[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7993-7994]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  CONGRESS NEEDS TO GET TOUGH ON CRIME

  (Mr. CHABOT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, last month the President signed into law the 
Second Chance Act authorizing hundreds of millions of dollars to assist 
offenders transitioning back into our societies. My concern is that 
this Congress has done little or nothing to prevent future crimes from 
occurring. With more than 700,000 offenders expected to be released 
back into our communities next year and the number of people who are 
entering their so-called high-crime years being at an all time high, 
conditions are ripe for a perfect storm of crime to hit our 
communities.
  In my view, this Congress should act to, among other things, 
strengthen victims' rights; make restitution something that's real, not 
just words on paper; crack down on drug dealers who sell death on our 
streets, and truly protect witnesses so more people will be willing to 
come forward to testify against gang members who all too frequently 
virtually control many neighborhoods, especially urban areas and cities 
across this country.
  The time to act is now before it's too late.

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