[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 13, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H838-H845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONDEMNING HEINOUS ATROCITIES THAT OCCURRED AT SANTANA HIGH SCHOOL, 
                           SANTEE, CALIFORNIA

  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 57)

[[Page H839]]

condemning the heinous atrocities that occurred on March 5, 2001, at 
Santana High School in Santee, California, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 57

       Whereas on March 5, 2001, a gunman opened fire at Santana 
     High School in Santee, California, killing 2 students and 
     wounding 13 others: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the 
     atrocities that occurred on March 5, 2001, at Santana High 
     School in Santee, California;
       (2) offers its deepest condolences to the families, 
     friends, and loved ones of those killed in the shooting;
       (3) expresses hope for the rapid and complete recovery of 
     those wounded in the shooting;
       (4) applauds the hard work and dedication exhibited by 
     local and State law enforcement officials and by others who 
     offered support and assistance;
       (5) commends the rapid response by the faculty and staff of 
     Santana High School in evacuating its students to safety in 
     an efficient and effective manner;
       (6) encourages communities to implement a wide range of 
     violence prevention services for the Nation's youth; and
       (7) encourages the people of the United States to engage in 
     a national dialogue on preventing school violence.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Delaware (Mr. Castle) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle).


                             General Leave

  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H. Con. Res. 57, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Delaware?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 57 offered by 
the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), to express my 
profound sorrow for the loss endured by the students, teachers and 
families of the southern California community of Santee.
  Today, you are foremost in the thoughts and prayers of all Americans 
as you struggle to rebuild your community and the sense of safety and 
security that a school building is supposed to embody.

                              {time}  1415

  Mr. Speaker, I join this body in its continuing search for answers, 
but it was not so long ago that I stood in this place hoping and 
praying that April 1999 events at Columbine High School would not be 
repeated, and taking refuge in the facts offered by various agencies 
which claim that school-associated violent deaths were still rare.
  While I do believe that schools are one of the safest places for our 
children, it is equally clear that no school is immune from this type 
of tragedy. For this reason, it will take all of us working together to 
make our society safer and smarter and to prevent any further 
reoccurrences.
  While we cannot reclaim the lives of those lost and we cannot make 
whole those who have suffered as a result of this latest school 
shooting, we can honor them by resisting the temptation to execute a 
quick fix, issue the press release, and absolve ourselves from further 
responsibility. We must accept the fact that we have a society-wide 
problem that will only be solved by a society-based solution, and it 
will take time.
  As chairman of the Subcommittee on Education Reform, I will work to 
ensure that no child, regardless of background or family income, will 
be forced to risk his or her life in order to learn. Often it is easy 
to forget, but we have a Federal program that is specifically designed 
to help stem the tide of school violence.
  I hope to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make 
sure that this money is a sufficient amount to allow schools to 
implement the types of programming and take the types of measures that 
will really make a difference in the school environment. Then we will 
make information about the use of this money widely available to 
parents and the communities to assure them that we are spending Federal 
money to best ensure their children's safety.
  Yet, violence is not a problem that we can expect our schools to 
solve alone. In the days that follow, I hope that every American 
remembers how they felt the day they learned of the shooting and said 
with a heavy heart ``not again.'' We must rededicate ourselves. From 
friends and classmates who hear about bullying in the school yard to 
families who have difficulty communicating with each other, from 
businesses that market violence, to every level of government, we must 
do our part. By now we all know what that is, to be a friend, to be a 
parent, and to be responsible for those who have entrusted their most 
valuable possession, their child, to our care.
  All that said, first things are first. I want to offer my heartfelt 
sympathy to the families and friends of the two students who were 
killed and the 13 who were injured. Today we are united by our sorrow. 
Tomorrow, I hope we still will be united, not by grief or fear, but by 
our collective resolve to prevent another tragedy from turning our 
schools into a place of violence, teaching our children a lesson that 
no one should ever have to learn.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  We are here today to mourn a tragedy. In many ways, we mourn a double 
tragedy today at Santana High School on March 5, 2001, because, Mr. 
Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleagues as we grieve the loss 
of two bright young students, Bryan Zuckor and Randy Gordon.
  But we also are heartbroken that no one heard Charles Williams, 
``Andy's'' cries for help and saddened that he did not find another way 
to express his anger and his pain.
  We pray for the families of the injured students and the school 
staff. We also recognize that, when we are faced with such a high-
profile tragedy, that we must also grieve for the thousands of children 
and their families that die every day because of violence and accidents 
in our community.
  I want to commend law enforcement, the school staff, and students at 
Santana High School, and say how grateful I am and I know how grateful 
my colleagues and those in our community are with the San Diego 
Sheriff's Department, and particularly the officers Ali Perez and Jack 
Smith. We also want to recognize off-duty San Diego police officer 
Robert Clark. These three men responded with precision, with valor, and 
courage, and in doing so saved the lives of countless others.
  Our deepest gratitude also extends to the Santana High School 
personnel, particularly Principal Karen Degischer and all the teachers, 
the counselors, the school security, and their support staff, for their 
professionalism, for their courage.
  We know that they had previously practiced drills and procedures for 
such emergencies, and they did well during this horrible crisis.
  We must also commend the student body of Santana High School for 
their resilience, their solidarity, and courage and their decision now 
to move on.
  When anything like this happens, we all look for reasons. It has been 
stated too many guns and not enough adults. There is an allegation: not 
enough real listening going on in our community.
  We know as well that the teenage years are just some of the most 
difficult years in a person's life. Young people's bodies are changing, 
the social dynamics of school are difficult for all kids and the 
insecurities abound.
  Too many kids may maintain a cover of anonymity in a school; and 
unfortunately, we know that there are lots of ways that they can do 
that quite easily in a large high school. So now we are looking for 
answers. It is not the time to blame, but rather the time to fight, to 
fight for our kids.
  So we think about going back to the basics and back to the golden 
rule. But if we talk about teaching our kids the golden rule, we have 
got to understand and recognize that adults are not always modeling the 
golden rule. I think that we do not have enough exposure to positive 
parenting in our community.
  Sheriff Bill Colander, who used to head up the youth agency in our 
State, reminds us that, when they began to teach kids about parenting 
in the security situation that they had, they recognized that, in fact, 
that was not the

[[Page H840]]

 parenting that they had experienced; and in fact, in many cases, that 
is often true.
  We need to encourage mentoring. Kids need to have mentors, and kids 
need to be mentors. We might think, whether Andy had been tapped to 
help out a young person in his school, to work with a second grader on 
reading, whatever it may be, that tapped and valued the person that he 
was, and perhaps that might make a difference. We have good models in 
our schools of kids who are mentors.
  Teachers as well need more time and resources to spend with their 
students. We know that our classes are too big, and that is another 
reason why kids can live in anonymity in our school. Large classes and 
large schools do not create an atmosphere conducive to getting to know 
kids as much as we should. We need to create an atmosphere at school so 
kids feel both physically and mentally safe; that they can talk about 
their prejudices, their feelings, and their opinions. Everyone has had 
adverse experiences, and so everyone needs to feel supported and 
listened to, valued in who they are and what they have to contribute.
  As legislators and community leaders, we need to be researching the 
best practices in other communities and disseminate this information in 
neighborhoods.
  Ironically, Santana had programs. They had taken some good first 
steps, not final solutions. They had developed peace programs. They had 
participated in minitowns, a very popular and well-thought-out program 
in our community.
  But all programs need to be backed up with an evaluation. What works? 
What does not? Why? We need to look at that information. We need to 
solicit those opinions from young people.
  In the State Assembly, I created the Adolescent Task Force; and in 
that, we brought young people to the table. We enlisted their ideas. We 
broadened the circle so kids who often felt that they were not included 
perhaps in associated student body or other clubs would be included in 
that forum. Really listening as opposed to telling them what they need 
is important for all of us.
  We have a challenge for change. One thing that we know is many of our 
young people, in fact most of our young people, are very resilient. Let 
us learn from them. How can they teach us about that resiliency? Our 
challenge is to support them.
  It has been said that we in America are pretty good at grieving, and 
yet we wait for a crisis to change. We have to ask, Why are there not 
more programs to teach kids inclusion? Why are there not more public 
service announcements on the impacts of bullying developed by students 
around issues of guns of getting together and finding ways of solving 
their problems?
  We need to enlist the media in that, but we need to allow young 
people to have the input to create these messages because they really 
know what it is that people and young people will relate to; that 
through listening, through mentoring, and modeling, kind, caring 
behavior, we can stop some of these devastating tragedies.
  I hope that my colleagues will join me in our deepest condolences to 
the families and friends of Bryan Zuckor and Randy Gordon. Let us bring 
students to the center of our discussions and work together to ensure 
that these tragedies do not continue to be repeated in any community.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Hunter), the distinguished sponsor of the concurrent 
resolution.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I salute and thank my colleague for putting 
this resolution together and allowing us to be here today.
  Mr. Speaker, all of San Diego, California, all of San Diego County 
California, all of California, all of America was impacted on March 5 
when a senseless shooting at Santana High School took the lives of 
Bryan Zuckor and Randy Gordon and wounded 13 others.
  Do my colleagues know what? This time the feeling in this capital, 
when an event like this occurs is usually one of helplessness, because 
there is no legislation, there is no resolution, there is no law that 
can reverse what happened.
  But in San Diego, California, I want to let my colleagues know hope 
is reviving, with students and parents and teachers coming together to 
rebuild this community.
  There is one small thing that we can do here, and that is that we can 
condemn in the strongest possible terms the atrocities that occurred on 
March 5, 2001, in Santana High School.
  We can offer from this House our deepest condolences to the families, 
to the friends, and to the loved ones of those who were killed and 
wounded in this shooting. We can express hope for the rapid and 
complete recovery of those wounded in the shooting.
  And we can, Mr. Speaker, very importantly applaud the hard work and 
dedication exhibited by our local and State law enforcement officials 
and by all the others who offered support and assistance. They 
numbered, Mr. Speaker, in the thousands in this community.
  We can commend the rapid response by the faculty and staff of Santana 
High School in evacuating its students to safety and efficient and 
effective manner. And we can encourage communities to implement a wide 
range of violence-prevention services for the Nation's youth. Mr. 
Speaker, we can encourage the people of the United States to engage in 
a national dialogue on preventing school violence such as this.
  Mr. Speaker, God bless our community, God bless the students at 
Santana High School; and I look forward to working with all of my 
colleagues and all of our citizens to see to it that events like this 
never occur again.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 
minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton).
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding the 
time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution to condemn the 
shooting at the high school in San Diego, California, last week that 
added to the long list of tragedies at our Nation's schools. This 
measure also extends condolence appropriately to the families of the 
victims, applauds the State and local law enforcement officials, 
commends the staff and faculty of Santana High School for their rapid 
response to the shooting, and encourage the American people to engage 
in a national dialogue on this issue of school violence.
  I am concerned also with the young man who performed this dangerous 
and fatal act of violence. We have a problem, Mr. Speaker. Our concerns 
are young people are killing each other; and we parents, school 
officials, State legislators, Members of Congress have been stuck in 
partisan political posturing and fail to take the decisive action that 
may stop the violence. We must act now, before more children are 
killed.

                              {time}  1430

  Our children are the leaders of the future. They are our most 
cherished natural resource. They look to us for guidance, for 
leadership, and for protection; and for too long we have let them down 
by our failure to act. We must restore, perhaps in ourselves and most 
certainly in our youth, respect for life. We also must offer our 
children more mental health counseling and other services, structured 
adult-supervised after-school programs, and we must pass reasonable 
gun-safety measures.
  How many more lives must be lost, Mr. Speaker, before we elevate the 
sanctity of life above the political pressure of a gun lobby? How many 
more families and communities must be devastated by the senseless 
tragic loss of life of some of our young people in a school yard, some 
in homes and on the streets, before this Congress will say enough 
already? Who will be next, Mr. Speaker? Must we wait before acting 
until the child of a Member of Congress is shot and killed? I hope not. 
I pray not.
  Now is the time for us, Republicans and Democrats, to act. We must 
affirm the sanctity of life, offer more mental health services and 
after-school programs, and pass reasonable gun safety measures. Our 
children are counting on us and deserve that.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. DeLay), the distinguished majority whip.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Delaware for 
yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, it has come to this again; another 
school tragedy. In another American town, several

[[Page H841]]

families now mourn a lost child. Other families are faced with the 
certain knowledge that one of their children will never be the same 
after surviving a tragic attack.
  The town of Santee, California, is left to heal after an awful 
incident that made no sense at all and shattered hundreds of young 
lives. That is the reality, and we cannot shrink from it. We send them 
our prayers and our sincere hope that no city or town will again suffer 
the senseless trauma and tragedy inflicted upon Santana High School.
  That is our hope, but it would be the height of folly to suggest that 
we will prevent similar tragedies by simply erecting even more barriers 
to behavior and imposing ever more restrictions on our constitutional 
freedoms. This line of thought is flawed for both practical and 
abstract reasons. Fixating upon the blunt instruments of crime places 
the symptom before the cause.
  America confronts horrible tragedies, like the awful 8 minutes at 
Santana High School, not because the capacity to harm others exists 
within a free society. Rather, we face these demons because of our 
human condition. Human beings must inevitably struggle to triumph over 
evil. And make no mistake about it, this latest attack was certainly 
evil.
  We do not like to admit that evil still exists, but as the 
unmistakable lesson of the 20th century instructs us, we cannot remake 
human nature. Indeed, attempts to do so, like the policies perpetrated 
on its people by the Soviet Union have been themselves responsible for 
immense suffering.
  No, we cannot remake man, but we can, through negligence and 
indifference, tolerate a climate that is a more fertile breeding ground 
for senseless violence. I believe that our tolerance for a culture of 
death only serves to exacerbate those strains of evil present within 
persons who are predisposed to consider violent acts a viable 
statement.
  Because once we begin differentiating between shades of life, we 
truly open a Pandora's box in which some lives will be callously 
discounted and dispensed with. We need to treat all life as a sacred 
gift from our creator, not a sliding scale that society grades by its 
utility.
  I believe that we will only find a lasting solution by rediscovering 
our core and founding principles. I believe this rediscovery will 
demand that we boldly move to rebuild the three key elements of our 
Nation's success: The strength of the American family, the moral 
authority of American government, and the fundamental virtue of 
American culture.
  All of these things flow from a common philosophy, a coherent world 
view. It is a philosophy built on values that are moral, universal and, 
yes, I believe, the source of America's greatness. Faith in God, the 
sanctity of human life, the existence of right and wrong, and the 
certain knowledge that we are all ultimately accountable for our 
actions.
  This is not the world view that predominates our culture today, and 
until it does we will confront more awful acts of violence.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy).
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
this resolution, but I have to say I would certainly prefer to be 
standing here debating on what we can do to save these young children.
  For close to 4\1/2\ years I have stood here, I do not know how many 
times, saying I am sorry to the families. For 4\1/2\ years, I have had 
to meet with some of these parents that have lost their children. How 
many times does this have to happen before this Congress will start to 
realize this is not going to go away?
  We cannot stop ignoring this issue. While America's teachers and 
students search for solutions to the violence that threatens our 
school, Congress has failed to enact even modest proposals to reduce 
our children's access to firearms. I know that it is a very complex 
issue, and we should be all working together on every single issue to 
make sure that our children are safe.
  I spent yesterday morning in one of my local schools, as I tend to do 
on every single Monday. The kids were 1 through 6, and every single 
question they asked me was, is somebody going to shoot me. Now, we know 
the majority of our schools are safe, but there is fear in the schools 
today. We must recognize the fear our children, our teachers, and our 
parents are facing. The American people are looking to us to come up 
with answers. We cannot have all the answers, but we certainly can do a 
better job than what we are doing right now.
  It is time to stop the rhetoric of this talk. It is time to stop 
going around in circles. It is time that this Congress started working 
to do something to protect our children and our families, and I ask the 
American people to work with us.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Issa).
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution, and 
while many will speak of the importance of remembering this tragic 
episode and many will speak of solutions to be found in this body, I do 
not rise for that purpose. I believe that the solution to this problem 
is not found in this body and will not be.
  Much like President Lincoln, more than 6 scores ago, when he came to 
Gettysburg and people expected him to talk only of the burial ground 
and the loss of life, I would hope that we would all commit ourselves 
here today and throughout the United States to use this resolution as a 
moment to think and reflect on those ways in which all Americans could 
in fact, prevent this in the future, not by adding to the 1200 laws 
already on the books in California but on personal responsibility.
  It is my fervent belief that if each of us evaluates how we could 
eliminate violence in our own home, the access of guns, of knives, and 
of anything else that is pervasive in our homes that could cause harm 
if poorly used, take responsibility for locking them up, and personally 
educate our children, then we could personally address the issues of 
hate, anger and the other menaces that have led to these types of 
disasters in the past, and most certainly, if not dealt with, will lead 
to them in the future.
  It is the loss of life of the past and loss of life here today that 
all Americans should focus on and take internally the obligation to see 
that these lives, this tragic loss of life will not have occurred in 
vain.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner).
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this 
time, and I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) for 
bringing us this resolution.
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) and all of us from San Diego 
County are here jointly to express the deep sorrow that has fallen upon 
our entire county and our entire country. And by condemning this act of 
violence, Congress is expressing the collective sorrow felt around the 
Nation not only for the victims but for another lost teen who chose to 
express his frustration with a gun. We especially pray for the families 
and the whole school family of the slain students, Randy Gordon and 
Brian Zuckor; and we hope that their lives can be put together again.
  Since the tragedy at Columbine High School, and up through this 
tragedy in Santana High School, much has been written about the 
prevalence of guns in our community and violence in our media. But it 
seems to me from all these examples that we have had, one thing is 
clear, not just those who excel, not just those who are popular, not 
just those who have special needs as defined by law, have got to get 
our attention. Every child, all kids, we need to get each and every one 
of them involved in activities, in learning, in fun, especially the 
ones who sit quietly, who may not demand attention, who may not excel, 
who may not be popular, who may not be involved.
  I guess I have to say to our distinguished majority whip, we are not 
talking about putting restrictions on people's behavior, we are talking 
about, as the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) said, our positive 
responsibility as human beings.
  In a column that was written after Columbine, the noted journalist 
William Raspberry wrote,

       The sad fact is that there are people who, for too many of 
     us and often for themselves,

[[Page H842]]

     do not matter. There are people in our schools, in our 
     offices, on our streets who know they don't matter to the 
     rest of us, who exist, if at all, as objects of ridicule and 
     derision: As nerds, as nobodies, as fatties, shorties, as 
     crips, as dummies, as losers. Probably all of us spend some 
     portion of our lives not mattering, though most of us have 
     refuge in places like home, the workplace, church, or a 
     social group where we do matter a great deal.
       But some of us have no such refuge, apart from our fellow 
     nonmatterers. And of that sad group, some will make sure they 
     matter in the time-tested way of mattering: Through violence. 
     The tendency is for the rest of us to respond to the violence 
     and think we have dealt with the problem. We institute new 
     rules or new dress codes. We remind ourselves of the signs to 
     be watched for and forget that there are still people who do 
     not matter.
       The hardest point to absorb,

says Mr. Raspberry,

     is the need to start paying attention to those who see 
     themselves as outcasts, not just because it may prevent 
     violence but because there simply should not be human beings 
     who do not matter.

                              {time}  1445

  At Santana high school, at Columbine, in every community, it is our 
responsibility to let every child know that they do matter. In a 
society where kids are often latchkey kids, where kids and parents 
often watch different TVs even when they are in the same house, when we 
come and go in our neighborhoods without speaking, we have to find 
better ways to let people know that they do matter. Our hearts go out 
to all the Santana High School family as they put their community back 
together.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Hunter), the sponsor of the resolution.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, my many thanks to my friend from Delaware, I 
thank him so much for putting this resolution on this morning. To my 
San Diego colleagues, I thank them for coming together with all of us 
and giving some real value to this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I thought I would mention those students and others at 
Santee High who were in fact wounded. Barry Gibson, Heather Cruz, Scott 
Marshall, Travis Tate-Gallegos, Melissa McNulty, Trevor Edwards, 
Raymond Serrato, James Jackson, Trison Salladay, Matthew Heier, Karla 
Leyva, and campus supervisor Peter Ruiz and student teacher Timothy 
Estes have been in the thoughts and prayers of, of course, all of the 
Santee residents and all Americans who have heard about this tragedy. 
They will continue to be in our thoughts and prayers.
  Mr. Speaker, there will be political discussions that arise out of 
this tragedy. That is going to happen. We are a political body. We 
respond to occurrences like this.
  I would just ask all my colleagues over the next 3 or 4 weeks to 
observe a standard, maybe an arbitrary standard that I have set for 
myself, but I would hope we would all observe it and, that is, this is 
a tragedy, this is a time for grieving, a time for mourning, a time for 
healing in Santee, California; and I would ask everyone to not attach a 
political agenda to this occurrence until a month has gone by. Maybe 
that is an arbitrary time, but I think that that respects the families 
and the students in Santee, California.
  Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I would hope if people who watch this 
resolution, that fathers and mothers and grandparents and uncles and 
aunts, as a result of watching us and contemplating these events, would 
resolve to spend a little more time this week, this month, this year, 
maybe starting today, with their children, then this resolution will 
have had value.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez).
  Ms. SANCHEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with sadness to speak on the 
gentleman's resolution of which I am a cosponsor. I commend the sponsor 
of this legislation, the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), the 
chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Research and Development of 
the Committee on Armed Services.
  This tragedy was a horrible, horrible crime. We mourn with the 
families who lost children, and our thoughts are with the families of 
the injured students and staff.
  But our duty goes beyond that. Our schools need to be safe places in 
order for learning to successfully take place.
  I am a cosponsor of the Excellence in Education Act, a proposal for 
reauthorization of our Federal elementary and secondary education 
programs. Included in all of that would be a Safe and Drug Free Schools 
program based on proven results, alternative education programs that 
remove violent children from our classrooms, to help to streamline and 
make smaller schools so that teachers, principals and administrators 
can get to know the children and can monitor their emotional state, and 
also funds for school counselors and mental health professionals to 
spot the students who need help from us before they turn violent.
  I join my colleagues in expressing our grief and sorrow, and I look 
forward to working with all the Members in this House to end school 
violence.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I want to join my colleagues and thank them for bringing this 
resolution forward. I want to send my condolences once again to the 
families of the slain students. We mourn their loss of life. But we 
also mourn a loss of innocence, a loss of innocence for a community but 
also for all the young people throughout our communities who yearn to 
grow up safe and they yearn to grow up loved.
  It has been said that most of the communities that we live in would 
be in denial around an incident like this and say that it just can't 
happen here. Well, it can happen, it does happen, it happens far too 
frequently. Where are the answers? The answers are most likely right in 
our backyards. I ask all of us here today and in our communities to 
value our kids, to talk to our kids, and to enlist their support as we 
work to create better communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I have listened attentively to the debate here today. As everybody 
has indicated, I, too, would like to repeat my condolences to the 
families, friends, schoolmates, everybody associated with these young 
people at Santee. This is a very difficult matter for them. No matter 
how we phrase it, it is always going to be a difficult matter for them, 
for those who were fortunate enough to live, for their lifetimes and 
for all of us something we will all remember our lifetimes.
  For our friends here in the Congress who are from San Diego County, 
you, too, have endured a great deal of hardship as a result of this; 
and we understand that. We offer you our sympathy as well.
  For all of us here in Congress, and I agree with the sponsor of the 
resolution, the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), we do not want 
to react instantaneously to this, but I would also hope that in this 
country that we would take a holistic approach to what we are doing 
with respect to violence in our society, that we in Congress will look 
at whatever laws that we can pass that we can agree upon; and I hope we 
would make the effort to reach that agreement, to make sure that we 
have the best laws possible to control the use of weapons of violence.
  We hope our State and local governments would do the same. We hope 
that our culture would do the same, that which we see in movies and 
television, read in books, see on the Internet, whatever it may be, 
would understand that what they write about or what they put into 
visual arts is something which indeed can affect the lives of young 
people out there.
  Obviously, it has been stated so articulately by so many Members here 
today, the bottom line of looking after our young people, in families, 
in school, in every way we possibly can is something that we have to 
do. We need to stop this bloodshed as best we possibly can. We all have 
to do it together. We cannot blame and fault each other. We have to 
reach out and try to help each other. For that reason I am pleased to 
be able to encourage everyone to support this resolution.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today sadly to support this legislation, 
which offers our condolences to the families and friends of those 
involved in the shooting last week at Santana High School in my home 
state of California. I want to personally express my deepest sympathies 
to the families of all the victims at Santee High School.
  Regrettably, another incident of school violence has left one of our 
communities grieving

[[Page H843]]

and looking for a way to prevent another terrible tragedy like the one 
that occurred in Santee.
  The bill before us today encourages communities to implement a wide 
variety of violence prevention services for our Nation's youth. I feel 
that one of the best violence prevention services is ensuring that we 
have adequate counselors available in our schools for troubled youth.
  While we may never know what causes some children to feel that 
violence is their only option to solve their problems, I believe that 
having a strong support system in place will show students that they 
have a safe place to go to when they are troubled. School counselors, 
psychologists, and social workers play a vital role in counseling 
students. As important as these counselors are, there are far too few 
of them in our schools.
  In some States, the ratio of students to counselors is over 1100 to 
1, although the National Academy of Sciences recommends that ratio to 
be no higher than 250 to 1.
  In order to correct this situation, I will soon reintroduce my 
legislation to establish a grant program to allow states to hire 
additional school-based mental health and student service personnel--
counselors, psychologists, and social workers. My bill will authorize 
$100 million over five years for this purpose.
  We must have these counselors in our schools so that students can 
turn to them at times of crisis in their lives. Counselors do make a 
difference, and hopefully if they are available to more students, we 
can try to prevent terrible tragedies such as that at Santee High.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the H. 
Con. Res. 57, a resolution condemning the Heinous atrocities that 
occurred on March 5, 2001, at Santana High School in Santee, 
California.
  The shooting occurred early morning 9:45 a.m., Monday March 8, on the 
campus of Santana High School, in Santee, CA, where a 15-year old 
suspect, Charles Andrew ``Andy'' Williams, fired 30 gunshots in the 
school killing two people and injuring thirteen people including two 
adult supervisors. In the aftermath, 14-year-old Brian Zuckor died at 
the school. One of the wounded students, 17-year-old Randy Gordon, died 
later of his injuries at Grossmont Hospital.
  Mr. Speaker, as founder and co-chair of the Congressional Children's 
Caucus and member of the Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on 
Crime I find myself again taking to the House floor to reiterate the 
need for serious and effective legislation regarding gun safety and our 
children as well as effective children's mental health initiative on 
the local, state and national level.
  I have continued my work into the 107th Congress on behalf of Child 
safety with the introduction of the ``Child Gun Safety and Gun Access 
Prevention Act of 2001'' (HR-70), and the ``Give a Kid a Chance Omnibus 
Mental Health Services Act of 2001'' (HR-75).
  HR-70 would increase youth gun safety by raising the age of handgun 
eligibility and prohibiting youth from possessing semiautomatic assault 
weapons. The measure also purposes an enhanced penalty for youth 
possession of handguns and semiautomatic assault weapons, as well as 
the transfer of such weapons to youth.
  HR-75 would amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services to support programs to promote 
mental health among all children and their families and to provide 
early intervention services to ameliorate identified mental health 
problems in children and adolescents.
  Mr. Speaker, parents and supervising adults must be held responsible 
for their children when their household contains dangerous firearms.'' 
My bill would hold adults responsible for the death and injury caused 
by a child's access to firearms. These Acts, if passed, would help 
prevent tragedies like the one that occurred Monday morning in Santee, 
CA, by encouraging schools to provide or participate in a firearms 
safety program for students in kindergarten through Grade 12. 
Prevention is key.

  In the 106th Congress I was an advocate for stronger and more 
enhanced gun laws and even introduced a motion in the U.S. House of 
Representatives that directed the members of the Juvenile Justice 
Conference Report to meet to discuss the current Juvenile Justice Bill. 
This motion also directed the committee report to include:
  Measures that aid in the effective enforcement of gun safety laws 
within the scope of the conference; and
  Common-sense gun safety measures that prevent felons, fugitives and 
stalkers from obtaining firearms and children from getting access to 
guns within the scope of conference.
  Mr. Speaker, here we are again, coming to the House floor to mourn 
the deaths of more of our Nation's young. Here we come again, to the 
House floor to express the need for adequate and enhanced gun 
legislation.
  According to Handgun Control, Inc. and the Texas Department of Public 
Health 5,285 children were killed by firearms in the United States; 260 
in Texas; and 37 in Harris County, Texas. For every child killed with a 
gun, 4 are wounded. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the 
rate of firearm death of children 0-14 years old is nearly 12 times 
higher in the U.S. than in 25 other industrialized nations combined.
  Mr. Speaker, many people say that guns do not kill people, people 
kill people. However, I believe that guns do kill people, especially 
when wielded by children. More than 800 Americans, young and old, die 
each year from guns shot by children under the age of 19.
  The firearm injury epidemic, due largely to handgun injuries, is 10 
times larger than the polio epidemic of the first half of this century.
  More than 1300 children aged 10-19 committed suicide with firearms. 
Unlike suicide attempts using other methods, suicide attempts with guns 
are nearly always fatal, meaning a temporarily depressed teenager will 
never get a second chance at life. We must end this continual suffering 
that our nation is experiencing. People are tired of having to suffer 
through daily breaking news that another child was killed as a result 
of gun violence. I am concerned about children and their access to 
guns. I am concerned that guns are not regulated in the same way that 
toys are regulated.
  I am concerned that we do not have safety standards for locking 
devices on guns. I am concerned that we do not prohibit children from 
attending gun shows unsupervised. I am concerned that we have not 
focused on the statistics on children and guns.
  The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) strongly stresses that the 
most effective measure to prevent firearm-related injuries to children 
and adolescent is to remove guns from homes and communities. According 
to the AAP statement:
  The United States has the highest rates of firearm-related deaths 
among industrialized countries.
  The overall rate of firearm-related deaths for children younger than 
15 years of age is nearly 12 times greater than that found for 25 other 
industrialized nations.
  The Academy even predicts that by the year 2003, firearm-related 
deaths may become the leading cause of injury-related death.
  Already, among black males 10 through 34 years of age, injuries from 
firearms are the leading cause of deaths.
  Even more tragic is the fact that most firearm-related deaths of 
children occur before their arrival at the hospital.
  Thus, most of our children that injured by firearms do not even have 
a chance. This is the reality in our country that must not be denied.
  Another important fact pointed out by the American Academy of 
Pediatrics is that: In 1994, the mean medical cost per gunshot injury 
was approximately $17,000 producing 2.3 billion in lifetime medical 
costs, 1.1 billion of that was paid by US taxpayers.
  Thus, it not only makes common sense, but economic sense to pass 
legislation that includes child safety measures so that we can prevent 
tragedies like the school shootings in Santana High School in Santee, 
California, Columbine and Littleton, Colorado from occurring again.
  Mr. Speaker, we must remember the sad fact that 13 children die 
everyday from firearms. It would seem that in almost the year since the 
Littleton shootings, virtually nothing has been done to address these 
serious problems. That is why I introduced my own bill, the ``Children 
Gun Safety and Adult Supervision Act in Congress this year,'' which 
would increase youth gun safety by raising the age of handgun 
eligibility and prohibiting youth from possessing semiautomatic assault 
weapons, but by enhancing the penalties for those adults who recklessly 
disregard the risk that a child is capable of gaining access to a 
firearm.
  Child Safety legislation is not a novel concept. There are numerous 
laws on the books that create guidelines in order to protect the most 
impressionable people in our society--our children. Children under the 
age of 17 must be accompanied into an R rated movie at the theatres, 
yet that same child can walk into a gun show where he/she is surrounded 
by assault weapons.

  A child, and I stress the word child, under the age of 18 cannot walk 
into a store and purchase cigarettes, yet that same child can walk into 
a gun show where he/she is surrounded by assault weapons.
  There is Dram Shop law that hold liquor seller's liable for their 
part in the wrongful death of a person who left their establishment 
intoxicated, yet none for people who recklessly leave firearms in the 
presence of children. There is definitely a problem in this society if 
we allow special interest groups to prevent us from protecting our 
precious children.
  Furthermore, our children's schools should be safe and secure places 
for all students, teachers and staff members. All children should be 
able to go to and from school without fearing for their safety. 
However, there are

[[Page H844]]

signs that we should all pay attention to in order to prevent such acts 
of violence.
  For example, according to news reports from the heartbreak at past 
school shootings, the young assailants were outcasts in the school 
community. During the shooting, the children reportedly said that they 
were ``out for revenge'' for having been made fun of last year. This is 
truly a cry for help that was not heard in time.
  This incident underscores the urgent need for mental health services 
to address the needs of young people like the suspects from yesterday. 
Without concerted efforts to address the mental health disorders that 
affect our children, we may witness more terrifying violence in our 
schools.
  I am dismayed by the string of violent incidents that have occurred 
in our schools within the past 24 months. In the past months my office 
has received many calls and letters from constituents who believe that 
we support legislation that will take away their guns.
  Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about children and their access to guns. 
I am concerned that guns are not regulated in the same way that toys 
are regulated. I am concerned that we do not have safety standards for 
locking devices on guns. I am concerned that we do not prohibit 
children from attending gun shows unsupervised. I am concerned that we 
have not focused on the statistics on children and guns.
  By now, we are familiar with the statistics on gun violence among 
young people. In 1996, male high school seniors were about three times 
as likely to carry a weapon to school. According to the most recent 
data compiled in 1997 by the National Center for Health Statistics, 630 
children 14 years and under died; 3,593 children ages 15-19 died. In 
total, 4,223 children died in this Nation due to the scourge of gun 
violence in our communities. The most troubling statistic is that 
today, 13 children die from gun violence.

  The United States is leading the country even among Brazil and 
Mexico, countries we often think of having extreme incidences of gun 
violence. And, the statistics indicate that youth violence is a growing 
percentage among the total number of homicides occurring per year.
  How long must we wait until legislation is passed that will begin to 
adequately address this growing phenomenon. We as a nation, cannot sit 
idly by as our children are inundated by firearm violence on 
television, at the movies, on the streets and now in the classroom.
  If I have not stressed the urgency of this matter, let me further 
bring to your attention the result of inadequate firearm safety 
legislation. August 10, 1999, Buford O. Furrow, Jr. in Los Angeles, 
California used an Uzi semiautomatic, Glock 9mm handgun in a Jewish 
community center and wounded three children, a teenager, a 68-year-old 
receptionist and killed a postal worker.
  Mr. Speaker, now is the time to act and pass enhanced gun legislation 
and Children's mental health legislation to address the proliferation 
of school shootings and gun violence in general. I urge my colleagues 
to join me in committing to addressing this problem today.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, once again, we must lower our 
Nation's flag in one solemn accord, to mourn two young children who 
were stolen in their prime. Randy Gordon and Bryan Zuckor are cherished 
by all who love them. We all extend our prayers and thoughts to the 
families of the victims and to the community Santee, where they are 
struggling to find answers to a dreaded and unfortunate situation.
  The horror of the shootings at Santana High School, and the 
proliferation of teenage shootings across the country has forced us to 
confront an increasing problem that leave the doorsteps of every school 
in every community vulnerable. As we scramble ardently to attack the 
problem, we realize that children are falling through the cracks. 
Misguided youth are taking unhealthy measures to cope with growing 
pains of adolescence--open communication is now transformed into acts 
of violence.
  We must never rest until we inoculate the epidemic of teenage 
violence that afflicts our communities. On this sad occasion, we must 
forge ahead and continue our attempts to resolve random acts of youth 
violence.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 57, 
condemning the recent school shooting that occurred in Santee, 
California, and I thank the distinguished gentleman from California, 
Mr. Hunter, for bringing this issue to the House floor.
  With the passing of this resolution, we will show our support for the 
families and friends of the victims of this school shooting at Santana 
High School. This act of violence by a fifteen-year-old boy has not 
only disrupted the lives of those in Santee, but has shaken and 
disturbed our entire Nation. We join in recognizing and commending the 
rapid, efficient response of the law enforcement professionals and 
school officials in handling this situation. Without their immediate 
and professional response, we could have been faced with even more 
greater fatalities.
  Condemning this action is only the first step in our struggle to end 
school violence. I ask you also to consider H.R. 255, the safer America 
for Everyone's Children Act. This act authorizes the Attorney General 
to provide grants to local governments with gun buyback programs, 
school violence initiatives, and activities which meet child care needs 
of parents during non-school hours. With this act, we encourage 
communities to implement these programs and help to strengthen the 
already existing programs.
  The gun buyback program will remove unwanted guns from American homes 
by paying one hundred dollars for semiautomatic weapons and fifty 
dollars for all other firearms.
  The school violence initiatives will help to implement comprehensive 
strategies to ensure that our schools are safe and drug-free. The 
majority of juvenile crimes occur between the hours of 3 and 7 pm, when 
children are without any supervision. To combat this surge of crime, 
activities during non-school hours will be designed to focus on the 
social, physical, emotional, moral, or cognitive well-being of 
students. Those activities may include leadership development, 
character training, delinquency prevention, sports and recreation, 
arts, tutoring, or academic enrichment. By taking these pro-active 
measures to ensure the safety and well being of students, we will help 
reduce the risks of school violence for our future.

  Now is the time to act to protect our children. We must ensure the 
safety of our children and our faculties in schools across the Nation. 
We cannot continue to merely react to school shootings. We must be pro-
active and take action to prevent school violence from occurring. With 
this legislation we encourage our Nation to bring forth solutions to 
prevent school violence and to work together to help ensure the safety 
of students, faculty and staff in our schools.
  Two students lost their lives on March 5th in Santee, CA. Many before 
them have died. If we ignore this problem, may more may lose their 
lives. School violence will not diminish without concerned action on 
local and national levels.
  I thank Mr. Hunter for bringing to our attention this issue of 
immense importance and I urge my colleagues to support the passage of 
this resolution.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, today I sadly join my colleagues in mourning 
the loss of two young lives in the tragic and senseless act of violence 
that occurred in San Diego County last week, and in expressing our 
deepest sympathy to their family and friends of the students who were 
killed. I also join my colleagues in condemning such acts of violence, 
and in urging all Americans to search for ways to reach out to our 
young people in an effort to prevent future tragedies of this nature.
  All too often in recent years, we've been coming to the floor for 
resolutions of this nature. While the result remains shocking, 
unfortunately, the story is no longer new; a child gets his hands on a 
gun, and in fit of rage, uses it on his classmates and teachers.
  We all want to find blame. We all want to know why. The questions are 
endless, but the answers are few.
  What we know is that no one is immune from these tragedies. They have 
occurred in big cities, suburbs and small towns. What is obvious is 
that some of our children feel alienated and estranged from their peers 
and community, and choose to express their anger and frustration 
through increasingly violent acts of aggression. And what is perhaps 
most frightening in this case, is the fact that some students and 
perhaps adults may have been able to foresee this tragedy, but for a 
variety of reasons, chose not to believe it possible, not to act, or 
not to do more to stop it.
  It is imperative that we, as Americans, do more to communicate with 
our young people, and know what is going on in their lives. We must, as 
communities, act to give all children a sense of belonging; in their 
families, their schools, and their neighborhoods. We must offer young 
people our friendship and earn their trust, so that they will come 
forward for help when feeling outcast, or when sensing a friend is 
slipping into despair or rage.
  Today, we, as representatives of individuals and families across the 
Nation, mourn with individuals and families in Santee, California. But 
we cannot simply express our shock and horror today; we must, each of 
us, take action in our communities, to connect with our young people, 
and try with all our might, to prevent tragedy in our hometowns.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 57 
introduced by Congressman Hunter expressing sense that Congress 
condemns the heinous atrocities that occurred on March 5 at Santana 
High School in Santee, California. Congress offers its deepest 
condolences to the families and friends of those killed in the 
shooting.
  Last July, I had the opportunity to meet with a group of high school 
students from Colorado to discuss gun safety legislation. In response 
to school shootings across the Nation, these

[[Page H845]]

students formed an organization to call on Congress to approve 
reasonable, common-sense gun control measures. Without question, these 
students, some from Columbine High School, are the best authorities on 
the terrible effects of gun violence. Childhood is supposed to be a 
time of shelter and learning. Instead, our Nation and our youth are 
facing an epidemic of gun violence. I believe that there are more steps 
that we can take to help restore innocence, a sense of security, and 
safety to childhood.
  Unfortunately, it has taken another shooting at one of our schools, 
in this case, the Santana High School in Santee, California, to remind 
us of our duty.
  The plague of gun violence too often attacks the most innocent 
members of our society. Every day in our Nation, 13 young people are 
senselessly killed in homicides, suicides, and unintentional shootings. 
We lose the equivalent of a classroom of students every two days. 
According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control, the rate of 
firearm death of children in the United States is nearly twelve times 
higher than in 25 other industrialized countries combined. It is clear 
that we must have an increased commitment to responsibility, education, 
and safety.
  As a Nation, as a community, we have the responsibility to protect 
our children from the horrors of gun violence. Limiting their access to 
firearms and ending the violence should be a common goal for the 
Nation.
  I want to thank the leadership for bringing this resolution to the 
floor and I wish to extend my condolences to the families of the 
victims and commend the staff and faculty of Santana High School for 
their rapid response to the situation. It is my hope that we, in 
Congress, can prevent a tragedy of this nature from ever happening 
again.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart. A 
little over a week ago, a troubled young man committed an act of 
unspeakable evil, which changed the lives of all San Diegans forever.
  Today we consider a resolution to condemn the heinous atrocities that 
occurred on March 5, 2001, at Santana High School in Santee, 
California. I rise to support the resolution offered by my good friend 
and colleague from California.
  Tragically, today nearly 1,900 students will return to Santana High 
School without many of their classmates, one teacher, and one security 
guard.
  Among these students who will never return to Santana High School are 
Randy Gordon, a 17 year old who talked about going into the Navy after 
he graduated and Brian Zuckor, a 14 year old who thought someday he 
might become a stuntman. They went to school last week, figuring it 
would be just another day. Tragically, it was their last.
  Other students injured in this terrible incident include: Heather 
Cruz, Trevor Edwards, Travis Gallegos-Tate, Barry Gibson, Matthew 
Heier, James Jackson, Karla Leyva, Scott Marshall, Melissa McNulty, 
Triston Salladay, and Raymond Serrato. Also among the wounded was Tim 
Estes, a student teacher, and Peter Ruiz Jr., a campus security guard.
  This tragedy has caused us all to reevaluate and reflect on our own 
moral and social values and to reexamine the role that we play as 
parents, relatives, and family members in the lives of our country's 
children. This tragedy has driven many of us to work to bring not only 
healing, but also a reformation of our way of life. Every America felt 
what happened to those students. The phrase, ``it can't happen in my 
backyard'' is now gone for the residents of Santee.
  I ask that my colleagues in the United States Congress and my fellow 
citizens, pray for the students of Santana High School. Pray that 
carefree feelings that come with youth return to these students. Pray 
that we have the power and commitment to do our part to ensure that 
this horrible violation of innocence is never repeated again.
  Mr. Speaker, we should all hope that this never happens again, we 
should all work to see that it doesn't.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gillmor). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
57, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution, as 
amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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