Patrick Leahy: “more than 2 months ago, the Senate Judiciary Committee originated the School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act…”

“more than 2 months ago, the Senate Judiciary Committee originated the School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act of 2007, a legislative package that responds to the tragic deaths that occurred this past April, almost exactly 6 months ago, on the campus of Virginia Tech and to the ongoing problem of violence in our schools. We have attempted to show deference to Governor Kaine and the task forces at work in Virginia and to complement their work and recommendations. Working with several Senators, including Senators Boxer, Reed, Specter, Feingold, Schumer, and Durbin, the committee originated this bill and reported it before the start of the academic year in the hope that the full Senate could pass these critical school safety improvements this fall. Over the past few weeks, Senator Schumer and I have tried separately to pass the component of the bill designed to fix flaws in the Nation's background check system. Regrettably, our efforts were blocked by a single Senator. I do not think the Senate should continue to stand by and wait for the next horrific school tragedy to make the critical changes necessary to ensure safety in our schools and on our college campuses. Risks of school violence will not go away just because Congress may shift its focus. In just the last few weeks we have seen tragedy at Delaware State, University of Memphis, and SuccessTech Academy in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as incidents in California, New York, Pennsylvania, and Oregon.”