Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2006

Bill: 109-s-4028
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2006-09-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Adult education
Authorization
Community policing
Community-based corrections
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Counseling
Crime prevention
Criminal statistics
Drug abuse
Drug abuse treatment
Drug traffic
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Elementary and secondary education
Evaluation research (Social action programs)
Ex-offenders
Families
Federal aid to housing
Federal aid to law enforcement
Firearms
Gangs
Government Operations and Politics
Governmental investigations
Higher education
Housing and Community Development
Income tax
Juvenile delinquency
Labor and Employment
Law
Limitation of actions
Literacy programs
Low-income housing
Mentoring
Murder
National service
Nonprofit organizations
Organized crime
Parent and child
Parole
Performance measurement
Police
Police training
Prisoners
Prosecution
Public housing
Recidivists
Recruiting of employees
Rehabilitation of criminals
School-age child care
Sentences (Criminal procedure)
Sentencing guidelines
Social Welfare
Student loan funds
Surveys
Tax credits
Taxation
U.S. Sentencing Commission
Victims of crimes
Violence
Witnesses
Youth violence

Summary:
action_date: 2006-09-29
text: 
Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2006 - Reauthorizes programs for combating criminal gangs, including, after-school programs, programs for safe and drug-free schools and communities, adult and juvenile offender reentry demonstration projects, and gang resistance education and training projects.

Establishes or increases funding for criminal gang-related grant programs, including: (1) innovative approaches to combat gang activity in the school and community; (2) grants to study parole or post-incarceration supervision violations and revocations; (3) substance abuse treatment; (4) mentoring programs of nonprofit organizations; (5) transition training for young offenders; (6) grants for certain at-risk youth and juvenile offenders aged 11 to 19; (7) gang activity policing grants; and (8) grants to prosecutors and law enforcement officials to combat violent crime and protect witnesses to crimes.

Public and Assisted Housing Gang Elimination Act of 2006 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to public housing agencies and private entities to eliminate gang-related crime in low-income housing projects.

Amends the federal criminal code to increase penalties for: (1) use of interstate commerce facilities to commit murder-for-hire or other crimes of violence; (2) violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity; and (3) use of firearms in crimes of violence and drug trafficking.

Imposes criminal penalties for violent crimes committed in furtherance or in aid of a criminal street gang and for recruiting persons to join criminal street gangs.

Extends the limitation period for prosecuting certain noncapital violent crimes. Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to revise guidelines relating to violent gang-related crimes. 

Provides for certain studies and reports relating to criminal gangs, including the National Youth Gang Survey.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-09-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced:  CR S10719-10732)
action_date: 2006-09-29
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S10718-10719)
action_date: 2006-09-29
text: Introduced in Senate