[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19588-19589]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  LACK OF JUVENILE JUSTICE CONFERENCE

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, yesterday I was amazed when I checked my 
computer, as I do during the day, to see what the latest news items 
were in our country and around the world. I learned of another tragic 
incident of school violence in a middle school in New Orleans. Just 
before noon yesterday, two teenaged boys, age 13 and 15, shot each 
other with the same gun during a fight just outside the cafeteria at 
the Carter G. Woodson Middle School. Hundreds of students were inside 
eating lunch. Both boys are in critical condition.
  The growing list of schoolyard violence by children in Arkansas, 
Washington, Oregon, Tennessee, California, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, 
Mississippi, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Florida, and now Louisiana is 
simply unacceptable and intolerable.
  Over a year ago, May 20, 1999, this Senate passed the Hatch-Leahy 
juvenile crime bill by a vote of 73-25. It had a number of things that 
would address school violence, a number of things that would help with 
the problems of teenage violence, that would create everything from 
mentoring programs to the prosecution of juvenile delinquents, and it 
passed overwhelmingly, with Republicans and Democrats alike voting for 
it.
  But we never had a real conference on it. It was stalled. Why? 
Because the gun lobbies told the Republican leadership that there was 
one minor problem, one minor bit of gun control--closing the gun show 
loophole, something that allows people to sell firearms to felons out 
of the back of a pickup truck at a flea market. One would think 
everyone would want to close that gun loophole and say everyone will 
abide by the same rules that the regular gun shops in Vermont or 
anywhere else have to follow; but, instead, because the gun lobby 
doesn't want that simple loophole closed, we haven't gone forward with 
a vote on this juvenile justice bill that goes into so many other 
areas--helping troubled teens, helping prosecutors, courts, and others 
with teenage violence.
  How many shootings do we have to have before the leadership, the 
Republican leadership, says we will stand up to the gun lobby and 
actually have a vote? If this Senate wants to vote against it, let it 
vote against it. I don't know why the Republicans are so concerned. 
They have a majority. They can vote against this bill if they want. But 
vote. Vote ``aye'' or vote ``nay.'' We are not paid to vote ``maybe.'' 
We are paid to vote up or down. We should do it. It has been more than 
15 months since the Senate acted. It has been more than a year since 
the only meeting of the House-Senate conference committee on the Hatch-
Leahy juvenile crime bill. It was on August 5, 1999 that Chairman Hatch 
convened the conference for the limited purpose of opening statements. 
I am disappointed that the Republican majority continues to refuse to 
reconvene the conference and that for a over a year this Congress has 
failed to respond to issues of youth violence, school violence and 
crime prevention.
  It has been 17 months since the tragedy at Columbine High School in 
Littleton, Colorado, where 14 students and a teacher lost their lives. 
Senate and House Democrats have been ready for more than a year to 
reconvene the juvenile justice conference and work with Republicans to 
craft an effective juvenile justice conference report, but the 
Republican majority has adamantly refused to act.
  On October 20, 1999, all the House and Senate Democratic conferees 
wrote to Senator Hatch who serves as the Chairman of the juvenile 
justice conference, and Congressman Hyde, the Chairman of the House 
Judiciary Committee, to reconvene the conference immediately.
  In April of this year, Congressman Hyde joined our call for the 
juvenile justice conference to meet as soon as possible in a letter to 
Senator Hatch, which was also signed by Congressman Conyers.
  Last March, the President invited House and Senate leaders of the 
conference to the White House to implore us to proceed to the 
conference and to final enactment of legislation before the anniversary 
of the Columbine tragedy.
  This effort to jump-start the stalled conference could not break 
through the majority's intransigent inaction. That anniversary, like so 
many others tragic anniversaries has come and gone. We have seen more 
incidents but no action by the Republican Congress.
  The Republican majority has rejected the President's pleas for action 
as they have those of the American people. Every parent, teacher and 
student in this country is concerned about school violence over the 
last few years and worried about when the next shooting may occur. They 
only hope it does not happen at their school or involve their children.

[[Page 19589]]

  We all recognize that there is no single cause and no single 
legislative solution that will cure the ill of youth violence in our 
schools or in our streets. But we have had an opportunity before us to 
do our part and the Republican majority has chosen to squander it. We 
should have seized this opportunity to act on balanced, effective 
juvenile justice legislation.
  I regret that this Republican Congress has failed to do its work and 
provide the additional resources and reforms that would have been 
helpful and reassuring to our children, parents, grandparents, teachers 
and schools.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, my main reason for coming to the floor 
today is to introduce the Windfall Oil Profits for Heating Assistance 
Act of 2000.
  (The remarks of Mr. Leahy pertaining to the introduction of S. 3118 
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business for about 12 minutes.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, has the morning business hour closed?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. It has not been announced by the Chair. It is 
closed.
  Mr. REID. It is closed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Time has expired.
  Mr. REID. I am sorry?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair has not yet announced that morning 
business is closed, but the designated time has expired.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I withdraw my unanimous consent request. 
Let us move on. Then I will take time under the cloture motion.

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