[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 77 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H5737-H5738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




WEAVING THE FABRIC OF A STRONG COMMUNITY MEANS DEVOTING MORE RESOURCES 
                      TO PREVENTING TEEN PREGNANCY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I disagree with the last speaker, that 
this Congress has been a prochild Congress.
  It certainly has not acted on behalf of children when it refused 
children the opportunity to have a decent lunch so they could learn 
better. It certainly has not acted in the good interests of children 
when they refused to allow them to have food stamps, where indeed their 
families were suffering. It certainly has not acted well on behalf of 
children where they were denied Title I educational funds that go to 
disadvantaged children to learn better, so they can make a 
contribution. Finally, it certainly has not acted in the best interests 
of children when it denies its family or wants to deny its family a 
liveable wage so they can provide for their families.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to join the debate today by saying this is May, 
and May is, indeed, a month when we want to advocate about children, 
about Teenager Pregnancy Prevention Month. This is a time that we 
should look at that.
  I want to speak maybe a little more philosophically.
  Mr. Speaker, the fabric of our society is woven from numerous 
threads. Threads from the Federal Government's policies and services 
are interwoven with threads from State government policies and 
services, along with threads from county and municipal governments, 
civic organizations and private sector efforts.
  These threads form an intricate pattern of policies, programs and 
services, all interconnected, that in turn effect the lives of all our 
citizens.
  To achieve a strong community fabric, the Federal Government must 
carefully consider the length, the strength, the flexibility, the 
vibrancy, and the quality of threads that we contribute to the weave of 
policies, programs, and procedures.
  The goal of teen pregnancy prevention efforts should be to assist 
teens to achieve social responsibility and long-term economic self-
sufficiency. Achievement of this goal depends on the efforts of the 
participant, the service provider, and the administering governmental 
agencies. The primary role of the Federal Government should be to 
facilitate the success of each parties' efforts.
  Our current teen pregnancy crisis evolved over several generations 
when the social fabric became worn and tattered and began to unravel. 
Consequently, we must realize that we cannot break this 
intergenerational cycle or eliminate the crisis over night.
  We must carefully examine the fabric of our programs to determine 
where

[[Page H5738]]

the strength is, where the wear and tear has occurred and where the 
frayed edges and holes have occurred.
  The mending occurs when we revise current policies and implement new 
ones. To create an effective policy and weave a durable social fabric 
we must add the appropriate thread in the correct proportions.
  Just as the textile industry weaves nylon thread to create a more 
durable cloth, to break the cycle of teen pregnancy and poverty, we 
must implement pregnancy prevention programs that educate and support 
school age youths [10-21] in high risk situations and their family 
members through comprehensive social and health services, with an 
emphasis on pregnancy prevention.
  I strongly support abstinence education and feel that it is 
critically important to fund abstinence programs for preteens as well 
as teenagers. Within 5 years, a concentrated abstinence program for 
preteens should bring about a decline in the number of teenagers who 
are sexually active.
  However, we cannot ignore the fact that today, so many of our 
teenagers are already sexually active. It is therefore imperative that 
we also provide funding for comprehensive prevention programs including 
contraceptive use.
  We must also weave a comprehensive policy to address the numerous 
factors that contribute to the number of teenagers having babies. We 
currently have a patchwork of different policies which has been created 
by patching the holes in our social fabric.
  Every time a problem began to tear the social fabric, it was patched 
by creating an individual policy to address each individual problem.
  This patchwork includes the obvious differing policies: Encouraging 
abstinence, preventing unintended pregnancies among the sexually 
active, alleviating the problems associated to adolescent parenthood, 
and attempting to ensure that teen pregnancy does not lead to welfare 
dependency.
  However, there are big holes in the fabric that have not been 
patched. These include establishing paternity and holding fathers 
financially responsible, enforcing child support laws, protecting young 
teenagers from sexual abuse, and enforcing States' statutory rape laws 
that are currently on the books.
  We must weave a comprehensive policy into the social fabric at the 
federal level to prevent teen pregnancies.
  The first thread is a policy that allows state and local agencies to 
implement concentrated, organized contraceptive intervention programs.
  The second thread is to enact cohesive policies and laws, at the 
Federal, State and local levels.
  The third thread is sufficient Federal funding to implement them.
  Devoting more resources to preventing teen pregnancy will not only 
save us money in the long run, but it will strengthen the social fabric 
by improving the health, education, economic opportunities and well-
being of our Nation's youth.

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