[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 2 (Thursday, January 7, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E50]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SEATS BELTS ON SCHOOL BUSES

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                         HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 6, 1999

  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce legislation to 
require seat belts on school buses. My bill would prohibit the 
manufacture, sale, delivery, or importation of school buses that do not 
have seat belts, and impose civil penalties for those that do not 
comply.
  The children of this country deserve safe transportation to and from 
school, and their parents deserve peace of mind. My fellow colleagues, 
we have the responsibility to do all we can to give it to them.
  Since 1985, nearly 1,500 people have died in school bus-related 
crashes. School bus occupants accounted for 11 percent of these deaths.
  Every year, approximately 394,000 public school buses travel about 
4.3 billion miles to transport 23.5 million children to and from 
school-related activities. These numbers argue for the highest level of 
safety we can provide. I believe my bill is a step in the right 
direction.
  I urge my colleagues to also support this important legislation, 
which has been endorsed by the American Medical Association and the 
American College of Emergency Physicians.
  New Jersey and New York are the only two states that have school bus 
seat belt laws, but only New Jersey makes their use mandatory and 
enforces the law statewide. A New Jersey study concluded that despite 
the relative safety of school buses, they could be made safer. I agree, 
and so did the AMA when it wrote me, ``We believe that, if enacted, 
your bill would provide millions of American school children with the 
same basic safeguard which has long been mandatory in all 
automobiles.''
  We must work together, at the local, State, and Federal level to 
prevent school bus injuries.

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