[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 23, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H9-H15]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING BENEFITS OF 
                               MENTORING

  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 330) expressing the sense of the House of 
Representatives regarding the benefits of mentoring.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 330

       Whereas the future course of the United States depends on 
     its children and youth;
       Whereas educated, confident, and nurtured children will 
     make our Nation stronger;
       Whereas research has shown that mentoring measurably 
     affects young people by increasing school attendance, 
     improving rates of secondary school graduation and college 
     attendance, decreasing involvement with drugs and alcohol, 
     and decreasing violent behavior;
       Whereas considerable numbers of our Nation's children face 
     difficult circumstances: 1 out of 4 children lives with only 
     1 parent; 1 out of 10 children is born to teenaged parents; 1 
     out of 5 children lives in poverty; and 1 out of 10 children 
     will not finish secondary school;
       Whereas mentoring is a proven, effective strategy to combat 
     such circumstances by matching a caring, responsible adult 
     with a child to provide guidance, stability, and direction to 
     the child and to build the child's confidence;
       Whereas it is estimated that more than 16,000,000 children 
     in the United States need or want a mentor but mentoring 
     programs nationwide serve at most 750,000 of such children;
       Whereas a coalition of mentoring organizations have 
     designated January as National Mentoring Month;
       Whereas the establishment of a National Mentoring Month 
     would emphasize the importance of mentoring and recognize 
     with praise and gratitude the many individuals in the United 
     States who are involved with mentoring; and
       Whereas the establishment of a National Mentoring Month 
     would encourage more individuals to volunteer as mentors, to 
     the benefit of our Nation's children: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of 
     Representatives that mentoring relationships can benefit 
     America's youth and result in improved school attendance and 
     academic achievement.

  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 in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
H. Res. 330.
  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 in strong support of H. Res. 330, the legislation 
recognizing the importance of mentoring. The resolution, introduced by 
the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), reminds us all of the 
important role that caring adults play in the lives of our Nation's 
youth; and I thank the gentleman for his work in Congress as well as 
his work with his own mentoring organization, TeamMates of Nebraska, on 
this important issue.
  Today's teens cope with major physical changes, emotional ups and 
downs, peer pressures, and a changing identity; but they are also 
confronted by a more complex and impersonal society where drugs and 
alcohol are easily available and tragedies such as AIDS and violence 
strike too close to home. In this time of growth and uncertainty, our 
children need positive role models or mentors in their lives.
  Simply, a mentor is an adult who, along with parents, provide young 
people with support, counsel, and friendship. Most importantly, mentors 
are people who care. And for many people, that makes all the 
difference.
  According to recent research, children with mentors are 46 percent 
less likely to begin using illegal drugs, 52 percent less likely to 
skip school, and 33 percent less likely to get into fights. In 
addition, children of mentors reported greater confidence in their 
performance at school and better relationships with their families.

                              {time}  1315

  Despite these positive outcomes, too many children who need a mentor 
do not have one. In my State of Delaware alone, an estimated 10,000 
young people could benefit from a positive, supportive relationship 
with an adult; but only 7,000 are currently served.
  Nationally, more than 16 million children need a mentor, but current 
programs reach only 750,000. It is, therefore, appropriate that this 
January, the inaugural National Mentoring Month, we encourage caring 
adults to reach out to the children and youth in their communities. In 
Delaware, everyone from the Governor and the Delaware Mentoring Council 
to local businesses will be working hard to recruit 1,000 new mentors. 
It is my hope that other States will rise to the challenge to connect 
each of our Nation's children with caring adults.
  As part of that effort, I want to recognize the many businesses, 
churches, and community groups that partner with our schools to provide 
mentors to children in need as well as the informal mentoring 
relationships that exist between teachers, coaches, and neighbors. I 
also want to recognize those who lend their expertise or contribute 
financially to mentoring organizations. Their support is as important 
as volunteering to become a mentor.
  The events of September 11, as tragic as they were, taught us about 
charity, heroism, and our own capacity to care about others. As we 
pause to recall the teacher, neighbor, or coach who made a positive 
impression on our lives, I hope

[[Page H10]]

we will return the favor by becoming a mentor to a child in need. 
Together we can guide our Nation's youth into adulthood, helping them 
reach their fullest potential. I cannot imagine a greater gift.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his resolution, and I urge an 
``aye'' vote.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  (Mrs. DAVIS of California asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Delaware (Mr. Castle) for this opportunity to join him in support of 
National Mentoring Month. Hundreds of thousands of children each year 
have an opportunity to grow into stronger young people and adults 
because of the caring attention of an older person. This relationship 
can move a child's life in important directions; but we need not just 
hundreds of thousands, but millions, of volunteers to address the lives 
of those young people who would benefit from this personal attention.
  The gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) expressed the dimensions of 
the need. It is our hope that National Mentoring Month will focus many 
more people on this opportunity. I would like to take a few minutes to 
share my own experiences with a variety of mentoring programs. As a 
school board member in San Diego, we approved programs which encouraged 
older students to act as mentors to younger ones. For example, a fifth 
grade student might meet regularly with a first grader to read with 
her. Eighth grade students might write stories in their creative 
writing class and present them to third graders. These can be quality 
learning experiences for each pair of young people.
  There are programs like Rolling Readers that coordinate regular 
pairing of children and volunteer adults to coach reading skills. These 
volunteers may be retired or working, but can be flexible in their 
hours; and I am proud that one of my staff members, Carla Meyers, has 
been a lunchtime volunteer, meeting once a week, to read with a student 
in a Capitol Hill elementary school.
  In San Diego we have an award winning school, the Monarch School, 
which brings homeless children who often have not been in school into 
an educational setting. The Downtown Rotary Club recruits its members 
on one-on-one mentors to spend regular time with these needy young 
people, often in after-school hours.
  Coming from San Diego with its large military population, I took the 
opportunity to sponsor an amendment to the Juvenile Justice Bill to 
encourage one-on-one mentoring programs for at-risk juveniles with the 
Department of Defense personnel. There are several military mentoring 
programs which are making a real difference. For example, the 
Department of Military Affairs and the Florida National Guard, in 
conjunction with the State of Florida, has designed a program called 
About Face, which brings low-income, at-risk kids into National Guard 
armory facilities to increase their functional life skills, to improve 
their basic skills, teach computer literacy, and help them with their 
homework. More importantly, they teach kids that someone cares about 
them and their future.
  Personally, I had the wonderful opportunity to be the first executive 
director of the Aaron Price Fellows program. I developed an educational 
enrichment program focused on civic responsibility with a group of 40 
young people of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds drawn from 
several local high schools each year. Each student was involved in the 
program for 3 years, and what they learned from one another and the 
people with whom they met throughout the city gave them lifelong 
learning skills. One of the favorite trips for each class was coming to 
Washington, D.C., where the students saw for themselves this political 
process.
  Did it make a difference in students lives? As they continued to keep 
in touch with me, I see young people, many of whom came from lower-
economic circumstances, whose aspirations and educational achievement 
have led them to become teachers and bankers, social workers, 
international relief workers and even a town mayor.
  I am honored to have two former fellows working on my staff. Jennette 
Lawrence is a valued legislative assistant here. Todd Gloria, a field 
representative in the district, earned a Truman Fellowship to go to 
graduate school, but wanted first to be part of our political process. 
After being an intern in my office and then graduating from UCSD, Arzo 
Mansury chose to work resettling new Afghan refugees, people from her 
birth country, and now hopes to be part of the rehabilitation process 
of that country.
  The stories are legion, but I would like to close with the memory of 
a very special young man, Willie Jones. Living in a low-income area 
punctuated by gangs and drugs, Willie became a model citizen, a fine 
student, and a neighborhood leader in urging others to leave gangs. 
Unfortunately, as he prepared to leave for a 4-year scholarship at 
Cornell, where he would study to be a doctor, Willie was gunned down in 
a drive-by shooting.
  Rather than focus on his death, I like to think that my mentoring 
helped Willie become the outstanding young man that he was; and in his 
own short years, his mentoring had led other young people to stronger 
adult lives.
  When I meet successful adults from challenging backgrounds and ask 
them what made the difference in their lives, it is always an adult, 
usually not a family member, who saw something special in them and 
mentored them. Everyone can be that life-changing influence in a young 
person's future.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner).
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for bringing this 
resolution to the floor today.
  We all know that far too many children in our society do not have 
strong role models at home. Parents are too busy; or in many 
neighborhoods, parents may not even exist. What we have found around 
the country is that mentoring really does work. It provides a role 
model for many of these children that they do not see on a day-to-day 
basis in their own lives. I congratulate the gentleman from Nebraska 
(Mr. Osborne), the coach, as we call him, for bringing this resolution 
to the floor and keeping our attention focused on mentoring. As the 
chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the gentleman 
from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) has not let a week go in the last year when 
he did not talk to me about the need to promote mentoring.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1, which we passed last December and the President 
signed into law several weeks ago, contains a significant amount of 
funding for a new mentoring program to provide seed money to generate 
more mentors around the country. During the signing of the bill, the 
President himself talked about the need for mentoring, and suggested to 
people if they really wanted to do something and help young people in 
need, go to a school and become a mentor.
  I think that action and the action we are taking today will help 
bring this to more people's attention. It will help children. But as 
important as it is for us to help children, I also think that mentors 
themselves get an awful lot out of mentoring. I think the gentlewoman 
from San Diego just demonstrated to us what it meant her to be a mentor 
to this young man.
  I have people in my district who are mentors. And I remember one 
specifically, Mr. Richard Scott from Sidney, Ohio, a retired 
construction company executive. He and his wife are mentors in an 
elementary school in Sidney, and the richness they get out of helping 
young people is something that enriches their lives by reaching out to 
help others.
  Mr. Speaker, let me congratulate all those today who are mentoring 
around the country, and let us encourage more of our fellow citizens to 
take an hour a week or two hours a week and go to a local school and 
help one young person in America get a better life.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff).
  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution and urge 
my

[[Page H11]]

fellow citizens to join the mentoring program near where they live. 
Several years ago when I was a State senator in Sacramento, we had a 
hearing at which Father Greg Boyle testified. Father Boyle works with 
at-risk youth in Los Angeles, and he was asked if he could point to any 
one thing that distinguished those young people from at-risk 
backgrounds that led to their success, that was a cause for their high 
achievement; and he said that they all had two common characteristics: 
they got a job, and they had a mentor. They had the dignity, the 
discipline, the hope that comes from work; and they had a mentor, 
someone who cared whether they succeeded or failed. It might have been 
a member of the clergy, a parent, a grandparent, a probation officer or 
a teacher, but someone who cared about what happened to that child's 
life. Those words had such an air of truth about them, I have kept them 
with me to this day.
  Mr. Speaker, 15 years ago I became a mentor. I walked into the Big 
Brothers of Greater Los Angeles; and I was matched with a young man, 
then 7 years old, David McMillan. It was one of the best days of my 
life when I became a Big Brother. We started out going to the beach, 
the movies, roller skating and going to the park, or reading or talking 
with each other. He would give me criticism of my music taste, and I 
would accept it. We would spend time just catching up on each other's 
lives; and we have become in a very short space of time, family to each 
other, and we have shared in each other's successes and failures and 
trials and tribulations. It has been one of the best additions to my 
life.
  So while I cannot speak from the point of view of a mentee, I can 
speak from the point of view of a mentor about how it enriches the life 
of the mentor.
  David is doing phenomenally well. He graduated from Yale University 
and is now a graduate student at USC where he is an aspiring film 
maker. I am frequently asked whether, but for my influence in David's 
life, do I think he would have gone on to Yale University. And after 
much reflection, I have to say no. I think he would have gone on to 
Harvard University, which is, of course, the cruelest thing one can say 
to a Yalie. So if David is watching, I got him again. But this has more 
than a grain of truth in it. David is an exceptional young man, and he 
comes from an exceptional family.
  David would have done well under any circumstance; but there are 
many, many young people who really need the benefit of a mentor, need 
the benefit of someone in their lives to help them gain direction, gain 
a sense of self-worth, a sense of purpose, and most important of all, a 
sense of being loved by someone else.
  I hope this resolution today will encourage more Americans to become 
mentors to make a contribution. Much of what we do, whether in Congress 
or in our private jobs or in teaching or in any profession, we hope 
makes a positive difference in lives; but the result is often 
intangible and unknown. I encourage my colleagues to become a mentor 
because the results are very tangible, seen every day in the face of 
the young person mentored.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) and 
the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis) for being our Democratic 
floor manager.

                              {time}  1330

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis).
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman 
from California for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. I want to 
take the time to salute the many youth organizations and groups, and 
not just youth organizations and groups but adult organizations and 
groups; and salute all of the mentors, people who are making a 
difference in the lives of our children, our young people.
  This is a time to salute groups such as the Boys & Girls Clubs, Big 
Brothers and Big Sisters and groups and organizations like the 100 
Black Men of America for their commitment and dedication to mentoring 
by ensuring that all children and young people have valuable skills. 
This sense of caring, this sense of sharing, this sense of giving of 
ourselves to help others, sometimes as a mentor, as some have stated 
much earlier, you learn more and you probably receive more than you 
actually give. It is part of the American tradition that we participate 
in a sense of caring and sharing, for our young people, for our 
children to have a relationship with adults, to have safe places to go 
after school hours.
  There are so many organizations and so many groups all across America 
that are doing tremendous, unbelievable things to help mold and shape 
our young people, which is so necessary during this time in our 
history.
  Mentoring not only gives children a head start but also meets the 
serious public responsibility of protecting our young people, showing 
our young people a different way, a better way, a more excellent way. 
So many children and so many young people in so many troubled 
communities need someone to hold their hand, to show them the way, to 
show them the light. These mentoring relationships benefit American 
children, and in so many instances it improves the larger community and 
creates a greater sense of community, a greater sense of family, a 
greater sense of what I like to call one house, that we all are in the 
same house, that we all are in this thing together.
  I think in a city like Atlanta, my city, and in other places where 
you have mentors working, it improves school attendance, academic 
achievement, encourages young people not just to watch television but 
to read a book, to go out and help someone, to provide some service.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this very important 
resolution. It means so much. It will send a strong message that will 
urge other Americans to give a little time, to share a little time, to 
give of yourself. That is what life is all about, helping others, 
especially those that have been sort of left out and do not have the 
benefits of maybe a wonderful, loving family, maybe do not have the 
benefit of a good head start. I think mentoring helps people to catch 
up, helps those that have been left out and left behind.
  I urge my colleagues to support this very important resolution. I 
thank my friends on both sides of the aisle for bringing this 
resolution before us.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest).
  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Delaware for 
yielding me this time, and I want to thank the gentleman from Nebraska 
(Mr. Osborne) for offering this legislation, this resolution, to us 
this afternoon and to all those people who this afternoon have 
participated in this discussion and expressed their feelings on the 
concept of mentoring and the benefit that is the result.
  A number of us in here, I am sure, have done some type of mentoring 
throughout our adult years and have found that specific relationships 
between adults and children are generally, especially in the context of 
mentoring, long lasting, they provide friendship between the mentor and 
the child that is being mentored, they provide an avenue, an 
opportunity for the child to understand what is beyond the next curve, 
what are the opportunities that are out there, what are the fears that 
I have for the future or my present circumstance. Mentoring is an 
extraordinary opportunity to do a number of very positive things.
  A number of years ago, shortly after I got out of the service and I 
was in my early twenties, and I thought I was quite old when I was in 
my early twenties, myself, some of my brothers and some friends who had 
recently come back from Vietnam or were starting college got together 
with a lawyer and a minister to create a Boy Scout troop for designated 
legally, judicially designated juvenile delinquents. We had 20 young 
teenagers in that troop. Ten were white and 10 were black. None of us 
had a college education, but we understood the relationship between 
young people and responsible adults to open an avenue of opportunity. 
We stayed with those teenagers for about a year; then we all went off 
to college or we got married or we went someplace else.
  Mr. Speaker, those teenagers are now in their forties. They are not 
young adults. They are middle-aged adults.

[[Page H12]]

 Whenever we run into them periodically, they still talk about the 
first time that they caught a fish, the first time they built a 
campfire, the first time they went on a long hike, the first time they 
actually sat with an adult and read a book. The idea of mentoring is a 
long-term idea; and the positive benefits to the child, the teenager, 
the young adult and the adult that is involved is rather enormous.
  Mr. Speaker, I will close with this statement: there are many 
Americans that have extraordinary talents. Those talents are in music, 
they are in art, they are in math, they are in the sciences, they are 
just in being a human; and each one of those adults that has a specific 
talent is unique. That unique person can give that young child a 
perspective on the wonders of our country and the world, opportunities 
that can be unmatched.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Keller).
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time. I rise today as a supporter and original cosponsor of Coach 
Osborne's mentoring resolution, which honors National Mentoring Month 
and recognizes the benefits of mentoring.
  I would like to tell my colleagues a little bit about my background 
and why mentoring is important for education. Before getting elected to 
Congress, I had the happy privilege of serving as the volunteer 
chairman of the Orlando/Orange County Compact Program, which is the 
largest mentoring program for public schools in the State of Florida. I 
also had the opportunity to serve as a mentor myself to two students at 
Boone High School in Orlando. I learned firsthand how important that is 
to education, particularly as it relates to preventing children from 
dropping out of high school.
  In the State of Florida, we had a big problem. Only 53 percent of our 
children were graduating from high school, worst in the country. In 
Orlando, my hometown, we decided to do something about it in 1988 by 
creating the Orlando/Orange County Compact Program, which is a 
mentoring program that matches up students at risk of dropping out of 
high school with business people from the local community, sort of like 
a Big Brothers/Big Sisters, program where they meet 1 hour a week. The 
results of mentoring proved to be dramatic. Over the past 10 years, 98 
percent of the students in the Compact program graduated from high 
school, the number-one graduation rate in the United States. From worst 
to first.
  Let me just give one example why this was successful. There is a 
young man named Lennard who is an African American student at Jones 
High School, an inner city school in downtown Orlando. He was 
struggling in school, making Ds and Fs, skipping school, had been 
arrested for selling drugs. He was going to drop out. He agreed to have 
a mentor on one condition. He said, ``Just don't give me a white guy.'' 
Naturally we matched him up with a white mentor, an AT&T executive 
named Paul Hurling. He worked with him every week. They became friends. 
To make a long story short, by the end of his high school career, 
Lennard went on to become Orange County Student of the Year. He won two 
tickets to an Orlando Magic basketball game through a school raffle. He 
called up his mentor and said, ``I'm so excited, I won two front row 
tickets.'' His mentor replied, ``That's great. Why don't you invite 
your best friend.'' Lennard replied, ``That's why I called you.'' 
Mentoring literally makes a difference in people's lives.
  I commend Coach Osborne for bringing forth this resolution. I urge 
all my colleagues to support it. I know in Florida, Governor Jeb Bush 
has just announced this week a mentoring initiative throughout the 
entire State that is going to result in 115,000 people having mentors. 
I think Congress is appropriately recognizing the importance of 
National Mentoring Month. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this 
important resolution.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson), a member of the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, who had so much to do with H.R. 1 last 
year.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Delaware for 
yielding me this time.
  I rise really to praise the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne). 
This is a man who has written a resolution that is a reflection of the 
life that he has lived, by being a mentor to hundreds of young 
athletes, being a father figure for those that did not have them, being 
a person who demonstrated the difference in right and wrong. This House 
is fortunate to have the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), and we 
will be fortunate today to unanimously pass this resolution.
  In John Kennedy's inauguration, there was a poem by Robert Frost read 
which ended, ``Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I took the one 
less traveled by and that made all the difference.''
  For many of America's youngsters, what makes all the difference in 
the road less traveled by is a positive mentor to show them the light, 
show them the way, and show them the direction. I praise the author, 
the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne). I am pleased to give my 
support to this important resolution.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), the distinguished sponsor of the 
resolution. I think the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson) said it 
wonderfully well. The gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) came 
obviously to Congress with a very distinguished background, recognized 
by most people in this country for what he had done in his own form of 
mentoring, which was coaching; but he had a strong bent for mentoring 
which we heard about early and often since he has been here. He has 
become the conscience of the House of Representatives with respect to 
the subject of mentoring. He is clearly one of, if not the national 
leader on the whole subject of mentoring in this country. We are 
delighted that he was able to get here. He did have some transportation 
problems and has just made it.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The gentleman from Nebraska 
(Mr. Osborne) is recognized for 7 minutes.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the kind comments of the 
gentleman and rise in strong support of this resolution.
  Over the last 36 years of my life, I was involved in coaching and 
dealt with young people on a daily basis. I guess some of the 
observations I had were not all positive. We saw some tremendous 
changes in our culture, in our young people, over those 36 years. Some 
of those changes had to do with family. I think many people can 
intuitively understand those things that I am talking about. In the 
early 1960s, we saw very few people that we were recruiting dealing 
with living without both of their biological parents. Today, that 
number is almost 50 percent, so there is a huge number have had some 
dysfunction in their families.
  We went from a 5 percent out-of-wedlock birthrate in 1960 to 33 
percent today. Currently, we have 18 million fatherless children in our 
country. I guess I saw firsthand that when your father is not around 
and many times does not even care to stay around long enough to see 
what you look like, it leaves a hole in your life. Usually, you are 
spending the rest of your life somehow trying to fill that gap, and 
sometimes it is with all the wrong things. There has been a tremendous 
amount of change in our family structure.
  We have also seen some significant changes in the culture. We 
currently are the most violent country in the world for children in 
regard to homicide and suicide. Second place is not even very close. We 
have also seen some significant increases in drugs and alcohol. And, of 
course, all of these things have been very harmful to our children.
  I guess from my standpoint, the greatest threat to our country today 
is not terrorism, it is not the economy, it is not Social Security, it 
is not Medicare. Rather, it is what is happening to our young people, 
because if our young people are not in good shape, do not have the 
character, do not have the background to hold this country together, we 
will go the way of many other civilizations.

                              {time}  1345

  So, we cannot pass a law that is going to solve these problems, 
unfortunately, but we can provide a mentor. A

[[Page H13]]

mentor is an adult who cares, who affirms, who supports and provides a 
vision for young people. So many young people really do not have an 
idea of what they could be or what they could accomplish, and that is 
where a mentor oftentimes comes in.
  Mentoring works. Studies, many studies, have shown these particular 
data: A mentoring program will reduce absenteeism from school by more 
than 50 percent, produces significantly better grades, higher 
graduation rates. In addition, mentoring reduces drug abuse by nearly 
50 percent and also significant reductions in alcohol abuse and also 
reduces smoking. It also results in a significant reduction in teen 
pregnancy and promiscuous behavior. It results in improved self-esteem, 
personal hygiene and interpersonal relationships. Finally, a good 
mentoring program reduces fighting, antisocial behavior and criminal 
behavior by significant degrees.
  Currently in the United States we are mentoring roughly 500,000 young 
people, and it is estimated by school authorities and people who work 
with young people we have approximately 20 million young people who are 
desperately in need of a mentor. So we feel that this initiative is a 
step in the right direction.
  It is only a start. It can provide some significant data as to what 
works, what is the best way to mentor, and we plan to have at least 
some mentoring programs in every State in the Union that will give us 
the data that we need to follow this valuable exercise.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues on the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce for their support, and urge adoption of 
this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, which 
recognizes the benefits of mentoring and the thoughtful investments in 
mentoring programs that have been made across the country. I have 
spoken of the benefits of mentoring many times on this floor and I am 
pleased that the House is now considering this resolution.
  On Monday of this week, I was in Omaha, NE, with Governor Mike 
Johanns who signed a proclamation naming January as Mentoring Month in 
Nebraska. Other States have held big kickoff events in January to 
commemorate National Mentoring Month:
  Minnesota held a kick-off event at the State Capitol building on 
January 3 that included sports figures, political leaders, youth, and 
media.
  Delaware held an event announcing their commitment to recruit 1,000 
new mentors for Delaware children.
  Ohio had a televised Outstanding Mentor Awards event that included 
State representatives, television personalities, and representatives 
from the schools and volunteer commission as presenters and judges.
  Boston had a roundtable on ``Who mentored you'' followed by a 
``Mentoring Evening with the Boston Celtics.''
  There are dozens of other events, including mentor recruitment fairs, 
training events, fun events for mentors and the children they mentor 
going on all around the country. In addition, last week, President Bush 
signed a proclamation naming January National Mentoring Month. In 
addition, a postage stamp promoting mentoring is now available through 
the United States Postal Service.
  So far, 29 States have officially created formal State mentoring 
partnerships, which are bipartisan collaborative efforts of public and 
private sector leaders to increase the number of young people with 
mentors, increase resources dedicated to mentoring, ensure quality 
standards, and expand mentor programming. Altogether, in the year 2000, 
state mentoring partnerships:
  Recruited over 66,000 mentors;
  Trained nearly 25,000 mentors;
  Provided technical assistance to over 3,300 organizations;
  Responded to nearly 15,000 inquiries;
  Leveraged over $11 million in new resources for mentoring; and
  Partnered with over 2,800 program providers.
  Two really excellent examples of States with a strong commitment to 
mentoring are California and Florida.
  In California, an executive order of Governor Pete Wilson launched 
the Governor's Mentoring Partnership in 1995. The initial $10 million 
investment made by the State has grown to $23.4 million per year, to 
invest in grants to quality local mentoring programs. Further, the 
initial goal of 250,000 young people in quality mentoring relationships 
has grown to 1 million. In addition, California's initiative allows 
release-time policy for State employees of 40 hours per year. Twenty-
nine local mentoring partnerships have been created throughout the 
State and $800,000 is available per year for technical assistance. 
Finally, to survive into the future, a private sector foundation 
developed to secure private dollars for the initiative.

  In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush launched the Governor's Mentoring 
Initiative in 1999. It has a statewide goal to recruit 200,000 mentors. 
Governor Bush signed an executive order allowing all executive officer 
staff 1 paid hour of administrative leave, and the Florida Cabinet 
passed an administrative order allowing State employees 1 paid hour of 
administrative leave (as a result 1,800 mentored in May). The State of 
Florida has committed over $12 million in direct support of mentoring 
initiative through the legislature and a 13 percent increase to public 
schools of tutoring and mentoring. Florida has also created a Corporate 
Honor Role with over 60 businesses that support mentoring programs.
  I am pleased that Congress has made the commitment to support 
mentoring through authorization and appropriations for the Mentoring 
for Success Program, which is authorized at $17.5 million for fiscal 
year 2002. This tiny investment can reap huge dividends. Mentoring can 
make such a difference in the lives of young people who need the 
support of a strong role model in their lives. I hope that thousands of 
children can benefit from mentors thanks to the strong support offered 
for mentoring programs at the Federal, State, and local levels. Every 
child deserves a chance to succeed, and, for many, mentoring can make 
the difference. Please support this resolution to commend the hard work 
of so many making a difference in the lives of our Nation's young 
people.
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been a pleasure to be here today and to speak in 
support of the National Mentoring Month. I want to thank my colleague 
the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) for his distinguished career 
in working with young people. We really appreciate that. The gentleman 
has been a great role model.
  In closing, as we remember Martin Luther King, Jr. this week, I 
recall that he said, ``Everyone can be a drum major for peace.'' 
Paraphrasing him, everyone can be a drum major for mentoring.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in final closing, I would like to thank the gentlewoman 
from California (Mrs. Davis) and also thank obviously the gentleman 
from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), but also all the other speakers who spoke 
here today.
  All these individuals spoke of incidents from their own lives or 
incidents in their lives and incidents they knew about in which young 
people were helped by mentoring. I think any reasoning person who has 
seen mentoring in action knows what a valuable substitute it can be 
sometimes for what is missing in somebody's life to help them. For that 
reason, I would hope we would all unanimously embrace this legislation 
before us.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of the resolution, this 
Member wishes to add his strong support for H. Res. 330, which 
expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a National 
Mentoring Month should be established. In addition to raising 
awareness, a key goal of the effort is to encourage more individuals to 
become mentors.
  This Member would like to commend the distinguished gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the chairman of the House Committee on Education 
and the Workforce, and the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. 
Miller), the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the 
Workforce for bringing this important resolution to the House floor 
today. This Member would also like to commend the distinguished 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) for sponsoring H. Res. 330 and 
for his personal interest in establishing mentoring relationships 
nationwide.
  Many children throughout the United States face difficult 
situations--and when matched with a caring and responsible adult, 
positive results ensue. Research has shown that mentoring benefits 
young people in a positive manner by increasing school attendance, 
improving rates of secondary school graduation and college attendance, 
decreasing involvement with drugs and alcohol, and reducing violent 
behavior.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, this Member urges his colleagues to support 
H. Res. 330.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise to comment on the positive 
attributes of mentoring. In the days of yesteryear, it was believed one 
needed a toga to be mentor,

[[Page H14]]

whereas the proteges would sit at the feet of the wise one and learned 
the mysteries of life. In our modern world, we have a more accurate 
definition of contemporary trends in mentoring. Mentoring is known as 
the most frequent and effective method of transmitting knowledge and 
wisdom in society; virtually everyone has experienced it.
  In an educational setting, mentoring has proven to be beneficial to 
all parties, be it, new teachers learning from veteran professors or 
students developing their perception of the world at large. 
Considerable studies have indicated a lesser attrition rate among new 
teachers whose induction program included mentoring. In 1998, a 
National Association of State Boards of Education survey found that 
among new special education teachers who continued to teach for a 
second year, 20 percent noted that they stayed because of the mentoring 
support they had received.
  It is worth mentioning that both mentors and proteges responded 
favorably to the mentoring process. The experienced teachers were 
enthusiastic because they believed that mentoring allowed them to help 
others improve themselves, receive respect and obtain fresh ideas and 
energy from the new teachers. The proteges, on the other hand, 
demonstrated more complete planning, more effective classroom 
instruction, and more target goal setting.
  Other studies on the same subject demonstrated the influence 
mentoring can have on younger students. It gives them a head start to a 
successful life. In a 1995 Impact Study by Big Brothers/Big Sisters of 
America, we now know that 53 percent of these students were less likely 
to skip school; 46 percent were less likely to begin using illegal 
drugs; and 37 percent less likely to skip a class.
  The Quantum Opportunity Program funded by the Ford Foundation showed 
that high school students from families receiving public assistance who 
had a mentor were more likely than others to graduate from high school 
and enroll in college. They also had fewer arrests.
  Mr. Speaker, mentoring is truly a valuable tool at the disposal of 
anyone who is willing to assist those in need. Many successful people 
started this way. I hope this tool will be used more readily across the 
Nation.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the 
importance of mentoring. In today's society, our children face many 
challenges and they need every bit of help that we can provide for 
them. Mentors can provide that extra help for our children. Matching a 
caring, responsible individual with a young person is a proven strategy 
that improves the life of that person. A mentor's guidance helps to 
build up their confidence, enthusiasm, and trust. Studies have shown 
the positive impacts of mentoring, including increasing attendance at 
school, improving rates of high-school graduation and college 
attendance, and decreasing involvement with drugs and violent 
behaviors. Research has shown that the positive impacts go both ways, 
and that many mentors report having learned from their experience.
  But mentors are in short supply; 16 million young people are 
estimated to need mentors, and there simply are not enough to go 
around. January has been designated as ``National Mentoring Month''. We 
need to use this time to raise awareness of mentoring on a national 
level and to empower and energize the programs that provide mentoring 
programs in our local communities. The youth of America need positive 
direction and mentoring is a great way to do this.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I want to first and 
foremost thank my colleague from Nebraska, Tom Osborne, for bringing 
this resolution to the floor. He is the author of the mentoring program 
recently signed into law by the President as part of the No Child Left 
Behind Act and he is also a cosponsor of my bill, the Younger Americans 
Act, which would make youth development programs such as mentoring, a 
national priority.
  Mr. Speaker, consider the following:
  Twenty-Two percent of violent crime victims in the United States are 
juveniles and children under age 12 make up approximately one fourth of 
all juvenile victims known to police. My State of California ranks 48th 
among the 50 States and the District of Columbia for the percentage of 
youth detained in the California Youth Authority (CYA), county camps, 
juvenile halls, and private institutions.
  Nationally, we know that alcohol and drug use among youth remains a 
serious public health concern. In California, we are finding that while 
self-reported teen drug use declined in the mid-eighties through the 
early nineties, we are now experiencing a strong rebound. And, children 
are using more dangerous drugs such as heroin and methamphetamines.
  We also know that the need for adult-supervised environments in the 
after school hours is significant. About half of all California 
children ages 5 to 14 have both parents or a single parent working at 
least 30 hours per week.
  These numbers describe just some of the problems our children face. 
For too long however, we have focused on providing remedies to these 
problems that only address the negative behaviors instead of looking at 
ways that promote the positive and healthy development of our youth.
  This resolution takes us in this new direction where the focus is 
placed squarely on what children need to grow into healthy, safe, and 
well-educated adults. Making sure that all children have access to a 
caring and responsible adult relationship through quality mentoring 
programs is critical to this effort.
  There is an overwhelming body of research to demonstrate the benefits 
of programs that guide youth development in a positive manner. 
According to a report released by Public/Private Ventures, a child's 
involvement in a mentoring relationship with a caring and responsible 
adult can reduce their participation in alcohol and drugs and increase 
attendance in school. We also know that students with adult supervision 
during after-school hours have better work habits, better relationships 
with their peers and better emotional adjustment.
  California has long recognized the need for mentoring programs and 
since 1995 over 340,000 children have benefited from programs that 
match youth with caring and responsible adult mentors through the 
California Mentoring Initiative.
  Volunteers in Probation and Families First Inc., represent just two 
examples of outstanding programs in the Initiative that offer quality 
mentoring relationships to youth in my district.
  I want to applaud Mr. Osborne for bringing this resolution to the 
floor and I look forward to working with him to expand the number of 
mentoring programs across the country. I also invite him and the 72 
cosponsors of the Younger Americans Act to work with me on getting that 
bill passed. Only then will we have a national youth development policy 
that assures all children and youth have access to the educational, 
health, and economic resources they need to realize their full 
potential.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon in 
support of H. Res. 330, which expresses the sense of this body 
regarding the benefits of mentoring.
  Mentoring is a proven strategy that dramatically improves the lives 
of young people by matching a caring, responsible individual with them.
  A mentor's guidance helps a young person build confidence, 
enthusiasm, and trust. Studies have shown that mentoring has a 
definitive impact on young people by increasing attendance at school, 
improving rates of high-school graduation and college attendance, and 
decreasing involvement with drugs and violent behaviors. Mentoring 
opens young people's eyes to a brighter future.
  Research further indicates that mentors also benefit: One study found 
that 75 percent of the mentors surveyed reported that their mentoring 
experience had a ``very positive'' effect on their lives. And 83 
percent indicated that they learned or gained personally from their 
mentoring experience.
  The biggest challenge facing mentoring, however, is that mentors are 
in short supply. It is estimated that only 5 percent of the 16 million 
young people who need or want mentors have them. There are simply not 
enough mentors to go around.
  Mentoring can occur in various forms. An adult can regularly 
contribute one lunch hour a week to help a student strengthen reading 
skills. A young person and her mentor can hang around once a week and 
play basketball, go to a museum, or visit a historical site. Any amount 
of consistent, quality time together will make a difference in the 
lives of young people.
  On January 18, President Bush proclaimed January 2002 as National 
Mentoring Month and encouraged Americans to serve as role models for 
our country's youth and to volunteer as mentors. Governors, Mayors, and 
other government officials around the country have also passed similar 
proclamations for their own communities.
  As a concerned citizen and Chair of the Congressional Children's 
Caucus, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and to 
continue our hard work to ensure that children have hope for a bright 
future.
  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
important resolution recognizing the benefits of mentoring, and I also 
want to commend Congressman Osborne for his hard work and initiative on 
this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, Webster's dictionary defines ``mentor'' as ``a trusted 
friend or advisor.'' A mentor offers a child, or youth, support, 
encouragement, and academic assistance.
  Young people in America currently face overwhelming obstacles. Nearly 
one-half of all children grow up without one biological parent or in 
difficult home environments.
  Others struggle socially, academically, or emotionally. Often, the 
lack of a strong role model in a child's life creates a vacuum that the 
child seeks to fill with drugs, alcohol, violence, or sex.
  There is solid evidence that well-run mentoring programs can change a 
young person's

[[Page H15]]

life, reduce drug and alcohol use and improve academic achievement.
  Research has shown that mentoring reduces absenteeism from school and 
drug and alcohol abuse by nearly 50 percent, and also substantially 
reduces teen pregnancy violence.
  Through mentoring, young people gain increased self-esteem and 
motivation to succeed.
  Mentors do not parent. A mentor provides stable, responsible guidance 
to enable a child or youth to make good, positive decisions.
  We should recognize all mentors including younger mentors involved in 
peer mentoring. It is important to encourage not only adults to become 
mentors, but also older youth.
  When the mentor is an older student not too far in age from the 
mentee, this transforming relationship affects both young people.
  All of us have heard the expression that ``it is better to give than 
to receive;' the mentoring relationship offers the opportunity to two 
people to enter into this life-changing experience of giving and 
receiving.
  Mr. Speaker, we have both the ability and the responsibility to give 
all of our children a chance to succeed. Mentoring provides this 
chance. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this resolution.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the resolution 
introduced by the gentleman from Nebraska, Mr. Osborne. This resolution 
coincides with the President designating January, National Mentoring 
month and I am pleased to lend my support to this important issue.
  The future course of the United States depends on its children and 
youth. Educated, confident, and nurtured children will make our Nation 
stronger. Research has shown that mentoring measurably affects young 
people by increasing school attendance, improving rates of secondary 
school graduation and college attendance, decreasing involvement with 
drugs and alcohol, and decreasing violent behavior. Considerable 
numbers of our Nation's children face difficult circumstances: 1 out of 
4 children lives with only 1 parent; 1 out of 10 children is born to 
teenaged parents; 1 out of 5 children lives in poverty; and 1 out of 10 
children will not finish secondary school.
  Mentoring is a proven, effective strategy to combat such 
circumstances by matching a caring, responsible adult with a child to 
provide guidance, stability, and direction to the child and to build 
the child's confidence. It is estimated that more than 16,000,000 
children in the United States need or want a mentor but mentoring 
programs nationwide serve at most 750,000 of such children.
  Many children throughout the United States face difficult 
circumstances in their lives and when matched with a caring and 
responsible adult, positive results ensue. The effects of mentoring 
include the improvement of school attendance and academic achievement, 
decreased substance abuse, and reduced violent behavior.
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution to help 
create more awareness for the positive benefits of mentoring programs 
in our Nation.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 330.
  I have always believed that mentors and volunteers play an important 
role in encouraging our nation's youth to excel in academics and in 
life. Caring relationships with adults can nurture and empower a child 
to succeed in areas which otherwise may threaten a child's ability to 
overcome obstacles.
  Mentors and volunteers bridge an important gap between a child's home 
life and school. We all agree that parental involvement in a child's 
education is critical to ensuring that student's academic achievement 
and confidence, but unfortunately, not every child has a parent that is 
actively involved in his or her life.
  Having adult mentors and volunteers present in the schools signals 
their concern and love for our nation's youth. I am proud to salute the 
thousands of mentors and volunteers in my congressional district.
  The numbers of adults committed to serving our children are 
astounding--26,005 mentors and volunteers contributed 1,092,957 hours 
in Pinellas County Schools in 2001. An additional 31,653 mentors and 
volunteers spent 1,280,898 hours in Hillsborough County Schools, and 
13,000 adults contributed over 300,000 hours in Pasco County Schools.
  Mr. Speaker, we should do all that we can to encourage mentoring 
relationships between adults and our nation's youth. The benefits of 
mentoring relationships are numerous--mentors provide positive role 
models for children in a world that desperately needs them. This 
resolution recognizes the importance of mentoring, and I am glad that 
my colleague has brought our attention to this issue today.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, as an original cosponsor of H. Res. 330, I 
rise in strong support of this resolution to honor the community 
service we know as mentoring.
  This time-tested method of helping children--particularly at-risk 
children--to grow and learn benefits all. As the parents of our, my 
wife and I have been fully engaged as role models and mentors for our 
own children. There is nothing more fulfilling for us than to work with 
them to shape their futures and open their minds and hearts to all the 
possibilities that lay before them. But far too many children do not 
have this opportunity. One in four children has only one parent, who 
may not have the time to spend with her son or daughter. One in ten 
children is born to teenaged parents, who themselves need guidance. 
These children need a helping hand to come from outside the home.
  As we celebrate National Mentoring Month, we should honor the 
commitment of the men and women who spend time with these kids and help 
to give them hope for tomorrow. Working one child at a time, they make 
a real difference in their communities. They keep children off of the 
streets and out of trouble. They keep drug dealers from finding buyers. 
They keep gang recruiters from finding new members.
  We should also give thanks to those organizations that connect these 
men and women to the children who need them. Some of these groups are 
big names we all know and respect, like America's Promise and Big 
Brothers, Big Sisters and Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Others 
spring up in communities all across America. They may be a church group 
or a women's club. Whether the group is large or small, the outcome is 
the same--children who can smile at their futures again.
  I urge all my colleagues to support the mentors in their communities 
and to support this resolution.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 330.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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