[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 11, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6379-S6380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Ms. Collins, and Mrs. Hagan):
S. 1494. A bill to amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant
Act of 1990 to improve child safety and reduce the incidence of
preventable infant deaths in child care settings; to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of myself and
Senator Collins, to introduce the Child Care Infant Mortality Act. This
is bipartisan legislation that would allow states participating in the
Child Care Development Block Grant, CCDBG, to use part of this funding
for child safety training.
Currently, states participating in Child Care Development Block
Grant, CCDBG, are required to set aside at least 4 percent of funds to
improve the quality of the programs offered in their states. Our bill
would simply ensure that strategies to enhance child safety, including
disseminating information related to prevention strategies for sudden
unexpected infant death, are included in as an allowable use of funds.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, CDC, and the American
Academy of Pediatrics, half of the approximately 4,500 SUID cases in
the United States are entirely preventable with effective training and
implementation of correct sleep practices. It is estimated that child
care settings account for 20 percent of all SUID fatalities in the
United States. Life-saving sleep strategies, first aid and CPR are
successful in preventing infant death and are easily implementable; yet
training is not currently an allowable use of funds under the Child
Care and Development Block Grant Act.
Nationally, over 4,500 infants die suddenly with no immediate obvious
cause every year. These deaths are not highly publicized by the media
because of the severe pain it causes families. A large percentage of
child care providers are unaware of the risks of sleep associated
infant deaths until they come face-to-face with a death of a child
under their care. The more aware providers are of safe sleep practices,
the more likely they are to follow suggested guidelines. In particular,
posting safe-sleep practices and offering required training can further
cut the number of infants we lose every year to sudden unexpected
infant death. Beyond safe sleep practices, child care provider training
in CPR and first aid will allow providers to identify and address
potentially harmful situations for infants.
The Child Care Infant Mortality Prevention Act of 2013 expands the
list of allowable uses for CCDBG funding to permit states to use this
funding on activities to improve child care quality. Our bill would
also require the Secretary to update and make widely available-
training, instructional materials, and other information on safe sleep
practices and other sudden unexpected infant death prevention
strategies.
I am proud that Senator Susan Collins has joined me as an original
cosponsor of this bill.
It is essential that this issue is addressed by building upon the
existing structure and capacity of the networks of Child Care providers
participating in the Child Care and Development Block Grant. It is
critical that we work to ensure that child safety is a primary goal of
the block grant, and that appropriate and adequate training on safe
sleep practices, first aid, and CPR are included in the training
regimen promoted by this Act.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 1494
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 ``Child Care Infant Mortality
Prevention Act of 2013''.
[[Page S6380]]
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) For millions of today's working families, child care is
an essential ingredient of their success. Child care helps
children, families, and communities prosper, and helps the
Nation maintain its competitive edge.
(2) Close to 12,000,000 children under age 5, and
10,000,000 over the age of 5, are in some type of child care
setting each day.
(3) More than 60 percent of children are cared for
regularly in a child care setting.
(4) Recent polls of working parents found that parents are
primarily concerned about safety and quality of care,
followed by cost.
(5) Nationally, the most common form of death among post-
neonatal infants under age 1 is death occurring during sleep,
as a result of incorrect sleeping practices.
(6) According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, each year in the United States, more than 4,500
infants die suddenly of no immediately obvious cause. Half of
these sudden unexpected infant deaths are due to Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome, the leading cause of sudden unexpected
infant deaths and all deaths among infants who are not
younger than 1 month but younger than 12 months.
(7) Researchers estimate that child care settings account
for at least 20 percent of sudden unexpected infant deaths in
the United States.
(8) In its 2011 report on child care center licensing
regulations, Child Care Aware of America, formerly known as
the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral
Agencies, noted that--
(A) extensive research and recommendations from
organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the
National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention favor
simple life-saving safe sleep strategies to eliminate serious
risk factors for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and sudden
unexpected infant death; and
(B) the strategies noted in subparagraph (A) are not
universally required under the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 nor in the majority of State child
care regulations.
SEC. 3. GOALS.
Section 658A(b)(5) of the Child Care and Development Block
Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 note) is amended to read as
follows:
``(5) to ensure the health, safety, development and well-
being of children in programs supported under this subchapter
and to assist States in improving the overall quality of
child care services and programs by implementing the health,
safety, licensing, and oversight standards established in
State law (including regulations).''.
SEC. 4. APPLICATION AND PLAN.
Section 658E(c)(2)(F) of the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 6858c(c)(2)(F)) is amended
by striking clause (iii) and all that follows and inserting
the following:
``(iii) minimum health and safety training appropriate to
the provider setting, including training on cardiopulmonary
resuscitation, first aid, safe sleep practices and other
sudden unexpected infant death prevention strategies.''.
SEC. 5. ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE CHILD SAFETY AND IMPROVE THE
QUALITY OF CHILD CARE.
Section 658G of the Child Care and Development Block Grant
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amended--
(1) by striking ``choice, and'' and inserting ``choice,'';
and
(2) by striking the period and inserting ``training
(including training in safe sleep practices, first aid, and
cardiopulmonary resuscitation), and other activities designed
to ensure and improve the health and safety of children
receiving child care services under this subchapter.''.
SEC. 6. DISSEMINATION OF MATERIALS AND INFORMATION ON SAFE
SLEEP AND OTHER SUDDEN UNEXPECTED INFANT DEATH
PREVENTION STRATEGIES.
Section 658K of the Child Care and Development Block Grant
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858i) is amended--
(1) by striking the section header and inserting the
following:
``SEC. 658K. REPORTS, AUDITS, AND INFORMATION.''
; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Information on Sudden Unexpected Infant Death
Prevention Strategies.--The Secretary, working with the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and the Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development, shall--
``(1) update training, instructional materials, and other
information on safe sleep practices and other sudden
unexpected infant death prevention strategies; and
``(2) widely distribute the training, materials, and
information to parents, child care providers, pediatricians,
home visitors, community colleges, and other individuals and
entities.''.
______
By Mr. KIRK:
S. 1496. A bill to enhance taxpayer accountability at public
transportation agencies; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs.
Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, I rise to address a crisis of confidence at
Chicagoland's suburban commuter railroad--Metra. Metra plays a vital
role for our area--reducing congestion and carrying thousands of
suburban residents to and from Chicago each day. But recent
developments highlight a troubled transit system and a misuse of public
dollars.
Earlier this summer it was reported that Metra CEO Alex Clifford
received a severance package worth nearly $750,000 following
allegations of political influence at the agency. Clifford received
$442,237 alone just to buyout the remaining term of his contract, on
top of $307,390 for an additional 12 months if he is unable to find new
employment.
This is a gross misuse of public dollars. With this action, Metra's
former CEO makes more than President Obama, who currently makes
$400,000 a year. I asked the Congressional Research Service how this
golden parachute ranks compared to the annual salary of the top ten
largest transit agencies in the country, and the results were
surprising. Each of the top 10 largest transit systems pays their chief
executive no more than $350,000, meaning Metra, the 24th largest
transit agency in the country, had the highest earning CEO.
Fortunately federal taxpayer dollars did not contribute to Clifford's
golden parachute. But Metra is expected to receive more than $135
million in federal capital dollars. If our local government bodies
can't be trusted to be good stewards of the public, then the Congress
should step in to put in place reasonable taxpayer protections.
Today I have introduced the Public Transportation Accountability Act
which for the first time will put limits on executive compensation at
public transit agencies that receive federal funds. No executive or
employee of a transit agency would be able to receive annual
compensation that is greater than that of the President of the United
States. This is a common sense bill that sadly is necessary to
safeguard taxpayers' pocketbooks.
____________________