[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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