[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 5973-5974]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIRGINIA TECH TRAGEDY

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, tomorrow, April 16, 2008, marks the first 
anniversary of the horrific incident at Virginia Tech that resulted in 
the tragic deaths of 32 students and faculty members and serious 
injuries to many other innocent victims. Our hearts go out to the 
victims' families as they mourn their loved ones who tragically lost 
their lives before their time. Our sympathies also go out to the 
survivors of this terrible incident, as well as the entire Virginia 
Tech community, whose resilient spirit and courage in the face of 
tragedy over the past year have been truly remarkable.
  We cannot reverse the senseless violence of one year ago, nor can we 
repair all of the damage that the heinous acts of one very disturbed 
young man caused for an entire community. But one thing we can do to 
honor the victims and their families is ensure that our schools, 
colleges, and universities have the support and resources they need to 
protect our children.
  Regrettably, 1 year after the tragic events at Virginia Tech, little 
has been done at the national level to address the dangers our students 
continue to face. Over the past 12 months, we have continued to see 
threatening conduct and, too often, deadly acts of violence involving 
students of all ages. Only yesterday we learned that several colleges 
were shut down as officials assessed graffiti messages threatening 
violence on campus. School lockdowns are becoming all too common in our 
communities.
  A string of tragedies in just 1 week's time this past February 
reminded us once again that our students face more than merely 
threatening violent conduct. Between February 8 and February 14, at 
least four incidents at schools and colleges resulted in death or 
serious injury to students of all ages.
  On February 8, a female student killed two other students, and then 
herself, inside a classroom on the campus of Louisiana Technical 
College in Baton Rouge. Three days later, a student at Mitchell High 
School in Memphis, TN, was left in critical condition after a violent 
incident in the school's cafeteria. A day later, a 15-year-old boy at 
E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, CA, was critically wounded by a 
classmate. He was later declared brain dead.
  Then, on February 14, tragedy struck at Northern Illinois University. 
A former student opened fire in a geology class, killing 5 students and 
wounding 16, before killing himself. As hundreds of mourners remembered 
one of the Northern Illinois University victims at a funeral service, 
more than 1,000 Virginia Tech students--many of the same students who 
will grieve tomorrow for their lost friends, classmates, and 
professors--gathered in solidarity for a candlelight vigil in 
Blacksburg, VA.
  Eight months ago, the Senate Judiciary Committee took a step to make 
our schools and college campuses safer when it reported the School 
Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act of 2007, S. 2084. 
Regrettably, the Senate has failed to take up and pass that bill to 
improve school safety. The 1-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech 
incident reminds us why this comprehensive legislation should be 
considered and passed without further delay.
  In originating the bill more than 8 months ago, the Judiciary 
Committee showed deference to Gov. Tim Kaine and the task forces at 
work in Virginia and sought 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 at the start of the 2007 academic 
year in the hope that Congress would adopt these critical school safety 
improvements last fall. We worked hard to get it done.
  The incidents at E.O. Green Junior High, Mitchell High School, 
Louisiana Technical College, and Northern Illinois University are just 
a few of the tragic events that have claimed lives or resulted in 
serious injuries to students since the Virginia Tech tragedy. In the 
time since this bill was reported out of the Judiciary Committee, we 
have seen tragic deaths at Delaware State University and the University 
of Memphis and grievous injuries sustained by students and teachers at

[[Page 5974]]

SuccessTech Academy in Cleveland, OH. And there have been numerous 
lockdowns nationwide as a result of threatening conduct in our schools, 
including recent lockdowns at Fern Creek High School in Louisville, KY, 
and St. Peter's College in Jersey City, NY.
  The School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act would address 
the problem of violence in our schools in several ways. The bill 
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, 
including bulletproof vests, 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 Hoax Improvements Act and the Law Enforcement Officers Safety 
Act--which are designed to improve public safety.
  Specifically, the bill 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 right after the Virginia Tech 
tragedy, 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.
  To address the new realities of campus safety in the wake of Virginia 
Tech and more recent college incidents, the bill 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 million 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.
  The bill would also 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. The 
leadership of Senator Jack Reed has been vital in this area.
  The bill also helps law enforcement by making improvements to the Law 
Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2003, LEOSA. 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, 
their families, and their fellow citizens wherever those officers may 
be.
  The bill focuses on prevention as well, by incorporating the 
PRECAUTION Act at the request of Senators Feingold and Specter. This 
provision authorizes grants to develop prevention and intervention 
programs for our schools.
  Finally, the bill incorporates the Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act of 
2007, at the request of Senator Kennedy.
  The Virginia Tech Review Panel--a body commissioned by Governor Kaine 
to study the Virginia Tech tragedy--has issued its findings based on a 
4-month investigation of the incident and its aftermath. This bill 
would adopt a number of recommendations from the Review Panel aimed at 
improving school safety.
  We must not miss this opportunity to implement these initiatives 
nationwide and to take concrete steps to ensure the safety of our kids. 
The Senate should move forward and act. I hope those who are holding up 
this legislation will reconsider their position today as we prepare to 
remember and to honor those who so tragically lost their lives, and 
those who had their lives changed forever, in the most deadly incident 
on a college campus in our Nation's history.
  The Senate should move forward to invest in the safety of our 
students and to better support law enforcement officers across the 
country by considering and passing the School Safety and Law 
Enforcement Improvement Act of 2007.

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