[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18420-18421]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       HUD'S GUN BUYBACK PROGRAM

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, in recent months, some Members of 
Congress have questioned the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development's authority to conduct gun buyback programs under the 
Public and Assisted Housing Drug Elimination Act. As the author of that 
legislation, I rise to set the record straight.
  In proposing the Public and Assisted Housing Drug Elimination Act, my 
intent was to make our streets safer, particularly in federally-
assisted and low-income housing where the federal government has a 
clear responsibility to protect families. And that intent is reflected 
in the statutory language, 42 U.S.C. Section 11902(a), which provides 
that HUD is to make grants available for use in ``eliminating drug-
related

[[Page 18421]]

and violent crime.'' Certainly, violent crime includes all of the 
offenses involving guns, whether it is murder, robbery, or gang-related 
activity. In short, gun buybacks are an eligible activity under the 
Act, and HUD has acted properly in assisting housing authorities and 
local communities with this important effort.
  Furthermore, HUD's efforts to combat gun violence have been very 
successful. HUD's Gun Buyback and Violence Reduction Initiative has 
taken about 18,500 guns off the streets in more than 70 cities, and 
this program has received strong support from community organizations 
and law enforcement.
  Every year, gun violence claims an average of 30,000 lives and wounds 
another 100,000 people. Congress should support, and not impede, local 
efforts to get guns off our streets and reduce crime.

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