Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to speak about the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act. I will make some short comments, and then I would like to defer to Senator Whitehouse, and then I would propound a unanimous consent request. I think we will soon be able to pass the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act. I reintroduced this measure this year with Senator Whitehouse. The bill before us is almost the same as the one the Judiciary Committee cleared by voice vote in the 114th Congress, and it is very similar to the one we hotlined last year. We hotlined it in April, and all the Members of this Chamber had several months to review it. We had one objection, and we cleared it earlier this week. The bill would extend a Federal law known as the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act for 5 more years. The centerpiece of this 1974 legislation, which Congress last extended 15 years ago, in 2002, is its core protections for youth. These core protections call for juveniles to be kept out of adult facilities, except in very rare instances. They ensure that juveniles will be kept separated from adult inmates whenever they are housed in adult facilities. They call for reducing disproportionate minority contact in State juvenile justice systems. States adhering to these requirements receive yearly formula grants to support their juvenile justice systems. This bill would promote greater accountability in government spending.…”