JJDPA bill is stalled.

Youth Today:

Movement of a bill to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Act was stalled by partisan tension over judicial nominees.

The Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to consider amendments to the bill, which finances most operations of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and six other bills. But committee chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) called the meeting to recess because only one Republican, Arlen Specter (Pa.), was present.

Eight committee members must attend a meeting to conduct business, and two must be members of the minority party.

Other Republican members did not attend the meeting because federal district and appeals court nominees have not been placed on the agenda for committee meetings.

"The Republicans have decided not to show up," Leahy announced to a committee room teeming with juvenile justice advocates. He said he believed the decision was "not responsible, but it is their prerogative."

Among the amendments the campaign opposed: Sen. Jeff Sessions' (R-Ala.) proposal to remove incentive grants, and those by Sens. Sessions and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that called for extensive evaluation of OJJDP by the Government Accountability Office.

The committee may revisit the bill next week or on July 31, but it is uncertain what will change if the fight over judicial nominees continues.