[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 137 (Thursday, October 17, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10635-S10636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 KEEPING CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SAFE ACT

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I want to take a few minutes to express my 
disappointment. I was going to call up some legislation that we have 
worked very hard on dealing with children, the Keeping Children and 
Families Safe Act. It was legislation approved by the Senate Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in September, about a month 
ago. I think it was adopted unanimously. It deals with abused children. 
It reauthorizes the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, better 
known as CAPTA.

[[Page S10636]]

  This is a piece of legislation that has been around for a number of 
years. It was a bipartisan bill that was introduced by myself, Senators 
Gregg, Kennedy, Collins, DeWine, and Wellstone, and approved 
unanimously by voice vote. This is one of those bills with that kind of 
support out of the committee, on a bipartisan basis, and was done early 
enough that we thought we would have little difficulty in having this 
adopted as part of a unanimous consent calendar, rather than engaging 
in taking up the time of the Senate.
  Unfortunately, I am told that any effort to try to pass this 
legislation will be objected to. As such, I regret to inform my 
colleagues that the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 
reauthorization will just not get an endorsement by this Congress. That 
is a sad note indeed.
  Mr. President, about 3 million children each year are abused in this 
country. Close to 900,000 children were found to be victims of child 
maltreatment or abuse.
  The most tragic consequence of child maltreatment is death, 
obviously. The most recent data available for the year 2000 show that 
1,200 children died in this country of abuse and neglect. Children 
younger than 6 years of age accounted for 85 percent of child 
fatalities, and children younger than 1 year of age accounted for 44 
percent of child fatalities.
  What more tragic news could there be than a child, an infant--1,200 
in this country of ours--dying as a result of abuse and neglect? Here 
we are trying to do everything we can to help bring these numbers down.
  Just imagine the face of a young child facing the horror of abuse and 
neglect that goes on far too often. Unfortunately, despite the 
unanimous vote out of the committee of jurisdiction, a bipartisan 
agreement to reauthorize these dollars, to allow us to go forward and 
deal with this situation, we are told: We are sorry, we cannot do this. 
We do not have either the time or the desire.
  I am deeply saddened by it. As a first-time father with a 1-year-old 
child, I cannot imagine anyone abusing my daughter Grace. The idea that 
some child her age, some infant--1,200 of them around the country, 
according to the statistics in the year 2000--lost their lives, not to 
mention the several thousands more who are abused and survive but 
suffer the scars of that abuse, and that the Child Abuse Treatment and 
Prevention Act, which has actually done a great deal to assist families 
and communities in dealing with this issue is not going to have the 
imprimatur approval, despite the unanimous bipartisan agreement of the 
committee, to bring that matter up for consideration by this body.
  The people who work in this area give tirelessly of their time and 
efforts to go out and save a few lives. I am not suggesting we save all 
1,200, but what if we save 20? What if we save 10? Is it worth this 
Senate's time to spend a few minutes to pass some legislation that 
might save one child's life this year? Would that be wrong?
  I would not hesitate to say our allocation of time for an issue of 
that type, the life of one child we might save, is worthy of this 
Senate's attention and time.
  It is with a high degree of sadness that I report to my colleagues we 
are going to have to wait for another day, I guess, maybe later in the 
next Congress, to do something. But when you pick up a newspaper over 
the next several months and read another child lost their life as a 
result of abuse and neglect, then you might look back on a moment like 
this and wonder: Maybe this Congress, despite the time we spent on 
other issues of questionable value, could have found a few minutes to 
deal with this issue of child neglect and abuse.
  I regret to report to colleagues and others that this issue will have 
to wait for another day. Hopefully, the families of some children will 
not have to look back and wonder whether or not if we acted, we might 
have saved a life or saved a child from the lifetime scars that abuse 
and neglect can bring.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. AKAKA). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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