mr. speaker , for the purpose of debate only , i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts ( mr. mcgovern ) xz4002630 , pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
during consideration of this resolution , all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only . 
mr. speaker , this is a structured rule providing for consideration of h.r. 1279 , the gang deterrence and community protection act of 2005 . 
the rule provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on the judiciary . 
it waives all points of order against consideration of the bill . 
it provides that the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on the judiciary , and now printed in the bill , shall be considered as an original bill for the purpose of amendment , and it makes in order only those amendments printed in the committee on rules report accompanying this resolution . 
it provides that the amendments printed in the report may be offered only in the order printed in the report , may be offered only by a member designated in the report , and shall be considered as read , shall be debatable for the time specified in the report , equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent , shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for a division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole . 
it waives all points of order against the amendment printed in the report , and it provides one motion to recommit , with or without instructions . 
mr. speaker , it is time for congress to get tough on gang activity . 
if we can get tough on drugs and if we can get tough on identity theft , terrorism , child abduction , we can get tough on gangs by creating the tools to put gang members behind bars and get them off the streets . 
gang activity is a real problem , a continuously growing problem . 
all cities with a population of more than 250 , 000 people have reported gang activity . 
best estimates indicate that there are at least 750 , 000 gang members in the united states . 
they represent the ills of our society with links to drug trade , human trafficking , identity theft , assault and murder . 
gang members continue to break our laws , reject rehabilitation efforts , and they are branching out beyond our cities into suburban and , yes , even rural , communities . 
mr. speaker , we can not solve our problems by simply throwing around money , nor can we simply categorize gang activity as isolated incidents . 
we can not eliminate gangs by prosecuting incident by incident . 
we need to enforce our laws in language gang members can understand : you do the crime ; you do the time . 
with the support of the fraternal order of police , the national sheriffs ' association , the national association of police officers and many other , more specialized , law enforcement organizations , h.r. 1279 , the gang deterrence and community protection act of 2005 , will make the necessary changes to prosecute gang criminals . 
the gang deterrence and community protection act designates high-intensity gang areas , and it authorizes funds to combat their illegal activity for special state and federal enforcement task forces . 
it authorizes $ 20 million per year over 5 years to help states hire prosecutors , purchase technology , purchase equipment , and train law enforcement . 
most importantly , it increases penalties to deter violent gang crimes such as murder , rape , kidnapping , and assault . 
the penalties include death or life imprisonment for murder , 30 years for kidnapping or rape , and 20 years for assault . 
in addition , this legislation includes juvenile justice reform to ensure that adult crimes , with adult motives , are prosecuted with adult penalties . 
the gang deterrence and community protection act would give the attorney general discretion on whether or not to try a juvenile in federal court as an adult if they are 16 or 17 years old . 
mr. speaker , let me be clear , this legislation does not and will not apply adult standards to anyone younger than 16 . 
according to the department of justice `` homicide trends report , '' between 1976 and 2002 one out of every three murders were committed by a juvenile for gang-related reasons . 
that means 16- and 17-year-olds are making adult , criminal decisions that equal tragedy for our neighbors and our friends . 
more than half the states have enacted laws that mandate the prosecution of juveniles as adults for certain violent crimes , most notably murder . 
my own state of georgia has laws that give prosecutors discretion on whether to treat juveniles as adults involving violent and repeat offenses . 
children by the legal definition making adult criminal decisions affect everyone . 
we need to pass strong anti-gang laws to help prevent troubled teenagers from becoming violent gang members . 
as gangs spread and grow , we are seeing more drug activity . 
these are not simply high schoolers caught with marijuana . 
we are seeing gangs produce and trade dangerous drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine . 
for example , in february , the atlanta police , united states drug enforcement , the mcs drug task force and other law enforcement agencies discovered georgia 's first `` superlab '' in my district , in smyrna , georgia , the 11th . 
with 39 pounds of meth crystal and 250 gallons of the drug in liquid form , one mistake could have destroyed an entire neighborhood . 
by strengthening laws against gangs , we are helping fight the supply side of our war against drugs . 
gangs are not just a city threat when they jeopardize suburban neighborhoods . 
mr. speaker , gang activity is as important to the war on crime today as the battles against organized crime in the 1960s and 1970s . 
this legislation goes beyond national gangs like the bloods and the crips and would actually make progress in breaking down membership before these smaller gangs expand into a national nightmare . 
like our war against terrorism , our law enforcement on the state , local , and national levels need to communicate , to share intelligence , and to share resources . 
we need stronger sentencing to deter crime , and we need to identify potential hot spots before they become major problems . 
with passage of the rule , and the underlying bill , we will have the power to take back our communities . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
