[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7064]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        ALAMEDA COUNTY CHILDREN'S MEMORIAL DAY AND FLAG PROJECT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ney). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask that my colleagues join me 
in supporting a Children's Memorial Flag Project and establishing a 
National Children's Memorial Day to remember all of the children who 
die by violence in our country. As I speak today, my thoughts and 
prayers go out to the Littleton, Colorado, community and the families 
of the students and faculty members who were tragically murdered 
yesterday.
  Not only during January, when we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, 
Jr.'s birthday, should we discuss and teach nonviolence. Demonstrating 
and teaching our children that violence is wrong should be a part of 
our daily lives.
  Each day in the United States five infants and children die from 
abuse and neglect and seven teens are murdered. In fact, more children 
lose their lives to criminal violence in the United States than in any 
of the 26 industrialized nations of the world. Many would be shocked at 
these statistics.
  The Children's Memorial Flag Project was created to raise awareness 
about the violence towards children in our country and to organize 
community and national prevention strategies. It is with pride that I 
say that this project was originated in 1996 in the district which I 
represent, the 9th Congressional District of California.
  In the past 5 years alone we have lost more than 140 children in 
Alameda County to preventable violence. Each time a child is killed, we 
fly the Children's Memorial Flag at half-staff. The Child Welfare 
League of America has adopted Alameda County's Children's Memorial Flag 
and promotes it nationally.
  Last year 33 states participated on Children's Memorial Day, the 
fourth Friday in the month of April, which is both Child Abuse Month 
and Crime Prevention Month. This year we anticipate 20 States flying 
the flag at half-mast, with 13 others memorializing the children by 
other means.
  Soon my friend and our Bay Area colleague, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Stark), will introduce legislation that would adopt the 
Children's Memorial Flag and establish the fourth Friday in April as 
National Day of Observance. I ask my colleagues to cosponsor and 
support this legislation, and honor the memory of children lost to 
violence in our country on this Friday, April 23rd. I will continue to 
work to establish this day as a remembrance to honor children by flying 
the Children's Memorial Flag at half-mast, and I urge my colleagues to 
join with me in this effort.
  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of one of our 
society's most valuable and most vulnerable groups of citizens: our 
Children.
  For more than a decade, April has been recognized as Child Abuse 
Prevention Month. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
reported that nearly one million children were abused and neglected in 
1997.
  Child abuse is society's concern. Prevention of child abuse demands 
that everyone--Federal, State and local government as well as community 
service providers, teachers, businesses, families, friends and 
neighbors must work as a unit to protect our children.
  This Friday is Children's Memorial Day; a day set aside to 
memorialize the thousands of children and youth killed each year as a 
result of child abuse. I challenge each Member of Congress to help 
expand awareness and encourage prevention efforts for this nationwide 
problem.
  Violence against our children must end. Preventing child abuse is 
everybody's business. Make it yours.

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