[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 164 (Wednesday, December 19, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H7313-H7317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROTECT OUR KIDS ACT OF 2012
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 6655) to establish a commission to develop a national strategy
and recommendations for reducing fatalities resulting from child abuse
and neglect.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6655
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. COMMISSION.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protect our Kids Act of
2012''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) deaths from child abuse and neglect are preventable;
(2) deaths from child abuse and neglect are significantly
underreported and there is no national standard for reporting
such deaths;
(3) according to the Child Maltreatment Report of 2011, in
fiscal year 2011, 1,545 children in the United States are
reported to have died from child abuse and neglect, and many
experts believe that the actual number may be significantly
more;
(4) over 42 percent of the number of children in the United
States who die from abuse are under the age of 1, and almost
82 percent are under the age of 4;
(5) of the children who died in fiscal year 2011, 70
percent suffered neglect either exclusively or in combination
with another maltreatment type and 48 percent suffered
physical abuse either exclusively or in combination;
(6) increased understanding of deaths from child abuse and
neglect can lead to improvement in agency systems and
practices to protect children and prevent child abuse and
neglect; and
(7) Congress in recent years has taken a number of steps to
reduce child fatalities from abuse and neglect, such as--
(A) providing States with flexibility through the Child and
Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011 to
operate child welfare demonstration projects to test services
focused on preventing abuse and neglect and ensuring that
children remain safely in their own homes;
(B) providing funding through the Child and Family Services
Improvement Act of 2006 for services and activities to
enhance the safety of children who are at risk of being
placed in foster care as a result of a parent's substance
abuse;
(C) providing funding through the Fostering Connections to
Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 for grants to
facilitate activities such as family group decisionmaking
meetings and residential family treatment programs to support
parents in caring for their children; and
(D) requiring States through the Child and Family Services
Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011 to describe how they
will improve the quality of data collected on fatalities from
child abuse and neglect.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Commission to
Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (in this Act
referred to as the ``Commission'').
(b) Membership.--
(1) Composition.--
(A) Members.--The Commission shall be composed of 12
members, of whom--
(i) 6 shall be appointed by the President;
(ii) 2 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives;
(iii) 1 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the
House of Representatives;
(iv) 2 shall be appointed by the majority leader of the
Senate; and
(v) 1 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the
Senate.
(B) Qualifications.--Each member appointed under
subparagraph (A) shall have experience in one or more of the
following areas:
(i) child welfare administration;
(ii) child welfare research;
(iii) child development;
(iv) legislation, including legislation involving child
welfare matters;
(v) trauma and crisis intervention;
(vi) pediatrics;
(vii) psychology and mental health;
(viii) emergency medicine;
(ix) forensic pathology or medical investigation of injury
and fatality;
(x) social work with field experience;
(xi) academia at an institution of higher education, as
that term is defined in section 101 of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), with a focus on one or more of
the other areas listed under this subparagraph;
(xii) law enforcement, with experience handling child abuse
and neglect matters;
(xiii) civil law, with experience handling child abuse and
neglect matters;
(xiv) criminal law, with experience handling child abuse
and neglect matters;
(xv) substance abuse treatment;
(xvi) education at an elementary school or secondary
school, as those terms are defined
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in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801);
(xvii) epidemiology; and
(xviii) computer science or software engineering with a
background in interoperability standards.
(C) Diversity of qualifications.--In making appointments to
the Commission under subparagraph (A), the President and the
congressional leaders shall make every effort to select
individuals whose qualifications are not already represented
by other members of the Commission.
(2) Date.--The appointments of the members of the
Commission shall be made not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act.
(c) Period of Appointment; Vacancies.--Members shall be
appointed for the life of the Commission. Any vacancy in the
Commission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled
in the same manner as the original appointment.
(d) Initial Meeting.--Not later than 60 days after the date
on which a majority of the members of the Commission have
been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meeting.
(e) Meetings.--The Commission shall meet at the call of the
Chairperson.
(f) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission
shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may
hold hearings.
(g) Chairperson.--The President shall select a Chairperson
for the Commission from among its members.
SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Study.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall conduct a thorough
study on the use of child protective services and child
welfare services funded under title IV and subtitle A of
title XX of the Social Security Act to reduce fatalities from
child abuse and neglect.
(2) Matters studied.--The matters studied by the Commission
shall include--
(A) the effectiveness of the services described in
paragraph (1) and best practices in preventing child and
youth fatalities that are intentionally caused or that occur
due to negligence, neglect, or a failure to exercise proper
care;
(B) the effectiveness of Federal, State, and local policies
and systems within such services aimed at collecting
accurate, uniform data on child fatalities in a coordinated
fashion, including the identification of the most and least
effective policies and systems in practice;
(C) the current (as of the date of the study) barriers to
preventing fatalities from child abuse and neglect, and how
to improve efficiency to improve child welfare outcomes;
(D) trends in demographic and other risk factors that are
predictive of or correlated with child maltreatment, such as
age of the child, child behavior, family structure, parental
stress, and poverty;
(E) methods of prioritizing child abuse and neglect
prevention within such services for families with the highest
need; and
(F) methods of improving data collection and utilization,
such as increasing interoperability among State and local and
other data systems.
(3) Materials studied.--The Commission shall review--
(A) all current (as of the date of the study) research and
documentation, including the National Survey of Child and
Adolescent Well-Being and research and recommendations from
the Government Accountability Office, to identify lessons,
solutions, and needed improvements related to reducing
fatalities from child abuse and neglect; and
(B) recommendations from the Advisory Board on Child Abuse
and Neglect.
(b) Coordination.--The Commission shall provide
opportunities for graduate and doctoral students to
coordinate research with the Commission.
(c) Recommendations.--The Commission shall--
(1) develop recommendations to reduce fatalities from child
abuse and neglect for Federal, State, and local agencies, and
private sector and nonprofit organizations, including
recommendations to implement a comprehensive national
strategy for such purpose; and
(2) develop guidelines for the type of information that
should be tracked to improve interventions to prevent
fatalities from child abuse and neglect.
(d) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date on
which a majority of the members of the Commission have been
appointed, the Commission shall submit a report to the
President and Congress, which shall contain a detailed
statement of the findings and conclusions of the Commission,
together with its recommendations for such legislation and
administrative actions as it considers appropriate.
(2) Extension.--The President may extend the date on which
the report described in paragraph (1) shall be submitted by
an additional 1 year.
(3) Online access.--The Commission shall make the report
under paragraph (1) available on the publicly available
Internet Web site of the Department of Health and Human
Services.
SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Hearings.--
(1) In general.--The Commission may hold such hearings, sit
and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and
receive such evidence as the Commission considers advisable
to carry out this Act.
(2) Location.--The location of hearings under paragraph (1)
shall include--
(A) areas with high fatality rates from child abuse and
neglect; and
(B) areas that have shown a decrease in fatalities from
child abuse and neglect.
(3) Subject.--The Commission shall hold hearings under
paragraph (1)--
(A) to examine the Federal, State, and local policies and
available resources that affect fatalities from child abuse
and neglect; and
(B) to explore the matters studied under section 4(a)(2).
(b) Information From Federal Agencies.--The Commission may
secure directly from any Federal department or agency such
information as the Commission considers necessary to carry
out this Act. Upon request of the Chairperson of the
Commission, the head of such department or agency shall
furnish such information to the Commission.
(c) Postal Services.--The Commission may use the United
States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions
as other departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
(d) Gifts.--The Commission may accept, use, and dispose of
gifts or donations of services or property.
SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.
(a) Travel Expenses.--The members of the Commission shall
be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of
subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies
under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States
Code, while away from their homes or regular places of
business in the performance of services for the Commission.
(b) Staff.--
(1) In general.--The Chairperson of the Commission may,
without regard to the civil service laws and regulations,
appoint and terminate an executive director and such other
additional personnel as may be necessary to enable the
Commission to perform its duties. The employment of an
executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the
Commission.
(2) Compensation.--The Chairperson of the Commission may
fix the compensation of the executive director and other
personnel without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of
chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to
classification of positions and General Schedule pay rates,
except that the rate of pay for the executive director and
other personnel may not exceed the rate payable for level V
of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.
(c) Detail of Government Employees.--At the discretion of
the relevant agency, any Federal Government employee may be
detailed to the Commission without reimbursement, and such
detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil service
status or privilege.
(d) Procurement of Temporary and Intermittent Services.--
The Chairperson of the Commission may procure temporary and
intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5,
United States Code, at rates for individuals that do not
exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay
prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under
section 5316 of such title.
SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.
The Commission shall terminate on the earlier of--
(1) the 30th day after the date on which the Commission
submits its report under section 4(d); or
(2) the date that is 3 years after the initial meeting
under section 3(d).
SEC. 8. FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONSE.
Not later than 6 months after the submission of the report
required under section 4(d), any Federal agency that is
affected by a recommendation described in the report shall
submit to Congress a report containing the response of the
Federal agency to the recommendation and the plans of the
Federal agency to address the recommendation.
SEC. 9. ADJUSTMENT TO THE TANF CONTINGENCY FUND FOR STATE
WELFARE PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--Section 403(b)(2) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 603(b)(2)) is amended by striking ``for fiscal
years 2011 and 2012'' and all that follows through the end of
the paragraph and inserting ``for fiscal years 2013 and 2014
such sums as are necessary for payment to the Fund in a total
amount not to exceed $612,000,000 for each fiscal year, of
which $2,000,000 shall be reserved for carrying out the
activities of the commission established by the Protect our
Kids Act of 2012 to reduce fatalities resulting from child
abuse and neglect.''
(b) Prevention of Duplicate Appropriations for Fiscal Year
2013.--Expenditures made pursuant to section 148 of the
Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2013, for fiscal year
2013, shall be charged to the applicable appropriation
provided by the amendments made by this section for such
fiscal year.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Camp) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
General Leave
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5
[[Page H7315]]
legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on the subject of the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6655, the Protect Our
Kids Act of 2012. As we are too painfully reminded this week by the
horrific tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, for all the good this Nation
has done to lift up children, we still have much more work to do. So,
Mr. Speaker, before I get into the remarks about the bill I want to
extend my heartfelt condolences to the victims and their loved ones
struggling, as we all are, to understand this senseless assault on
children and their educators.
While Newtown is rightly receiving the Nation's attention, what goes
unnoticed far too often is the number of children that die each year in
this country as a result of abuse and neglect. Sadly, their deaths
often come at the hands of those who should be caring for them the
most.
State reports indicate that more than 1,500 children in the U.S. died
from abuse or neglect in fiscal year 2010, and research shows that
these reports may significantly understate the actual number of these
fatalities. Congress should do what it can to prevent these tragedies,
which is why this legislation is before us today.
This legislation is the result of careful bipartisan work over the
past couple of years. In 2010, I requested that the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) review what is known about the
circumstances of child deaths and near deaths resulting from abuse and
neglect, State approaches to gathering and reporting this information,
and what steps the Department of Health and Human Services has taken to
support the collection and accurate reporting of this information.
GAO completed its review in July of last year and presented its
findings at a Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources hearing
that same month. In their report, GAO said many more children die from
abuse and neglect than are currently reported. They also reported that
government agencies have different definitions of abuse and neglect,
and that administrative barriers hinder the sharing of this information
across agencies.
Following that hearing, I worked with Congressman Doggett--and I
thank him for his bipartisan support--the ranking member of the
Subcommittee on Human Resources, to develop a legislative proposal to
address these issues. Last week, the subcommittee held another hearing
to review this proposal. Finally, after almost 2 years of work, we are
here on the House floor today to consider and pass this important bill.
This bipartisan legislation will establish a commission charged with
developing recommendations to reduce child deaths caused by abuse and
neglect. The commission will study a variety of issues, including data
on fatalities, prevention methods, and the adequacy of current programs
before making their recommendations. Any Federal agency affected by a
recommendation of the commission will be required to report within 6
months on how it plans to address the recommendation. Importantly, this
legislation is paid for and will not add to our deficit.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle
to vote in favor of this bipartisan bill and, in doing so, take an
important step toward preventing the tragic deaths of so many of our
Nation's children from abuse and neglect.
Mr. Speaker, I yield the remainder of my time to Mr. Paulsen, the
acting chair of the Human Resources Subcommittee, and ask unanimous
consent that he be allowed to control the time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from
Minnesota will control the balance of the time.
There was no objection.
Mr. DOGGETT. My thanks to Chairman Camp and Chairman Paulsen, whose
leadership has facilitated our consideration of this bill today and the
crafting of it into the piece of legislation that it is.
I rise in support of the Protect Our Kids Act, which represents an
improved version over legislation that I introduced about a year ago.
We are reminded, as Chairman Camp indicated, by the tragedy in
Connecticut, each family touched by the damage, the deaths of these
youngest Americans. In contrast, as with so many families, in our
family we share the joy of three little girls. As difficult as it is to
conceive of the wrong, the evil that occurred in Connecticut so
recently, it is similarly difficult to conceive of how many of our
youngest Americans are the subject of abuse and even death.
We, through the Protect Our Kids Act, are seeking to have thoughtful
consideration of what steps we can take to protect these most
vulnerable children. We're not interested in another commission that
just prepares another report that gets filed somewhere; we're
interested in action coming from this commission.
The original legislation, which was filed in a way that provided for
its consideration in a number of committees, has been, in terms of
jurisdiction, narrowed somewhat, but the objectives of the legislation
remain as broad as they ever were--to explore every aspect of child
abuse leading to child fatalities and to find more bipartisan solutions
to addressing that serious matter.
I reflect on the testimony of a witness from Dallas, Madeline
McClure, the executive director of the Texas Association for the
Protection of Children, who testified before our committee very
recently that the estimate of 753,000 children being abused and
neglected in America is a conservative one, but that to put it in
context, if you filled the Alamodome, the Darrell K. Royal Stadium in
Austin, the Hubert Humphrey Metro Dome in Minneapolis, Yankee Stadium,
the stadium in Georgia, in Tennessee, Tiger Stadium in Louisiana, the
Rose Bowl, the Century Link Fields in Washington State, you would fill
those and still not cover all of the children who are subject to abuse
and neglect each year in this country. Almost half of those children
that are abused are age 4 or under.
Our bill provides an opportunity to take an important step forward in
developing a national strategy to protect our most vulnerable children.
The commission, appointed by the President and Congress, would develop
recommendations to reduce the number of children who die from abuse and
neglect.
The commission would bring together a group of experts from around
the country in a wide variety of professions to identify prevention
efforts. So little of the resources that we focus on abused and
neglected children in America today goes to prevention, and that should
be an important focus in a broad sense, as well as the collection of
good data so that we can adequately compare what's happening and can
also understand the best practices that are already underway in many
communities across America.
{time} 1520
As we listened to experts both in our recent hearing in front of the
Subcommittee on Human Resources and last year when we held a hearing,
we note the need for what one called an ``accessible blueprint'' for
the States to implement better child abuse prevention strategy. That's
a blueprint that this commission can provide.
In my home State of Texas, there are groups like Voices for Children
San Antonio, CASA, Children's Shelters in San Antonio, Austin and other
communities, and TexProtects, that are serving as a voice for the
voiceless and trying to prevent child abuse. There are local leaders
like Texas State Senator Carlos Uresti, who was the moving force behind
the Texas Blue Ribbon Task Force and the Bexar County Task Force on
Child Abuse.
The important work that these folks are doing has been a great
benefit; but despite it, the fatalities that are stemming from child
abuse continue to grow, and they are almost at epidemic proportions in
Texas, and in San Antonio in particular. Last year, there were almost
6,000 confirmed cases of child abuse in the San Antonio area in Bexar
County, the highest number in Texas, higher than even Houston and
Harris County, which has about twice the population.
In the last decade, Texas had over 2,000 children who were killed--
who
[[Page H7316]]
died--as a result of abuse and neglect. Last year, we had a total in
Texas of nearly 66,000 confirmed cases. That's just too much. There is
more that we can do and that we must do to protect these youngest
Americans.
Child abuse and neglect are not isolated. The children don't just
``bounce back.'' The consequences of abuse and neglect are felt
throughout the lifetime and, indeed, often from one generation to
another. These conditions can linger for a very long time. The data are
clear: among those adults who have experienced the highest level of
childhood trauma, these individuals were five times more likely to
suffer from alcoholism, nine times more likely to be involved in drug
abuse, three times more likely to be clinically depressed, and four
times more likely to be addicted to nicotine. Additional research shows
a relationship between childhood abuse and the presence of a range of
adult diseases.
In the past, this Congress' adoption of expert advice has provided
progress in dealing with the issue of child neglect and abuse. We have
made some positive changes to the way children are placed into foster
care and have elevated child safety as a primary welfare goal for the
States. But as evidenced by the statistics, there are gaps in policy.
There is much more work to be done to reduce the number of children who
die each year in the hands of someone who is supposed to be caring for
them.
The Protect Our Kids Act is a significant step in the right
direction, and I urge its approval.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, today we have an opportunity to improve the way our
child welfare system works. We have a chance to learn what is most
effective in preventing fatalities from child abuse and neglect. By
acting on this bill today, we can make a significant difference in the
lives of children who need to be protected.
In a hearing that we held just this last week on the Protect Our Kids
Act of 2012, I shared the heartbreaking story of Devin Drake, who is an
example of the type of tragedy we hope to prevent through the work of
this important commission.
In August of 2011, Devin Drake was a 3-year-old boy living just
outside of Minneapolis with his mother and her boyfriend. Child welfare
officials had been in contact with the family previously, but this
wasn't enough to prevent what happened next. It was on one fateful
night that Devin was seriously injured when his mother's boyfriend
struck him, knocking him down to the bathroom floor. Devin hit his head
hard enough that he had trouble standing up, but neither his mother nor
her boyfriend took the time to bring him to the hospital.
His condition worsened the next day; and when he was finally taken to
the hospital, it was too late. Doctors reported that Devin had severe
head trauma, punctured lungs, and a number of contusions. Four days
later, Devin Drake died.
This bill will help to prevent those types of tragedies. This
commission created by this bill would review the effectiveness of
current child welfare services, it will examine the data we have now
about childhood fatalities, and it will study factors that are
predictive of child abuse and neglect. And through this work, this
commission can provide Congress and others with critical information on
how we can improve our child abuse prevention efforts.
I note that while this bill provides some resources for the
commission to do its work, thanks to Chairman Camp and Mr. Doggett,
they have worked very carefully to ensure that the commission operates
within existing social services funding. As a result, this bill does
not add to the deficit. This shows how critical this issue is and how
bipartisan this issue is, as well.
I urge all my colleagues to support this important legislation and
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would yield 2 minutes to
the gentlewoman from California, who is the cochair of the Foster Youth
Caucus and who has actively participated in coming to the hearings in
our committee because of her great interest in preventing child abuse,
Ms. Bass.
Ms. BASS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support
of the Protect Our Kids Act. First of all, I want to thank Ranking
Member Doggett, Chairman Camp, and Chairman Paulsen for their
leadership and commitment to eliminating child fatalities.
Unfortunately, Federal Government statistics estimate that every day
in America approximately 2,000 children are confirmed victims of child
abuse and neglect, nearly 700 children are removed from their families
and placed in foster care due to child abuse and neglect, and about
four children die as a result.
Additionally, in fiscal year 2010 alone, more than 1,500 children in
the U.S. died due to maltreatment. Of these, more than 40 percent were
under the age of 1 year old, and more than 80 percent were under the
age of 4.
These statistics are absolutely unacceptable; and to make matters
worse, research has shown that these reports substantially
underestimate the number of children who die due to maltreatment.
As a Nation, we have a responsibility to develop effective strategies
and solutions to proactively stop this abuse and neglect. When children
are removed from their home, they really become our children, and it is
our responsibility.
While Congress has enacted a variety of laws regarding child welfare
and protection, there is no unified, comprehensive Federal strategy for
reducing instances of child abuse and neglect. This bill will ensure
that the highest levels of government work together to develop a
national strategy to eliminate child abuse and neglect fatalities. By
bringing together experts on child development, trauma and crisis
intervention, pediatrics, social work, law enforcement, criminal law,
and substance abuse treatment, the commission will truly protect our
kids.
As the cochair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I look
forward to continue working with my colleagues to help prevent child
abuse, neglect and fatalities. I urge my colleagues to support H.R.
6655.
Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, we have no other speakers. I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. DOGGETT. I would yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, as Texas District Judge Darlene Byrne, a leader in
establishing child protection courts has said:
Childhood should be a time of innocence and freedom, but it
is a sad fact that many children are vulnerable to injury and
abuse. Our Nation's children need good leaders to stand up
and find creative ways to protect them from harm. The
creation of the National Commission to End Child Fatalities
is an important step in that direction.
At a hearing, Mr. Speaker, of our Ways and Means Human Resources
Subcommittee that we held over a year ago, I expressed hope that we
would be able to come together in a bipartisan response. Today, we are
doing just that.
As we take this step toward reducing child neglect and abuse, I would
like to thank the many children's protection groups that have been so
instrumental in providing input and support for this legislation,
including the members of the National Coalition to End Child Abuse
Deaths; particularly the National Association of Social Workers; the
National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Deaths; the
National Children's Alliance; Every Child Matters Education Fund; and,
of course, the National District Attorneys Association, as well as
individuals like Michael Petit, Teresa Huizar, who testified before our
committee, Kim Day, Teri Covington and Joan Zlotnick.
We have a real chance to see this bipartisan legislation become law
this very year in the few days that remain. There is similar,
bipartisan legislation that was introduced last year at the same time I
originally filed the bill that is authored by Senators Kerry and
Collins.
{time} 1530
I'm hopeful that the Senate will see the bipartisan action that we
have here today and the commitment we have and will move forward with
this improved version of the legislation quickly.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time and give my thanks to
Chairman Paulsen.
Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
[[Page H7317]]
Mr. Speaker, the Protect Our Kids Act of 2012 will help us prevent
child fatalities from abuse and neglect. The commission created by this
bill will show us how we can improve on our current efforts, and it
will help provide us with the information we need to move forward on
this issue.
I urge my colleagues to support the bill today.
I want to thank not only Chairman Camp, but Ranking Member Doggett
for his leadership and his passion on this issue.
I urge support and yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 6655.
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. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
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