mr. speaker , i rise today to express my disappointment with the structured rule that has been set forth for debate on h.r. 1279 the `` gang deterrence and community protection act of 2005. '' this bill among other things , could subject innocent people to the death penalty , creates numerous discriminatory mandatory minimum sentences , could result in wrongful convictions based on unreliable evidence , and creates more serious juvenile offenders by incarcerating children in adult prisons . 
these are very serious issues . 
issues that warrant extensive debate and the opportunity to fix these problems before the negative impact is felt . 
the current rule does not allow for such debate . 
before concluding , i feel it is important that i briefly mention my three amendments that were not ruled in order . 
my first amendment would have removed section 110 of the bill . 
as written in the bill , a prosecutor could bring a capital case in a district that had only a limited connection with a crime . 
my amendment would have clarified that the defendant must have committed criminal activity related to the capital case in the jurisdiction where the prosecutor seeks to bring the charge . 
in essence , it would have stopped forum shopping which is currently allowed under the bill . 
my second amendment would have deleted section 115 of the bill which deals with the transfer of juveniles to adult courts . 
more specifically , the amendment would have prevented the transferring of juveniles from juvenile courts to adult courts when a juvenile has committed an act , which if committed by an adult , would be a felony . 
if this section is allowed to remain in the bill , more children will become hardened criminals after being tried in federal court and incarcerated in adult prisons . 
currently under federal law , when the government recommends trying a juvenile as an adult in federal court various factors must be considered by the court before deciding whether the criminal prosecution of a young person is in the interest of justice . 
these factors include the age , social background , and the intellectual development and psychological maturity of the child . 
the decision by a prosecutor to try a juvenile as an adult can not be reviewed by judge under this legislation . 
this unreviewable process of transferring youth to adult federal court is particularly troubling when juveniles are not routinely prosecuted in the federal system and there are no resources or facilities to address the needs of youth . 
my third amendment was very straightforward . 
it would have closed the glaring loophole which currently exists in our federal gun laws by making it illegal to transfer a firearm to any individual that the federal government has designated as a suspected or known gang member or terrorist . 
as many of you know , under current law , neither suspected nor actual membership in a gang or terrorist organization is a sufficient ground , in and of itself , to prevent the purchase of a dangerous firearm . 
in fact , according to a recently released gao report , over the course of a nine-month span last year , a total of fifty-six ( 56 ) firearm purchase attempts were made by individuals designated as known or suspected gang members or terrorists by the federal government . 
in forty-seven ( 47 ) of those cases , state and federal authorities were forced to permit such transactions to proceed because officials were unable to find any disqualifying information , such as a prior felony conviction or court-determined `mental defect ' . 
thus , producing a situation whereby suspected or known gang members were , and continue to be , free to obtain as many guns as they desire . 
in closing , these are all very important amendments and were aimed at fixing many of the problems associated with h.r. 1279 . 
despite the structured rule , i hope my colleagues on both sides will realize the importance of this bill and give it the time and attention it deserves . 
the material previously referred to by mr. mcgovern xz4002630 is as follows : previous question for h. res. 268 -- rule on h.r. 1279 : the gang deterrence & amp ; community protection act of 2005 at the end of the resolution , add the following : `` sec . 
2. notwithstanding any other provision of this resolution the amendment specified in section 3 shall be in order as though printed after the amendment numbered 10 in the report of the committee on rules if offered by representative capuano of massachusetts or representative weiner of new york or a designee . 
that amendment shall be debatable for 30 minutes equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent . 
sec . 
3. the amendment referred to in section 2 is as follows : at the end of the bill , add the following new section : & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; sec . 
2__ . 
authorization and change of cops program to single grant program. & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( a ) in general. -- section 1701 of title i of the omnibus crime control and safe streets act of 1968 ( 42 u.s.c . 
3796dd ) is amended -- & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( 1 ) by amending subsection ( a ) to read as follows : & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( a ) grant authorization. -- the attorney general shall carry out a single grant program under which the attorney general makes grants to states , units of local government , indian tribal governments , other public and private entities , and multi-jurisdictional or regional consortia for the purposes described in subsection ( b ) . '' ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( 2 ) by striking subsections ( b ) and ( c ) ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( 3 ) by redesignating subsection ( d ) as subsection ( b ) , and in that subsection -- & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( a ) by striking `` additional grant projects. -- grants made under subsection ( a ) may include programs , projects , and other activities to -- '' and inserting `` uses of grant amounts. -- the purposes for which grants made under subsection ( a ) may be made are -- '' ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( b ) by redesignating paragraphs ( 1 ) through ( 12 ) as paragraphs ( 6 ) through ( 17 ) , respectively ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( c ) by inserting before paragraph ( 5 ) ( as so redesignated ) the following new paragraphs : & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( 1 ) rehire law enforcement officers who have been laid off as a result of state and local budget reductions for deployment in community-oriented policing ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( 2 ) hire and train new , additional career law enforcement officers for deployment in community-oriented policing across the nation ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( 3 ) procure equipment , technology , or support systems , or pay overtime , to increase the number of officers deployed in community-oriented policing ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( 4 ) improve security at schools and on school grounds in the jurisdiction of the grantee through -- & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( a ) placement and use of metal detectors , locks , lighting , and other deterrent measures ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( b ) security assessments ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( c ) security training of personnel and students ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( d ) coordination with local law enforcement ; and & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( e ) any other measure that , in the determination of the attorney general , may provide a significant improvement in security ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( 5 ) pay for officers hired to perform intelligence , anti-terror , or homeland security duties exclusively ; '' ; and & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( d ) by amending paragraph ( 9 ) ( as so redesignated ) to read as follows : & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( 8 ) develop new technologies , including interoperable communications technologies , modernized criminal record technology , and forensic technology , to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in reorienting the emphasis of their activities from reacting to crime to preventing crime and to train law enforcement officers to use such technologies ; '' ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( 4 ) by redesignating subsections ( e ) through ( k ) as subsections ( c ) through ( i ) , respectively ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( 5 ) in subsection ( c ) ( as so redesignated ) by striking `` subsection ( i ) '' and inserting `` subsection ( g ) '' ; and & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( 6 ) by adding at the end the following new subsection : & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( j ) matching funds for school security grants. -- notwithstanding subsection ( i ) , in the case of a grant under subsection ( a ) for the purposes described in subsection ( b ) ( 4 ) -- & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( 1 ) the portion of the costs of a program provided by that grant may not exceed 50 percent ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( 2 ) any funds appropriated by congress for the activities of any agency of an indian tribal government or the bureau of indian affairs performing law enforcement functions on any indian lands may be used to provide the non-federal share of a matching requirement funded under this subsection ; and & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( 3 ) the attorney general may provide , in the guidelines implementing this section , for the requirement of paragraph ( 1 ) to be waived or altered in the case of a recipient with a financial need for such a waiver or alteration. '' . & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( b ) conforming amendment. -- section 1702 of title i of such act ( 42 u.s.c . 
3796dd-1 ) is amended in subsection ( d ) ( 2 ) by striking `` section 1701 ( d ) '' and inserting `` section 1701 ( b ) '' . & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( c ) authorization of appropriations. -- section 1001 ( a ) ( 11 ) of title i of such act ( 42 u.s.c . 
3793 ( a ) ( 11 ) ) is amended -- & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( 1 ) in subparagraph ( a ) by striking clause ( i ) and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following : & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( i ) $ 1 , 007 , 624 , 000 for fiscal year 2006 ; & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( ii ) $ 1 , 027 , 176 , 000 for fiscal year 2007 ; and & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; `` ( iii ) $ 1 , 047 , 119 , 000 for fiscal year 2008. '' ; and & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( 2 ) in subparagraph ( b ) -- & lt ; p & gt ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; & amp ; nbsp ; ( a ) by striking `` section 1701 ( f ) '' and inserting `` section 1701 ( d ) '' ; and ( b ) by striking the third sentence. & lt ; p & gt ; 