Kweisi Mfume: “Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer this amendment to H.R. 728, an amendment that would continue the Drug Court Program as…”

“Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer this amendment to H.R. 728, an amendment that would continue the Drug Court Program as enacted by the Violent Crime and Prevention Act of 1994. The Drug Court Program included in the list of programs targeted for elimination under H.R. 728 is an effective and valuable crime fighting tool, with the kind of proven results that Democrats, Republicans, and Independents want. Although lumped, and I think lumped inadvertently with the prevention programs that this bill tends to eliminate, drug courts really are not a prevention program. Drugs courts would better be classified as an alternative punishment measure that has the indirect benefit of preventing crime. Drug courts began as an innovative program by the State of Maryland.”