[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 15 (Tuesday, February 2, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H442-H443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS PILOT EXTENSION ACT OF 2009
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (S. 2950) to extend the pilot program for volunteer
groups to obtain criminal history background checks.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 2950
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Criminal History Background
Checks Pilot Extension Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF PILOT PROGRAM.
Section 108(a)(3)(A) of the PROTECT Act (42 U.S.C. 5119a
note) is amended by striking ``a 78-month'' and inserting ``a
92-month''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Johnson) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
General Leave
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
[[Page H443]]
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on the bill now under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, S. 2950, the Criminal History Background Checks Pilot
Extension Act of 2009, will extend the national Child Safety Pilot
Program for another 14 months. Passed in 2003 as part of the PROTECT
Act, the national Child Safety Pilot Program assists organizations in
checking the criminal records of volunteers before placing them as
mentors with our children. Every year, millions of Americans generously
give their time and energy to volunteer and mentor children throughout
the country. While the vast majority of these volunteers act out of
purely benevolent intentions, it is important that we are able to
identify those who may seek to do harm.
Since 2003, the national Child Safety Pilot Program has enabled
youth-serving organizations to work with the State governments to
access the FBI's national fingerprint-based background checks system.
By providing access to the more comprehensive data in the FBI's
database, the pilot program has helped prevent child predators and sex
offenders from getting access to children through legitimate mentoring
programs. Notably, 6 percent of checks came back with serious criminal
records.
This is a noncontroversial, fee-based program that we have authorized
twice before, Mr. Speaker. It's been extremely successful in providing
invaluable information to mentoring organizations, and it's at no cost
to the taxpayers. Now we hope that this 14-month extension will give us
more time to work with the Department of Justice on permanently
authorizing this program.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
The Child Safety Pilot Program, originally created in 2003 as part of
the PROTECT Act, has proven to be a valuable resource for groups that
work with children, such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the
National Mentoring Partnership, and the National Council of Youth
Sports. Using this pilot program, nonprofit organizations that provide
youth-focused care, as defined in the National Child Protection Act of
1993, may request criminal history background checks from the FBI on
applicants for volunteer or employee positions that involve working
with children.
Currently, nearly 68,000 background checks have been administered
through the Child Safety Pilot Program. Of those checks, over 6 percent
of all workers screened had criminal records of concern, including
serious crimes such as murder, rape, and child assault cases. More than
41 percent of applicants with a criminal record committed crimes in
other States other than the one in which they were applying to work as
a volunteer. Only a nationwide check, such as the Child Safety Pilot
Program, could have provided this information to employers.
A nationwide check is vital to these organization since many of these
applicants are looking for work in other States specifically to escape
their criminal pasts. That's why I support S. 2950, the Criminal
History Background Checks Pilot Extension Act of 2009, which extends
this program for 14 more months.
Unfortunately, organizations that work with children are often the
targets of those with criminal backgrounds and less than honest
intentions. We need to equip these organizations so they can spot
individuals with criminal records before it's too late, allowing them
to only hire professional and responsible people. S. 2950 extends the
Child Safety Pilot Program that has successfully helped these groups
and their missions to provide a safe learning environment for children.
This is a commonsense piece of legislation that should enjoy widespread
support, so I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
legislation.
I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of
my time.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 2950.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the
ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a
quorum is not present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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