Eleanor Holmes Norton: “I am pleased to rise in support of this thoughtful and urgently-needed legislation. I extend my thanks to the crafters…”

“I am pleased to rise in support of this thoughtful and urgently-needed legislation. I extend my thanks to the crafters of this bill, particularly full committee Chairman George Miller and subcommittee Chairman Bruce Vento, who, like many of us in this body, recognize that one of the many challenges we face as a nation working within the constraints of an ever-tightening budget is providing recreational resources and alternatives for the young people who can least afford them and who are at greatest risk if they don't get them. The Urban Recreation At-Risk Youth Act would add a new category of competitive grants under the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program, established in 1978. The new category of 'At-Risk Youth Grants' seeks to address the realities of our times--that crime has a chokehold on most of the Nation's urban areas and that the criminals are getting younger and younger. The matching grant funds that would be authorized under this bill would go to the Nation's urban crime hotspots for rehabilitating deteriorating urban recreational facilities and developing recreational programs run by State and local governments as well as non-profit organizations. The bill's focus on urban areas with high crime rates is especially critical since many of our cities are producing a new generation of criminals--younger, tougher, and remorseless.”