[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 116 (Thursday, August 1, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TEENAGE PREGNANCY REDUCTION ACT OF 1996

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                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 1, 1996

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce the Teenage 
Pregnancy Reduction Act of 1996, a bill that has bi-partisan support. 
This bill will provide for in-depth evaluation of teen pregnancy 
prevention programs nationwide.
  This bill is one of the first initiatives of the Congressional 
Advisory Panel to the National Campaign to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy--a 
bi-partisan panel that was announced earlier today. I am very proud 
that I am introducing this bill with my co-chair of the Advisory Panel, 
Rep. Mike Castle, and the vice-chairs of the Advisory Panel, Reps. 
Nancy Johnson and Eva Clayton. Several other members of the Advisory 
Panel join us as original co-sponsors.
  This bill provides for very needed in-depth evaluation of promising 
teen pregnancy prevention programs. At a time when we are discussing 
making serious investments in teen pregnancy prevention programs, it is 
critical that we understand which programs are truly effective, why 
they are effective, and whether they can be replicated in other 
communities.
  Teen pregnancy is one of the most critical issues facing America 
today. The explosion of out-of-wedlock teen births in the United States 
is a moral crisis that threatens to undermine our Nation.
  Each year, 1 million American teenagers become pregnant and 
approximately 175,000 teens give birth to their first child. The number 
of teen mothers in the United States has risen by 21 percent in the 
last decade. As a result, the United States now has the highest teen 
pregnancy rate in the Western World.
  The odds are stacked against the children of teen mothers from the 
minute they are born. These children are more likely to be born 
prematurely and have lower birth weights than other children. As they 
grow older, the children of teen mothers are more likely to drop out of 
high school, wind up in jail, or end up on welfare.
  Teen mothers also face serious problems. They are more likely to drop 
out of high school and end up on welfare. In fact, a new report just 
released by the non-partisan Robin Hood foundation revealed that the 
teen pregnancy crisis costs our Nation an estimated $29 billion a year 
in increased education, welfare and prison expenses.
  As a nation, we can no longer afford the consequences of teen 
pregnancy.
  We must provide teens with positive options to pregnancy. We must 
expand employment and educational opportunities for teens so that they 
have realistic alternatives to pregnancy. Public policy must help our 
children learn and help them to get jobs.
  Community leaders must also speak out and use their influence. Our 
Nation's culture must change. We must encourage America's teens to 
remain abstinent and responsible before marriage. We must restore the 
stigma that used to accompany teen pregnancy and make it very clear to 
America's teens that pregnancy is just not an option.
  Teen pregnancy robs teens of both their childhood and their futures. 
It also robs their children, and their children's children. As leaders 
in our communities, we must speak out on this issue. This bill is one 
of the first steps we need to take in order to break this tragic cycle.

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