[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 186 (Thursday, December 11, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10957-S10958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      NATIONAL TEEN DATING VIOLENCE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION WEEK

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                        NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Judiciary Committee be discharged and the Senate now proceed en bloc to 
the consideration of S. Res. 710 and S. Res. 728.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions 
to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolutions (S. Res. 710 and S. Res. 728) were agreed to.
  The preambles were agreed to.
  The resolutions, with their preambles, read as follows:

[[Page S10958]]

                              S. Res. 710

       Whereas 1 in 11 adolescents reports being a victim of 
     physical dating violence;
       Whereas dating violence occurs more frequently among black 
     students (13.9 percent) than among Hispanic (9.3 percent) or 
     white (7 percent) students;
       Whereas 1 in 5 teenagers in a serious relationship reports 
     having been hit, slapped, or pushed by a partner;
       Whereas more than 1 in 4 teenagers have been in a 
     relationship where a partner is verbally abusive;
       Whereas 30 percent of teenagers in a dating relationship 
     have been text messaged 10, 20, or 30 times per hour by a 
     partner attempting to find out where they are, what they are 
     doing, or who they are with;
       Whereas 40 percent of the youngest ``tweens'', those 
     between the ages of 11 and 12, report that their friends are 
     victims of verbal abuse in dating relationships;
       Whereas nearly 3 in 4 tweens say that dating relationships 
     usually begin at age 14 or younger;
       Whereas 29 percent of girls who have been in a relationship 
     said that they have been pressured to have sex or to engage 
     in sexual activities that they did not want;
       Whereas 69 percent of all teenagers who had sex by age 14 
     said they have experienced 1 or more types of abuse in a 
     dating relationship;
       Whereas 1 in 5 teenagers (20 percent) between the ages of 
     13 and 14 say their friends are victims of dating violence;
       Whereas in 2003, in a national survey of over 14,000 high 
     school students conducted by the Centers for Disease Control 
     and Prevention, just over 8 percent of boys and girls 
     reported physical dating violence victimization and were more 
     likely to engage in risky behaviors including sexual 
     intercourse, attempted suicide, episodic heavy drinking, and 
     physical fighting;
       Whereas Native American women experience higher rates of 
     interpersonal violence than any other population group;
       Whereas violent relationships in adolescence can have 
     serious ramifications for victims, putting them at higher 
     risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual 
     behavior, suicide, and adult revictimization;
       Whereas the severity of violence among intimate partners 
     has been shown to be greater in cases where the pattern of 
     violence has been established in adolescence;
       Whereas more than 3 times as many tweens (20 percent) as 
     parents of tweens (6 percent) admit that parents know little 
     or nothing about the tweens' dating relationships;
       Whereas a majority of parents surveyed either believe 
     dating violence is not an issue or admit they do not know if 
     it is an issue; and
       Whereas the establishment of National Teen Dating Violence 
     Awareness and Prevention Week will benefit schools, 
     communities, and families regardless of socio-economic 
     status, race, or sex: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the week of February 2 through February 6, 
     2009, as ``National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and 
     Prevention Week''; and
       (2) calls upon the people of the United States, high 
     schools, law enforcement, State and local officials, and 
     interested groups to observe National Teen Dating Violence 
     Awareness and Prevention Week with appropriate programs and 
     activities that promote awareness and prevention of the crime 
     of teen dating violence in their communities.

                              S. Res. 728

       Whereas mentoring is a longstanding tradition in which a 
     dependable, caring adult provides guidance, support, and 
     encouragement to facilitate a young person's social, 
     emotional, and cognitive development;
       Whereas continued research on mentoring shows that formal, 
     high-quality mentoring focused on developing the competence 
     and character of the mentee promotes positive outcomes, such 
     as improved academic achievement, self-esteem, social skills, 
     and career development;
       Whereas further research on mentoring provides strong 
     evidence that mentoring successfully reduces substance use 
     and abuse, academic failure, and delinquency;
       Whereas mentoring, in addition to preparing young people 
     for school, work, and life, is extremely rewarding for those 
     serving as mentors;
       Whereas more than 4,200 mentoring programs in communities 
     of all sizes across the United States focus on building 
     strong, effective relationships between mentors and mentees;
       Whereas approximately 3,000,000 young people in the United 
     States are in solid mentoring relationships due to the 
     remarkable vigor, creativity, and resourcefulness of the 
     thousands of mentoring programs in communities throughout the 
     Nation;
       Whereas, in spite of the progress made to increase 
     mentoring, the Nation has a serious ``mentoring gap'', with 
     nearly 15,000,000 young people in need of mentors;
       Whereas mentoring partnerships between the public and 
     private sectors bring State and local leaders together to 
     support mentoring programs by preventing duplication of 
     efforts, offering training in industry best practices, and 
     making the most of limited resources to benefit young people 
     in the United States;
       Whereas the designation of January 2009 as National 
     Mentoring Month will help call attention to the critical role 
     mentors play in helping young people realize their potential;
       Whereas a month-long celebration of mentoring will 
     encourage more individuals and organizations, including 
     schools, businesses, nonprofit organizations, faith 
     institutions, and foundations, to become engaged in mentoring 
     across the United States; and
       Whereas National Mentoring Month will, most significantly, 
     build awareness of mentoring and encourage more people to 
     become mentors and help close the mentoring gap in the United 
     States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the month of January 2009 as ``National 
     Mentoring Month'';
       (2) recognizes with gratitude the contributions of the 
     millions of caring adults and students who are already 
     volunteering as mentors and encourages more adults and 
     students to volunteer as mentors; and
       (3) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
     National Mentoring Month with appropriate ceremonies and 
     activities that promote awareness of, and volunteer 
     involvement with, youth mentoring.

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