Chuck Grassley: “Mr. President, when I returned to Washington after the Easter recess, I returned with a lot on my mind. During the last…”

“Mr. President, when I returned to Washington after the Easter recess, I returned with a lot on my mind. During the last week of Easter recess I held a series of meetings across Iowa to brainstorm with parents, educators, law enforcement officers, country attorneys, probation officers, juvenile court officials, social service and youth specialists, and high school students. I wanted to hear their views on juvenile delinquency, violence, and drug use. I held these meetings to follow up on a town meeting I held in February. I did this, in part, as preparation for the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act. We need to take a hard look at what works and where the act needs to be updated in order to meet today's requirements. The meetings highlighted the deep concern of the public over the growing problem of violence and drug use among the Nation's young people. One of the causes of difficulties is the ease of availability of illegal drugs to today's young people.”