[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Pages 29379-29380]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNITION OF THE HONORABLE TOM OSBORNE

  Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate 
my friend and colleague from Nebraska, Congressman Tom Osborne, on his 
dedicated work for mentoring programs that has earned him a place in 
the Hall of Fame for Caring Americans.
  Congressman Osborne has been awarded this honor by the Caring 
Institute for his commitment and understanding of the positive 
influence that mentors can have on a child's life. In 1991, while he 
was still head coach of the Nebraska football team and I was the 
Governor of Nebraska, Tom Osborne and his wife Nancy started a program 
called TeamMates. This program paired middle school students with 
university football players to give young people someone who could talk 
with them, help them set goals, and reinforce basic skills, attitudes, 
and other lessons of life. The program was a success and it soon 
expanded statewide.
  Tom Osborne, the football coach, became Congressman Tom Osborne in 
2000, the same year I joined the Senate, and it has been a pleasure to 
work with him on several mentoring projects. His Mentoring for Success 
Act authorized $50 million in new competitive grant awards to local 
school districts and community based organizations to fund mentoring 
initiatives. He also led the way in designating January ``National 
Mentoring Month.'' He continues to work to fund these valuable 
programs.
  I am glad to see that the Caring Institute has chosen to honor 
Congressman Osborne's efforts to make mentoring a priority in the 
United States. The environment in which many kids today are raised 
looks nothing like the one in which I grew up. Today, close to 50 
percent of all children are raised in single-parent households. In most 
cases, single parents work long hours;

[[Page 29380]]

their energy and resources are stretched thin. In other cases, even two 
parent families cannot provide--for various reasons--the support a 
child needs. Congressman Osborne's Mentoring for Success Act is for 
these kids. It can make a big difference for so many young people and 
it can change these kids' lives and brighten their future.
  It is appropriate that Congressman Osborne receive this award just 
before Thanksgiving because his programs have given so many young 
people a friend and a brighter future to be thankful for. 
Congratulations to Congressman Osborne and thank you for your 
continuing commitment to mentoring.

                          ____________________