[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 65 (Thursday, May 6, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4915-S4918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 98--DESIGNATING THE WEEK BEGINNING OCTOBER 17, 1999, 
AND THE WEEK BEGINNING OCTOBER 15, 2000, AS ``NATIONAL CHARACTER COUNTS 
                                 WEEK''

  Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. 
Frist, Mr. Dorgan, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Coverdell, Mr. Cleland, Mr. 
Bennett, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Enzi, Mrs. Murray, Mr. 
Sarbanes, Mr. Burns, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. DeWine, Ms. Collins, 
Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Bond, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Reid, 
Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Baucus, Mr. 
Kennedy, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Breaux, Mr. 
Conrad, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Byrd, Mr. Warner, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. Bunning, 
Mr. Hagel, Mr. Allard, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Gorton, Mr. Stevens, Mr. 
Nickles, Mr. Lott, Mr. Specter, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Mack, Mr. Craig, Mr. 
Biden, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Grams, Mr. Fitzgerald, and Mr. Moynihan) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary

                               S. Res. 98

       Whereas young people will be the stewards of our 
     communities, the United States, and the world in critical 
     times, and the present and future well-being of our society 
     requires an involved, caring citizenry with good character;
       Whereas concerns about the character training of children 
     have taken on a new sense of urgency as violence by and 
     against youth threatens the physical and psychological well-
     being of people of the United States;
       Whereas more than ever, children need strong and 
     constructive guidance from their families and their 
     communities, including schools, youth organizations, 
     religious institutions, and civic groups;
       Whereas the character of a nation is only as strong as the 
     character of its individual citizens;

[[Page S4916]]

       Whereas the public good is advanced when young people are 
     taught the importance of good character, and that character 
     counts in personal relationships, in school, and in the 
     workplace;
       Whereas scholars and educators agree that people do not 
     automatically develop good character and, therefore, 
     conscientious efforts must be made by institutions and 
     individuals that influence youth to help young people develop 
     the essential traits and characteristics that comprise good 
     character;
       Whereas although character development is, first and 
     foremost, an obligation of families, the efforts of faith 
     communities, schools, and youth, civic, and human service 
     organizations also play a very important role in supporting 
     family efforts by fostering and promoting good character;
       Whereas the Senate encourages students, teachers, parents, 
     youth, and community leaders to recognize the valuable role 
     our youth play in the present and future of the United States 
     and to recognize that character is an important part of that 
     future;
       Whereas in July 1992, the Aspen Declaration was written by 
     an eminent group of educators, youth leaders, and ethics 
     scholars for the purpose of articulating a coherent framework 
     for character education appropriate to a diverse and 
     pluralistic society;
       Whereas the Aspen Declaration states, ``Effective character 
     education is based on core ethical values which form the 
     foundation of democratic society.'';
       Whereas the core ethical values identified by the Aspen 
     Declaration constitute the 6 core elements of character;
       Whereas the 6 core elements of character are 
     trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, 
     and citizenship;
       Whereas the 6 core elements of character transcend 
     cultural, religious, and socioeconomic differences;
       Whereas the Aspen Declaration states, ``The character and 
     conduct of our youth reflect the character and conduct of 
     society; therefore, every adult has the responsibility to 
     teach and model the core ethical values and every social 
     institution has the responsibility to promote the development 
     of good character.'';
       Whereas the Senate encourages individuals and 
     organizations, especially those who have an interest in the 
     education and training of our youth, to adopt the 6 core 
     elements of character as intrinsic to the well-being of 
     individuals, communities, and society as a whole; and
       Whereas the Senate encourages communities, especially 
     schools and youth organizations, to integrate the 6 core 
     elements of character into programs serving students and 
     children: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) proclaims the week beginning October 17, 1999, and the 
     week beginning October 15, 2000, as ``National Character 
     Counts Week''; and
       (2) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling upon the people of the United States and interested 
     groups to--
       (A) embrace the 6 core elements of character identified by 
     the Aspen Declaration, which are trustworthiness, respect, 
     responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship; and
       (B) observe the week with appropriate ceremonies and 
     activities.

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I am pleased today to submit for the 
sixth consecutive year a resolution on behalf of myself and 53 other 
Senators. My principal cosponsor is Senator Dodd. In years past, when 
Senator Nunn was here, this resolution, which I am introducing, was 
known as the Domenici-Nunn resolution regarding National Character 
Counts Week. Senator Dodd is taking the place of Senator Nunn; and 52 
other Senators besides the two of us have joined in this. If any others 
wish to join, we will be pleased to have you. This resolution says the 
week of October 17 through 24 of this year, and October 15 through 22 
of next year, will be known across the country as National Character 
Counts Week.
  In 1992, a distinguished group of American educators, youth leaders, 
ethicists, religious people of all faiths, labor union leaders, and 
business executives met in Aspen, CO. They developed a way to instill 
character values in our schoolchildren. The conference marked the birth 
of what is beginning to be known across America as ``The Six Pillars of 
Character'' concept. The values comprising the Six Pillars are everyday 
concepts that Americans across this land wish their children would have 
and hope America will keep. They are simply: trustworthiness, respect, 
responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. They transcend 
political and social barriers and are central to the ideals on which 
this Nation was built. As a matter of fact, I think they are central 
and basic to any nation that survives for any long period of history. 
As Plato once said, ``A country without character is a country that's 
doomed. And the only way a country can have character,'' he said, ``is 
if the individual citizens in the country have character.''
  I could speak for all of my allotted time on the 200,000 New Mexico 
schoolchildren in public, private and parochial schools learning about 
good character. About 90 percent of the grade school children, and a 
significant portion of the others, are now participating in character 
education programs that simply and profoundly bring them into contact 
with each of these Pillars of Character one month at a time.
  So if you walk the halls of some grade school in Albuquerque, you 
might see a sign outside that says, ``This Is Responsibility Month.'' 
And all the young people will be discussing the concept of 
responsibility in their classrooms, and they will put up posters 
saying, ``Responsibility Counts.'' At the end of that month they may 
have an assembly at which responsibility will be discussed by all the 
kids, and awards will be given to those who have been most responsible.
  The next month it might be ``respect.'' The month after that it might 
be ``caring.''
  This is working wherever it is being tried. A good example can be 
seen in the changes that occurred at Garfield Middle School in 
Albuquerque. The 570 students at Garfield first received their first 
lessons on the Six Pillars in October 1994. During the first 20 days of 
that school year, there were 91 recorded incidents of physical 
violence. One year later, during the same period, there were 26 such 
incidents. This remarkable difference is evidence that students do 
respond to Character Counts.
  In New Mexico, the Character Counts movement has spread from the 
classroom to the boardroom. Recently, a group of business professionals 
resolved to explore ways to implement the Six Pillars in all their 
business relationships in an effort to spread these values throughout 
the community. Through this effort, parents have an opportunity to 
participate in Character Counts along side their kids, thereby 
reinforcing lessons learned in school. Promoting the Six Pillars at 
work also improves productivity and morale on the job, and it pays 
incalculable dividends in job and customer satisfaction.
  Every year I like to highlight a particularly exceptional example of 
character displayed in my State of New Mexico. For over a dozen years, 
Bob Martin, an Albuquerque helicopter pilot, dreamed of being the first 
person to circumnavigate the globe in a balloon. He made many personal, 
professional, and financial sacrifices to plan the endeavor. Bob worked 
tirelessly to involve as many New Mexicans he could in his adventure, 
and from scientists to schoolchildren, the entire State shared his 
enthusiasm for the project. Finally, after years of preparation, Bob 
and his fellow crew members of Team RE/MAX were scheduled for lift-off 
this past January. However, it soon became apparent that weather 
conditions and equipment problems would force one of the three-member 
flight crew to stay behind. As founder of the mission, Bob felt it was 
his duty to stay behind despite his years of preparation and commitment 
to the project. His heartbreaking decision was an unparalleled 
exemplification of each of the Six Pillars: Trustworthiness, Respect, 
Responsibility, Fairness, Citizenship, and Caring.
  Eventually, the launch was canceled because of worsening weather 
conditions, and two other balloon pilots, Bertrand Piccard of France 
and Brian Jones, of England, became the first team to successfully 
complete the trip. Although many of the hundreds of schoolchildren 
across New Mexico following Bob Martin's quest were disappointed he 
didn't have the chance to lift-off, they were given a outstanding 
demonstration of character in action through the deeds of Bob Martin.
  The lead institution in America that sponsors it is a nonprofit 
institution called the Josephson Institute. It is a small foundation 
that promotes ethics. In that regard, they are the promoters of the Six 
Pillars of Character. Wherever I go, whenever I go to New Mexico, I 
pick a school and we talk about their Character Counts program.
  It is phenomenal, the way teachers love to be part of this. Some of 
them said to me, 3 and 4 years ago: Why did it take so long to empower 
me to talk about responsibility to the children I teach in the fourth 
or third or fifth grade? I was absolutely astounded to

[[Page S4917]]

find the hunger among good teachers to share with their children what 
it meant to be fair, to be respectful, to have citizenship.
  I will ask consent that an editorial in the Albuquerque Journal, our 
largest newspaper, entitled, ``Students Learn Real Lesson in 
Citizenship'' be printed in the Record. It says that as part of the Six 
Pillars in this school, one of the good teachers took the entire 
classroom to a swearing-in ceremony where 71 New Mexicans became 
American citizens, and the little children got to watch them swear 
their oath, and meet them, and then they went back to their class and 
discussed it. They were thrilled to talk about people from other 
countries who love America and want to become citizens. If the program 
did not promote that, it would never have happened. And it is happening 
in all different ways across our land.

  Senator Dodd is working hard at this, as well as his fellow Senator 
from Connecticut, Senator Lieberman. The State of Tennessee, under the 
leadership of Senator Frist, is moving ahead dramatically. I ask all 
Senators to read what I have placed in the Record and to consider 
joining.
  I am going to bring together with my friend, Senator Dodd, and 
others, a number of Governors from both parties--perhaps as many as 
15--with a number of Senators from both parties. We are going to 
quickly decide how we can promote the six pillars of character across 
their States and across our land.
  Much is said about the children and the problem that happened in the 
shooting in my neighboring State of Colorado. We all know some things 
have to change. None of us have an absolute solution to this problem. 
But essentially, I submit, if we could have character education built 
on these six pillars in all of our grade schools and junior high 
schools, month by month, year by year, as they mature--and nobody 
objects. Those who are practicing the Jewish religion think these 
pillars are great. If as a Christian--a Baptist or Protestant or Roman 
Catholic--you hear about these six pillars, you say, ``Amen.'' We 
cannot teach religion. But what is wrong with responsibility and 
respect and caring and trustworthiness? Trustworthiness just means we 
do not lie. Isn't that nice to tell young people that our character is 
defined by whether we tell the truth? Our country ultimately suffers 
when we do not tell the truth. That is the kind of thing that is being 
promoted.
  I note the presence of Senator Dodd. Senator, I have already 
mentioned that not only are you my principal cosponsor, but we are 
going to call this national conference soon. You and I will ask 
Governors and Senators to attend. I ask now the Journal editorial, 
which I alluded to, be printed in the Record.
  There being not objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

             [From the Albuquerque Journal, April 28, 1999]

               Students Learn Real Lesson in Citizenship

       Citizenship.--As one of six desired ``Character Counts'' 
     attributes, it's a word posted in the hallways of virtually 
     every Albuquerque public school, sometimes featured as ``word 
     of the month'' on reader board signs outside.
       Students at Cleveland Middle School, however, have come to 
     know the full meaning of that word. Offered a valuable 
     opportunity, they learned about the naturalization process in 
     history classes, took the American citizenship test and, to 
     top it off, witnessed the naturalization of 71 of America's 
     newest citizens in a ceremony Cleveland students helped 
     organize as hosts.
       ``We decided that if we're going to teach children about 
     citizenship, we should make it as real as possible,'' 
     humanities teacher Susan Leonard said. Cleveland no doubt 
     succeeded, because this is as real as it gets. Students 
     watched 71 people from 22 countries take the oath of American 
     citizenship--by choice.
       Most Americans take their citizenship for granted, just as 
     many take for granted the rights Americans enjoy--the right 
     to a fair trial, to practice one's own religion, to speak 
     one's mind. By taking these rights for granted, too often 
     Americans also opt out of the responsibilities that are the 
     flip side of those rights--one's duty to vote, to serve on a 
     jury, to defend our nation and Constitution; in short, to be 
     a good citizen.
       Learning about the naturalization process provided a 
     valuable lesson in America's continuing history as a nation 
     of immigrants.
       Eighth-grader Tom Adams said his favorite part of the 
     Cleveland project was meeting the citizens-to-be. ``They're 
     from all different countries,'' he said, ``and I get to meet 
     them. And I think that's kind of cool.''
       Seventy-one believers in the American system are now Adams' 
     fellow Americans. Kind of cool, indeed.

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, let me commend my colleague from New Mexico. 
I have enjoyed a lot of relationships in this Chamber over the years on 
numerous issues, but none as much as I have with my colleague from New 
Mexico on Character Counts. I am pleased to be joining my colleague in 
submitting this Senate Resolution designating the weeks of October 17, 
1999 and October 15, 2000 as National Character Counts Week.
  Character Counts is a program that I encourage for every one of our 
colleagues. There are programs now in all 50 States. Some States have 
more than others. There are 10,000 children in my home State of 
Connecticut who have been the beneficiary of our Character Counts 
effort, the six pillars of good character.
  We have had a lot of attention paid over the last couple of weeks to 
the tragedy in Littleton, CO. Americans are left searching for answers 
to many questions. How could these teenagers have committed such 
brutality? How can society help prevent such violent, deadly behavior 
from happening again? There are a variety of suggestions people are 
making--the tendency is to revert to form. You have one group that says 
the answer is gun control, another group says it is the video games and 
the Internet, and another group says it is the schools or the parents. 
You could probably find some merit in all of those areas.
  I believe that one answer is to encourage schools to build character 
in their students. I am not going to stand here and claim that this is 
the solution. But it is certainly part of the solution.
  This is an issue that goes beyond the prevention of violence. 
Theodore Roosevelt once said, ``To educate a person's mind and not his 
character is to educate a menace.'' In some ways, there is a lot of 
validity in that statement. Possessing a good mind without good 
character can create more problems than one can imagine.
  Education is a central part of children's lives, and schools are the 
key to reaching the majority of America's children. Today's children 
have so many obstacles to overcome, including violence and drug use. As 
a society, we must find ways to help these children become responsible 
citizens, to distinguish between right and wrong. To do this, we must 
build on traditional education by nurturing student character.
  Schools can teach and reinforce the importance of qualities like 
trustworthiness, responsibility, caring for others, and citizenship. By 
combining character education with solid instruction in reading, math, 
and science, our schools can produce young people who are not only 
strong in intellect, but also strong in character.
  This is not to suggest that parents do not play a key role as well. 
Parents should be deeply involved in their children's character 
development. They should help plan school character development 
programs, and reinforce the programs' lessons in the home.
  What we have done in our schools, and in the schools of New Mexico 
and other states, is take one of these six pillars a month, and weave 
it into the seamless fabric of the day, from the math class to the 
history class to the band and athletic field to the extracurricular 
activity. They will take the character of respect: What is respect? 
What is lack of respect among teachers, students, and administrators? 
It is incredible to see the difference this has made in these young 
people, the administrators, and the faculty of these schools. It has 
been a tremendous success.
  This is a remarkable program. It goes back a number of years, when we 
put a small amount of money into the program to be used by the States 
and localities to promote the idea of character education.
  I have never known a dollar that has been better spent or has done 
more good. Talk about seed money and making a difference. We all know 
that these children should be getting this kind of education at home. 
That is where it should happen. But, tragically, today for a variety of 
reasons, children are entering school without these basic lessons that 
a generation ago were learned at the knees of their parents.

[[Page S4918]]

  Many of my colleagues in the Senate come to the floor each year and 
join me in supporting character education in our schools. For the past 
six years, I have been working to support character education. In 1994, 
the amendment Senator Domenici and I offered to the Elementary and 
Secondary Education bill was adopted by the full Senate. The amendment 
provided funding for schools to start character education curriculums.
  Since then, I have had the opportunity to visit schools in my home 
state of Connecticut and I have seen these funds at work. Teachers, 
parents and the students themselves are enthusiastic about these 
programs and have reported better attendance, higher academic 
performance, and improved behavior among students. My colleagues can 
confirm that these positive results are evident throughout the Nation.
  Again, I compliment my colleague and friend from New Mexico for his 
leadership on character education. I invite my colleagues from both 
sides of the aisle to join us in supporting National Character Counts 
Week and recognizing character education as a critical part of creating 
more responsible children and a safer society in which to live.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to rise, as I 
have in years past, in support of what has become an annual resolution 
to designate the third week of October--this year--the week of October 
17th--as National Character Counts Week.
  The importance of character to the future of our nation cannot be 
overemphasized. As the noted educator, George S. Benson, once observed, 
``Great ideals and principles do not live from generation to generation 
because they are right, nor even because they have been carefully 
legislated. Ideals and principles continue from generation to 
generation only when they are built into the hearts of children as they 
grow up.''
  There was a time when great ideals and principles were ``built into 
the hearts of children'' as a matter of course--in every school house, 
and classroom, all across our great land; a time when we believed that 
to educate a man in mind and not in morals, as Teddy Roosevelt put it, 
was to educate a menace of society.
  Sadly, this is no longer the case.
  Not only do many schools no longer teach children the difference 
between good and evil, right and wrong, they convey the philosophy that 
there is no difference; that it is all a matter of choice, and that 
choice--not truth--or justice--or responsibility, is the ultimate 
object of democracy.
  That is the greatest threat to democracy any nation can face--but 
especially ours. For America is a nation founded on principle, forged 
by courage, and strengthened by every succeeding generation that has 
been unwilling to let those principles or that courage be diminished.
  Yet, in many ways, moral leadership is more important now than it has 
ever been before. The 21st century will hold many challenges that will 
require the most of us. And the greatest of those challenges will be 
moral not economic: cloning, genetics, bioengineering; human rights vs. 
economic prosperity? right to life or right to die?
  They are challenges that will require principle, demand character.
  Who will be the leaders of tomorrow, and will they be up to the task? 
In many ways, the answer is up to us.
  Which is why I have worked to promote character development in 
elementary and secondary education, and urged our Nation's colleges and 
universities to affirm character development as a primary goal of 
higher education.
  It is also why I am also proud to support the Character Counts 
movement, and why I have done so every year since I've been in the 
United States Senate.
  In 1995, in the very first quarter of my first term, I became a 
member of the bipartisan Character Counts Working Group--a coalition of 
Senators organized to affirm and support the millions of Americans who 
still believe that character counts, that it should be not just touted 
but taught, in homes and churches, certainly, but also in schools 
across America.
  It is why I have annually co-sponsored this Senate resolution to 
designate the third week of October as National Character Counts Week. 
And it is why I am proud to say that, in Tennessee, Character Counts! 
is flourishing.
  Mr. President, Character Counts! teaches children respect, 
responsibility, trust, caring and citizenship. It teaches them the 
value of virtue, the importance of character. It renews not only the 
promises of our past, but our faith in the future.
  In Knoxville, Tennessee alone, 38 schools so far have received 
Character Counts! training. One of them, Norwood Elementary, asked 
students to write essays about the importance of character.
  Another, Farragut Primary School, held an assembly for parents and 
kids that highlighted ways to be good citizens.
  In Johnson City, a little boy and his friends at Cherokee Elementary 
School built a ramp at the home of a boy with a disability so he could 
get in and out safely in his wheelchair.
  In Hamblin County, I met a fourth grader--a little girl named Heidi 
Shackleford--who was the first student to make her school's Character 
Counts! ``Wall of Fame.''
  What did she do to earn such an honor? She found a $100 bill in her 
school, but rather than stick it in her pocket, she turned it in to her 
teacher because she learned--through Character Counts education--why it 
is important to do the right thing.
  In Sullivan County--where the Character Counts! program began in 
Tennessee--students at the Indian Springs Elementary School make 
monthly visits to a grandmother they adopted at a Kingsport nursing 
home.
  They have also experienced 25 percent reduction in juvenile crime 
since the Character Counts! program began--an improvement they 
attribute directly to the impact the program has had on the region.
  These are just a few examples of how Tennessee children are learning 
the value of virtue, the importance of character, and how their 
communities have benefitted as a result.
  It has been my honor to support all of these efforts--to help 
Tennessee communities kick-off new programs, and to encourage and 
support those already in place.
  But it is not enough to promote this program in Tennessee, or New 
Mexico, or in any one of the other states that have taken up the 
challenge.
  We must promote the development of character in every state, in every 
school, in every city in America. For if education is the most 
important gift we can give to the future, then character education is 
doubly so.
  The job of instilling character in the hearts of America's children 
has always been an important one. But as the tragic violence in 
Littleton and other cities recently have shown us, it has never been 
more important than it is today.
  We are justifiably proud of the liberty we enjoy as Americans. But as 
the wise British statesman, Edmund Burke, once observed, What is 
liberty without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils, for 
it is folly, vice and madness without tuition or restraint.
  We must take every opportunity to teach our children the difference 
between right and wrong, to sort out with them, what to value, and what 
to reject from among the vast array of choices made possible by our 
freedom.
  We must all, young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, 
work together to sow the seeds of character into the hearts of every 
young American so that together we can give our children and our 
country one of the greatest gifts any democratic nation can bestow--the 
assurance that character does count.

                          ____________________