[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7880-7886]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING SOCIAL PROBLEM OF CHILD ABUSE 
                              AND NEGLECT

  Mr. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on the 
Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of the concurrent 
resolution (H. Con. Res. 93) expressing the sense of the Congress 
regarding the social problem of child abuse and neglect and supporting 
efforts to enhance public awareness of this problem, and ask for its 
immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the concurrent resolution, as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 93

       Whereas each year more than 3,000,000 children in the 
     United States are reported as suspected victims of child 
     abuse and neglect;
       Whereas more than 500,000 American children are currently 
     unable to live safely with their families and have been 
     placed in foster homes and institutions;
       Whereas it is estimated that more than 1,000 children in 
     the United States, 78 percent of whom are less than 5 years 
     of age and 38 percent of whom are less than 1 year of age, 
     lose their lives each year as a direct result of abuse and 
     neglect;
       Whereas the tragic social problem of child abuse and 
     neglect results in human and economic costs due to its 
     relationship to crime and delinquency, drug and alcohol 
     abuse, domestic violence, and welfare dependency; and
       Whereas April has been designated by the President as Child 
     Abuse Prevention Month to focus public awareness on this 
     social ill: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That--
       (1) it is the sense of the Congress that--
       (A) the faith community, nonprofit organizations, State and 
     local officials involved in prevention of child abuse and 
     neglect, and volunteers throughout the United States should 
     recommit themselves and mobilize their resources to assist 
     children in danger of abuse or neglect;
       (B) Federal resources should be marshalled in a manner that 
     maximizes their impact on the prevention of child abuse and 
     neglect;
       (C) because abuse and neglect of children increases the 
     likelihood that they will later engage in criminal activity, 
     State and local officials should be provided with increased 
     flexibility that allows them to use Federal law enforcement 
     resources in the fight to prevent child abuse and neglect if 
     they consider that use appropriate; and
       (D) child protective services agencies, law enforcement 
     agencies, and the judicial system should coordinate their 
     efforts to the maximum extent possible to prevent child abuse 
     and neglect; and
       (2) the Congress--
       (A) supports efforts in the United States to--
       (i) focus the attention of the Nation on the disturbing 
     problem of child abuse;
       (ii) demonstrate gratitude to the people in the United 
     States who work to keep children safe; and
       (iii) encourage individuals to take action in their own 
     communities to make them healthier places in which children 
     can grow and thrive; and
       (B) commends the faith community, nonprofit organizations, 
     State and local officials involved in prevention of child 
     abuse and neglect, and volunteers throughout America for 
     their efforts on behalf of abused and neglected children 
     everywhere.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Fletcher) 
is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) pending 
which I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. SCOTT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) be allowed to manage the time and 
yield debate time on this side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FLETCHER. Madam Speaker, I am here today to recognize the 
continued and very good efforts by the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. 
Pryce) who has offered this resolution, and I stand honored to speak on 
this very important resolution.
  This resolution calls for a greater commitment toward recognizing the 
problem of child abuse and neglect and encourages more to be done for 
its prevention. Specifically it promotes greater coordination between 
child protective services agencies, law enforcement agencies and the 
judicial system in working to prevent such abuse and neglect. 
Additionally, it commends the work of those who keep children safe, 
including those in the faith community, nonprofit organizations, State 
and local agencies and volunteer organizations.
  Madam Speaker, as you know, April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. 
The estimated number of children seriously injured by all forms of 
maltreatment quadrupled between 1986 and 1997. The estimated number of 
sexually abused children increased by 83 percent, the number of 
physically neglected children rose 102 percent, there was a 333 percent 
increase in the estimated number of emotionally neglected children,

[[Page 7881]]

and the estimated number of physically abused children rose 42 percent. 
Now 500,000 American children are currently unable to live safely with 
their families and have been placed in foster homes and institutions.
  During Child Abuse Prevention Month, we should focus the Nation's 
attention on this national tragedy and demonstrate gratitude to the 
people in the United States who work to keep our children safe. 
Moreover, Congress should continue working to help State and local 
officials in their effort to prevent child abuse.
  With my personal experience I have witnessed this firsthand, and in 
my practice in caring for patients, I am thinking back of one patient 
in particular, one small child that we cared for at the University of 
Kentucky Medical Center.

                              {time}  1230

  A child that was abused to the extent that they were comatose. I 
think, why should this happen in this great United States. I look at 
the impact that this has on the events that have occurred, and not only 
that, but we look at what has happened recently as to how much do we 
really care about our children.
  Certainly I am honored to speak on this, the resolution of the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Jones), and I certainly commend her on this. 
As we are addressing and focusing more attention on this issue, I hope 
that we can reduce the number of abused children in this tragedy in the 
United States and certainly continue to work.
  This concurrent resolution will express the growing problem of child 
abuse and neglect. It also focuses on enhancing public awareness. We 
believe that the faith community, nonprofit organizations, State and 
local officials involved in abuse and neglect, and volunteers across 
America must recommit themselves to ending this alarming trend.
  Federal dollars should be used in a constructive manner to maximize 
the prevention of child abuse in our local communities. It is time for 
this Nation to focus more attention and resources on the disturbing 
problem of child abuse. We need to encourage individuals to take 
actions in their communities to ensure a happy, healthy environment for 
our children.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  It gives me great pause as I stand in this Chamber this afternoon to 
bring to the floor this resolution with regard to child abuse in 
America. The statistics are numbing. In 1997 over 3 million children 
were reported for child abuse and neglect to child protective agencies. 
Between 1988 and 1997, child abuse reporting levels increased by 41 
percent. Currently, 47 out of every 1,000 children are reported as 
victims of child mistreatment. In 1997, 1,054,000 children were victims 
of child abuse, or in other numbers, 15 out of every 1,000 U.S. 
children.
  A child in the United States is twice as likely to be reported as 
abused or neglected as to be enrolled in Head Start. Mr. Speaker, 37 
percent of American parents reported insulting or swearing at their 
children within the last 12 months. One of three of all Americans have 
witnessed an adult physically abuse a child, and two out of three have 
seen an adult emotionally abuse a child.
  In 1996, 1,185 child abuse fatalities were reported. Between 1995 and 
1997, 78 percent of these children were less than 5 years old at the 
time of their death. Mr. Speaker, 38 percent were under the age of 1 
year old.
  It is time that we as a Congress and we as a Nation wake up and 
understand the impact that child abuse has not only on the child, but 
the child who witnesses the abuse; not only on the child as a child, 
but when he or she becomes a juvenile or becomes an adult and again, on 
their own become a child abuser. It is time that we figure out how we 
can prevent child abuse in our country, and how we can marshal the 
necessary assets for it, in light of the fact that our dollars are 
innumerable, in order to deal with this issue.
  We have all been numbed over the past week, week and a half about the 
events in Colorado. We are numb today about a similar event in Canada. 
We are numbed about the use of guns by our children, but contemplate 
acting out such as these children did with guns could, in fact, be a 
result of child abuse in their earlier life. Many of the statistics 
have shown that someone who was an abused child is likely to be an 
abuser later on in life, is likely to act out in some type of conduct 
that would be inappropriate.
  I am pleased to stand on the floor of this House today to talk about 
solving the issue of child abuse and neglect in our country.
  Prior to coming to Congress, I served for 8 years as the Cuyahoga 
County prosecutor in Cleveland, Ohio, and it was part of my 
responsibility to deal with the issue of child abuse and neglect. One 
of the things that we were able to do in that jurisdiction was to in 
fact train assistant prosecutors who, in fact, were specially trained 
to handle child abuse and neglect cases. We found that we had an 
overwhelming greater success in winning our prosecutions because they 
were specially trained. In addition, we were able to take the attorneys 
who represent Cuyahoga County as attorneys in court on the civil side 
on abuse and neglect, to give them an opportunity to call the shots; in 
other words, to make the legal determination with regard to when we 
would proceed with a case of abuse or neglect or when we would not 
proceed.
  I take my hat off today to the workers in the child protection 
services. I take my hat off today to law enforcement in child 
protection services, and to the attorneys, because if one does that 
work day after day and one sees the young people who have been abused 
and neglected, not only at the hands of their parents or their loved 
ones but the hands of children in similar age groups, one will 
understand how it is a profession that causes high burnout.
  I am pleased to be a sponsor of a piece of legislation called CAPE, 
in conjunction with my colleague from Ohio (Ms. Pryce), and we have 
other sponsors as well. Under the CAPE Act we are proposing that 
dollars that are collected from forfeiture in drug cases be allocated 
to provide for dollars to train child protection workers.
  Currently, under the law as it exists, only $10 million is allocated 
for that purpose. Under the law that we have proposed, $20 million 
would be allocated to provide additional dollars through the Byrne 
Grant proposal for training for child protection workers.
  In addition, dollars could be allocated to provide for child 
protection workers to have access to various criminal records, so that 
when they are making a determination with regard to where young people 
are assigned or what families they are assigned to, they would take 
that information into consideration. As I said, it is important.
  My colleagues see the blue ribbon that we are all wearing today, all 
of us throughout the House, all of us all over Capitol Hill. The blue 
ribbon stands for Child Abuse Prevention Month, but it also stands for 
the young people who were killed in Colorado. It is time, it is time, 
it is time that we as a Nation wake up.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce).
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I thank the good doctor, the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Fletcher) for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, for the past few weeks we have all been mourning the 
loss of the 12 innocent children who were so brutally slain in 
Littleton, Colorado. Today, we take this time to focus on other 
innocent children who lose their lives to other inconceivable acts of 
violence.
  As many know, the President declared April as Child Abuse Prevention 
Month, and we bring this bipartisan resolution to the floor to help 
focus the Nation's attention on this national tragedy.
  During the time which I stand before my colleagues for the next few 
minutes, at least one child will be reported

[[Page 7882]]

abused or neglected in my home State of Ohio. By the time this hour of 
debate is over, 20 children will have been reported abused or 
neglected, 480 by day's end, and that is just one State, and those are 
just the reported cases. These statistics are staggering.
  But sometimes statistics are too sterile to demonstrate the real 
tragedy, because child abuse cases are not just statistics. Each case 
involves an innocent, fragile, living, breathing child who has a name 
and a face. Each bruise, broken bone, cigarette burn or death not only 
hurts that child, but also hurts all of us, because it so often means 
one less bright light for our Nation's future.
  A sad fact, Mr. Speaker, is that many child abusers are themselves 
victims of abuse or neglect, which suggests a vicious cycle of 
criminality. Aside from its relationship to crime and delinquency, 
child abuse and neglect is also closely linked to drug and alcohol 
abuse, domestic violence and welfare dependency. Therefore, in a very 
real sense child abuse prevention also is crime prevention, drug 
prevention and welfare dependency prevention.
  If we only could have paid more attention up front to prevent the 
abuse of those who years later will fill our jails or sleep on the 
streets strung out on drugs, or abuse their own spouse and children. We 
can make a difference if we stop the abuse now. We can reduce these 
problems in our future.
  We must recognize that our children are our Nation's most precious 
resource and redouble our efforts to fight child abuse. This is why we 
are here today.
  Throughout this month, a number of us have been wearing blue ribbons, 
as the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) referred to, as part of a 
campaign which is being waged across the Nation during Child Abuse 
Prevention Month. In fact, I received my blue ribbon from my 
constituent, Debbie Sendek, Executive Director of the Ohio Committee to 
Prevent Child Abuse. Debbie Sendek is but one of the thousands of 
unsung heroes across our Nation who are in our communities on the front 
lines in the fight to protect our children, and it is all of these 
unsung heroes that we recognize and commend today through this 
resolution.
  However, I am sure that we would all agree that the most important 
goal of Child Abuse Prevention Month is to protect our children. With 3 
million children in the United States reported as victims of child 
abuse and neglect every year, we have a lot to do. While April is Child 
Abuse Prevention Month, I believe Congress must rededicate itself to 
fighting this national tragedy 12 months a year, and we need to make 
sure that this resolution is only the beginning and not the end of our 
efforts.
  Congress must continue seeking ways to help those on the State and 
local level to fight child abuse. To do this, I have joined with 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle in introducing the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Enforcement Act, or the CAPE Act. In a nutshell, this 
bill will provide State and local officials greater flexibility to use 
existing Federal law enforcement resources for child abuse prevention. 
Also, the bill would double the earmark from $10 million to $20 million 
in the crime victims fund for child abuse victims. All of these funds 
come from forfeited bail bonds, forfeited assets and fines paid to the 
Federal Government, not from taxpayers' dollars.
  The bill has the support of the National Child Abuse Coalition, 
Prevent Child Abuse America, and the Christian Coalition, just to name 
a few, and I urge all of my colleagues to sign on.
  Mr. Speaker, abused children do not have a powerful voting block; 
they do not have high-paid lobbyists in Washington to champion their 
cause. That is why we must take this initiative and work it together in 
a bipartisan fashion to continue the fight to protect our Nation's 
children.
  Finally, I would like to thank my fellow original cosponsors of this 
resolution for their support: the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), 
without whose help we would not be here today; the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Hyde); the gentleman from Florida (Mr. McCollum); the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling); the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson); the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Ewing); 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood); the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott); and my good friend, the gentlewoman from the 
great State of Ohio (Mrs. Jones), who has had so much personal 
experience in this area.
  To recognize all of those who work tirelessly in the field who see 
these tragedies up close, we dedicate this month, and set our sights to 
do what we can as the United States Congress to stem the tide of one of 
the saddest, most horrifying aspects of this great country, and that is 
child abuse.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the resolution.
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume 
to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
Ohio for yielding me this time. Let me congratulate both the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce) and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. 
Jones) for their leadership, and simply to add my voice in support of 
H. Con. Res. 93, and particularly emphasizing the need for protecting 
our children in America.

                              {time}  1245

  This is Child Abuse and Neglect Awareness Month, the month of April. 
I would simply like to say to my colleagues, let us look to the future 
when such a day will not be needed or such a month will not be needed.
  As a cochair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, we have 
committed ourselves to promoting children as a national agenda. In the 
last session we were able to secure an additional $11 million to 
support the Children's Mental Health Services Program under Health and 
Human Services.
  What we find with respect to our children who are abused and 
neglected are the kinds of devastating numbers that suggest that more 
than 500,000 American children are currently unable to live safely with 
their families, and have been placed in foster homes and institutions.
  We also find it estimated that more than 1,000 children in the United 
States, 78 percent of whom are less than 5 years of age and 38 percent 
of whom are less than 1 year of age, lose their lives each year as a 
direct result of abuse and neglect.
  If any of us can express the priceless feeling of cuddling a 5-year-
old, a 1-year-old, maybe a 13-year-old, we are obviously outraged at 
the thought of those children being abused physically or mentally, and 
not getting the fullness of what an adult can give, which is loving and 
nurturing.
  This tragic social problem is an epidemic, so I join with my 
colleagues to ask for and to give encouragement to the faith community, 
the nonprofit organizations, State and local officials involved in 
prevention of child abuse and neglect, and volunteers throughout the 
United States. We ask them to recommit themselves. We also applaud the 
works that they have done.
  In my own hometown in Houston, Harris County, I have had the pleasure 
of co-chairing a committee that promoted foster parents to encourage 
them, to recruit more of them, so that in instances of tragic 
circumstances where we find a child from an abused home, we can 
immediately transfer that child into a loving foster care circumstance.
  How terrible it is to read in our newspapers that a foster care 
situation was not available, or that a child protection services worker 
could not find a place for that child, or who had visited that abusive 
home and had left that child in the abusive home with the hope that it 
would get better, only to find in the next morning's news, to read that 
the child is dead because it was left in a home that was abusive and 
had no support system.
  I believe we must promote foster care, parenting and foster care 
systems, and we should support them, provide the resources for those 
foster care parents.
  Then I think it is imperative, as I wear the ribbon in commemoration 
of this month, but as well, the tragic killing of those young people in 
Littleton,

[[Page 7883]]

Colorado, along with all the other young people who have died at the 
hands of violence, to know that some of those who were the perpetrators 
suffered from child abuse and neglect, and we did not intervene at an 
early age.
  I also say we should promote more funding for mental health services 
for our children, with more funding for school nurses, more funding for 
guidance counselors.
  Most of all, let me say that we all should embrace this month with a 
recommitment in support of, one, the legislation, the CAPE Act, but as 
well, a recommitment that maybe in our lifetime we will not celebrate 
or commemorate, rather, the month that has to bring attention to child 
abuse and neglect; that we can say we have wiped it out, we have 
extinguished it, that we really do what this Nation should do, which is 
to love our children and to save our children.
  I thank the gentlewoman for her courtesies for extending me this 
time.
  Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts).
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent 
Resolution 93.
  As we have heard, April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. For any 
parent or adult who has witnessed the despair in a child's eyes after 
he or she has gone for so long without the love and nurturing that he 
or she so strongly craves and needs, it is heartwrenching.
  Mr. Speaker, we know many of the results that come from child abuse. 
The majority of juvenile offenders, teenage runaways and adult 
criminals in this country were abused as children.
  In a home for young, unwed troubled mothers in my district in 
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, called Beth Shalom, I have visited many of 
these young ladies who have suffered through terrible childhoods full 
of abuse, and they are now struggling not to repeat the patterns with 
their own young children.
  Mr. Speaker, we also know that the most harsh price of child abuse is 
death. As we have heard, more than 1,000 children in the United States, 
78 percent under the age of 5, 38 percent under the age of 1, lose 
their lives every year as a direct result of abuse and neglect. This is 
a tragedy happening in America today.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot call attention to this issue just once a year. 
Our efforts require a year-round focus and a continuation of our work 
with State and local officials who are working so hard to prevent child 
abuse.
  This must be a community effort. Our children deserve all of the love 
and energy we have to keep them safe and healthy. I strongly support 
this resolution, and urge the Members to vote in favor.
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume 
to my colleague from the great State of North Carolina (Mrs. Eva 
Clayton).
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio for 
yielding me the time, I thank her for her leadership, and I also 
appreciate the fact that this is a bipartisan effort led by the great 
State of Ohio and other Members who are joining with us.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a time where we recognize child abuse, but 
hopefully, as the previous speaker said, this is not a one-time-a-year 
event, but this is a recognition that our children are our most 
precious gift. They represent our future. They are our hope. Therefore, 
we should be investing in their healthy existence. We should have been 
investing in their safe existence, as well.
  Child abuse has many aspects to it. First, we do want to support this 
resolution, which gives public advocacy to it and recognizes the many 
individuals who are in there professionally doing it every day. It does 
take a lot for them to stay in that. It takes a continuous commitment 
to have that energy and not be burned out, so we want to commend those 
professionals who are in there.
  We also want to commend a comprehensive approach. There is obviously 
a law enforcement part of this, there is a health enforcement part of 
this, there is a psychological and mental health part of this, there is 
a spiritual involvement with this, and the community as a whole should 
be involved. We need to see this as a community response, where all of 
us have an opportunity to play a part.
  I am reminded of a poem that Edward Hale has said, and others have 
reminded us this week of that. It says, ``I am only one, but I am one. 
What I can do, I ought to do. By God's grace, I will do it.''
  Here is an opportunity where individual actions with a parent who is 
having problems and struggling with overcoming his or her past of 
having been an abused child, now trying to struggling to be a decent 
and honorable parent, we need to engage ourselves as individuals with 
that.
  Again, I commend all of our colleagues to support this resolution, 
but more than just support this resolution, to be engaged in this 
worthwhile activity, making sure that our children not only are healthy 
and safe, but making sure that their lives are the kinds of lives that 
will be productive and they will make a contribution.
  Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. DeLay).
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I commend the leadership of the gentleman 
from Kentucky (Mr. Fletcher) and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Tubbs 
Jones) in bringing this legislation to the floor.
  As people honor April as Child Abuse Prevention Month by wearing blue 
ribbons, listening to speeches, mourning innocent lives lost or 
damaged, and celebrating the valiant efforts of those who have made a 
difference, my prayer is that we as a Nation would recommit ourselves 
to this issue.
  We as parents and Americans must realize our collective 
responsibility for the well-being of our children. Their future is, 
indeed, our country's future, and therein lies a moral imperative that 
we cannot afford to ignore.
  The numbers are daunting. In 1997, there were 3 million cases of 
child abuse and neglect. Today, at least 500,000 American children are 
in foster care and institutions because they cannot live safely with 
their own families.
  Unfortunately, costs of government programs skyrocket, while there 
are more broken families, more abused children, more teenaged parents, 
and more foster children getting bumped around for years without being 
adopted.
  This resolution expresses the sense of Congress that current 
statistics merit our commitment to intervene in the vicious cycle of 
child abuse. It says that we need to marshal Federal resources in order 
to maximize their impact on the prevention of child abuse and neglect. 
Sometimes it is clear that the most effective reform by the Federal 
Government is to simply cut red tape and empower local communities.
  As with most social problems, government can only do so much to solve 
them. Local communities, families, and individuals must join together 
with government agencies to fight and to address the needs of children 
in the system.
  My wife, Christine, and I have two foster kids in our home, and have 
had over the past 2 years. We have also been involved as volunteers for 
the Court-Appointed Special Advocates, CASA, and child advocates of 
Fort Bend County for almost 5 years. We have only recently talked 
publicly of our family life, in the hopes that others might be 
encouraged to become involved with the children at risk in their own 
communities.
  The strength of America, the true greatness of America, is not only 
in the moral fiber of her people and in the integrity of her leaders, 
but also is revealed by how we treat those who are the most vulnerable.
  There are none more vulnerable in our society, none heard less, than 
the children that suffer from abuse and neglect. We must be their 
voice. We must speak loudly and speak out with our time and our 
resources and our love. Get involved. No effort is too small and no 
child beyond our reach.
  Let me just close by commending my colleague, the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Ms. Deborah Pryce), one of the best

[[Page 7884]]

mothers and legislators I know. I so appreciate her efforts on behalf 
of our Nation's children, and I am honored to join her as an original 
cosponsor of the child abuse prevention and awareness resolution, as 
well as the Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act.
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would just like to review a few more facts with the 
Members. As I stated earlier, I served as the Cuyahoga County 
Prosecutor, prosecuting child abuse in Cuyahoga County and being 
responsible for abuse and neglect cases.
  I also have had the opportunity to serve for 10 years as a judge in 
Cuyahoga County, where in many instances I was required to listen to 
testimony and judge the credibility of a young person who was being 
presented for purposes of testifying with regard to some abuse that he 
or she had suffered.
  To look into the eyes of a child, to require them to walk into a 
courtroom, to be required to tell the world about terrible incidents of 
what had occurred to them, I cannot even tell Members how my heart 
would bleed.
  Mr. Speaker, as I stand here this afternoon, as with my other 
colleagues, I look forward to the time wherein we will not have to 
celebrate Child Abuse Prevention Month. I look forward to the time 
where we will not have to celebrate Domestic Violence Month. I look 
forward to the time where we have created a society wherein people feel 
good about their relationships, wherein they care about one another, 
wherein they understand that what goes around comes around, where they 
understand that what you do to a child at an early age has an 
indeterminable impact as they go on later on in their lives.
  It is important that we let the child protection workers who work in 
this area every day know how supportive we are of them, how we 
understand that they are underpaid, overworked, and that many times 
their caseloads just continue to balloon without any support in sight.

                              {time}  1300

  It is important that we let them know that we care about them and 
that this issue is important to all Americans. It is important that we 
as a community stop watching child abuse occur and do what the law and 
morality requires us to do, which is to say something about it, report 
it, be willing to step forward and tell what we saw happen. It is 
important that we as a community, as we talk about what it is we can do 
about child prevention, that we are willing to give not only our 
personal dollars but be willing to be supportive of the government 
giving dollars to child abuse prevention. And finally it is important 
that all of us, those of us that are Members of Congress, sign on not 
only to the resolution celebrating or bringing to the floor the issues 
of child abuse, but to also sign on to the CAPE act that will give 
dollars to local communities to be able to combat child abuse.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson).
  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding me this time, and I rise in strong support of this resolution.
  One of my colleagues earlier described as the inconceivable acts of 
violence some of the things we have witnessed in America's high schools 
recently, but that people like my colleague from Ohio witnessed day in 
and day out from adults in America toward children in America. And, 
indeed, what children in America, what some children in America are 
suffering at the hands of their own parents can only be described as 
inconceivable acts of violence.
  It took this Nation a number of decades to understand the 
significance of domestic abuse and to actually change the laws so that 
beating one's wife was treated under the law exactly the same way as 
beating a neighbor's wife; that, in fact, assault and battery, whether 
it was against one's wife or anyone else was equally a crime. And as we 
came to understand that, we had to change many, many laws and we had to 
change the way emergency room personnel talked to women who came into 
emergency rooms and police responded to domestic abuse calls.
  We have come a long way now in integrating into our understanding the 
early warning signs of domestic abuse and we are better at responding 
and better at early intervention, but we have not done this in the area 
of child abuse prevention. We have passed laws about mandated 
reporters, we have tried many things, but we do not integrate into our 
everyday lives a sensitivity to the needs of families where abuse is 
brewing or present.
  And so this resolution that points to legislation that these leaders 
are going to bring to this floor and that our Committee on the 
Judiciary is going to consider and discharge will begin to look at 
every crime prevention program and assure that crime prevention 
includes child abuse prevention because, essentially, none of that 
money is being used for this very, very important purpose. And there 
are many other things we can do.
  This Congress passed the Safe Homes and Adoption Act a year and a 
half ago. We just had an excellent hearing on that. And it has helped 
to focus on these families early on and helped the families either deal 
with their problems or infants to be discharged for adoption where 
there is no hope that the family can deal with its problems in such a 
way that abuse will not be recurring in a long-term part of a child's 
growing up. So we have made progress.
  But there is so much more to do, not only in our criminal statutes 
and in our crime prevention statutes but also in those statutes that 
govern how this Nation funds child abuse and prevention. As chairman of 
the committee that has responsibility for those funds for our child 
protective services program, I can say we have a lot of work to do.
  We have got to change the way we fund these services so that money 
does not follow placement into foster care, which represents failure to 
prevent, failure to restore, and failure to intervene when a family has 
an opportunity to become whole not only for that one abused child but 
for others who may be affected but maybe not as clearly and, therefore, 
not removed.
  So we have to change the way we deal with this problem, to move to a 
far more holistic approach, and the opportunity is there for us. When 
we look at what we have done in welfare reform, it is really a model. 
We have provided more money for services to welfare women coming off 
welfare than ever in this Nation's history by providing much greater 
flexibility and a more responsive Federal program. And that is my goal 
in child protective services funding.
  I look forward to working with women of experience and men of 
experience and deep concern in this body, and I thank the gentlewoman 
from Ohio (Mrs. Tubbs Jones) for her experience, interest and 
dedication to this matter.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gillmor). Does the gentlewoman from Ohio 
(Mrs. Jones) wish to reclaim her time?
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I do, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentlewoman from Ohio 
(Mrs. Jones) may reclaim her time.
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume only to thank my colleagues who have worked so hard with me on 
this piece of legislation and this resolution. I am pleased as a brand 
new Member of Congress to be able to participate in some bipartisan 
legislation that will impact our entire Nation.
  Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Fossella).
  Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time, and, Mr. Speaker, I believe there is no greater responsibility 
that we have as public officials than to protect the innocent. And 
there is no greater group of innocent people than young children.

[[Page 7885]]

  Sadly, there are those in this country who are compelled, for 
whatever reason, unbeknownst to any human being with common sense and 
decency, to abuse a child, physically and/or mentally scarring the 
child for life. We see it manifested in many different ways; yet for 
some reason, whether we are a Democrat or a Republican, when we see a 
young baby, it always brings a smile to our face. But to know that 
there are people who would willingly abuse a young innocent child 
walking the streets of our country is just beyond the bounds of human 
reasoning.
  So I am happy and I compliment the sponsor of this legislation which 
will at least raise the level of consciousness one more notch. Because 
we need to stand united and to demonstrate that this great country, 
with its moral underpinnings, is concerned about every child that walks 
the face of the Earth, and that we, most importantly, can make a 
difference.
  It is beyond just the abuse itself. We have been successful on Staten 
Island in developing a child advocacy center. In short, what that means 
is that the poor child who is abused, sexually, physically, sometimes 
as young as 6 months old, these poor children who would then have the 
trauma of repeating this story 8, 10, 15 different times to assistant 
district attorneys, to police officers, to child welfare workers, will 
no longer have to do so because what we did is consolidated our 
operations.
  I compliment my predecessor, Susan Molinari, for spearheading this 
before she left Congress. It is a way of bringing a little reason and 
comfort to these poor children. I would encourage other communities 
across this country, if indeed they do not already have them, to 
explore this option. It minimizes an already tragic situation for a 
young child and, at the same time, sends a signal to child abusers that 
this is a zero tolerance policy.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to once again compliment the sponsors of this 
legislation.
  Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Ewing).
  Mr. EWING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, the acting chairman, 
for yielding me this time. I am pleased to come here today and to talk 
about the resolution honoring child abuse prevention and awareness 
month and also to speak about a piece of legislation that works into 
the area of prevention of abuse and child awareness which is called the 
CAPE Act.
  This is a piece of legislation which I originally sponsored with 
Susan Molinari, and now I am cosponsoring along with the gentlewoman 
from Ohio (Ms. Deborah Pryce), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Tom 
DeLay), and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Stephanie Tubbs Jones). We 
are extremely pleased with the reception of this legislation, and we 
think that it has tremendous ability in a very small way to loosen the 
bonds or the restrictions that too often are put on local governments 
who are fighting this battle with the money we send them. That is 
really basically what we do here. We give breathing room to local 
governments to fight this problem.
  I am not going to go into statistics today. They are pretty gruesome. 
They are very, very sobering when we think about what is happening in 
this country. And probably the one statistic that is most alarming is 
that those children who are abused children themselves become abusers 
and criminals and addicted to drugs and alcohol and all of the things 
that we think are bad in our society. They are more susceptible to 
those things than children that have a healthy environment in which to 
grow up in.
  So I would just ask all of those in the Congress, Mr. Speaker, to 
join in this bipartisan effort. We can fight crisis around the world, 
but in child abuse we have a crisis right here in America. It is time 
to put our best efforts towards solving that problem and moving ahead 
with new solutions.
  I believe that the CAPE Act will allow us just a small step in that 
direction, and I hope, Mr. Speaker, that we can count on strong support 
from the Members of this body so that we will send that legislation to 
the Senate as well as pass this resolution here today on child abuse 
and awareness month.
  Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Gilman).
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time. I am pleased to rise today in support of this concurrent 
resolution, H. Con. Res. 93, the sense of Congress regarding child 
abuse and neglect, and enhancing the public's awareness of this 
problem.
  Child abuse, whether sexual, physical or emotional, is a growing 
problem in this Nation which we should view with a great deal of alarm. 
Every child has the right to grow up in a safe, well cared for 
environment. The most tragic thing about child abuse is it is often 
inflicted by someone close to the child who should be concerned with 
that child's welfare rather than inflicting that kind of harm.
  Regrettably, far too many families are simply incapable of raising 
children without resorting to abuse. The end result is that the child 
often learns violence as an acceptable way to convey ones's feelings 
and release stress. Thus, the patterns of abuse usually continue with 
future generations.
  In addition to the physical harm imparted on the child from sexual 
abuse, there is psychological damage which often lasts long into 
adulthood, affecting the child's future adult relationships.

                              {time}  1315

  Even worse, sexual abuse robs a child of his or her innocence long 
before that innocence should be taken away. And whereas many adults who 
physically abuse their children can, with the help of extensive 
counseling, overcome their problems and the dangerous patterns of 
behavior, that same success does not usually occur with sexual abusers.
  All too often, sexual predators of children repeat their acts of 
abuse even after being punished for earlier actions. Those individuals 
need to either be deterred from committing their acts or effectively 
punished for their behavior.
  So I want to commend my colleagues, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Hyde), the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce), the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Ewing), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones), for bringing this measure to the 
floor at this time.
  I ask my colleagues to support this measure.
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume only to say to all of my colleagues who have appeared here this 
afternoon that I thank them for coming out in support of our 
resolution. We look forward to the same support on the CAPE Act when it 
comes to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes to close and say 
certainly it has been a great pleasure to work with the gentlewoman 
from Ohio (Mrs. Jones) and the other sponsors of this resolution.
  Obviously, as this month is Child Abuse Prevention Month, we 
certainly are encouraged to see the increased effort that Congress will 
make, that we can make at this national level to work with local folks, 
work with law enforcement, with health care, with faith communities, as 
well as all parts of our local communities, to ensure that we provide a 
safer place for our children, that we continue to increase the 
awareness of this problem, that we can, as the future goes on, do a 
better job in making sure that our children are safe.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the resolution 
calling for public and private resources to prevent child abuse and 
neglect.
  Children are our most precious gifts. We are responsible for their 
education, their safety, their health, and their lives. We should do 
everything we can to protect our children and ensure that their lives 
are safe from harm.
  Yet, a sad truth remains that not all children are free from abuse 
and neglect. In 1997 alone, more than 1 million cases of child abuse 
and neglect were confirmed by child protective service agencies in the 
United States. One million children confirmed.
  If that statistic wasn't disturbing enough, we know what the results 
of childhood abuse and

[[Page 7886]]

neglect can be. We know that abused and neglected children do not 
perform as well in school. In some cases, physical abuse of children 
can result in brain damage, cerebral palsy, and learning disorders.
  Perhaps most troubling of all, we know that there is a vicious cycle 
surrounding child abuse. Adults abused as children are at higher risk 
of arrest for sex crimes.
  By recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, we alert 
communities all over our country to this tragic social illness that 
hurts our most precious and vulnerable resource. We recognize that 
child abuse is a complex problem. The solution requires action from 
everyone in each city and state. We need to support and expand local 
officials' efforts to prevent abuse. We need religious leaders to lend 
a supportive and understanding voice for families. We need to also 
support programs for families that prepare individuals for the job of 
parenting.
  Most importantly, by recognizing Child Abuse Prevention Month, we 
also tell victims of child abuse that they are not forgotten. We see 
you and we will help you. We must remember that truly effective 
prevention efforts must include treatment for children who have been 
abused or neglected.
  The lingering anguish we feel toward the tragedy in Littleton, 
Colorado captures how we feel when our children are harmed. We need to 
break this cycle and prevent child abuse from ever occurring.
  I urge my colleagues to support Representative Pryce's resolution 
that calls on a collective effort to raise awareness and prevent child 
abuse and neglect in our communities. I want to thank Representative 
Pryce for her work on this important issue.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Mrs. Pryce's 
Resolution. This month is Child Abuse Prevention Month and I am pleased 
to be able to support this resolution which commemorates those who are 
helping to alleviate the evils of child abuse and neglect.
  Together, we can make a difference, one child at a time.
  I recently learned about the life of one child and the difference she 
felt in her life. Three years ago, Shannon was a 16-year-old girl 
suffering from neglect and despair. She never knew her father. Her 
sister had been taken away by the state and placed in foster care. Her 
brother was in state prison for attempted murder. And her mother 
couldn't seem to help her.
  Shannon wasn't interested in life. She was depressed, in and out of 
psychiatric care between suicide attempts. She was failing in school.
  Shannon needed a home. And thanks to the dedication of some very 
special people at Our Children's Homestead in my Congressional 
District, that's exactly what Shannon was given.
  And what difference did it make? Today Shannon attends College. She 
plans to go into hotel management.
  When she looks back to high school, Shannon sees A's and B's on her 
report cards; she looks at photos of herself in the sports section of 
the yearbook; she sees herself on stage at the prom--a member of the 
prom court.
  Shannon is blessed.
  But we must also remember how much more we need to do.
  In 1992, less than 30,000 children in Illinois were removed from 
their homes and placed into the child welfare system because they were 
victims of severe abuse and neglect. Just last year, that number had 
increased to over 50,000. That's more than a 66 percent increase in 
only six years. Each one of those numbers may be another Shannon. A 
child who needs our help--literally needs our help--to survive.
  As the numbers of children in need comes close to doubling, we must 
redouble our efforts to help them. I rise to commemorate the work of 
those who have done so much. As Shannon's story tells us, we can make a 
difference for children--one at a time.
  Mr. FLETCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I 
move the previous question on the concurrent resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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