[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4504-S4505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 345--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT CONGRESS
SHOULD EXPAND THE SUPPORTS AND SERVICES AVAILABLE TO GRANDPARENTS AND
OTHER RELATIVES WHO ARE RAISING CHILDREN WHEN THEIR BIOLOGICAL PARENTS
HAVE DIED OR CAN NO LONGER TAKE CARE OF THEM
Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Miller, Mr.
Kerry, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Corzine, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Stabenow,
Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Lieberman, and Mrs. Lincoln)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:
S. Res. 345
Whereas, 4.5 million children in the United States are
living in grandparent-headed households--a 30% increase from
1990 to 2000--and an additional 1.5 million children are
living in households headed by other relatives;
Whereas 70% of grandparents who report they are responsible
for the grandchildren living with them are under the age of
60, many of whom are still in the workforce and making a
valuable contribution to the national economy;
Whereas, an increasing number of parents are unable to
raise their own children due to substance abuse,
incarceration, illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, child abuse and
neglect, domestic and community violence, unemployment and
poverty, and other serious community crises;
Whereas, grandparents and other relatives raising children,
especially those without formal legal custody or guardianship
of the children under their care, face a variety of
unnecessary barriers, including difficulties enrolling
children in school, authorizing medical treatment,
maintaining their public housing leases, obtaining affordable
legal services, and accessing a variety of federal benefits
and services;
Whereas, grandparents and other relatives have stepped
forward at great personal sacrifice to their financial and
health status, to provide safe and loving homes and keep
thousands of children from unnecessarily entering the formal
foster care system;
Whereas children feel content to live in an environment
with people that they know, who are familiar, and who are
able to provide them with extended family as additional
support and a family history, which gives them a sense of
belonging.
Whereas the time, effort, and unselfish commitment shown by
these family members is worthy of recognition.
Whereas, almost one-fifth of grandparents who report that
they are responsible for the grandchildren living with them
live in poverty;
Whereas, grandparents and other relatives have taken over
the care of abused and neglected children who have been
removed from their homes even though they often fail to
receive the same services and supports offered to non-related
foster parents.
Whereas, grandparents and other relatives, whether raising
children inside or outside of the foster care system, need
better access to health insurance, respite care, child care,
special education, housing, and other benefits, and where
appropriate, support from Temporary Assistance For Needy
Families, federal foster care and subsidized guardianship
programs.
Resolved, That--
(1) it is the sense of the Senate that
(A) Congress and all Americans should recognize and
publicly laud the commitment of grandparents, aunts, uncles,
and other relative caregivers raising children whose parents
are unable or unwilling to do so;
(B) Congress urges institutions and government entities at
every level to promote public policies that support, and
remove barriers to these caregivers;
(C) Congress should establish new and expanded appropriate
supports and services, such as respite care, housing, and
subsidized guardianship, for grandparents and other relatives
who are raising children inside and outside of the foster
care system.
Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be submitting a
resolution that urges Congress to expand the supports and services
available to grandparents and other relatives who are raising children
when their biological parents can no longer take care of them. I am
pleased to have worked with my friend and colleague, Senator Olympia
Snowe, in crafting this important bill.
Today, in Albany, NY, there is a ``GrandRally'' going on to celebrate
and honor the almost 300,000 children who live in grandparent-headed
households--a total of 6.3 percent of all children in New York State.
Another 112,000 children live in households headed by other relatives.
I am so pleased that this resolution coincides with the GrandRally
because they compliment each other nicely.
Nationwide, four and a half million children are living in
grandparent-headed households and an additional 1.5 million children
are living in households headed by other relatives. This represents a
30 percent increase between 1990 and 2000.
Kinship care families came to be because there are many tragic
instances when parents are unable to raise their own children. Serious
illness, death, substance abuse, incarceration, domestic violence, and
unemployment are just some of the reasons that have forced grandparents
and other relatives to step forward, often at great personal sacrifice,
to provide safe and loving homes for the children in their care. This
has allowed thousands of children to live with extended family rather
than strangers.
We know that children are better off living in an environment with
people that they know, who are familiar, and who are able to provide
them with extended family as additional support. When foster children
are placed with family members rather than strangers, they gain a
critical sense of belonging and a family history.
[[Page S4505]]
Unfortunately, these grandparents and other relatives raising
children often face a number of unnecessary barriers, including
difficulties enrolling children in school, authorizing medical
treatment, and accessing a variety of government benefits and services.
Almost one-fifth of grandparents who are serving as the parents for
their grandchildren are living in poverty.
The time, effort, and unselfish commitment of these family members is
worthy of recognition.
This resolution encourages institutions and government entities at
every level to promote public policies that support these caregivers by
expanding existing services such as respite care, housing, and
subsidized guardianship for grandparents and other relatives who are
raising children inside and outside of the foster care system.
I want to thank all of my colleagues who are cosponsors of this
resolution. Senator Snowe and I are being joined by a diverse,
bipartisan group of Senators whose commitment to this issue
demonstrates the broad range of support for kinship care families.
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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 101--TO EXPRESS THE SENSE OF THE CONGRESS
REGARDING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUPREME COURT DECISION IN BROWN
V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA
Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mr. Roberts) submitted the following
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules and
Administration:
S. Con. Res. 101
Whereas Oliver L. Brown is the namesake of the landmark
United States Supreme Court decision of 1954, Brown v. Board
of Education (347 U.S. 483, 1954);
Whereas Oliver L. Brown is honored as the lead plaintiff in
the Topeka, Kansas case which posed a legal challenge to
racial segregation in public education;
Whereas by 1950, African-American parents began to renew
their efforts to challenge State laws that only permitted
their children to attend certain schools, and as a result,
they organized through the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (the NAACP), an organization
founded in 1909 to address the issue of the unequal and
discriminatory treatment experienced by African-Americans
throughout the country;
Whereas Oliver L. Brown became part of the NAACP strategy
led first by Charles Houston and later by Thurgood Marshall,
to file suit against various school boards on behalf of such
parents and their children;
Whereas Oliver L. Brown was a member of a distinguished
group of plaintiffs in cases from Kansas (Brown v. Board of
Education), Delaware (Gebhart v. Belton), South Carolina
(Briggs v. Elliot), and Virginia (Davis v. County School
Board of Prince Edward County) that were combined by the
United States Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education,
and in Washington, D.C. (Bolling v. Sharpe), considered
separately by the Supreme Court with respect to the District
of Columbia;
Whereas with respect to cases filed in the State of
Kansas--
(1) there were 11 school integration cases dating from 1881
to 1949, prior to Brown v. Board of Education in 1954;
(2) in many instances, the schools for African-American
children were substandard facilities with out-of-date
textbooks and often no basic school supplies;
(3) in the fall of 1950, members of the Topeka, Kansas
chapter of the NAACP agreed to again challenge the ``separate
but equal'' doctrine governing public education;
(4) on February 28, 1951, the NAACP filed their case as
Oliver L. Brown et al. v. The Board of Education of Topeka
Kansas (which represented a group of 13 parents and 20
children);
(5) the district court ruled in favor of the school board
and the case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court;
(6) at the Supreme Court level, the case was combined with
other NAACP cases from Delaware, South Carolina, Virginia,
and Washington, D.C. (which was later heard separately); and
(7) the combined cases became known as Oliver L. Brown et
al. v. The Board of Education of Topeka, et al.;
Whereas with respect to the Virginia case of Davis et al.
v. Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors--
(1) one of the few public high schools available to
African-Americans in the State of Virginia was Robert Moton
High School in Prince Edward County;
(2) built in 1943, it was never large enough to accommodate
its student population;
(3) the gross inadequacies of these classrooms sparked a
student strike in 1951;
(4) the NAACP soon joined their struggles and challenged
the inferior quality of their school facilities in court; and
(5) although the United States District Court ordered that
the plaintiffs be provided with equal school facilities, they
were denied access to the schools for white students in their
area;
Whereas with respect to the South Carolina case of Briggs
v. R.W. Elliott--
(1) in Clarendon County, South Carolina, the State NAACP
first attempted, unsuccessfully and with a single plaintiff,
to take legal action in 1947 against the inferior conditions
that African-American students experienced under South
Carolina's racially segregated school system;
(2) by 1951, community activists convinced African-American
parents to join the NAACP efforts to file a class action suit
in United States District Court;
(3) the court found that the schools designated for
African-Americans were grossly inadequate in terms of
buildings, transportation, and teacher salaries when compared
to the schools provided for white students; and
(4) an order to equalize the facilities was virtually
ignored by school officials, and the schools were never made
equal;
Whereas with respect to the Delaware cases of Belton v.
Gebhart and Bulah v. Gebhart--
(1) first petitioned in 1951, these cases challenged the
inferior conditions of 2 African-American schools;
(2) in the suburb of Claymont, Delaware, African-American
children were prohibited from attending the area's local high
school, and in the rural community of Hockessin, Delaware,
African-American students were forced to attend a dilapidated
1-room schoolhouse, and were not provided transportation to
the school, while white children in the area were provided
transportation and a better school facility;
(3) both plaintiffs were represented by local NAACP
attorneys; and
(4) though the State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the
plaintiffs, the decision did not apply to all schools in
Delaware;
Whereas with respect to the District of Columbia case of
Bolling, et al. v. C. Melvin Sharpe, et al.--
(1) 11 African-American junior high school students were
taken on a field trip to Washington, D.C.'s new John Philip
Sousa School for white students only;
(2) the African-American students were denied admittance to
the school and ordered to return to their inadequate school;
and
(3) in 1951, a suit was filed on behalf of the students,
and after review with the Brown case in 1954, the United
States Supreme Court ruled that segregation in the Nation's
capitol was unconstitutional;
Whereas on May 17, 1954, at 12:52 p.m., the United States
Supreme Court ruled that the discriminatory nature of racial
segregation ``violates the 14th Amendment to the
Constitution, which guarantees all citizens equal protection
of the laws'';
Whereas the decision in Brown v. Board of Education set the
stage for dismantling racial segregation throughout the
country;
Whereas the quiet courage of Oliver L. Brown and his fellow
plaintiffs asserted the right of African-American people to
have equal access to social, political, and communal
structures;
Whereas our country is indebted to the work of the NAACP
Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., Howard University
Law School, the NAACP, and the individual plaintiffs in the
cases considered by the Supreme Court;
Whereas Reverend Oliver L. Brown died in 1961, and because
the landmark United States Supreme Court decision bears his
name, he is remembered as an icon for justice, freedom, and
equal rights; and
Whereas the national importance of the Brown v. Board of
Education decision had a profound impact on American culture,
affecting families, communities, and governments by outlawing
racial segregation in public education, resulting in the
abolition of legal discrimination on any basis: Now therefore
be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
concurring), That--
(1) the Congress recognizes and honors the 50th anniversary
of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education
of Topeka;
(2) the Congress encourages all people of the United States
to recognize the importance of the Supreme Court decision in
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka;
(3) by celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Brown v.
Board of Education of Topeka, the Nation will be able to
refresh and renew the importance of equality in society; and
(4) the Rotunda of the Capitol is authorized to be used on
May 13, 2004 or June 17, 2004 for a ceremony to commemorate
the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision
in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483
(1954);
physical preparations for the ceremony shall be carried out
in accordance with such conditions as the Architect of the
Capitol may prescribe.
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