[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 130 (Tuesday, October 17, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H9989-H9990]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    NATIONAL CHILDREN'S MEMORIAL DAY

  Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 415) expressing the sense of the 
Congress that there should be established a National Children's 
Memorial Day.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 415

       Whereas approximately 80,000 infants, children, teenagers, 
     and young adults of families living throughout the United 
     States die each year from myriad causes;
       Whereas the death of an infant child, teenager, or young 
     adult of a family is considered to be one of the greatest 
     tragedies that a parent or family will ever endure during a 
     lifetime; and
       Whereas a supportive environment and empathy and 
     understanding are considered critical factors in the healing 
     process of a family that is coping with and recovering from 
     the loss of a loved one: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That--
       (1) it is the sense of the Congress that there should be 
     established a National Children's Memorial Day; and
       (2) the Congress requests that the President issue a 
     proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to 
     observe such a day with appropriate ceremonies and activities 
     in remembrance of the many infants, children, teenagers, and 
     young adults in the United States who have died.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Ose) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose).


                             General Leave

  Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on House Concurrent Resolution 415.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the House consider House 
Concurrent Resolution 415, introduced by my colleague, the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Knollenberg).
  This legislation expresses the sense of Congress that a National 
Children's Memorial Day should be established. Additionally, it asks 
the President to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the 
United States to observe such a day, with appropriate ceremonies and 
activities, in remembrance of the many infants, children, teenagers, 
and young adults in the United States who have died.
  Madam Speaker, the death of a child at any age is a shattering 
experience for any family. By establishing a day to remember children 
that have passed away, bereaved families from all over the country will 
be encouraged and supported in the positive resolution of their grief. 
It is important to families who have suffered such a loss to know that 
they are not alone. To commemorate the lives of these children with a 
special day would pay them an honor, and help to bring comfort to the 
hearts of their bereaved families.
  For the past 2 years, the Senate has recognized the second Sunday in 
December as National Children's Memorial Day. Last year, the House 
passed a resolution similar to what we are considering here today.
  As a husband, and father of two young girls, I can think of nothing 
more terrifying than losing one of mine. They are my daily source of 
joy and inspiration. Yet, approximately 80,000 infants, children, 
teenagers, and young adults die each year from any number of reasons.
  After losing a child, parents and siblings are left with a void in 
their life. Questions are left unanswered. So many things are left 
unsaid. Those of us who have not experienced such loss are unable to 
adequately communicate our sympathy, and fail in our task to comfort 
the bereaved.
  To this end, a support network can be of great assistance. The 
Children's Memorial Day provides an opportunity for these families to 
collectively express their pain and to form these support networks.
  For example, on December 10, starting in New Zealand, candles will be 
lit for 1 hour, beginning at 7 p.m. local times, creating a 24-hour 
observance around the globe. This simple act goes a long way to help 
those who have lost a child, a grandchild, a sibling, or a friend, 
particularly during the December holiday season, when the loss is the 
most difficult to bear.
  This simple and easy resolution may not seem like much to many, but I 
can assure the Members that to those families who have lost loved ones, 
the support that we show here today will go a long way in helping them 
cope with that loss.
  It is important for families who have suffered such a loss to know 
they are not alone. Please help us in passing this resolution. I ask 
Members to express their support for this worthy and noble cause by 
voting aye. We carry the responsibility to honor and remember those who 
have died before their time. As compassionate concerned citizens, one 
of the best actions we can take is to support those who are left 
behind.
  Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I agree with the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose), 
this is a very, very important resolution. I think when one looks at it 
on its

[[Page H9990]]

face we may not fully understand its significance, but it is so 
important.
  Yesterday, hundreds of families journeyed to Washington, D.C. to 
celebrate the importance of family and to examine the vital role that 
families play in maintaining stable and prosperous communities. In 
years past, we have had the Million Man March, the Million Moms March, 
but this time our children were encouraged to participate. Many 
thousands of children did attend the march, and some even addressed the 
crowds about issues that were of particular concern to them.
  The Nation took special note of our children yesterday in a positive 
and inspirational way. We adults were compelled to contemplate the 
world we have made for them, full of good times and bad, hope and 
despair, life and death.
  Yesterday in the Middle East, Madam Speaker, during the ongoing 
violence involving the Palestinians and the Israelis, a child was left 
brain dead from a gunshot wound to the head. The loss of a child, no 
matter what the circumstances and no matter where, causes tremendous 
personal grief for the family and friends. It causes some of us to stop 
and reflect on the loss, and sometimes consider, could or should we 
have done something to prevent it. It also makes us think about all the 
unmet and unfulfilled dreams of those children and their families.
  It is devastating to me when young lives are cut short. Those 
affected by such a tragedy often need assistance and support to get 
through the experience. I am glad to know that help is available. The 
Compassionate Friends, Incorporated, also known as TCF, is a group 
whose mission is to assist families in the positive resolution of grief 
following the death of a child.
  TCF conceived and nurtured the worldwide candlelighting. In its 
fourth year, the candlelighting is held in the second Sunday in 
December. Participants around the globe light candles for 1 hour to 
honor children who have died. The candles are lit at 7 p.m. local time 
starting in New Zealand. As candles burn down in each time zone, they 
are then lit in the next. This creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light 
as the observance continues around the world.
  In the United States, approximately 228,000 children and young adults 
die every year. Nineteen percent of the adult population has 
experienced the death of a child, and 22 percent the death of a 
sibling. Taking into account people who have lost a child and sibling, 
36 percent of the adult population has suffered the death of a child, a 
sibling, or both.
  Madam Speaker, just yesterday in my district I spoke at the West 
Baltimore Middle School to 37 eighth graders. I asked them a very 
simple question, but the answer was very telling. I asked them how many 
of them had had a loved one, a friend, a young person to die by gun 
violence. Out of those 37 children living in the inner city of 
Baltimore, 35 raised their hands. That is here in America. That happens 
in our cities and even in our rural areas. We certainly grieve for 
those families.
  House Concurrent Resolution 415 expresses, therefore, the sense of 
Congress that a National Children's Memorial Day should be established 
to remember the infants, children, teenagers, and young adults in the 
United States who have died.
  As we remember America's children, let us also remember those who 
grieve for them. Whether it be from gun violence, an airplane or car 
crash, a miscarriage, or a terminal illness, the loss of a child is 
something no parent, no parent, should have to experience, but many do. 
Children's Memorial Day is a time when we as individuals and as a 
nation can show our compassion to those who have suffered such a loss.
  Madam Speaker, I have often said that our children are the living 
messages we send to a future we will never see. It is sad to think that 
so often our children die before their parents, so we have no message 
to send to the future. Hopefully, on this Memorial Day, when we think 
about our children who have died, we will also think about ways that we 
can prevent them from dying so that they can experience this wonderful 
journey called life.
  Many organizations and support groups, such as the Compassionate 
Friends, exist to help bereaved parents deal with their grief. Yet, 
only 46 percent of parents are aware of them. Let us join TCF in 
observing December 10 as Children's Memorial Day, and let it serve as 
an opportunity for grief support organizations and churches to increase 
awareness of their services and programs.
  Madam Speaker, I urge our Members to vote in favor of this very 
important and wonderful legislation that has been sponsored by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Knollenberg), and I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I want to also commend the gentleman from Michigan 
(Mr. Knollenberg) for introducing this important bill, and for his 
efforts to bring it to the floor. I would like to thank the 
distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), the ranking 
member, for cosponsoring this bill, and for his continued work on this 
subject.
  Again, I would like to thank the full committee chairman, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), the chairman of the subcommittee, 
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Scarborough), and the ranking member, 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), for their support.
  If passed, Madam Speaker, this will be the third consecutive year we 
will have designated the second Sunday in December as Children's 
Memorial Day. I urge Members to lend their support.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I would urge that all Members support this 
legislation. I would thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) for 
his leadership with regard to Children's issues.
  As he talked about his daughters, I could not help but think about 
the little prayer, Madam Speaker, that we say so often with our 
children: ``Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to 
keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.''
  Anyone who has knelt over a child and said that prayer, they cannot 
help but feel tingles and sometimes a tear at just the thought of that 
child not rising, just the thought of that child not being able to live 
out the full potential that God has given to them.
  Madam Speaker, I urge our membership to support this very important 
resolution, but in supporting this, I hope that when December 10 comes 
that we will also, as a Congress and as a body and as a country and as 
a world, do everything in our power to make sure that every one of our 
children, no matter where they are, no matter who they are, are able to 
rise up to be all that they can be, and be the best that they can be.

                              {time}  1530

  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
415.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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