[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 20 (Tuesday, March 1, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1230
 
                              CRIME REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Klein). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Smith] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, last Friday we had a meeting of 
our crime advisory task force in Michigan. Crime has got to be one of 
the top priorities of not only the Federal Government, but certainly 
State and local government and individual families. Crime is getting 
out of control in this country as more and more young people grow up 
without respect for other people, without respect for other people's 
property, probably without very much respect for themselves.
  At our crime advisory task force meeting we talked about not only the 
importance of beefing up law enforcement officers and enhancing our 
ability to apprehend those individuals that were committing a crime, 
but we talked about increasing the efforts of our court systems and the 
judicial branch of government to have a quicker scolding of those 
individuals that were apprehended and charged with a particular crime. 
And also we talked about the need for reform in our State Department of 
Corrections and in our jail system so that truly there was some real 
penalty to those individuals who were sentenced to those institutions.
  In too many cases, those criminals in our State prison system have it 
better off than they do on the outside.
  We had school educators also who said it is so important that we 
start instilling in these young people some of the value systems, some 
of the morality, some of the ethics, that are attempted to be taught in 
our homes.
  One of the county sheriffs gave me the statistics of one of their 
particular school systems, and I would just like to read a couple of 
them. One out of four of the females surveyed reported sexual abuse. In 
other words, someone in her family or someone else did sexual things to 
her that she did not want or forced her to touch them sexually. One in 
five students reported physical abuse, when one adult caused a student 
to have a scar, a black and blue mark, welts, bleeding, or a broken 
bone.
  In our survey, a large number of the teachers thought it was illegal 
to teach values and morals in the school system. I think that we need 
to re-look at a very serious situation in this country and develop ways 
that it is not only going to increase our efforts for apprehension and 
a better judicial system and doing away with the revolving door 
circumstances of our State prison system, but also we are going to have 
to start reinforcing those values and ethics and morality.
  Representative Emerson and I tomorrow are making an amendment, 
offering an amendment to H.R. 6, asking for a plan promoting ethics and 
values. This amendment to H.R. 6 asks for a study and plan of how 
schools can assist families in reinforcing values. Specifically, it 
names and defines 10 ethical principles that should be considered. 
Maybe, Mr. Speaker, I don't have time to go through all 10. I will 
submit them for the Record. Let me read a couple. Honesty: To be 
truthful, sincere, forthright, straightforward, frank and candid; to 
not cheat, steal, lie, deceive, or act deviously.

                              {time}  1240

  Integrity: to be principled, honorable, and upright; to not be two-
faced or unscrupulous; promise-keeping, to be worthy of trust, keep 
promises, fulfill commitments, and abide by the spirit as well as the 
letter of the agreement.
  This amendment specifically names and also has a short definition for 
loyalty, fairness, caring for others, respect for others, responsible 
citizenship, pursuit of excellence, and accountability.
  In a situation where many teachers feel that somehow it might be 
illegal to teach these kinds of values in our school system, and for 
individuals that say, ``I want to teach my own values,'' I would remind 
them that in previous years we had books such as Dick and Jane that had 
stories having a conclusion of what is right and wrong. Somehow we are 
going to have to make serious changes in our criminal justice system, 
but also changes in reinforcing the importance of family units and the 
importance of having young people grow up with a strong feeling of 
values and integrity.
  I include for the Record a further listing of the 10 ethical 
principles:

       Honesty: To be truthful, sincere, forthright, 
     straightforward, frank and candid; to not cheat; steal, lie, 
     deceive, or act deviously.
       Integrity: To be principled, honorable, and upright; to not 
     be two-faced or unscrupulous.
       Promise-keeping: To be worthy of trust, keep promises, 
     fulfill commitments, and abide by the spirit as well as the 
     letter of an agreement.
       Loyalty: To be faithful and loyal to family, friends, 
     employees, clients, and country.
       Fairness: To be fair and open-minded, willing to admit 
     error, and, if appropriate, change positions and beliefs; to 
     demonstrate a commitment to justice and the equal treatment 
     of individuals.
       Caring for others: To be caring, kind, and compassionate; 
     to share; to be giving and of service to others; to help 
     those in need and avoid harming others.
       Respect for others: To demonstrate respect for other 
     people's property, human dignity, and privacy; to be 
     courteous, prompt, and decent; to not patronize, embarrass, 
     or demean.
       Responsible citizenship: To obey the laws and, if a law is 
     unjust, protest it and try to change it but continue to obey.
       Pursuit of excellence: To pursue excellence in all matters 
     and in meeting personal responsibilities; to diligent, 
     reliable, industrious, and committed; to perform all tasks to 
     the best of one's ability, develop and maintain a high degree 
     of competence, and be well informed and well prepared; to not 
     be content with mediocrity; to not strive to `win at any 
     cost'.
       Accountability: To be accountable and accept responsibility 
     for decisions, for the foreseeable consequence of actions and 
     inactions, and for setting an example for others.

  Dr. Kevin Ryan, Director of Boston University's Center of the 
Advancement of Ethics and Character, said that the Nick Smith amendment 
will encourage States and local school districts to look at and 
seriously consider their role in character development.
  The ten ethical principles were developed by the Josephson Institute 
of Ethics. Currently, States that have set up value education 
commissions or actually implemented the teaching of ethical principles 
in the classroom are California, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, New 
Hampshire, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Richardson] is recognized for 5 minutes.

  [Mr. RICHARDSON addressed the House. His remarks will appear 
hereafter in the Extensions of Remarks.]

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