Goodlatte Floor Statement on the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program Authorization Act

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today delivered the following statement on the House floor in support of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program Authorization Act (H.R. 3249). This bill establishes a grant program to provide resources to state and local law enforcement agencies to combat gang activity in their communities. Chairman Goodlatte: Gangs are a poison in America. They bring violence, drugs, and death. They paralyze our communities with flagrant acts of violence and flood our neighborhoods with drugs. Gangs tear apart families by prematurely taking the lives of sons, daughters, and parents. Unfortunately, today, some areas of our country have been overrun by gang violence. Homicide rates skyrocketed in St. Louis, Baltimore, and Chicago in 2016. Compared to the previous five years, 2016 represented a 15.8% increase in homicides in St. Louis, a 12.7% increase in Baltimore, and a 11.4% increase in Chicago. We must stand up to violent gangs and provide an antidote to their poison. H.R. 3249 is a vital part of the antidote. This legislation reforms and reauthorizes the Project Safe Neighborhoods Block Grant Program. This program operates under four key principles: partnerships, strategic planning, training, and outreach. First and foremost, the program brings all the important actors together. This legislation will foster and improve existing partnerships between federal, state and local agencies, community groups, and researchers. Strategic planning is the foundation of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program. Moreover, H.R. 3249 promotes the robust enforcement of existing criminal laws and the development of intervention and prevention programs, such as juvenile justice projects and activities (including street-level outreach, conflict mediation, and social services). Intervention and prevention programs provide extensive training and community outreach. Furthermore, in relying on localized and contemporaneous data, this bill strategically prioritizes a focus on individuals or organizations that are responsible for increasing violence in a particular geographic area. This legislation will ensure that 30% of Project Safe Neighborhoods funding is allocated to Gang Task Forces in regions experiencing a significant or increased presence of violent crime, firearm offenses, human trafficking, and drug trafficking. As a result, critical resources, such as the deployment of law enforcement and funding, are put to their best use. Altogether, this legislation takes a balanced approach by combining enforcement with prevention to combat gang violence in our communities across the nation. Mr. Speaker, the comprehensive, coordinated, and community-focused nature of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program will serve as a key part of the antidote to the poisonous effects gangs have on our country. I’d like to thank my colleague from Virginia, Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, for taking the lead on this important bill. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.