Bobby Scott

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 2780 will assist the Secret Service to perform their protective duties. Current Federal law prohibits individuals from entering or remaining in areas cordoned off as restricted because of protection being provided by the Secret Service. This bill would simply clarify that the prohibition under the existing statute only applies to those who do not have lawful authority to be in those areas. The men and women of the Secret Service conduct themselves with valor and professionalism while carrying out the protective function of their agency. They provide protection for a variety of people and events, including the President of the United States and national special security events. This bill will assist the men and women of the Secret Service in doing their jobs. I commend my colleague from Florida (Mr. Rooney) for his work on this bill, which eliminates the ambiguity in the present law. I urge my colleagues to support the bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the STALKERS Act of 2010 makes a number of changes in the United States Code with respect to the offense of stalking. It clarifies, strengthens, and enhances the current law. First it allows law enforcement to intervene in cases where a victim may not be aware of the seriousness of the threat before it's too late. The existing statute requires a person have reasonable fear of bodily injury or to undergo emotional distress. These injuries are difficult to demonstrate, often frustrating both victims and prosecutors. H.R. 5662 addresses this problem by permitting law enforcement to intervene in any event of stalking that might reasonably be expected to cause another person serious emotional distress. This small change will go a long way towards both effective law enforcement and justice for victims. Second, the bill reaches criminals who make use of new technologies to stalk their victims. It extends the law to any course of conduct in or substantially affecting interstate commerce, which will apply to cyberstalking, acts of surveillance and other forms of stalking that employ emerging technologies. Third, the bill takes several steps towards more effective enforcement of the Federal stalking statute and other stalking laws. It increases the maximum term of imprisonment by 5 years if a criminal violates a protection order or if the victim is under the age of 18 or over the age of 65. The bill also requires the Attorney General to conduct a annual study of best practices and enforcement of stalking laws nationwide. In short, this legislation updates current law to target the full range of behavior that stalkers direct towards their victims. It will help law enforcement seek justice, help victims seek closure, and increase protections of the most vulnerable amongst us. I want to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez) for her hard work and advocacy on behalf of victims of stalking. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5662) to amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to the offense of stalking, as amended.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4748) to amend the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 to require a northern border counternarcotics strategy, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New York and the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Mr. Thompson, for their hard work on this bill. It's an extremely important bill dealing with narcotics on the northern border. I would hope that we would pass the bill.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4748, the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010, amends the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 to require that the director of the National Drug Control Policy submit to Congress a Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy. The United States' northern border with Canada is the longest open border in the world, spanning 12 States and over 4,000 miles. President Obama's recently released Drug Control Strategy describes an increasing amount of drug trafficking and related criminal activity occurring near the Canadian border, including on Indian reservations in that area. According to a 2010 National Drug Threat Assessment, the amount of drug commonly known as ``ecstasy'' being seized at the northern border has increased almost 600 percent between 2004 and 2009. The Office of National Drug Control Policy has developed a comprehensive strategy for addressing drugs coming across the southwest border. Congress supported this effort with a directive contained in the 2006 reauthorization bill. The bill before us extends that directive to our northern border to help bring focus to the efforts to curb illegal drug trafficking and related crimes on the international border between the United States and Canada. As with the southern border strategy, the northern border strategy will detail the specific rules and coordinate the efforts of law enforcement agencies, including the ONDCP, the Justice Department, and the Homeland Security Departments. In addition, H.R. 4748 brings in Indian tribes with reservations on or near the Canadian border for a consulting role in implementing the strategy on the reservations. I would like to commend our colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens), whose district spans 250 miles along the border, along the St. Lawrence River and Lake Erie, for his leadership in this important legislation. I would also like to thank the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), for his assistance in bringing this bill to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens), whose district borders Canada.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3040 was introduced to address the need to educate and inform the public of the predatory practices of unscrupulous individuals who prey upon the vulnerabilities of our senior citizens. Ours is an aging society. The U.S. Census Bureau tells us the following: in 2006, the year in which the first baby boomers began turning 60, persons age 60 and older compromised almost 17 percent of the population. By 2030, it is estimated that the 60-plus population will compromise nearly 25 percent of the U.S. population, and the number of people older than 65 will exceed 71 million, double the number in just 2000. The oldest segment of our population owns the largest portion of wealth in the United States, and too often seniors have become a very enticing target to those who would seek to defraud them of their life savings. Although we currently lack national reporting mechanisms for tracking financial exploitation of elders, there is no doubt that we've got a real problem in this country. With the present state of the economy, older Americans are at greater risk of having their financial security threatened and disrupted. Fraud perpetrated against seniors is a crime that they very often are incapable of recovering from because they don't have enough years left, so it's a matter of urgency. This bill, H.R. 3040, when enacted into law, will be part of the continuing effort to curb the rapidly growing problem of the victimization of senior citizens via telemarketing, mail, and Internet fraud through public awareness, education, and prevention. It will accomplish this by creating a centralized service for consumer education on mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud targeting seniors. It will direct the Federal Trade Commission to disseminate information on mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud. It will provide means of referring complaints of fraud to appropriate law enforcement agencies. It will direct the FTC to establish a Web site to serve as a resource for seniors on financial fraud. This will be accomplished through an authorization to the FTC of $10 million per year from FY11 through FY15. H.R. 3040 will also authorize $20 million a year from fiscal year 2011 through fiscal year 2015 for the Attorney General to establish and administer a competitive grant program to award grants to eligible organizations to carry out locally focused mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud prevention and education programs for seniors. Finally, the bill declares a sense of the Congress related to National Senior Fraud Awareness Week, and declares that a week in the month of May, Elder Abuse Awareness Month, should be designated as ``National Senior Fraud Awareness Week.'' It also encourages the President to issue a proclamation supporting increased public awareness. I want to thank the gentlewoman from Wisconsin for her leadership on this bill, and for those reasons, I urge my colleagues to support the bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) for her leadership on this bill, as well as the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble). This important legislation will protect a lot of seniors, and I would hope that we would pass the bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the sponsor of the bill, a great advocate for seniors and a member of the Judiciary Committee, the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3040) to prevent mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud targeting seniors in the United States, to promote efforts to increase public awareness of the enormous impact that mail, telemarketing, and Internet fraud have on seniors, to educate the public, seniors, their families, and their caregivers about how to identify and combat fraudulent activity, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5810) to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide penalties for aiming laser pointers at airplanes, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the lead sponsor of the House bill, former prosecutor, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt).

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the goal of H.R. 5143 is to examine the criminal justice system in its entirety in order to make recommendations for appropriate reform to the President and Congress as well as State, local and tribal governments. The United States depends on the criminal justice system to maintain our safety and security and we expect it to be reliable, fair and effective. It must provide a sense of justice for all Americans, and must treat victims and their families with compassion. The last comprehensive review of our criminal justice system was President Johnson's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice conducted more than 45 years ago. Despite the progress in achieving fair and effective outcomes in the criminal justice system since President Johnson's commission was convened, there is still work that needs to be done to fulfill these objectives. Currently, the United States has the highest reported incarceration rate in the world. Whereas most countries lock up between 50 and 200 people for every 100,000 in their population, and only a handful of countries lock up more than 300 per 100,000, the United States leads the world in over 700 per 100,000 locked up today. This number is particularly egregious when you review the recent study conducted by Pew Research Center that concluded that for any rate that exceeds 300 per 100,000, the cost of additional incarceration produced diminishing returns; and any rate over 500 per 100,000 is actually counterproductive. The United States' rate again is over 700 per 100,000. Minorities make up an alarmingly disproportionate share of the incarcerated population of adults and juveniles. In fact, the incarceration rate for African Americans approaches 4,000 per 100,000 in several States. And when you consider the Pew study that anything over 500 was counterproductive, we can see that a lot of money is being wasted in counterproductive incarceration. In fact, in those 10 States with the incarceration rate of African Americans approaching 4,000, you could spend thousands of dollars for every child in those communities with the money that's being wasted now on counterproductive incarceration. That money could be put in evidence-based programs that have been shown and proven not only to reduce crime but save more money than the programs cost. We know that those comprehensive plans work. They work everywhere you put them into effect; and we need to invest in those rather than counterproductive incarceration. H.R. 5143 calls for a distinguished, nonpartisan group of experts to undertake a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system to promote broad reform. While this bill calls for an examination of the criminal justice system, it is intended to advance a national conversation and facilitate policy changes to complement, not replace, ongoing reform efforts. The companion bill to this bill was introduced in the Senate by my Virginia colleague, Senator Jim Webb, who has been a tireless and strong advocate for this study commission. This bill in the House has been introduced by a former prosecutor, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt), who has also been a strong advocate for intelligent criminal justice policies. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5143) to establish the National Criminal Justice Commission, as amended.

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, in closing, this commission will study our criminal justice system to ascertain what we can do to use our resources in a more cost-effective manner to reduce crime. We know that comprehensive approaches to crime work. In Massachusetts, they had a comprehensive approach to juvenile crime where they'd had a dozen or so murders every year. They had a comprehensive approach to the problem. They reduced juvenile murders from 13 a year to zero for 3 consecutive years. In Pennsylvania, they invested in comprehensive programs in a hundred different localities, spent $60 million, and they counted up a few years later and figured that they had saved over $300 million, five times more than they spent, because they were so effective in reducing crime and other social problems. In Virginia, they had an area where they had 19 murders one year. They came in with a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to crime reduction, and within a couple of years, they had two murders. And if you look at that $2\1/2\ million that was invested in that program, there is no doubt that we saved at least that much in reduced medical care at the Medical College of Virginia Trauma Unit. So we know that we can reduce crime and save money. We know that 700,000 prisoners are being released from prison--State, local, and Federal--every year, and we know that two-thirds of them are going right back to prison without intervention. So we need this opportunity for investments. We know that the United States' incarceration rate is number 1 in the world and is already so high that the Pew Research Center says it's counterproductive. It causes more crime than it cures. And this study will show what we can do with our resources by showing what works and what does not and how we can have an intelligent focus on crime policy. I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt) and my colleague from Virginia, Senator Webb, for their vision to create a commission to outline effective strategies to reduce crime. I would hope that we adopt the bill, create the commission, and reduce crime. I yield back the balance of my time.