[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 71 (Friday, May 6, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E649-E650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       COMMEMORATING MOTHER'S DAY

                                 ______
                                 



                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 6, 2016

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 108th 
observance of Mother's Day.
  As a mother of two children myself, I understand the hardships and 
difficulties that so many mothers face every day in our country.
  We honor ourselves and mothers in the United States when we revere 
and emphasize the importance of the role of home and family as the true 
foundation of the Nation.
  I want to pay tribute to my late mother, Ivalita Jackson, who stood 
the test of time in raising and rearing her children.
  To the mothers of Houston, too many to name here, I salute you for 
your dedication to raising and saving your children.
  Today, thousands of mothers in this country have become active and 
effective participants in public life and public service, promoting 
change and improving the quality of life for men, women, and children 
throughout the Nation.
  Mothers continue to rise to the challenge of raising their families 
with love, understanding and compassion, all while overcoming the 
challenges of modern society.
  I want to congratulate and praise all of the mothers in America for 
all of their hard work.
  Mothers have a huge influence on our everyday lives; as William Ross 
Wallace's famous poem reminds us: ``the hand that rocks the cradle is 
the hand that rules the world.''
  It is in the same breath that I commend all mothers, including those 
giving birth to infants who will take their first breath and suckle 
first from mothers behind prison bars.
  These infants' lives are just as valuable as those of any young 
Americans upon whom we will come to rely on, in building the next great 
generation.
  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
infants of mothers across the nation die at a rate of 5.96 deaths per 
1,000 births.
  Those deaths increase to a devastating 7.9 infant deaths per 1,000 
live births for Hispanic mothers when they are incarcerated, and an 
appalling 14.3 infant deaths per 1,000 live births among African 
American mothers behind bars.
  Other studies have documented that incarceration of mothers elevates 
the risk of their children dying by 29.6% for the average infant, 
concentrating effects during the post-neonatal period.
  If these mothers' children are to grow strong and resilient, we must 
ensure that they have access to the nourishment and sustenance that 
only their mothers can provide, body and soul, in order to sustain 
their formidable futures for which we, alongside their mothers, hope 
and pray.
  Cognizant of the dangerous phenomenon affecting these mothers and 
snipping at the heels of the life to which they give young Americans, I 
recently introduced H.R. 5130 the, ``Stop Infant Mortality and 
Recidivism Reduction Act of 2016,'' or the ``SIMARRA Act,'' to expand 
healthcare and wellness services in Critical Stage Development 
Nurseries for infants and their mother-inmates.
  H.R. 5130 allows infants, born to female inmates in federal prisons, 
to remain with their mothers in specialized housing units during the 
critical stages of their development in efforts to reduce infant 
mortality amongst this population, and to reduce recidivism rates 
amongst their mothers once they have completed their sentences.
  Many of these mother-inmates self-report being born themselves to 
mothers in prison; but instead of retaining necessary physiological and 
psychological bonds with their mothers, many were wrenched apart and 
placed in the fledgling foster-care system.
  Eleven percent of those children separated from incarcerated mothers 
and placed into foster care experienced at least two changes in 
caregivers during the period of the mother's incarceration; and 
sometimes these mothers, even when they have short prison sentences, 
never see their child again--forever lost to the foster-care system.
  As a mother, I cannot imagine being unable to contribute to the 
sustainability of my child's life and wellness.
  This practice is devastating the wellbeing and safety of America's 
infants, denying them the ability to lactate, bond and thrive with 
their mothers, as healthy infants require during the critical stage of 
development.
  Just as we commemorate Mother's Day, it is time that our nation 
recognizes a long-persistent need to break the cycle of generational, 
institutional incarceration amongst mothers convicted of non-violent 
crimes and the children they birth behind prison bars.
  H.R. 5130, the, ``SIMARRA Act of 2016,'' gives those infants born to 
incarcerated mothers a chance to succeed in life.

[[Page E650]]

  ``SIMARRA'' is not merely yet another second chance program, 
demanding leniency from the criminal justice system for repentant 
mothers.
  Instead, H.R. 5130 asks our national criminal justice system what it 
can do for those mothers' children--young Americans born and relegated 
to a life of nearly impossible odds of survival.
  ``SIMARRA'' provides that first chance--a first chance for American 
infants--that many of their mothers, born themselves to mothers behind 
bars, never received.
  We have a unique opportunity to nurture infants by uniting them with 
their mothers through the ``SIMARRA Act of 2016,'' better preparing 
them to endure the harsh realities of this world.
  Further, H.R. 5130 simultaneously implements risk and needs 
assessments, risk reduction incentives, and risk and recidivism 
reduction programs to address the healthcare, safety and rehabilitative 
needs of new-mother-inmates while they serve their sentence.
  The most likely long-term mechanism through which imprisonment 
affects infant mortality is through its effects on maternal health.
  Mothers are fighting to keep their children alive and we, as 
guardians, have an opportunity to say that the buck stops here when it 
comes to the next generation--any sins that the mother may have 
committed need not be visited upon her child.
  Mr. Speaker, as a nation we do not have a person to waste, so we must 
embrace practices that nurture the bonds between mother and child.
  In observance of May 8, 2016, we will honor mothers, grandmothers, 
mothers-in-law, stepmothers, foster mothers and godmothers who take in 
children, mothers who adopt, those who act as mothers, and those women 
who have no relations by blood, but who give the gift of mothering to 
children.
  In hindsight, we can never thank our mothers enough for all the 
sacrifices they have made for us.
  Thus, in our reflection, let us include the children of all mothers 
regardless of the circumstances under which they came to walk the 
Earth.
  I wish every mother a safe and happy Mother's Day this Sunday and 
hope to echo the message that we value your contributions and will 
safeguard your efforts because they benefit us all.

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