[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 63 (Thursday, May 19, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 FOCUS ON THE PROBLEMS OF THE HOMELESS

  (Mr. SARPALIUS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SARPALIUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend President Clinton 
and Secretary Henry Cisneros for their leadership in finally addressing 
the homeless problems that this country is facing.
  All of us as Members of the House, when you drove to this Capitol 
today, you saw people sleeping on the streets. We have a serious 
problem that must be addressed.
  During the Reagan and Bush years, we saw housing assistance was cut 
by 78 percent, elementary and secondary education by a third, job-
training programs by 48 percent, child nutrition by 19 percent. We saw 
many mental institutions beginning to let people out on the streets. 
Today nearly a third of the homeless people came from mental 
institutions.
  By 1987, the homeless population more than doubled. Dropouts 
increased. Teen pregnancy increased. Domestic violence increased. Today 
we have over 600,000 families in this country who are homeless.
  But the sad part is the fastest growing population among the homeless 
are children. We have 1.5 million children in this country who do not 
have a home. We are now in the second generation of children growing up 
in shelters, and one-third of those children are not going to school.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I challenge my colleagues to focus on the problems 
of homeless in this country.

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