[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 108]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     SUPPORT NATIONAL MENTORING ACT

  (Mr. KELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce the filing of the 
National Mentoring Act legislation by myself, along with a broad group 
of bipartisan cosponsors. The mentor act would give tax credits to 
businesses that allow their employees 1 hour a week of paid time off to 
mentor children at risk of dropping out of school and getting involved 
with drugs. The reason for this bill is simple, to make it easier for 
mentoring organizations to recruit mentors.
  Why is this important? Well, there was a recent study completed of 
1,000 young people on the waiting list at Big Brother-Big Sisters. The 
list was divided into two groups: one group got a mentor; the other 
group did not get a mentor. Eighteen months later, the children with 
mentors were 46 percent less likely to begin using illegal drugs, 27 
percent less likely to begin using alcohol, 53 percent less likely to 
skip school, and 33 percent less likely to engage in violence.
  That is why this bill has been endorsed by every major mentoring 
organization in the United States, including Big Brothers-Big Sisters, 
America's Promise, and the National Mentoring Partnership Act.
  I urge my colleagues today to call my office and sign up as 
cosponsors to this important legislation.

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