Frank Riggs: “Mr. Speaker, combating juvenile crime is one of our most important domestic priorities, and it is an issue that has…”

“Mr. Speaker, combating juvenile crime is one of our most important domestic priorities, and it is an issue that has received a great deal of attention in recent months, both in this body and across the land. Earlier this spring, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 3, sponsored by the gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum], my good friend. This was the Committee on the Judiciary bill that focused on the punishment of juvenile offenders through graduated sanctions and greater accountability for those offenders and their parents or guardians. At that time when we were debating the McCollum bill, many Members expressed a need to balance punishment with prevention. The bill before us today on the floor does just that. Mr. Speaker, I want Members to know at the outset that Republicans want to control juvenile crime using a balanced approach which focuses on prevention and accountability and helping young people turn their lives around. As we have said all along, we have to balance harshness with hope through an approach that is tough on punishment but smart on prevention. H.R. 1818 will assist States and local communities to develop strategies to combat the juvenile crime wave through a wide range of prevention and intervention programs. This juvenile crime wave has been called by some demographers, some criminologists, a time bomb waiting to go off if we fail to deal with the problem in an adequate manner.”