few weeks we have seen tragedy at Delaware 
State, University of Memphis, and SuccessTech Academy in Cleveland, 
Ohio, as well as incidents in California, New York, Pennsylvania, and 
Oregon. I urge the Senate to move aggressively with the comprehensive 
school safety legislation. It includes background check improvements, 
together with other sensible yet effective safety improvement measures 
supported by law enforcement across the country. Accordingly, I urge 
the Senate to take up and swiftly pass S. 2084. If we are prohibited by 
objection from doing so by unanimous consent, then let us move to it 
and let those with objections seek to amend those provisions to which 
they object.
  There are too many incidents at too many colleges and schools 
nationwide. This terrorizes students and their parents. We should be 
doing what we can to help. Just a few weeks ago, a troubled student 
wearing a Fred Flintstone mask and carrying a rifle through campus was 
arrested at St. John's University in Queens, NY, prompting authorities 
to lock down the campus for 3 hours. The next day, an armed 17-year-old 
on the other side of the country in Oroville, CA, held students hostage 
at Las Plumas High School, also resulting in a lock-down. The incidents 
have continued this month, with the arrest last week of an armed 
student suspected of plotting a Columbine-style attack on fellow high 
school students in Norristown, PA. Just today, in Happy Valley, OR, 
police arrested a 10-year-old student who brought a semi-automatic 
weapon into his elementary school. The students in these situations 
were lucky and escaped without injury.
  University of Memphis student Taylor Bradford was not so lucky. He 
was killed on campus on September 30 in what university officials 
believe was a targeted attack. He was 21 years old. Shalita Middleton 
and Nathaniel Pew were not so lucky. They were both wounded during an 
incident at Delaware State. They are each only 17 years old. High 
school teachers Michael Grassie and David Kachadourian and students 
Michael Peek and Darnell Rodgers--all of whom were wounded by a 
troubled student at SuccessTech Academy on October 10--were not so 
lucky.
  The School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act responds 
directly to incidents like these by squarely addressing the problem of 
violence in our schools in several ways. The bill enlists the States as 
partners in the dissemination of critical information by making 
significant improvements to the National Instant Background Check 
System, known as the NICS system. The bill also authorizes federal 
assistance for programs to improve the safety and security of our 
schools and institutions of higher education, provides equitable 
benefits to law enforcement serving those institutions, and funds pilot 
programs to develop cutting-edge prevention and intervention programs 
for our schools. The bill also clarifies and strengthens two existing 
statutes--the Terrorist

[[Page S13073]]

Hoax Improvements Act and the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act--
which are designed to improve public safety.
  Specifically, title I would improve the safety and security of 
students both at the elementary and secondary school level, and on 
college and university campuses. The K-12 improvements are drawn from a 
bill that Senator Boxer introduced in April, and I want to thank 
Senator Boxer for her hard work on this issue. The improvements include 
increased funding for much-needed infrastructure changes to improve 
security as well as the establishment of hotlines and tip-lines, which 
will enable students to report potentially dangerous situations to 
school administrators before they occur.
  These improvements can save lives. After the four students and 
teachers were wounded last week at SuccessTech Academy, the press 
reported that parents had been petitioning to get a metal detector 
installed and additional security personnel added, and that the guard 
who was previously assigned to the school had been removed 3 years ago. 
In fact, the entire City of Cleveland has just 10 metal detectors that 
are rotated throughout the city's more than 100 schools. Title I of the 
bill would enhance the ability of a school district to apply for and 
receive grant money to fund the installation of metal detectors and the 
training and hiring of security personnel to keep our kids safe. Over 
the past 4 years, this administration has spent over $15 billion to 
equip, train, and build facilities for the Iraqi security forces. 
Surely, Congress can stand up for American kids who face unrelenting 
school violence by supporting just a small fraction of this figure for 
much-needed school safety improvements.
  To address the new realities of campus safety in the wake of Virginia 
Tech and more recent college incidents, title I also creates a matching 
grant program for campus safety and security to be administered out of 
the COPS Office of the Department of Justice. The grant program would 
allow institutions of higher education to apply, for the first time, 
directly for Federal funds to make school safety and security 
improvements. The program is authorized to be appropriated at 
$50,000,000 for the next 2 fiscal years. While this amounts to just $3 
per student each year, it will enable schools to more effectively 
respond to dangerous situations on campus.
  Title II of the bill seeks to improve the NICS system. The senseless 
loss of life at Virginia Tech revealed deep flaws in the transfer of 
information relevant to gun purchases between the States and the 
Federal Government. The defects in the current system permitted the 
perpetrator of this terrible crime to obtain a firearm even though a 
judge had declared him to be a danger to himself and thus ineligible 
under Federal law. Seung-Hui Cho was not eligible to buy a weapon given 
his mental health history, but he was still able to pass a background 
check because data was missing from the system. We are working to close 
gaps in the NICS system. Title II will correct these problems, and for 
the first time will create a legal regime in which disqualifying mental 
health records, both at the State and Federal level, would regularly be 
reported into the NICS system.
  Title III would make sworn law enforcement officers who work for 
private institutions of higher education and rail carriers eligible for 
death and disability benefits, and for funds administered under the 
Byrne grant program and the bulletproof vest partnership grant program. 
Providing this equitable treatment is in the best interest of our 
Nation's educators and students and will serve to place the support of 
the Federal Government behind the dedicated law enforcement officers 
who serve and protect private colleges and universities nationwide. I 
commend Senator Jack Reed for his leadership in this area.
  Title IV of the bill makes improvements to the Law Enforcement 
Officers Safety Act of 2003. These amendments to existing law will 
streamline the system by which qualified retired and active officers 
can be certified under LEOSA. It serves us all when we permit qualified 
officers, with a demonstrated commitment to law enforcement and no 
adverse employment history, to protect themselves and their families 
wherever they may be.
  Title V incorporates the PRECAUTION Act, which Senators Feingold and 
Specter asked to have included. This provision authorizes grants to 
develop prevention and intervention programs for our schools.
  Finally, title VI incorporates the Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act of 
2007, at the request of Senator Kennedy.
  Let us go forward and act now on this important bill. The Virginia 
Tech Review Panel--a body commissioned by Governor Tim Kaine to study 
the Virginia Tech tragedy--recently issued its findings based on a 4-
month long investigation of the incident and its aftermath. This bill 
would adopt a number of recommendations from the review panel aimed at 
improving school safety planning and reporting information to NICS. We 
must not miss this opportunity to implement these initiatives 
nationwide, and to take concrete steps to ensure the safety of our 
kids.
  I recognize that there is no solution to fully end the sad phenomenon 
of school violence. But the recent tragedies should prompt us to 
respond in realistic and meaningful ways when we are presented with 
such challenges. I hope the Senate can promptly move this bill forward 
to invest in the safety of our students and better support law 
enforcement officers across the country.

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