[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 66 (Tuesday, May 15, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H2153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H2153]]
                        TEENAGE PREGNANCY MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2001, the gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor of the House 
this afternoon because I care about our communities and our young 
people. I want to give an ovation to the honorable gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) to support this teenage pregnancy month 
and certainly to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson), who 
had another engagement and had to leave, because it is imperative, I 
believe, to raise the awareness around the crisis of teenage pregnancy.
  Nearly 1 million teenagers in this country become pregnant every 
year. One in four of these teenagers will have a second baby within 
years of the first child. In Indiana, from which I hail, if you will, 
we have 37,340 teenage girls who become pregnant every year. Just 
imagine, 37,340 teenage girls become pregnant every year. Eighty-eight 
out of every 1,000 girls age 15 to 19 become pregnant in Indiana every 
year.
  When a teenager has a baby, it reduces her chances of completing high 
school. It reduces her chances of earning a decent wage. Her access to 
health care will decrease, which will contribute to poor nutritional 
health for her and her baby. In so many cases, because she cannot 
afford a baby-sitter, this young woman either loses her job for missing 
days to stay with a child or is forced to leave her baby in situations 
that are totally undesirable.
  In addition, my recent bill, the Responsible Fatherhood Act seeks to 
address many of the fathers who are either unwilling or unable to be a 
source of support, both financially and emotionally, for their 
children. The effects of teenage pregnancy may also have negative 
effects on young fathers.
  I would hasten to add, however, Mr. Speaker, that the majority of 
teenage girls who become pregnant have not had relationships with young 
boys. The babies are fathered by men who are not teenagers.

                              {time}  1300

  Some studies suggest, on the other hand, that teenage fathers obtain 
somewhat lower education levels, suffer from loss of earnings on the 
order of 10 to 15 percent annually, and are more likely to end up in 
prison. This too causes long-term consequences for society as a whole.
  There are no easy answers to solving teenage pregnancy, and our 
approach must be comprehensive and multifaceted. I would like to 
acknowledge the successful efforts that have been made as a result of 
communities working through a variety of programs that coordinate 
parents, schools, communities, and religious organizations.
  I would like to recognize the important work of the National Campaign 
to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The organization does a tremendous job 
because it recognizes the broad consequences for society and the 
individuals directly involved when children continue to have children. 
We must empower and support the brave individuals all over the country 
who are working with programs at the grass-roots level to reduce 
teenage pregnancy. It is programs such as these that give our young 
people a fighting chance and an alternative to engaging in destructive 
behavior.
  We believe that if young people have a strategy for the future and 
have hope about their career and have economic security, they are more 
likely to value the need to develop themselves, rather than getting 
involved in behavior that is self-destructive, including premature sex.
  I would like to recognize an important bill introduced by my 
colleague, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne). This bill, the 
Mentoring for Success Act, will provide grants to expand mentoring 
through new programs and existing programs throughout the country, 
hopefully reaching around 200,000 young people.
  As the gentleman from Nebraska mentioned, studies have shown that 
young people who are mentored will be 50 percent less likely to skip 
school, 50 percent less likely to begin using drugs, 36 percent less 
likely to lie to a parent, 30 percent less likely to commit a violent 
act of any kind, and certainly they are less likely to drop out of high 
school.
  Mr. Speaker, let me add in closing that I stand here as a Member of 
the United States Congress and am the product of a teenage pregnancy. 
However, the amount of community support, religious support, and school 
support that I received as a young person has boded well in terms of my 
future. I hope that we can work together in Congress to pass important 
pieces of legislation and to offer the necessary resources to 
counteract this pandemic.

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