[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 187 (Thursday, November 21, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H9157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR PRIORITY

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I have worked in the area of criminal 
justice and juvenile justice for as many years as I have served in the 
United States Congress.
  Dealing with juveniles here in this country and giving them a pathway 
of opportunity to success has been my dream and goal. I intend to 
introduce the Omnibus Juvenile Justice Restoration and Uplift Act.
  There are 75 million juveniles, plus, in the United States since 
2013. That number has grown. That means that one in four have the 
possibility of being in the juvenile delinquency system. That should 
not be tolerated.
  My bill will include adding more trained social workers; giving 
sensitivity training and special training to our law enforcement 
officers, who really want to be role models; to Ban the Box, so they do 
not have a lifetime of saying, as a juvenile I was arrested; ending 
solitary confinement throughout the entire United States for juveniles; 
alternative sentencing, so that old-fashioned juvenile detention jails 
can be closed; gang intervention, so that we can find a way for 
resolution and direction and another way for gang prevention, violence 
cessation, wrap-around services, closing all juvenile centers over a 
10-year period, and finally, conflict resolution.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me in introducing this legislation. 
Our children are our priority.

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