[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 200 (Thursday, December 7, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H9718]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   WELCOMING REVEREND STEVEN E. BOES

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. 
Bacon) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank and recognize Father 
Steven E. Boes, who joined us today to deliver the opening prayer.
  Father Boes is the fifth executive director of Boys Town, which is in 
Nebraska's Second Congressional District and is celebrating its 100th 
birthday this month.
  Father Boes was ordained as a priest in 1985 for the Archdiocese of 
Omaha and assumed his post at Boys Town in July 2005. He regularly 
attends sporting and school events at Boys Town High School and dines 
with kids in their family homes, and I have joined them.
  Under his leadership, the number of children served through Boys 
Town's on-campus, family-style care and programs serving children in 
their homes and communities has doubled. The Family Home Program, 
started in 1974, has served 36,000 children to date.
  Boys Town Foster Family Services program has cared for nearly 9,000 
youth to date, and the In-Home Family Services program has helped 
approximately 102,600 youth without having to remove them from their 
homes. Boys Town also has emergency services that have served over 
45,000 youth.

  The man who started this all 100 years ago, Father Edward Flanagan, 
was truly a visionary for changing how America cared for families and 
children. He worked to close reformatories and juvenile facilities 
where children were abused, eventually opening Father Flanagan's Boys' 
Home, which became Boys Town. He has made a lifelong impact on 
thousands upon thousands who were given a rough start in life.
  Boys Town now has nine locations across the country including Nevada; 
Louisiana; north Florida; central Florida; south Florida; Washington, 
D.C.; New England; Iowa; and Nebraska.
  From Father Flanagan to Father Boes, many lives have been impacted.
  I recognize Boys Town for 100 years of service to the community and 
America.

                          ____________________