Bob Filner: “I salute this House on today's passage of the crime bill. Its balanced approach to fighting crime through additional…”

“I salute this House on today's passage of the crime bill. Its balanced approach to fighting crime through additional resources for enforcement and prevention should make a significant difference in the communities of America. And while it is only a very small part of the crime bill, my amendment to allow funding of graffiti prevention and removal programs as part of the juvenile trafficking and gang prevention grant program will give thousands of neighborhoods a new resource to attack the blight of hopelessness that has invaded them. In response to the gentleman from Wisconsin who, last week in this Chamber, chose to belittle the need for graffiti prevention and removal, I would like to set the record straight. I am sure the fine gentleman from Wisconsin just needs a little education, so I invite him to visit my district to see the conditions with which our citizens must live. You have probably heard of the broken window theory--when an area begins to have broken windows, or litter, or rundown housing, or graffiti, the downward spiral of decay and urban blight results in an area that is filthy, crime-ridden, and unsafe. Broken-down neighborhoods invite crime. Likewise, when residents are empowered to take responsibility for keeping their neighborhood clean, the direction of the spiral changes and moves upward.”