[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 77 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H5735]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TEENAGE PREGNANCY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California [Ms. Roybal-Allard] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker the month of May has been set aside as 
teenage pregnancy prevention month. Although May is coming to an end, 
it is imperative that legislators and the American people continue to 
focus attention on creating policies and programs to reduce the growing 
number of teenagers who become pregnant each year.
  This is critical because, unfortunately, the United States has the 
highest rate of teen pregnancy among the industrialized nations of the 
world. The result is the devastation of the lives of millions of young 
girls and the loss to our country of their talents and potential 
contributions. This loss weakens our country's future, because in order 
to compete in the ever expanding global economy, we must utilize the 
full talents of all our young people.
  In my State of California, for example, 8 out of 10 teen mothers 
never finish high school. The result? Thousands of uneducated and 
untrained young girls forced onto welfare with little hope for a better 
future.
  Furthermore, moneys that could be used to help improve the quality of 
life for all Americans are diminished by the expenditure of billions of 
dollars on health care and cash assistance programs for families with 
teen parents.
  For example, the average AFDC and Medicaid costs for just one teen 
pregnancy through the first year of support total more than $10,000 per 
child; and the total spent in California for teen pregnancies is 
between $5 billion and $7 billion annually.
  Tragically, this pattern is often repeated from mother to daughter, 
creating a vicious cycle of despair and dependency on public 
assistance.
  It is therefore in the best interests of all Americans to do what is 
necessary to help end this national tragedy of teenage pregnancy. To 
succeed however, we must be fair and humane in our solutions. We must 
not advocate policies that hurt innocent children or punish teen 
mothers by denying them assistance to care for themselves and their 
children.
  Instead we must invest in comprehensive programs that have a proven 
track record of success. One example is the Teen Outreach Program, 
known as TOP.
  TOP, which has been chosen as a model program for California's Teen 
Pregnancy Prevention Initiative, is a comprehensive program focused on 
preventing adolescent pregnancy and fostering overall youth 
development. This program incorporates both a classroom-based 
curriculum focused on adolescent reproductive health and a community 
service component which offers young people the opportunity to help 
others while helping themselves.
  A recent 10-year evaluation found that students who participated in 
TOP had an 18 percent lower rate of suspension from school, a 60 
percent lower dropout rate, and a 33 percent lower rate of pregnancy 
than nonparticipating students.
  The Teen Outreach Program is just one example of the effectiveness of 
prevention and education programs. Further, statistics support the fact 
that money spent on prevention programs saves billions of dollars in 
future costs to society.
  As May comes to an end, let us remain vigilant in our effort to end 
teenage pregnancies. In so doing, we save more than dollars; we save 
our Nation's children and strengthen our country's future.

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