[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
UPDATE ON PROGRESS ON THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CHILDREN'S CHALLENGE: 
    BEYOND RHETORIC: A NEW AMERICAN AGENDA FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

 Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, almost six years ago, thanks 
to the leadership of Lloyd Bentsen who was chairman of the Senate 
Finance Committee at the time, Congress established a bipartisan panel 
to take a comprehensive look at the well-being of children and 
families--the National Commission on Children.
  It was my distinct honor and privilege to chair this panel of 32 
members that included elected officials, child advocates, academics, 
and leaders from all levels representing the complete range of the 
political spectrum. Each of these individuals continue to provide 
tremendous service to children and families across the country.
  As the Commission's charter directed, our group dedicated 4 years to 
studying the challenges facing America's children and families through 
intense study and by traveling the country to meet, not only with 
experts, but also with American children and parents.
  Many of the most moving events and greatest learning experiences for 
the Commission were at our meetings with children who spoke in 
compelling personal terms about their needs and their fears. Our visit 
to West Virginia, to talk to families struggling to make ends meet and 
to explore ways to help them raise their children, was memorable.
  After 2\1/2\ years of hard work and intense study, this diverse group 
voted unanimously in support of our final report released in 1991, 
Beyond Rhetoric: A New American Agenda for Children and Families.
  The process of forging this historic consensus among such a diverse 
group was an important experience for me. It convinced me that when 
leaders are willing to set partisanship aside and focus on the core 
problems facing children and families, there is tremendous agreement on 
what should be done.
  After issuing our report, the Commission stayed active for 2 more 
years to aggressively publicize our recommendations and the information 
gathered throughout our work. Our goal was to ensure that the course of 
action suggested in our unanimous report did not vanish into thin air. 
To go beyond rhetoric, we felt we had to promote the decisions and 
commitment needed at all levels to build a better future for America's 
children and families.
  The Commission's final event was a major summit in Washington, DC, in 
1993 to gather leaders and child advocates from around the country 
together to discuss how to move beyond rhetoric and into action. There, 
we passed the torch from a commission to the people and organizations 
committed to children and families. I was especially proud that several 
Cabinet officials participated in our summit along with a wide array of 
leaders from communities, States, and national groups.
  The report of the Children's Commission has become my own personal 
and legislative blueprint for action on behalf of children and 
families. I believe it charts the right course for helping children by 
strengthening families, a goal which has attracted increasing attention 
and bipartisan support since 1991.
  Today, I want to report on the accomplishments made during this 
Congress in implementing recommendations of the National Commission on 
Children. This is also my chance to renew my pledge to push forward--
bit by bit--until the full proposals of the Children's Commission 
becomes the Nation's agenda.
  In order to keep pushing ahead, I think it is essential to recognize 
the results achieved on behalf of children and families since our 
Children's summit last year.
  The Commission outlined several major areas for action on behalf of 
children and families. It challenges all of us--elected officials at 
every level, community leaders, parents, and concerned citizens to each 
do our part. It is gratifying to report that real progress has made in 
each of seven specific areas highlighted by the Commission for change:


                        Ensuring Income Security

  The National Commission on Children concluded that the fundamental 
key to improving the future of America's children is in strengthening 
the financial security of our Nation's families. In our report, we laid 
out the elements involved in achieving greater income security or 
families. We called on the country to recognize that investing first in 
families and making family income security a priority is the way to 
build a more stable society and promote the values of work, 
responsibility, and family.
  This is a challenging agenda. It involves making decisions to direct 
resources to families rather than less important areas.
  I am proud to note that last year when Congress enacted the deficit 
reduction and economic plan, called the 1993 Reconciliation Act, we 
made some major strides on behalf of children through elements of the 
package that some of us worked hard to include. Much of the national 
debate on this budget package focused on the tax provisions and 
spending cuts included to achieve the historic result of $500 billion 
in deficit reduction over a 5-year period.
  That louder debate about the tough choices involved in deficit 
reduction practically drowned out the major steps we also included to 
meet other important goals.
  In this budget package, we expanded the earned income tax credit to 
help parents who work but are struggling to raise their children. This 
provision will invest $21 billion in helping families with children 
over a 5-year period to lift them out of poverty. It sends all the 
right signals about work and personal responsibility. With President 
Clinton's strong commitment, I fought for this part of the agreement 
because it was a key recommendation of the Children's Commission 
strategy to enhance income security for families.
  The package also strengthened child support enforcement by pushing 
States to be more aggressive with hospital-based paternity 
establishment programs. Obviously, we will need to do much more to 
strengthen child support enforcement as suggested by the Commission. I 
am continuing to press for the Commission's recommended demonstration 
of child support insurance to increase the income security of families 
broken up by divorce or in cases where a parent is absent.
  The other remaining elements of the Children's Commission agenda 
include a refundable child tax credit and promoting work over welfare 
and dependency. President Clinton put forward a bold initiative with 
his welfare reform bill that tries to meet some of this challenge, and 
I am eager to work next year for passage of a balanced proposal to 
dramatically strengthen child support and provide jobs so parents can 
work and become role models for their children.


                         improving health care

  The Commission laid out the importance of action to improve the 
chances of children being born healthy and growing up healthy. A 
majority of the members endorsed a detailed plan to achieve universal 
health coverage of children. While nine Commissioners differed from 
that proposal, we all expressed broad support for a series of actions 
to promote personal responsibility, prevention, and public health.
  Since then, major progress has been made toward full funding for the 
Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children [WIC] with an 
increase of $600 million over the past 2 years. Every dollar spent on 
WIC yields savings in Medicaid because proper nutrition for pregnant 
women and infants makes a real difference in their health. Increased 
investments also are being made in a comprehensive program for child 
immunizations to ensure that every child gets vaccinated.
  The Commission also agreed on the need for parents and communities to 
create a healthy, safe environment for children. Action in the Violent 
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 will provide funding to 
communities to keep our streets and schools safe. At a session with 
teens in Kansas City, Children's Commission members were stunned to 
hear teenagers candidly talk about fears of being shot or hurt. The 
numbing statistics that guns are the leading cause of death for both 
black and white teenage boys in America tell us that crime and violence 
is a severe health care problem.
  Unfortunately, there is no single solution for the violence that 
plagues our Nation, but I hope that growing public awareness and 
investment in community-based prevention efforts in the crime package 
will help curb violent crime that places the lives of children and 
teens at such grave risk.
  Having made health care reform a priority, I had hoped that this 
session of Congress would have done much more to provide health care to 
children by enacting comprehensive reform to provide universal 
coverage. Lack of action on this fundamental issue is a major 
disappointment. But we must learn from this effort, and I will continue 
to work for universal health care coverage with the belief that it 
makes sense to put children and pregnant women first.


                    increasing education achievement

  The untold success story of this Congress is the magnitude of 
progress made to improve our schools and other aspects of education. 
Comprehensive changes and investments have been made over the past 2 
years in areas that include education reform, Head Start improvement, 
and direct lending for college student loans. These legislative 
initiatives support the broad goals of the Children's Commission.
  Our report emphasized fundamental points beginning with the need to 
prepare children to enter school ready to learn through the expansion 
of Head Start to all eligible children and greater emphasis on quality 
child development.
  For schools, we called for rigorous academic curriculum, professional 
development for teachers, school-based management, greater 
accountability, improvements in school environments, and more equitable 
financing. The commissioners thoroughly debated the issue of school 
choice and ultimately supported school choice among public schools 
only.
  These specific goals are reflected in both Goals 2000, Educate 
America Act, signed into law on March 31, 1994, and the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act [ESEA] that the Senate approved by a strong 
vote on October 5, 1994. I was proud to support each of the bills. 
Special investments also have been made in promoting school safety 
which is a major factor in improving school environment.
  Head Start continues to earn strong bipartisan support; and, despite 
the tight constraints of the Federal budget, this key program received 
an increase of more than $700 million combined in the past 2 years. 
Congress also passed legislation reauthorizing this program which 
includes efforts to ensure that each Head Start Program delivers the 
full quality services promised to children and families. We have not 
achieved full funding yet, but we are on the right course; and the 
enactment of our national education goals which begin with school 
readiness should keep us on track.
  Secretary of Education Dick Riley also has recently announced a major 
initiative to promote parental involvement in education, and I believe 
this is crucial. Nothing is as important for a child's education as 
having concerned, engaged parents who work with teachers and encourage 
children to read and work hard in school. As commissioners, we visited 
the Helene Grant Elementary School in New Haven, CT, and saw for 
ourselves what a difference parental involvement can make. Even though 
this school was old and somewhat rundown the classrooms were alive with 
eager students engaged in learning, thanks to the help from Dr. James 
Comer and his extraordinary work in school-based approaches that engage 
parents in school activities.


                  preparing adolescents for adulthood

  The Commission also called for greater emphasis and attention to 
helping teens make a smoother transition into adulthood. We stressed 
the need for education and training. Our report also urged greater 
efforts to link school to work, including expansion of the Job Corps 
Program. Our recommendations also noted the importance of promoting 
healthy development to urge teens to avoid high-risk behaviors.
  Important progress has been made in this area with the passage of the 
bipartisan School-To-Work Opportunities Act which will promote a 
variety of innovative transitional programs like tech prep and 
apprenticeships so teens can get experience and acquire job skills 
needed to compete in the modern workforce. Many States, including my 
State of West Virginia, are investing in such programs. Enactment of 
this bill will promote a more comprehensive strategy to ensure that 
teens can learn the skills they need to get good jobs and become 
independent. I cosponsored this bill and hope recognition will grow to 
see the consensus on education that emerged during this Congress and 
allowed us to push forward on the Commission's education goals. Job 
Corps funding has increased, and the direct lending program should make 
it easier for students to borrow and then repay loans for college.
  The effort to persuade teens to avoid high risk behaviors is a major 
challenge, but many communities are rallying to respond. At the Federal 
level, various prevention initiatives are underway to reduce dropping 
out of school, to reduce teen pregnancy, and to curb substance abuse. 
Trying new approaches through the demonstration projects is important, 
and I believe that we must provide flexibility in programs because what 
may work in inner cities may not necessarily be appropriate for teens 
in Elkins, WV. President Clinton's welfare reform proposal includes a 
major commitment to reduce teen pregnancy, and it deserves our 
attention and action next year.
  As the Children's Commission noted time and time again, primary 
responsibility in this area rest with parents and caring adults willing 
to provide guidance and support for teens on a one-to-one level to 
avoid high risk behaviors as they grow up.


       strengthening families and protecting vulnerable children

  The Commission also clearly stated the simple but crucial fact that 
the best way to help children is to strengthen families. This basic 
truth will require many changes. Public policy can help reinforce 
fundamental values and provide crucial support for families; but the 
lion's share of this work must be done by caring individuals getting 
involved with their own families, friends, and communities.

  Still, where Federal policies can make a difference, there has been 
positive action with the enactment of the Family Preservation and 
Family Support Services provisions of the 1993 Reconciliation Act. This 
program will invest almost $1 billion to offer intensive services to 
high-risk families and support innovative efforts like Parents As 
Teachers and Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters [HIPPY] 
to help parents get the support and education they need to raise their 
children.
  This initiative is a down payment on the more comprehensive approach 
suggested by the Commission to provide coordinated community-based 
family support networks with services ranging from intensive support 
for severely troubled families to more preventive services in parent 
education and child development. The idea is to give communities the 
resources and tools to reach out to families early with support.


                   making policies and programs work

  Thanks to the leadership of Vice President Gore with the National 
Performance Review initiative to reinvent Government, there is a new 
concern about cutting redtape acoss-the-board on all Federal agencies 
which has enormous potential to help streamline programs for children 
and families.
  While the Children's Commission never envisioned nor had the scope to 
suggest such a broad initiative to revamp Federal bureaucracy, the 
success of the National Performance Review can help meet the 
Commission's recommendations to bring greater cohesion and efficiency 
to the delivery of public health and social services to children and 
families. While uniform eligibility criteria and streamlined 
applications seems dry and unimportant, it is crucial. Complicated 
forms and regulations are serious barriers that prohibit children and 
families from getting the help they need and deserve.


                        creating a moral climate

  The final chapter of our report challenged every American to take a 
leadership role in their own lives and communities in providing a 
clear, consistent message to children about personal conduct and 
responsibility. We urged every adult to renew their efforts to promote 
fundamental values of human dignity, character, and citizenship.
  It is enormously gratifying to me to see this happening on many 
levels in a bipartisan manner. The bipartisan initiative, led with 
inspiration by Senator Domenici, called Character Counts, is just one 
example of an effort to reinforce fundamental values for our children; 
and I believe such initiatives are a vital piece of our comprehensive 
strategy for children and families.
  While there is obviously much more to do on behalf of children and 
families, I am encouraged by these recent and significant achievements 
made in advancing the Children's Commission agenda. Our report provided 
a blueprint, and several cornerstones are now in place. We now must 
build on this success and keep working until we have a support 
structure for families that will help each child reach their potential 
and become a productive, caring citizen.
  When asked, each one of us say that we care about our children. Words 
are simply not enough. The final chapter of our report focused on 
building the necessary commitment; and it begins with a quote from 
Goethe: ``Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, 
we must do.''
  With this statement, I have chosen to highlight the better news about 
children in America. We are surrounded with evidence of the failures 
and the problems that afflict children. We must never accept the 
intolerable. The progress described in this statement is the result of 
leadership, persistence, and cooperation.
  We know how to help children and families, but we must summon the 
personal commitment and the political will to face the challenge and 
move beyond rhetoric to results.
  This is a chance to thank the many individuals whose hard work and 
dedication have formed this record of achievement for America's 
children and families. With gratitude, I note the leadership of Cheri 
Hayes, who was the Executive Director of the National Commission on 
Children, and the talented team who worked with her over the years. 
With thanks, I commend my colleagues and administration officials for 
their consistent efforts to promote the values and the policies needed 
to hand America's children a brighter future.

                          ____________________