By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales visited St. Louis Thursday.
His trip comes amid heavy criticism from Congress over the firings of eight federal prosecutors.
Gonzales held a roundtable discussion with local authorities here about preventing sex crimes against children.
He touted the success of the Justice Department's Project Safe Childhood program that began last year.
Gonzales also met briefly with reporters. He vowed to stay on the job and work with Congress on its investigation into the prosecutors' firings.
"I'm not going to resign," Gonzales said. "I'm going to stay focused on protecting our kids. There's a lot of work that needs to be done around the country."
Gonzales also said no U.S. Attorney was fired for improper reasons.
The Senate and House Judiciary Committees have authorized subpoenas for top Bush Administration aides involved in the firings, including Karl Rove and Harriet Meiers.
However the White House says those officials will not testify if Congress issues the subpoenas.