(Washington, DC)— Congresswoman Diane E. Watson will deliver this week’s Congressional Black Caucus Message to America to be aired nationwide over the American Urban Radio Network.  

The subject of Congresswoman Watson’s radio address is the negative impact of President Bush’s new budget on youth and gang violence programs.

The complete text of Congresswoman Watson’s address follows:

Hello.  I am Congresswoman Diane Watson and I represent the 33rd Congressional District of Los Angeles and Culver City, California.

In his State of the Union Address, President Bush touched on the growing threat of youth and gang violence and made reference to his administration’s efforts to keep young people out of gangs.

Unfortunately, the President’s rhetoric is out of sync with his actions.  Let’s look at the facts.

This month the President submitted his new federal budget to Congress.  Surprisingly, the President’s budget calls for the elimination of many important youth violence and gang prevention programs.

Among the casualties are–

Funding  for Byrne Grants intended to help state and local law enforcement control violent and drug-related crime.

Funding for Community Oriented Policing programs that provide temporary grants to local police departments to hire additional officers.

Funding for Juvenile Accountability Block Grants intended to help states and localities improve their juvenile justice systems.

And funding for programs designed to reintegrate youthful offenders.

Every one of these important programs has been zeroed out of the federal budget to the tune of almost $1 billion dollars.

In my mind, President Bush is practicing fuzzy logic.  How are we to meaningfully address the growing threat of youth and gang violence when the President’s budget eviscerates most of the government’s gang prevention programs?

According to the FBI, northern Virginia, only a stone’s throw away from our nation’s capital, is one of the hottest regions in the U.S. for gang activity.

In Los Angeles County, the use of semiautomatic handguns in gang-related killings has quadrupled, and a National League of Cities’ survey concludes that 72% of school violence is attributed to gang activity.

In its most disturbing manifestation, the reach of gangs has not just become national but international in scope.

We all must be on guard and concerned by these disturbing trends.

Youth violence solves nothing, but the President’s budget will do nothing to solve youth violence.

This is Congresswoman Diane Watson.