[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 11, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S3551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 18--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
     THE UNITED STATES SHOULD STRIVE TO PREVENT TEEN PREGNANCY BY 
 ENCOURAGING TEENAGERS TO VIEW ADOLESCENCE AS A TIME FOR EDUCATION AND 
MATURING AND BY EDUCATING TEENAGERS ABOUT THE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF 
             EARLY SEXUAL ACTIVITY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself and Ms. Snowe) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary:

                            S. Con. Res. 18

       Whereas nearly 4 in 10 girls in the United States will 
     become pregnant before the age of 20;
       Whereas the United States has the highest rates of teen 
     pregnancy and childbirth in the industrialized world;
       Whereas, despite significant progress over the past decade, 
     there are still nearly 900,000 teen pregnancies each year;
       Whereas, on average, nearly 100 teenage girls become 
     pregnant and 55 teenage girls give birth every hour;
       Whereas childbearing by teenagers costs taxpayers at least 
     $7,000,000,000 each year in direct costs associated with 
     health care, foster care, criminal justice, and public 
     assistance;
       Whereas teen pregnancy is closely linked to the social 
     problems of welfare dependency, poverty and out-of-wedlock 
     births, and has negative ramifications with respect to the 
     critical social issues of overall child well-being, 
     responsible fatherhood, and workforce development;
       Whereas mothers who give birth as teenagers are less likely 
     to complete high school and attend college, thereby unduly 
     limiting their potential for economic self-sufficiency;
       Whereas more than half of all mothers on welfare gave birth 
     as teenagers to their first children;
       Whereas 1 out of 2 unmarried mothers first gave birth as a 
     teenager;
       Whereas 80 percent of births to teenagers involve unmarried 
     teen mothers;
       Whereas almost all adults and teenagers believe that 
     teenagers should be given a strong message from society that 
     they should abstain from sex until they have at least 
     completed high school; and
       Whereas the children of teen mothers are more likely to be 
     at risk for a variety of adverse health and educational 
     outcomes than other children: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring),

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL DAY TO PREVENT TEEN 
                   PREGNANCY.

       (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the United States should strive to prevent teen 
     pregnancy by encouraging teens to view adolescence as a time 
     for education and maturing, and by educating teens about the 
     negative consequences of early sexual activity; and
       (2) the President should designate May 7, 2003, as 
     ``National Day To Prevent Teen Pregnancy''.
       (b) Proclamation.--Congress requests the President to issue 
     a proclamation designating May 7, 2003, as ``National Day To 
     Prevent Teen Pregnancy''.

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