[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 2, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H3007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CONGRATULATING PENN STATE ON CHILD MALTREATMENT STUDIES CENTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, roughly 2 million children 
experience maltreatment each year in the United States. Children who 
experience maltreatment face the possibility of a lifetime struggle 
with mental, emotional, behavioral, and physical health difficulties.
  Thankfully, the National Institutes of Health recognizes the need for 
critical research on the topic and solicited a competitive process to 
fund an academic institution to study this for the first time ever.
  Proudly, it chose Penn State University. Penn State was selected 
based on scientific merit to establish the Center for Healthy Children. 
It will receive a grant of $7.7 million over 5 years, and Penn State 
has committed $3.4 million in funding, bringing the total to more than 
$11 million.
  Mr. Speaker, this is the first national center for child maltreatment 
studies. The award announcement came in April during National Child 
Abuse Prevention Month. The research generated will impact lives 
nationwide and throughout the world.
  Penn State president, Eric Barron, noted that they recruited the best 
and the brightest researchers to work on this issue. The faculty will 
conduct cutting-edge research focused on the detection, treatment, and 
prevention of child abuse, and for training the next generation of 
scientists and child advocates.
  Leading the research project is Jennie Noll, professor of human 
development and family studies at Penn State College of Health and 
Human Development and director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions 
Network. A team of distinguished researchers will work with Noll on the 
project.
  Noll said:
  ``It is an incredible honor to be selected by the NIH as an 
organization that has the capacity to make a tangible impact on the 
lives of children. I'm inspired to be working with this incredibly 
talented group of world-renowned researchers as we forge this vital 
path ahead.''
  Mr. Speaker, more than 1,500 U.S. children die annually from child 
abuse. That number is similar to the mortality rate from all forms of 
pediatric cancer combined. Roughly 40 percent of child maltreatment 
deaths result from abusive head trauma. That is heartbreaking, and it 
is wrong.
  So I congratulate Penn State University for leading the effort 
nationally to fully research this critical issue. Together, we can help 
all children see a better future.

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