[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 51 (Tuesday, May 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1730
 
                 NATIONAL RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS WEEK

  Mrs. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Post Office and Civil Service be discharged from further 
consideration of the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 357) designating the 
week beginning February 12, 1995, as ``National Random Acts of Kindness 
Week,'' and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Coppersmith). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentlewoman from Virginia?
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, under my 
reservation I yield to the gentleman from California [Mr. Tucker] who 
is the chief sponsor of House Joint Resolution 357.
  Mr. TUCKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and I 
thank the gentlewoman from Virginia [Mrs. Byrne] for bringing this 
joint resolution to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support this resolution designating the 
week of February 12, 1995, as ``National Random Acts of Kindness 
Week.'' Over the past several weeks, I have received dozens of cards, 
letters, and phone calls from all over the country, expressing support 
for this resolution. Members from both sides of the aisle have joined 
in this effort, to express the sense of Congress, that all persons 
should be encouraged to practice random acts of kindness, and at this 
time I want to thank each and every one of them. We are all aware of 
the increasing perception of unchecked violence engulfing our streets. 
But how many of us, on our own motion Mr. Speaker, will pay the toll 
for the guy behind us, carry the grocery bags for an elderly shopper, 
say a kind word to a stranger, or give a quarter to a homeless person. 
These, Mr. Speaker, are examples of the random acts of kindness Members 
of this body should practice and encourage among people. Will this 
resolution do anything to stop the violence? In all honesty Mr. 
Speaker, I do not know. But I am comforted by knowing that random acts 
of kindness are contagious.
  God bless America.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I am 
pleased to rise in support of House Joint Resolution 357, legislation 
designating the week beginning February 12, 1995, as ``National Random 
Acts of Kindness Week.'' I praise the gentleman from California [Mr. 
Tucker] for introducing this resolution.
  As Americans, we have become accustomed to horrifying crime 
statistics--every day 14 Americans age 19 and under are killed in gun-
related suicides and homicides, about 1.2 million elementary-age 
children have access to guns, and as many as 135,000 children bring 
guns to school daily.
  The rising incidence of violent crime in our cities and towns is a 
statistic that we, as Americans, can no longer ignore.
  While our criminal justice system must ensure that those who break 
the law are appropriately punished, we, as fellow Americans, need to 
get back to the basics and remember the inherent beauty that lies in 
all of us. I believe that this may be done by practicing random acts of 
kindness.
  It is for this reason that I am proud to support this resolution. By 
designating February 12, 1995, as a day in which we practice acts of 
consideration and generosity, I believe that we can gain additional 
strength and compassion, which, I am hopeful, will lead to peaceful 
harmony and coexistence.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the joint resolution, as follows:

                             H.J. Res. 357

       Whereas the incidence of random acts of violence in the 
     United States has reached epidemic levels;
       Whereas the Surgeon General of the United States estimates 
     that, every day in the United States, 135,000 children carry 
     guns to school;
       Whereas every day in the United States, 3 children are 
     killed by child abuse, 9 children are murdered, 13 children 
     are killed by guns, 30 children are wounded by guns, 307 
     children are arrested for crimes of violence, 7,945 children 
     are reported abused or neglected, and 5,703 teenagers are 
     victims of violent crime;
       Whereas every 4 hours a child in the United States commits 
     suicide;
       Whereas in the United States, a rape is committed every 6 
     minutes, and every year between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000 women 
     are battered by their partners and more than 200,000 women 
     are stalked;
       Whereas every year in the United States, there are 4.7 
     random acts of violence committed against every 1,000 persons 
     65 years of age or older;
       Whereas every year in the United States, there are 758.1 
     random acts of violence for every 100,000 persons in the 
     United States, and 235 firearm-related acts of violence for 
     every 100,000 persons in the United States;
       Whereas there are 238,000,000 handguns in the United 
     States;
       Whereas in 1992 in the United States, there were 1,730 
     anti-Semitic incidents, the total number of white-supremacist 
     groups rose 27 percent above the number from the previous 
     year, and a record number of bias-related incidents, 
     including 31 murders, were reported;
       Whereas hate crimes against Asians comprised 8.9 percent of 
     all hate crimes documented in Los Angeles County in 1990; 
     every 4 hours an African-American child is murdered;
       Whereas the United States strongly opposes random acts of 
     violence, and all forms of intolerance and mean-
     spiritedness based on ethnicity, religion, race, gender, 
     or sexual orientation;
       Whereas the people of the United States should be 
     encouraged to practice random acts of kindness, in the spirit 
     of compassion, kindness, and goodwill toward all persons; and
       Whereas February 14 is annually celebrated as Valentine's 
     Day: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate of the House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
     week beginning February 12, 1995, is designated as ``National 
     Random Acts of Kindness Week,'' and the President is 
     authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling on 
     the people of the United States to observe the week with 
     appropriate ceremonies and activities.

  The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third 
time, was read the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider 
was laid on the table.

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