Thomas Daschle: “I will use my leader time in discussing the Boxer amendment for a moment. First, I came to the floor to commend Senator…”

“I will use my leader time in discussing the Boxer amendment for a moment. First, I came to the floor to commend Senator Boxer for her amendment and applaud her for her leadership in drawing attention once again to this very important matter. This amendment simply highlights the fact that students can't learn when they are afraid. Why are they afraid? They are afraid because too many communities and too many children live worried that today's playground will be tomorrow's crime scene. This week's tragedy in Michigan is just one more bloody reminder of this phenomena. As the President stated today, now is the time for us--for the Administration, for the Congress--to do its part to respond. So, I say with as much heartfelt emphasis as I can, now is the time for Congress to stop stalling. It was on May 20 of 1999 that the Senate passed the juvenile justice bill. That was over 9 months ago. It was on June 17 of 1999 that the House passed the juvenile justice bill. That was over 8 months ago. After waiting weeks, on August 5 of 1999, almost 7 months ago, the juvenile justice conference had its first, and regrettably, only meeting. We are still stalled, with a phantom conference, today. Stalled in that conference are measures that will help keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children, help keep schools safe, and provide some balance, some degree of confidence that children can go to school more safe and more secure than they are today.”