[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 109 (Thursday, July 29, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9747-S9748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID:
  S. 1458. A bill to provide for a reduction in the rate of adolescent 
pregnancy through the evaluation of public and private prevention 
programs, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.


                     teen pregnancy reduction bill

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, despite the recent declines in teen birth 
rates in general, the overall teen birth rate for 1996 is still higher 
than it was in the early to mid-1980s, when the rate was at its lowest 
point. In fact, United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy 
and births in the western industrialized world. More than 4 out of 10 
young women in the U.S. become pregnant at least once before they reach 
the age of 20--nearly one million a year.
  Unfortunately, my home state of Nevada has the highest teen pregnancy 
rate in the country--140 pregnancies per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 in 
1996.
  Teen pregnancy affects us all. Teen mothers are less likely to 
complete high school, and more likely to end up on welfare (nearly 80 
percent of unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare). Teen pregnancy 
costs the United States at least $7 billion annually. The children of 
teenage mothers have lower birth weights, are more likely to perform 
poorly in school, and are at greater risk of abuse and neglect. The 
sons of teen mothers are 13 percent more likely to end up in prison 
while teen daughters are 22 percent more likely to become teen mothers 
themselves.
  Teen pregnancy has become a significant problem in America's fastest 
growing ethnic group--the Hispanic community. Latinos currently 
constitute approximately 11 percent of the total U.S. population. By 
2010, Latinos will be the largest minority group, and by 2050 
approximately one-quarter of the U.S. population will be Latino.

[[Page S9748]]

  Latinas have the highest teen birth rate among the major racial/
ethnic groups in the United States. In 1997, the birth rate for Latina 
15- to 19-year-olds was 97.4 per 1,000, nearly double the national rate 
of 52.3 per 1,000. Approximately one-quarter of the births in 1997 to 
teens aged 15 to 19 were to Latinas. Further, the teen birth and 
pregnancy rates for Latinas have not decreased as much in recent years 
as have the overall U.S. teen birth and pregnancy rates.
  To combat the plague of teen pregnancy in this country, I am 
introducing the ``Teenage Pregnancy Reduction Act of 1999.'' In so 
doing, I join Congresswoman Lowey, who has introduced the House 
companion bill.
  The Teenage Pregnancy Reduction Act of 1999 will provide in-depth 
evaluation of promising teenage pregnancy prevention programs. Experts 
on teen pregnancy have informed us that such an evaluation is very 
needed. This three year evaluation will be funded at $3.5 million per 
year. The bill requires that a report of the evaluation's results be 
made to Congress, and the results be disseminated to the administrators 
of prevention programs, medical associations, public health services, 
school administrators and others. In addition, the bill provides for 
the establishment of a National Clearinghouse on Teenage Pregnancy 
Prevention Programs. Lastly, the bill provides $10 million for a one-
time incentive grant to programs that complete the evaluation and are 
found to be effective.
  Social problems like teen pregnancy are not happening in a vacuum, 
independent from other social problems. Nevada has the highest teen 
pregnancy rate, and it also has the highest high school dropout rate. 
Obviously, these two issues are related. Only one-third of teen mothers 
receive a high school diploma.
  Senator Bingaman and I have offered a dropout bill similar to the 
teen pregnancy bill I introduce today. Both bills look to what states 
and communities are doing now and focus on those programs that are 
working. We can then help states and communities replicate these 
successful programs. But we are not going to totally solve problems 
like teen pregnancy through programs and legislation--we need to talk 
to our children. Studies show that teenagers who have strong emotional 
attachments to their parents are much less likely to become sexually 
active at an early age. We cannot legislate parents talking to their 
children, but we can provide the information and programs that will 
help parents work with their teens.
  I would like to acknowledge the National Campaign to Prevent Teen 
Pregnancy, whose mission is to reduce the teen pregnancy rate by one-
third between 1996 and 2005. I think that we can accomplish this goal, 
and I will do all that I can to help.
                                 ______