[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 23, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5549-S5552]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Wellstone):
  S. 940. A bill to leave no child behind; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, on behalf of myself, Senator Kennedy, and 
Senator Wellstone, I rise today to introduce the Leave No Child Behind 
Act, legislation that will address the needs of our nation's children 
to deliver them from poverty, violence, abuse, neglect, and poor 
education.
  This measure combines the best public and private ideas, policies, 
and practices into a comprehensive measure to improve the lives of all 
children. Not just poor children. But all children.
  Many Members of Congress have contributed to this legislation, adding 
their ideas and their thoughts, including: Senator Kennedy, Senator 
Jeffords, Senator Rockefeller, Senator DeWine, Senator Harkin, Senator 
Stevens, Senator Biden, Senator Snowe, Senator Boxer, Senator Grassley, 
Senator Daschle, Senator Gordon Smith, Senator Reed, Senator Chafee, 
Senator Wellstone, Senator Kerry, Senator Durbin, Senator Feinstein, 
Senator Kohl, Senator Torricelli, Senator Schumer, and Senator Bayh. A 
number of Members of the House have also contributed to this 
legislation. It is without hesitation that I say that this bill would 
not have been possible without the help of so many of my colleagues.
  For the first time in more than a generation, our budget is in 
balance. Indeed, we have a surplus. At long last, we can talk about 
meeting the needs of the future, rather than paying off the debts of 
the past. For the first time in decades, we have an opportunity to put 
children first, to move them out of poverty, to end their hunger, to 
heal their wounds, to enrich and inform their minds.
  We are on the verge of doing what many of us have long dreamed of 
doing for America's young people.
  The legislation we are introducing today represents a vision for 
children in the 21st century.
  It's more than a bill. More than pages of legislative language. It's 
a covenant that we are entering into today. Not only with each other, 
but with those who will stand in this place long after we have gone.
  It's a declaration that we need to put children first, and that we 
intend to put children first. In doing so, we put America first.
  A question that we must all ask ourselves and ask this country, is, 
what should our highest priority be? When I ask this question, the 
response I most often receive is our children.
  Children are one-quarter of our population. But they are one hundred 
percent of our future.
  Despite that fact, they are getting a fraction of our attention and a 
fraction of our resources.
  Having languished in budget deficits for years, we now have the 
largest projected federal budget surpluses in the history of this 
Nation. We have witnessed unprecedented prosperity. We are so lucky to 
live in this free and dynamic society, a Nation at peace, of such great 
wealth.
  But some are not so lucky. Some families struggle through each day. 
They live paycheck to paycheck. Their children are hungry. They're 
cold. They might have difficulty following the teacher's instructions 
on the blackboard because they can't see it clearly. But their parents 
haven't taken them to the doctor because they don't have health 
insurance.
  Over 12 million children live in poverty.
  Nearly 11 million children have no health coverage.
  About 7 million children go home alone each week after school.
  This is America, too.
  The legislation we are introducing today is called, ``An Act to Leave 
No Child Behind''. We are committed to one principle beyond all others. 
Not just as a slogan, but as a means to define an urgent national 
priority.
  Regrettably, however, for some those words are slogans, and nothing 
more. There are those who utter the words ``Leave No Child Behind'' in 
front of microphones and television cameras. They have adopted the 
words as a political mantra, repeating it endlessly during ``photo-
ops'' with children and in press conferences with reporters.
  We need to make sure that we not only talk about leaving no child 
behind, but that we actually take steps to do so. Introducing this bill 
is the first step.
  Every word on every page is focused on the same purpose--lifting our 
children up, giving each child an opportunity, helping each child to 
have a safe and rewarding life.
  Under the Act to Leave No Child Behind, every child in America would 
have health coverage. No child in America would go to bed at night 
aching from hunger. We would use our tax code to lift millions of 
children out of poverty.
  It's time to ensure that every American child has an opportunity to 
attend Head Start, Pre-K, or child care to begin a lifetime of 
learning. That every American child can read by 4th grade, and read at 
grade level. It's time to take dramatic new steps to address the needs 
of children who are abused and neglected every year.
  Those who are truly committed to leaving no child behind will support 
this bill. It's about priorities. It's about values.
  As we speak, Congress is considering how to spend our nation's 
surplus.
  Sadly, a disproportionate share of that surplus will not go to our 
nation's children, but to those who least need our help and attention.
  Most of the surplus will go to the tax cut. And, most of the tax cut 
will go to those who are doing the best in our society, those who least 
need a helping hand or a step up.
  Are those the values that we want to instill in our children? That as 
a Nation we care not for those who need our help most?
  It's time to take a stance for children.
  It's time to invest in the needs of our children. Not in a token way, 
but in a real way. A meaningful way that will make a difference in a 
child's life.
  We have the resources. The time is right.
  If we join together, we can transform this Nation and give each and 
every child his God-given right to grow and flourish to all he can be. 
To grow to his or her fullest potential. We want an America where all 
children can realize their dreams.
  I ask unanimous consent that a summary of the Act to Leave No Child 
Behind be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

    The Act To Leave No Child Behind--Detailed Summary, May 23, 2001


Title I. Healthy Start--Every uninsured child should have comprehensive 
                            health coverage.

                 Section A. Children's health insurance

       Create a new federal health program with comprehensive 
     benefits similar to Medicare for uninsured children, who are 
     not covered by existing programs.

   Section B. Children's health insurance eligibility expansion and 
                        enrollment improvements

       Expand existing federal children's health programs (CHIP/
     Medicaid) up to 300% of poverty through age 21 and require 
     states to allow families above 300% of poverty to buy into 
     the program for their uninsured children on a sliding scale 
     premium basis.
       Give states the option of providing coverage under CHIP and 
     Medicaid to legal immigrant children and legal immigrant 
     pregnant women.
       Give states the option to allow families with too much 
     income to qualify for Medicaid to purchase coverage for their 
     disabled children.

[[Page S5550]]

       Simplify outreach and enrollment for CHIP and Medicaid and 
     enroll all children at birth.

                  Section C. Improving access to care

       Establish Children's Access To Care Commission that shall 
     make recommendations for improving children's access to care, 
     removing barriers to care, and improving children's health 
     status.
       Strengthen the care of children under HMO's.
       Require DHHS to collect data from states participating in 
     the Medicaid program on the delivery of services to children 
     through the early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and 
     Treatment component of the program, in order to document the 
     delivery of services through all service delivery 
     arrangements.

          Section D. Reducing public health risks for children

       Appropriate $50 million per year for grants to state to 
     develop programs to prevent, treat and manage children 
     asthma.
       Implement an aggressive youth smoking cessation and 
     education program and provide the FDA authority to regulate 
     the marketing of tobacco products to children.
       Increase funding for HUD's Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control 
     grants and Healthy Homes grants.
       All private insurance policies would be required to pay for 
     immunizations as a benefit of coverage.

      Section E. Reducing environmental health risks for children.

       Require testing of chemicals to determine safe exposure 
     levels for children.
       Reduce the use of toxic chemicals in schools.


  Title II. Healthy Start--All Parents Deserve Help to Support Their 
                     Children's Healthy Development

       Promote State and Local Parenting Support and Education 
     Programs. Provide grants to state parenting support and 
     education councils to develop and expand local activities to 
     help parents appropriately care for and respond to their 
     children's needs, without having to wait until problems 
     develop.
       Extend Supports for Parents Caring for Children. Expand the 
     Family and Medical Leave Act to apply to employers with 25 or 
     more employees, rather than 50 as in current law.
       Paid Family Leave. Establish demonstration projects with 
     paid leave for new parents so that they are able to spend 
     time with a new infant or newly adopted child.
       Extend Health Care to Uninsured Parents. Expand the federal 
     children's health programs, CHIP and Medicaid, to cover 
     uninsured parents of children who are eligible for CHIP or 
     Medicaid and to pregnant women.
       Help Parents Reduce Environmental Health Risks for their 
     Children. Strengthen consumer right-to-know laws to ensure 
     that parents are fully aware of the presence of potentially 
     harmful substances in products to which their children are 
     exposed.
       Encourage Support from Non-Custodial Parents. Provide 
     grants to localities or non-profit providers for services to 
     low-income non-custodial parents so that they can contribute 
     financially, emotionally and in other positive ways to their 
     children's development.


title III. Head start--all children should enter school ready to learn 
           and reach their highest potential while in school

                    Section A. Infants and toddlers

       Increase the Early Head Start set-aside for infants and 
     toddlers from 10 percent to 40 percent.
       Allocate 5% of total CCDBG funds in FY 2003 to improve and 
     expand infant child care, rising to 10% in FY 2007.

                      Section B. Child care access

       Increase funding proportionately each year to ensure that 
     every child eligible for assistance under the Child Care and 
     Development Block Grant (CCDBG) receives assistance by 2011.
       Require that states make children in foster care an 
     eligible category for CCDBG.
       Require states to pay not less than the 100th percentile of 
     the market rate for child care, with higher rates for higher 
     quality care, hard-to-find care, care for children with 
     special needs, and care in low-income and rural communities. 
     States would also be required to adjust rates by inflation 
     between market surveys.
       Require that the CCDBG agency coordinate with the TANF 
     agency to ensure that child care assistance staff are located 
     on-site at TANF offices. Require that state CCDBG plans 
     describe how they will ensure that TANF and other low-income 
     working families are aware of their eligibility for child 
     care assistance as part of their consumer education strategy.
       Require no more than annual eligibility determination.

               Section C. Child care quality improvements

       Create a program to improve wages and skills of child care 
     staff.
       Improve child care quality by increasing the CCDBG quality 
     set aside from 4 to 12 percent.
       Require every state to have a state-based office that is 
     charged with developing a system of local resource and 
     referral agencies to provide parents with information and 
     support, collect data on the supply and demand of child care 
     in the community, develop linkages to businesses, and help to 
     build the supply of quality child care.
       Require child care centers operated on federal or 
     legislative property to comply with either state and local 
     child care operation and safety laws or similar safety rules 
     established by the General Services Administration.
       Provide $500 million per year to support the construction 
     of new child care facilities.
       Expand the existing national 1% CCDBG set-aside to 2%. This 
     set-aside will be used for training and technical assistance 
     to states, communities, and CCDBG grantees.
       Require all providers receiving CCDBG, or who work in 
     programs receiving CCDBG, to have training in early childhood 
     development.
       Require at a minimum two annual unannounced visits for each 
     facility accepting CCDBG funding.

           Section D. Head Start and Early Head Start access

       Increase funds proportionately each year to ensure that 
     every three and four-year-old eligible for Head Start may 
     participate by 2006 and 25% of eligible infants and toddlers 
     may participate in Early Head Start by 2011.
       Expand investments in the Early Learning Opportunities Act 
     to provide increased resources to communities for early 
     learning initiatives.

                   Section E. Education improvements

     Early learning
       Provide grants to states to ensure access to pre-
     kindergarten for families who choose to participate.
       Amend the Reading Excellence Act to require that states 
     support early literacy efforts in child care, pre-
     kindergarten, and Head Start programs.
       Create a book stamp program that would enable proceeds from 
     a children's literacy postage stamp to support a system to 
     expand books in the homes of low income children that are 
     enrolled in child care programs.
       Authorize $30 million in ESEA for the Education Excellence 
     Act, which would provide professional development for early 
     childhood educators in high poverty communities.
     Increased accountability
       Amend Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
     (ESEA) to require states and local school districts to 
     establish specific goals and performance benchmarks aimed at 
     improving the performance of all students, to strengthen 
     requirements mandating corrective actions for failing schools 
     such as school reconstitution and transfers to other public 
     schools, and to require states to issue report cards 
     detailing the performance of individuals schools.
     Reduce class size
       Provide funding to help local school districts recruit, 
     train, and hire additional teachers to reduce class size in 
     grades K through 3.
     Quality teaching and leadership
       Provide incentives to teachers to obtain certification from 
     the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
       Improve student loan forgiveness program for aspiring 
     teachers.
       Provide support to recruit, prepare and place career-
     changing professionals as teachers.
       Award competitive grants to establish programs for teacher 
     quality improvement.
       Provide for professional development services to increase 
     leadership skills of school principals.
     School construction
       Provide new tax incentives for school construction/
     modernization bonds.
       Establish a grant program to assist LEA's to increase the 
     involvement of parents, teachers, students, and others in the 
     planning and design of new and renovated elementary and 
     secondary schools.
     Community schools
       Encourage communities to foster school-based or school-
     linked family centers.


 Title IV. Fair Start--Lifting All Children Out of Poverty--Tax Relief 
                 To Assist Low-Income Working Families

       Increase the child tax credit from $500 to $1000 and make 
     if fully refundable.
       Expand the EITC for families with three or more children 
     and reduce the marriage penalty for families eligible for the 
     EITC.
       Expand the Dependent Care Tax Credit to increase the slide 
     to 50%, make it refundable, and annually index income phase-
     outs and cost of care for inflation.


Title V. Fair Start--Ensure that Children and Families Receive Supports 
                   to Promote Work and Reduce Poverty

Section A. Ensure children and families receive all supports for which 
                           they are eligible

       Initiate a Gateways Program that provides grants to states, 
     localities, and/or community based organizations to (a) train 
     caseworkers about available support programs and their 
     eligibility requirements; (b) expand outreach about available 
     support assistance; (c) improve automation and application 
     procedures; and (d) track the extent to which low-income 
     families receive the benefits and services for which they are 
     eligible.

                  Section B. Support from both parents

       Improve child support collections and let families keep the 
     money collected for their children; provide federal 
     incentives for states to pass through payments collected for 
     families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 
     (TANF); and require families who have left TANF to receive 
     any support collected through IRS intercepts.
       Provide funding for child support assurance demonstration 
     projects.

            Section C. Fair wages and unemployment insurance

       Increase the federal minimum wage to $6.65 over three 
     installments and index it for inflation.

[[Page S5551]]

       Implement ``living wage'' policy for employees of federal 
     contractors or subcontractors.
       Make Unemployment Insurance more accessible to low income 
     families with children, including more favorable counting of 
     wages for the purpose of determining eligibility, expanding 
     benefits to part-time workers, and making domestic violence 
     and lack of child care causes for separation from employment.

  Section D. Helping low income parents get and keep jobs with above 
                             poverty income

       Add poverty reduction as a goal of the TANF program.
       For those families who are working and playing by the 
     rules, the TANF time limit is interrupted.
       Allow a broader range of education and training to count as 
     work activities under TANF.
       Initiate a TANF poverty reduction bonus for states.
       Require state and local TANF officials to participate in 
     the Workforce Investment Boards.

       Section E. Create incentives to serve families effectively

       The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall develop 
     model training materials for caseworkers.
       TANF funds used by states to provide caseworker bonuses and 
     new state initiatives to break down barriers to work shall 
     not count towards the 15 percent administrative cap.
       Strengthen Individual Responsibility Plans.

                  Section F. Addressing work barriers

       Expand funding for the Department of Transportation's 
     Access to Jobs program to allow parents better access to jobs 
     and child care.
       Require caseworkers with adequate training to identify work 
     barriers of TANF recipients, including domestic violence, 
     mental health, drug or alcohol problems, homelessness, or 
     disability and to provide appropriate services to address 
     these barriers.
       Allow states to exempt families with severe barriers to 
     employment from TANF time limits, even if the total exempted 
     exceeds 20 percent of the current caseload.

              Section G. Protections for families in need

       Earn back months of TANF assistance for months worked.
       Hold agencies accountable for ensuring that families who 
     are unable to comply with complex TANF rules are afforded a 
     real conciliation process.

                    Section H. TANF reauthorization

       Reauthorize TANF.
       Prohibit supplantation of state funding for programs 
     serving needy families with children with federal TANF funds.


  title vi. fair start--all families with children should receive the 
           support they need to live above poverty--nutrition

                    Section A. Child care nutrition

       Allow for-profit child care centers to participate in the 
     Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) if 25 percent of 
     their enrolled children are eligible for free and reduced-
     priced lunch.
       Allow youth in after-school programs up to age 19 to 
     participate in CACFP if they are enrolled in community-based 
     programs including those outside of low-income areas.
       Provide a dinner for after-school programs.
       Standardize the categorical eligibility requirements for 
     income determination in the family child care portion of 
     CACFP.
       Increase the CACFP sponsors' administrative reimbursement 
     rate to reflect the increased administrative burden of the 
     means test system.

                     Section B. Food stamp program

       Restore Food Stamp eligibility to legal immigrants.
       Provide six months of transitional food stamp benefits to 
     those who leave TANF.
       Index the standard deduction for family size and inflation.
       Eliminate the cap on excess shelter costs for families with 
     children.
       Include child support in earnings disregard.
       Increase funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program 
     (TEFAP).
       Reduce burden on eligible families in renewing benefits.
       Improve incentives for states to serve low-income working 
     families better.


 title vii. fair start--all families should receive the supports they 
                  need to live above poverty--housing

       Provide 1 million new Section 8 vouchers over 10 years.
       Establish a Voucher Success program for communities 
     experiencing problems utilizing Section 8 vouchers.
       Redirect surplus generated by federal housing programs into 
     National Affordable Housing Trust to help alleviate the 
     housing crisis by funding new construction of affordable 
     rental housing.
       Promote preservation of affordable housing units by 
     providing matching grants to states that have developed and 
     funded programs for preservation of privately owned housing 
     that is affordable to low-income families.


  title viii. safe start--ensuring every child a safe, nurturing, and 
                            permanent family

              Section A. Promoting permanency for children

       Enhance the likelihood that the goals for children in the 
     Adoption and Safe Families Act will be met by offering states 
     funding for preventive, protective, and crisis services for 
     children and parents who come to the attention of the child 
     welfare system, permanency services for families whose 
     children end up in foster care, independent living services 
     for young people transitioning from foster care, and post-
     permanency services for children who are reunited with their 
     families, adopted, or placed permanently with relatives or 
     other legal guardians.
       Improve the quality of services for children by extending 
     funding for training of staff of private child welfare 
     agencies, judges and other court staff, and other children's 
     service providers that serve abused and neglected children.
       Offer kinship guardianship assistance payments to 
     grandparents and other relatives who commit to care 
     permanently for children for whom they have legal 
     guardianship and that they have cared for in foster care.
       Eliminate current federal disincentives to ensure that 
     children who have been abused or neglected or are at risk of 
     maltreatment receive the services and supports they need.
       Eliminate current federal disincentives to promote adoption 
     for children with special needs.
       Support young people aging out of foster care by offering 
     them increased opportunities for supervised living 
     arrangements and tuition assistance to help them pursue a 
     range of educational opportunities.
       Increase accountability within the child welfare system to 
     improve outcomes for children and services available to 
     children and families.
       Expand opportunities for Indian tribes to offer foster care 
     and adoption assistance to Indian children.

             Section B. Promoting safe and stable families

       Reauthorize and increase funding for the Promoting Safe and 
     Stable Families Program.

                 Section C. Social services block grant

       Restore funding for the Social Services Block Grant, which 
     supports a range of services for abused, neglected and other 
     children, and also provides help for persons with 
     disabilities, senior citizens, and other special populations.

     Section D. Child protection and alcohol and drug partnerships

       Address the treatment needs of families with alcohol and 
     drug problems who come to the attention of the child welfare 
     system by giving state child protection and alcohol and drug 
     agencies incentives to offer joint screening, assessment, 
     comprehensive treatment and after care services, and 
     training.

                 Section E. One-time permanency grants

       Offer one-time assistance to state child welfare agencies 
     to help move children who were in foster care when the 
     Adoption and Safe Families Act was passed, and will not be 
     returning home, into adoptive families or other permanent 
     placements with kin.

        Section F. Helping children exposed to domestic violence

       Promote multi-system partnerships to respond to the needs 
     of children who have been exposed to domestic violence.
       Promote cross-training for staff of child welfare agencies 
     and domestic violence service providers about domestic 
     violence and its impact on children and relevant child 
     welfare policies.
       Enhance research and data collection on the impact of 
     domestic violence on children.
       Offer grants to elementary and secondary schools and early 
     care and education programs to help prevent domestic violence 
     and its impact on its adult and child victims.
       Support training for law enforcement and court personnel 
     about domestic violence and its impact on children.

  Section G. Enhancing healthy emotional development in young children

       Assist networks of early childhood, child welfare, 
     substance abuse, and/or domestic violence programs to promote 
     the mental health and healthy emotional development of the 
     young children they serve.


    title ix. successful transitions to adulthood--youth development

  Section A. Youth development: Strengthening 21st Century Community 
                            Learning Centers

       Increase funding for the 21st Century Community Learning 
     Centers Program.
       Allow community-based organizations to apply for 21st 
     Century funds.
       Create a 3 percent set-aside for training and technical 
     assistance.

    Section B. Youth development: Promoting positive activities for 
                            America's youth

       Creation of a comprehensive program (the proposed Younger 
     Americans Act) to mobilize and support communities in 
     carrying out youth development activities.
       Increase funding for Americorps, Youthbuild, Job Corps, and 
     the Workforce Investment Act youth employment programs to 
     open up more employment opportunities for teens.


  Title X. Safe Start--Every Child Should Have A Safe Environment In 
              Which To Learn And To Live--Juvenile Justice

       Amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act 
     (JJDPA) by adding the definition of a ``juvenile'' as an 
     individual less than 18 years of age.
       Amend the JJDPA to mandate that not less than 75 percent of 
     title V funds be used solely for the purposes of carrying out 
     section 505. Increase funding for Title V to $250 million for 
     fiscal year 2002.
       Disproportionate Minority Confinement (DMC)--Strengthen 
     accountability standards

[[Page S5552]]

     for states to take action to address the disparate treatment 
     of minorities at all stages of the juvenile justice system, 
     including intake, arrest, detention, adjudication, 
     disposition and transfer.
       Create a fifth core protection for juveniles by requiring 
     that states provide every adjudicated juvenile with 
     reasonable safety and security, with adequate food, heat, 
     light, sanitary facilities, bedding, clothing, recreation, 
     counseling, education, training, and medical care, including 
     necessary mental health services.
       Increase funding for the JJDPA Title II, Part B formula 
     grants, to raise the small state minimum to $750,000, create 
     a 3% set-aside for the establishment of state juvenile 
     justice coalitions and (include language that coalitions 
     include participation of youth), and a 3% set aside for 
     states to carry out state plans with respect to the DMC core 
     requirement.
       Repeal Part H of JJDPA (juvenile boot camps).
       Amend title II of the JJDPA by adding Access to Mental 
     Health and Substance Abuse Treatment, a grant program 
     encouraging states to invest in and coordinate with other 
     systems to provide appropriate treatment and other services 
     for incarcerated juvenile offenders.
       Fund Services for Youth Offenders at $40 million for fiscal 
     year 2002, providing funding for after care or wrap-around 
     services for youth discharged from the adult criminal or 
     juvenile justice system.
       Authorize the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant, which 
     would authorize and significantly modify the Juvenile 
     Accountability Incentive Block Grant (JAIBG) to provide 
     incentives to: build and maintain smaller juvenile 
     facilities, including separate units within juvenile 
     facilities for juveniles tried as adults; require all staff, 
     whether supervising juveniles adjudicated in the adult or 
     juvenile system, are trained appropriately; develop and 
     utilize accountable community-based alternatives to 
     incarceration; risk assessment; and enact Child Access 
     Prevention (CAP) laws.
       In order to receive funds under the new block grant, states 
     are prohibited from applying the death penalty to juvenile 
     offenders.
       Increase funding for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to 
     $120 million for fiscal year 2002.


  Title XI. Safe Start--Every Child Should Have A Safe Environment In 
                 Which To Learn And TO Live--Gun Safety

       Close the gun show loophole by applying the Brady 
     background check to gun sales conducted through private 
     dealers at events where 50 or more firearms are offered for 
     sale.
       Require mandatory safety locks with the sale of all 
     handguns and establish consumer safety standards for such 
     safety locks.
       Ban the importation of large capacity ammunition clips 
     capable of holding more than 10 rounds.
       Ban the possession of assault weapons by juveniles.
       Require FTC study on marketing practices of gun industry.
       Ban the possession of handguns by individuals under 21 
     years of age.
       One-gun-a-month purchase limitation.
       Regulation of internet sales of firearms.
       ENFORCE--enhancements (both authorizing and appropriation) 
     to strengthen enforcement of gun laws.


                        Title XII. Miscellaneous

       Direct the Secretary of HHS to establish a blue-ribbon 
     commission to identify and highlight family-friendly 
     practices that the private sector and other employers can 
     promote.
       Provide for collection and dissemination of data on the 
     status of children and families who are or have been 
     recipients of government assistance.
                                 ______