[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 191 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H15445]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   STOPPING YOUTH VIOLENCE IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an 
extraordinarily important issue, one that, quite frankly, is not often 
discussed on this very floor and needs in so many ways to be brought 
forward, not only to the attention of the Members of this body, but a 
dialogue that needs to reach out all across this country to discuss the 
devastating trends of youth violence. I am pleased to note that 
colleagues today, including Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Bobby Scott, Yvette 
Clarke, Donald Payne, Sheila Jackson-Lee and Linda Sanchez, will be 
coming to the floor under these 5-minute Special Orders to also address 
this issue of youth violence.
  There isn't a day that goes by that we don't thank our veterans for 
the sacrifice that they have made and note the loss of life that has 
taken place in Iraq and in Afghanistan and the wounded. And we take 
great pride, and rightfully so, in this Chamber for making sure that we 
are providing for our veterans, providing especially for those that 
come home with post-traumatic stress syndrome, and addressing these 
concerns in a meaningful and significant way. And yet here in our own 
country, in our cities, in our suburbs, most recently out in Nebraska, 
violent deaths and shootings take place and seemingly go unnoticed.
  John Lewis traveled with me to Hartford, Connecticut, to address 
there a group of citizens concerned about violence in the neighborhood, 
where in 2006, 16 shootings took place in a single week. At that 
hearing, a Vietnam veteran, Steven Harris, stood up and said, I 
appreciate what Congress is doing on behalf of veterans and providing 
them with post-traumatic stress syndrome relief. But what about the 
kids in my neighborhood who have to deal with this on a regular basis? 
What about the youth all across this country who are perishing?
  There are incredible statistics, Mr. Speaker, that this body needs to 
discuss in a way that will send hope out to our communities and our 
neighborhoods. Homicide is the second leading cause of death among 15 
to 24-year-olds overall. Homicide is the leading cause of death for 
African Americans between the ages of 10 to 24 and the second leading 
cause of death for Hispanics of that age. Guns are a factor in most of 
these homicides.
  In a nationwide survey of high school students, 6 percent reported 
not going to school on one or more days in the 30 days preceding the 
survey because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to and from 
school. Children who have witnessed violence in their communities are 
vulnerable to serious, long-term problems. This country stood and 
paused and we said the world had changed forever after September 11. 
But for grandmothers in their communities, the world had changed before 
that, because this kind of senseless violence continues.
  This Nation, this Congress, must solve this problem. The problem 
cannot be addressed explicitly through incarceration. We have ample 
amounts of punitive measures that exist on our books today. What we 
don't have is a comprehensive approach to it, reaching out into these 
communities, assisting and helping and providing the plans such as 
Bobby Scott has outlined, ``From Cradle to College,'' that provide the 
hope, that provide the leadership for communities coming together in a 
manner in which they care about our children.
  We are aware of what is happening all around the world, and we can 
come to this floor and chronicle it. But in our own cities, in our own 
States, we must begin to speak and save our children there.

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