[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E8]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               INTRODUCTION OF THE YOUNGER AMERICANS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 3, 2001

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to 
re-introduce, along with my colleague Mrs. Roukema, the Younger 
Americans Act. Last September, we introduced this bill with our 
counterparts in the Senate and a vast national coalition of supporters 
including former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell and 
America's Promise, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Big Brothers/Big 
Sisters, the National Urban League, America's Promise, the Child 
Welfare League of America, the United Way, the National Mental Health 
Association, and others.
  We knew then that we would not have enough time in the 106th Congress 
to pass the legislation. But we did want to signal the strong support 
of a bipartisan coalition in both the House and Senate and of a broad 
array of national and grassroots organizations. I look forward now to 
working with them to pass this legislation in the 107th Congress. This 
is landmark legislation that will dramatically increase after-school 
opportunities for youth by providing them with adult mentors, 
education, sports, and volunteer activities.
  As any parent or teacher knows, the best way to keep kids out of 
trouble and help them learn and grow is to keep them busy and give them 
opportunity. Today's bill is an historic opportunity to dramatically 
expand safe and exciting programs for children and youth after school, 
a time when too many kids suffer from a lack of activity and adult 
supervision. A recent Urban Institute study found that one in five 
young people age 6-12 are left without adult supervision after school 
and before their parents come home from work, a critical period during 
the day to keep youth both positively engaged and out of trouble.
  Thirty-five years ago, Congress made a decision to help seniors and 
passed the Older Americans Act. In doing so, Congress launched a series 
of highly effective local efforts that have improved and enriched the 
lives of our nation's elderly. It helped pay for senior centers, Meals 
on Wheels, and community service programs like Green Thumb. For too 
long, however, Congress has ignored the needs of our nation's young 
people. It has failed to make the issues of young people a priority and 
has failed to make an adequate investment in their development and 
well-being.
  Our new bill attempts to correct that oversight. Today, we seek to 
repeat the success of the Older Americans Act by funding a national 
network of high-quality programs tailored to the particular challenges 
faced by youth today. Too often, we find that public programs for young 
people focus on the problems of youth and promote piecemeal policies 
that seek to redress negative behaviors like juvenile delinquency or 
teen pregnancy. But the evidence shows that the most promising 
approaches to helping young people are those that foster positive youth 
development, build social and emotional competence, and link young 
people with adult mentors. This is the future of youth social program 
in the 21st century and it is an approach we seek to advance through 
this legislation.
  The Younger Americans Act will help coordinate and fund youth-
mentoring, community service through volunteerism, structured academic 
and recreational opportunities, and other activities aimed at fostering 
the positive educational and social development of teens and pre-teens. 
Under the bill, the federal government would distribute funds by 
formula to community boards that would oversee the planning, operation, 
and evaluation of local programs. Funding for local programs in the 
initial year would be $500 million, and would rise to $2 billion in 
2006, in addition to matching funds provided by local and state 
governments and the private sector.
  To qualify, each local program would be required to adopt a 
comprehensive and coordinated system of youth programs with the 
following five general components: ongoing relationships with caring 
adults; safe places with structured activities; access to services that 
promote healthy lifestyles, including those designed to improve 
physical and mental health; opportunities to acquire marketable skills 
and competencies; and, opportunities for community service and civic 
participation. Thirty percent of funds would be targeted to youth 
programs that address specific, urgent areas of need such as urban and 
rural communities that currently lack sufficient access to positive and 
constructive opportunities.
  I want to thank all of the members of the coalition behind this bill 
for bringing us together. I applaud their work on this legislation and 
the work that they do every day in each of our local communities. I 
want to express special appreciation to all of the young people from 
these associations, who have rightly played such a key role in drafting 
and advocating for this legislation.
  Congress has enacted many worthwhile programs to help young people. 
But the bill we are introducing today has a different message. Our bill 
responds to the tremendous desire of young people to have the greatest 
opportunity possible to be active, creative, and productive citizens in 
our society, rather than receiving society's help only after they are 
in trouble. Kids are asking to be given a chance to make a difference 
in their own lives. We are saying that that is exactly what Congress 
can and should do. I am confident we can make that happen. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues to pass this legislation.

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