[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 74 (Monday, May 7, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H4524-H4526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF NATIONAL CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS AND 
                             EMPLOYEES WEEK

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 264) supporting the goals and ideals 
of ``National Correctional Officers and Employees Week'' and honoring 
the service of correctional officers and employees.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 264

       Whereas the operation of correctional facilities represents 
     a crucial component of the criminal justice system of the 
     United States;
       Whereas correctional personnel play a vital role in 
     protecting the right of the public to be safeguarded from 
     criminal activity;
       Whereas correctional personnel are responsible for the 
     care, custody, and dignity of the human beings charged to 
     their care;
       Whereas correctional personnel work under demanding 
     circumstances and face danger in their daily work lives; and
       Whereas the first week of May is recognized as National 
     Correctional Officers and Employees Week: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of ``National 
     Correctional Officers and Employees Week''; and
       (2) honors all correctional officers and employees for 
     their service to their communities and States, and to the 
     Nation.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members be given 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  H. Res. 264 is a bipartisan resolution designed to honor correctional 
officers and employees by acknowledging and supporting the goals and 
ideals of National Correctional Officers and Employees Week. This was 
introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Holden), the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) and the gentleman from Indiana 
(Mr. Ellsworth).
  The resolution directly honors correctional workers at all levels, 
local, State and Federal, including psychologists, chaplains, teachers 
and even kitchen staff.
  Correctional officers and employees play a vital role in protecting 
and promoting public safety. They work in our county jails, our State 
prisons and our Federal penitentiaries. They have a tough job in a 
tough environment and at a time that Congress and State legislatures 
are actually making the job more difficult because we have been 
eliminating programs for inmates, such as parole, good conduct credits 
and Pell Grants for college courses, programs that give incentives to 
prisoners to behave. Now, with the additional reduction in prison 
inmate jobs on the Federal level, even more pressure will be put on 
correctional officers to maintain a safe and productive environment for 
prisoners.
  So it is fitting, Mr. Speaker, that we pause at this time to 
recognize and commend our correctional officers and employees for the 
very important job that they do for us every day under these very 
difficult circumstances, and to them we say, ``Thank you.''
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to indicate that I 
have received a note from the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Holden), 
the lead sponsor of the resolution and chair of the Congressional 
Correctional Officers Caucus. First, he asked that I share his regrets 
that he was not able to be with us today to speak on this resolution 
due to a prior commitment in his home district. He also asked that I 
convey his strong support for the men and women who work in our prisons 
and correctional facilities on a daily basis. And he also asked me to 
personally welcome on his behalf the correctional community to 
Washington, D.C., for their annual day on Capitol Hill, which is 
scheduled to occur this coming Wednesday.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 264, which 
recognizes National Correctional Officers and Employees Week, and 
honors the service of correctional officers and employees.
  Few jobs are more dangerous and difficult than serving as a 
correctional officer. There are over 200,000 correctional officers in 
the United States who guard us from nearly 2 million criminals and 
maintain the safety of the Nation's correctional facilities. It is a 
job with high risk and often little recognition or reward. This 
resolution recognizes the important role that correctional officers 
play in maintaining public safety.
  Correctional officers carry a heavy burden each day. They are 
surrounded by dangerous criminals and work in a stressful environment. 
We hear about but don't often stop to recognize the hundreds of 
correctional officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Last year 
in Maryland, two correctional officers were killed. On January 27, 
2006, Correctional Officer Jeffrey Alan Wroten II was brutally shot and 
killed; and on July 25, 2006, Officer David Warren McGuinn was killed. 
What happened to these two Maryland officers unfortunately has happened 
to hundreds of other correctional officers in past years. Correctional 
Officer Jeffrey Alan Wroten left behind a wife and five children, the 
oldest, age 15, and the youngest, 5 years of age. This makes his loss 
and the loss of others like him even more heartbreaking.

[[Page H4525]]

  So, it is appropriate that we take a moment this week to honor the 
contribution of all correctional officers, pray for their continued 
safety and dedicate ourselves to helping them carry out their mission.
  We thank each and every correctional officer, their families and 
loved ones, and honor them for their valuable role in protecting the 
public.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to an original cosponsor of this resolution, the former sheriff 
in Indiana, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Ellsworth).
  Mr. ELLSWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the correctional 
officers and employees from around the country, and to voice my strong 
support for this bill.
  I spent almost 25 years in law enforcement, much of that working in a 
jail myself. And from my experience, correction officers are some of 
the hardest-working law enforcement professionals that are working 
today. House Resolution 264 recognizes them for their important 
contributions to the safety of our communities.
  This week is National Correctional Officers and Employees Week. The 
bill we are considering today supports the goals and ideas of this 
important week, and honors all corrections officers and employees for 
their service to their communities, their States, and also to this 
Nation. It also recognizes the critical role that the correctional 
facilities play in the U.S. criminal justice system.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor to this legislation with Congressman 
Holden and Congressman LoBiondo. I echo Mr. Scott's words. Mr. Holden 
felt strongly enough about this legislation to call me and ask me to 
make a few comments on his support for this bill. He was unable to 
attend this meeting as he had prior commitments in his district, but he 
asked me to express his strong support for the men and women who work 
in the correctional system on all the levels, who work tirelessly to 
protect their communities from those incarcerated and breaking the law.
  The men and women who work in our prisons and correctional facilities 
face danger in their everyday lives. I have seen this firsthand. They 
are outnumbered. They work long hours. They often go without their 
lunches or eat their lunches while performing their duties. We owe them 
a lot. And although you are not going to see a lot of documentaries 
about the correctional officer in the TV shows, they work just as hard 
as any patrolman on the street. And they are outnumbered and surrounded 
by their adversaries every day. Their role is critical and yet goes 
unrecognized often. We can do our part to recognize them this week. 
Hopefully, this bill will bring some much deserved appreciation for 
their work, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to a strong supporter of programs to give prisoners incentives 
to better themselves and a strong supporter of correctional officers, 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
  (Mr. DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 264, 
the Congressional Lawmaking Authority Protection Act of 2007 and the 
National Correctional Officers and Employees Week.
  Correctional officers are the largest part of the workforce in jails 
and prisons, and they enforce the regulations governing the operation 
of correctional institutions as both supervisors and counselors.
  While they have no law enforcement responsibilities outside the 
institution where they work, each day they put themselves in harm's 
way, maintaining security and inmate accountability to prevent 
disturbances, assaults, and escapes.
  By definition, working in a correctional institution can be stressful 
and hazardous. Between 1990 and 1995, the number of attacks on 
correctional officers in State and Federal prisons jumped by nearly 
one-third, from 10,731 to 14,165, at a time when the number of 
correctional officers increased by only 14 percent. Except for police 
officers, the number of workplace nonfatal violent incidents is higher 
per 1,000 employees for correctional officers than any other 
profession. From 1992 to 1996, there were nearly 218 incidents for 
every 1,000 correctional officers, for a total of 58,300.

                              {time}  1800

  Correctional officers' roles in our society are and continue to be 
critical. We must continue to recognize the sacrifices they and their 
families make on a daily basis to ensure the safety and well-being of 
the prison population.
  Mr. Speaker, I spend a fair amount of time in and around correctional 
institutions. As a matter of fact, I serve as a member of the local 
school council at the Consuelo York Alternative High School in Chicago, 
which is located in the Cook County Jail. Therefore, whenever I'm 
there, when we have our regular meetings, I attend.
  I also go to jails sometimes to put up bail for individuals that I 
know, Representative Scott, who have been arrested. Quite frequently, I 
speak at jails, correctional facilities and prisons.
  And so I simply wanted to take this time to thank all of those 
individuals who not only work in these stressful situations, but the 
many men and women with whom I come into contact as they facilitate my 
entree, and as they assist whatever it is that I've been trying to do 
and that I try to do while I'm there.
  So I simply say, thank you to all of those corrections officers with 
whom I come into contact on an annual basis, and urge passage of this 
resolution.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. 
Res. 264, which puts this House on record in support of the goals and 
ideals of ``National Correctional Officers and Employees Week'' and 
which honors the service of correctional officers and employees.
  Correctional facilities form a crucial component of our criminal 
justce system, and the proper functioning of these facilities is 
depndent upon the exemplary service performed by correctional peronnel. 
These men and women work daily in a complex, ever-changing, and often 
dangerous environment, protecting the rights of the public and 
safeguarding us, as a Nation, from criminal activity.
  Not only are these correctional officers and employees responsible 
for the custody of inmates, but they are also charged with the care of 
these individuals, and with maintaining their dignity as human beings. 
This is a profession that exerts immense physical and emotional demands 
on a daily basis, and requires constant courage and vigilance.
  Mr. Speaker, correctional work has become an increasingly 
sophisticated profession, and we as a nation should take pride in the 
caliber of those who work in this field. These men and women face 
overwhelming obstacles, and operate daily in a high-risk environment, 
yet they receive little recognition. This week, which we observe as 
National Correctional Officers and Employees Week, is our opportunity 
to honor all correctional officers and employees for their service to 
their communities and our Nation.
  I strongly support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do 
the same.
  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 
264, to express support for the goals and ideals of National 
Correctional Officers and Employees Week--May 6th through 12th. This 
resolution recognizes the important and under-appreciated dedicated 
service of the correctional officers and employees who staff prisons 
across this Nation.
  Just this morning, I was at the Fairton Federal Correctional 
Institution in Fairton, New Jersey, with Warden Paul Schultz, to honor 
the hard work and highest standards of the men and women serving as 
correctional officers and employees. I had the great pleasure to 
present awards to these brave individuals.
  As a co-chair of the Correctional Officers Caucus, I was pleased to 
introduce this resolution with Representative Holden, and I am very 
proud of the correctional officers that it honors. I urge all Members 
to support this resolution.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the resolution, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 264.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.

[[Page H4526]]

  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________