[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 18 (Monday, February 1, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S422-S423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



  (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)

                        VERMONT ESSAY FINALISTS

 Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask to have printed in the 
Record copies of some of the finalist essays written by Vermont High 
School students as part of the sixth annual ``What is the State of the 
Union'' essay contest conducted by my office. These finalists were 
selected from nearly 800 entries.
  The material follows:


              SARA MANFREDI, MILTON HIGH SCHOOL (FINALIST)

       Before I begin this address, I would like to take a moment 
     to thank all of you for being here today. But, there are 
     issues our country must conquer in order to make our home 
     safer, as well as more equal, for both ourselves, and the 
     generations to come.
       In recent years, it has come to attention of our government 
     that there have been over 400,000 untested rape kits stuck in 
     backlog all around the country. One precinct held over 5,000 
     in backlog, all untested, most cases left without any trial. 
     How dare we do this to those hundreds upon thousands of 
     victims? Who are we to deny them any sense of safety or 
     justice? These facts have done nothing more than allow 
     rapists to get out of any sort of punishment. This horrid 
     trend must be stopped, and can only be stopped if this 
     government takes immediate action. The issue with this is 
     that many of these local jurisdictions do not have the money 
     to process these kits, because of the innate lack of funding 
     for said kits to be processed. I am willing to offer more 
     funding through federal grants to these precincts, so these 
     long backlogs can finally be tested, and the victims of these 
     crimes can get the justice they deserve. To ensure this money 
     is used to test these rape kits, I will work with Congress to 
     pass a law into action that will give precincts a time 
     constraint in which they must have these kits tested, most 
     likely within 72 hours. By having this deadline set into 
     place, as well as the money to fund said testing, this 
     national backlog will gradually dwindle down. This justice is 
     owed to the survivors of these vicious assaults.
       Some victims, however, cannot be given the justice they 
     deserve. A recent influx of mass shootings have killed 380 
     American citizens, and left hundreds of families in mourning 
     over their lost loved ones. I am not going to say that any 
     one of the perpetrators of the 294 mass shootings in the past 
     year killed because they were lonely, lost outsiders. These 
     killers were not in the right mind, no, but mental health is 
     not to blame. What is to blame is American gun laws. These 
     men were able to commit these heinous crimes because of how 
     accessible guns are in this country. How do we stop this? We 
     restrict and complicate. If we are to ensure the safety of 
     the American public, we must ensure that only those who are 
     specifically trained to use a gun, those who are able to 
     handle one and not go awry are allowed to carry one. Police 
     officers and military personnel should be the only ones to be 
     able to carry handguns at all times for their jobs. Rifles 
     shall be heavily restricted as well, only distributed to 
     those who undergo a complicated vetting process, as to ensure 
     that they will not become the next person to kill innocent 
     bystanders. I just want the American public to be safe. I do 
     not want any more men, women, and children to be victims of 
     these preventable crimes. I only wish the best for us. Thank 
     you.


       WILLIAM MARTIN, MOUNT ABRAHAM UNION HIGH SCHOOL (FINALIST)

       The United States is being cornered by problems, of all 
     shapes and magnitude, from every direction. These issues need 
     more attention and they will not be solved unless action is 
     taken against them. Many of these situations will only get 
     worse the longer we put them off. There are a variety of 
     problems ranging from climate change to healthcare and we 
     should be looking for a solution for all of them. The three 
     issues that the U.S. should put most of its focus on, 
     however, is the threat from ISIS, the price of higher 
     education, and the cases of racism, especially those in 
     police shootings.
       The United States should spend more money to prevent ISIS 
     from growing and causing more damage, because ISIS is a 
     danger to the U.S., as well as other countries around the 
     world and their citizens. Terrorism could also continue for a 
     lot longer if we do not stop it soon. Terrorism really came 
     onto the world stage after September 11, 2001. In a single 
     day, a small group of people managed to kill thousands. Even 
     before this, al-Qaeda truly started in the 1990s. This shows 
     how long these groups have managed to continue, despite our 
     efforts, which means we need to do more. Not only do we need 
     to get rid of the organizations like ISIS that are here now, 
     but we have to provide a stable system to make sure these 
     types of groups don't return, or we could risk another 
     disaster. ISIS will actually pay foreign fighters $1,000 a 
     month, which is how they get many of their recruits. 
     Unfortunately, ISIS has a wide spread with connections in 
     many places. This is a reason why it is hard to eradicate 
     them, but also shows that we need to invest more into it if 
     we want to get it done. The U.S. is however, already spending 
     $40 billion on fighting ISIS annually. This is a large sum of 
     money, but of the $1.1 trillion that the U.S. had for 
     discretionary spending in 2015, it is only about 3.6 percent. 
     The U.S. has a responsibility to help with the fight against 
     ISIS, and the government should spend more money to disrupt 
     this organization because they are a threat to everyone, 
     everywhere, and will not go away unless we make them.
       The U.S. should also spend more money on education, to make 
     college more accessible to the average student, because it is 
     important for getting good jobs and it costs far too much 
     now. The average cost to go to a private college is $32,405 
     which deters a lot of students who can't afford that price 
     for four years. Since this price is so high, and those who 
     can't afford it simply can't go, it leaves many without the 
     education needed for higher paying jobs. This number is far 
     too high. This even gives some doubt about getting their 
     degrees, simply from the fear of debt. It is necessary to get 
     a high paying job to be able to happily provide for a family, 
     however the cost to get there is damaging, which is why the 
     government has to step in. If the government did decide to 
     make public college tuition free, it would cost $62.6 
     billion. This cost may be high, but it's not even what is 
     needed. There simply needs to be more spent on making it more 
     affordable. Also, theoretically, if the government needed to 
     raise taxes to make tuition affordable, and nearly everyone 
     had gone to college and had a high paying job, then after a 
     couple years they could raise taxes without too much effect. 
     The U.S. needs to make college easier for everyone and make 
     it more affordable, because it costs far too much and could 
     help citizens live an easier life with more money.
       The U.S. government needs to take more action against 
     racial events because they defy the constitutional values of 
     the United States and these problems only get worse when left 
     unsolved. The U.S. abolished slavery in 1865 under President 
     Lincoln, but since then there has always been a separation of 
     people of color because of the false thought of white 
     superiority. We can see this in the way black people were 
     treated in the 20th century, in how they were allowed little 
     compared to those who were white. This shows a deep root of 
     racism in this country, and though we have been making 
     efforts to reduce it more and more, it still seems to not be 
     enough. A large racism topic that has been in the media for a 
     while is the shooting and other abuse white cops have 
     committed on people of color. One example is Michael Brown, a 
     black 18 year old, who was fatally shot in 2014 by a white 
     officer. After there was no conviction of Darren Wilson, the 
     shooter, many cried out in outrage. The commotion that was 
     caused from that killing, and others, caused massive amounts 
     of damage in protests to both people and property. There 
     needs to be a better way to deal with these situations, 
     otherwise the outrage will continue. There is also a question 
     raised by statistics like that only 13.2% of the U.S. 
     population is black, and yet they make up 39.4% of the prison 
     population, or that nearly 50% of hate crimes are about 
     racism. These numbers show how we need to increase the 
     involvement of the government in these events--we cannot just 
     ignore the danger behind these statistics. On the other hand, 
     all U.S. citizens have the same legal rights, no matter their 
     gender, race, or religion. This fact however, may not be 
     fully true, because though on paper it may say there is no 
     discrimination, that does not mean that there aren't people 
     who do discriminate based on race. The government needs to 
     step in on this issue, and use their power to end it, because 
     it is dangerous to all and defies our American morals.
       The U.S. will find itself in trouble if solutions are not 
     quickly found to ISIS, the price of higher education, and 
     acts of racism. If action is not taken against ISIS to 
     permanently disrupt them, the danger they cause for everyone 
     will only increase and get worse. Similarly, if money is not 
     put towards helping offset the cost of higher education, we 
     could see more and more people who can't afford to get a 
     degree that could get them a job they can live off of, which 
     would increase the separation of the upper and middle class. 
     Lastly, it is very important that the U.S. finds a solution 
     to the acts of racism that cause only harm and anarchy. The 
     U.S. will never become the true country it was meant to be, 
     and the ``American Dream'' will be fiction for many, until 
     the problems we face today are solved.


       HADLEY MENK, CHAMPLAIN VALLEY UNION HIGH SCHOOL (FINALIST)

       All men are created equal. America was founded upon this 
     fundamental belief, but today the meaning of these words has 
     been lost.
       Americans are not equal when some cannot afford healthcare, 
     when a woman's power over her body is diminished, or when the 
     pursuit of happiness is lost in the struggle to

[[Page S423]]

     feed a family. Economically, there is more inequality in 
     America than ever. According to the Pew Research Center, 
     since 1983 ``virtually all wealth gains made by U.S. families 
     have gone to the upper-income group.'' The top 1% of American 
     families received 22.5% of all pre-tax income in 2012, with 
     the bottom 90% receiving less than 50% of total income for 
     the first time ever.
       For the plights of everyday Americans to rightfully regain 
     the attention of the government, the deluge of money being 
     pumped into the electoral system by big corporations and 
     wealthy donors must be stopped. New campaign finance 
     regulations and a reversal of the Citizens United decision 
     will take the government out of the control of the wealthy 
     elite and put it back into the hands of the people.
       Policies designed to combat income inequality at its roots 
     are the only way to fix our broken system. For example, we 
     need a minimum wage that allows families an equal chance at 
     happiness. We need political leadership that will give low-
     income women an equal chance at personal liberty, instead of 
     seeking to strip funding from organizations like Planned 
     Parenthood, which for many women are their only option for 
     reproductive healthcare. We need a healthcare system that 
     ensures that no one has less of a right to health because of 
     their socioeconomic class. We need affordable education and 
     job training programs to give young people the tools they 
     need to contribute to our economy. Tax cuts for the 
     wealthiest have only widened the gap and made life harder for 
     too many Americans. It's time to unite, rather than divide, 
     our country.
       In order for the American people to unite, elected 
     officials must lead the way, by following the will of the 
     people, instead of the dictates of their wealthy donors. For 
     example, in their 2014 National Climate Assessment, the White 
     House found that low-income and minority communities suffer 
     the most from climate change-induced events, including heat 
     waves and floods. Still, many in Congress who benefit from 
     oil companies continue to deny climate change exists. 
     Congress must begin a full-scale attack on climate change 
     including carbon emission taxes, incentives for renewable 
     energy companies and consumers, and efforts to protect 
     valuable natural resources.
       ``Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness . . . to 
     secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men.'' 
     It's time for our government to reaffirm its commitment to 
     the founding document which formed it 250 years ago, one 
     which outlined a government whose purpose was to uphold its 
     people's fundamental rights. When these rights are infringed 
     upon by inequality, it is the duty of the government to 
     address that inequality in order to preserve our American 
     identity.


         SOPHIA PARKER, VERGENNES UNION HIGH SCHOOL (FINALIST)

       Nelson Mandela proclaimed: ``It is in your hands to make of 
     our world a better one for all.''
       It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the complex and 
     devastating crises we face today as a nation, to believe the 
     solutions are out of our hands. I see two parallel sets of 
     problems. On one hand, we have institutionalized problems 
     which will require institutional solutions, financial 
     resources, and political will. On the other hand, there is a 
     personal malaise, discouragement, and alienation among 
     citizens. The two problems are related because the alienation 
     and discouragement stem in part from systems that have become 
     corrupt and ineffective, serving the needs of the few at the 
     expense of the many. However, there is also power in our 
     simple personal choices and actions, which is often 
     overlooked. Engaging this power does not require a political 
     solution. A child can bring this forth. The most 
     disenfranchised person can make a difference. This power 
     resides in the simple personal choice to do good, to take 
     action, to care, to make one small or large movement towards 
     making life a little better for somebody.
       Every one of us has strengths that we can bring to bear for 
     the sake of another individual, our community, a specific 
     cause, or the world at large. If each person devoted even an 
     hour a week to making the world a better place, it would have 
     a tremendous impact.
       You are never too young or old to make a difference. You 
     are never too poor, too weak, or too busy to make a 
     difference. Every single one of us has strengths that we can 
     harness to make the world better for the people around us. My 
     10 year-old neighbor drives his family's tractor to plow our 
     driveway after every snowstorm, out of the kindness of his 
     heart. My mom and I run wildlife camps for kids; one of our 9 
     year-old campers started an organization to help older 
     shelter cats find homes. A sophomore at my high school helped 
     organize a winter sleep-out to end homelessness, attended by 
     over a hundred people. These are all young people seeing 
     problems and finding ways to take action through compassion, 
     courage, creativity, and community service.
       I serve as Miss Vermont's Outstanding Teen; my platform is 
     wildlife rehabilitation and stewardship of the natural world, 
     which is a cause to which I have been devoted since I was a 
     small child. I travel across Vermont encouraging young people 
     to find their own passion and get involved in contributing 
     something of value to their communities. The response is 
     always inspiring.
       The problems around us are daunting indeed. However, we 
     cannot underestimate the power for good that resides in each 
     individual. It can begin with something as simple as lending 
     each other a hand, and can build into making our world a 
     better one for all.

     

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