Angie Craig: “I say to my fellow Senators, they are being asked to vote in just a couple of minutes on what I think is an extremely…”

“I say to my fellow Senators, they are being asked to vote in just a couple of minutes on what I think is an extremely important amendment. We move the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative, that is now a demonstration project in Philadelphia, nationwide over a period of 5 years. With the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, working with counties, States and local law enforcement agencies, to provide information on the illegal activity of firearms in communities, to create adult, juvenile and youth illegal firearm activities, identify them and control them, to make firearm violations Federal violations prosecutable and move it in that direction. Mr. President, if this Senate wants to move against youth violence with the misuse of firearms, this is a major initiative and a major step in that direction. I hope my colleagues will work with us as we expand this from 17 demonstration projects to 50 to 75 to 150 across the Nation in high-crime areas going directly at juveniles and the misuse of firearms and prosecuting felons who use firearms in the commission of a crime, which is already a Federal violation of law, but now goes unprosecuted. I hope my colleagues can join with me in supporting this amendment.”