Political Quotes

“Madam President, I am disappointed that the Senator from Arkansas continues to impose the only remaining roadblock to passage of this critical piece of legislation. Back in February, Senator Cotton indicated a willingness to work with Senator Whitehouse and me to resolve our sole point of disagreement. Senator Cornyn tried to resolve our differences as well. As you can see, we are still at an impasse. Our disagreement stems from a 42-year-old provision of the federal juvenile justice law that encourages States to phase out the detention of children who commit infractions, such as running away from home, skipping school, disobeying parents, or underage tobacco use. This statutory provision--which has been on the books since 1974--extends a ``carrot'' in the form of Federal grant funds, to any State that commits to deinstitutionalizing juveniles who commit extremely minor infractions, also known as ``status offenses.'' The reason for this core protection is simple: Locking up children for conduct, like running away or underage tobacco use, which could never, ever result in an adult's being jailed, defies logic and common sense. For example, when you lock up a child for truancy, you ensure that the child will miss even more school and fall even further behind in schoolwork. At the same time you have done little, if anything, to resolve the underlying issue that led to the truancy. Similarly, very little is accomplished by locking up a repeat runaway who is being abused at home.…”