[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20188-20192]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  SUPPORTING EFFORTS PROMOTING GREATER PUBLIC AWARENESS OF EFFECTIVE 
                   RUNAWAY YOUTH PREVENTION PROGRAMS

  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 1009) supporting efforts to promote greater 
public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the 
need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports for 
homeless youth and youth in other high-risk situations.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 1009

       Whereas preventing young people from running away and 
     supporting homeless youth and youth in other high-risk 
     situations is a family, community, and national concern;
       Whereas the prevalence of runaway and homeless youth in the 
     Nation is staggering, with studies suggesting that between 
     1,600,000 and 2,800,000 young people live on the streets of 
     the United States each year;
       Whereas running away from home is widespread, with 1 out of 
     every 7 children in the United States running away before the 
     age of 18;
       Whereas youth that end up on the streets or in emergency 
     shelters are often those who have been thrown out of their 
     homes by their families; who have been physically, sexually, 
     or emotionally abused at home; who have been discharged by 
     State custodial systems without adequate transition plans; 
     who have lost their parents through death or divorce; and who 
     are too poor to secure their own basic needs;
       Whereas the commemoration of National Runaway Prevention 
     Month will encourage all sectors of society to develop 
     community-based solutions to prevent runaway and homeless 
     episodes among the Nation's youth;
       Whereas effective programs that support runaway and 
     homeless youth and assist young people in remaining at home 
     succeed because of partnerships created among families, 
     community-based human service agencies, law enforcement 
     agencies, schools, faith-based organizations, and businesses;
       Whereas the future well-being of the Nation is dependent on 
     the value placed on young people and the opportunities 
     provided for youth to acquire the knowledge, skills, and 
     abilities necessary to develop into safe, healthy, and 
     productive adults;
       Whereas Congress supports an array of community-based 
     support services that address the critical needs of runaway 
     and homeless youth, including family strengthening, street 
     outreach, emergency shelter, and transitional living 
     programs;
       Whereas Congress supports programs that provide crisis 
     intervention and referrals to reconnect runaway and homeless 
     youth to their families and to link young people to local 
     resources that provide positive alternatives to running away; 
     and
       Whereas the purpose of National Runaway Prevention Month in 
     November 2006 is to increase public awareness of the life 
     circumstances of youth in high-risk situations and the need 
     for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports 
     for youth, their families, and their communities: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved,  That the House of Representatives supports 
     efforts to promote greater public awareness of effective 
     runaway youth prevention programs and the need for safe and 
     productive alternatives, resources, and supports for homeless 
     youth and youth in other high-risk situations.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) each 
will control 20 minutes.

[[Page 20189]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska.


                             General Leave

  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
on House Resolution 1009.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Nebraska?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in support of H. Res. 1009, which seeks to promote 
greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs 
and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and 
supports for youth in high-risk situations. I would like to thank the 
leadership for allowing this resolution to come to the House floor, as 
it highlights a very tragic and important issue.
  Runaway episodes among our Nation's youth are serious and widespread, 
with one of every seven children and youth in the United States running 
away or being turned out of the home before the age of 18. That 
constitutes roughly 15 to 17 percent of our young people. A recent 
study by the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention estimates that nearly 1.7 million youth experienced a 
runaway or thrown-away episode in a single year. The prevalence of 
runaway and homeless youth in the Nation is astounding, with studies 
suggesting that between 1.6 million and 2.8 million young people live 
on the streets of the United States each year.
  The primary factors of running away or being turned out of a home are 
severe family conflict, abuse and neglect, and parental abuse of 
alcohol and drugs.
  And parenthetically I might add, Mr. Speaker, that I coached some 
young men, one of whom I remember very vividly who was turned out of 
his home at age 11 because the boyfriend who was living with that young 
man's mother and the young guy couldn't get along; so the young guy 
went and spent 2 or 3 years living on the streets. And that certainly 
left an impression and scarring on that young man that I do not think 
he ever completely overcame.
  Many of the conditions that lead young people to leave or be turned 
out of their homes are preventable through interventions that can 
strengthen families and support youth in high-risk situations. 
Successful interventions are grounded in partnerships among families, 
community-based human service agencies, law enforcement agencies, 
schools, faith-based organizations, and even businesses.
  The National Network for Youth and the National Runaway Switchboard 
have collaborated since 2002 in cosponsoring the National Runaway 
Prevention Month during the month of November. National Runaway 
Prevention Month is a public education initiative aimed at increasing 
the awareness of issues facing runaways as well as making the public 
aware of the role they play in preventing youth from running away. As a 
result of this collaboration, communities across the country have 
undertaken a range of activities to commemorate National Runaway 
Prevention Month.
  Preventing young people from running away and supporting youth in 
high-risk situations is a family, community, and national concern. 
Please join us in encouraging all Americans to play a role in 
supporting the millions of young people who have run away and who are 
at risk of doing so each year. H. Res. 1009 supports efforts to promote 
greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs 
and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and 
supports for youth in high-risk situations.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleague from Nebraska, 
one of the most effective, if I might say, advocates for young people 
that I know anywhere in this country.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague Mr. Osborne for bringing H. 
Res. 1009 to the floor today, and I join him in support of this 
resolution that promotes the need for greater public awareness of 
effective runaway youth prevention programs and the increasing need for 
safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports for youth in 
high-risk situations.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution points to an issue that is of great 
concern to me: young people who have been pushed aside and thrown away, 
oftentimes by their parents and sometimes by all of society.
  The youth who come to these programs represent what some call a lost 
generation, a generation that holds so much promise and yet sees so few 
opportunities. When a young person comes to these programs, they often 
do so out of a need for security, shelter, and comfort that they cannot 
find at home. And these programs provide that comfort. They provide 
basic life skills training, job preparation and placement, health 
referrals and services.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, each year the need for these programs 
grows. The basic housing needs of our Nation's most vulnerable youth, 
those experiencing homelessness, are not being met. And continued 
shortfalls in funding for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act have 
increased this need.
  Nearly 150,000 young people are served at basic centers and through 
transitional living programs. Yet as this resolution points out, many 
more runaways and homeless youth find themselves without these critical 
community services. It is appropriate that today we take time out to 
promote greater public awareness of the needs of these young people and 
the services that are available to them in the community.
  In particular, I want to applaud the hard work of the front line 
workers who are on the ground working with runaway and homeless youth 
every day. For many young people, these workers represent the only 
responsible and caring adults they will have contact with during their 
time on the streets. Many of these workers are volunteers who make 
themselves available 24 hours a day. They venture into dangerous 
situations, providing a lifeline to these young people, and they should 
be acknowledged for their efforts.
  I am mindful of one organization in my neighborhood, the Night 
Ministry, that has developed probably one of the most effective 
programs of this type in the country, where not only have they provided 
a program with adequate shelter, but they have what I call state-of-
the-art housing. You can see them at night during the cold winter, 
driving along the streets, getting out, oftentimes interceding and 
picking up young people, questioning them about why they are there. And 
those who know Chicago know that it gets awfully cold during the winter 
months. So I applaud the Night Ministry.
  I thank Mr. Porter for introducing this resolution, and certainly I 
commend Mr. Osborne for his tremendous work on behalf of young people.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest).
  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I 
want to thank Mr. Porter for the legislation; Mr. Osborne, Mr. Davis, 
and the staff for bringing this to the floor and for bringing it to the 
attention of the Members; and, Mr. Speaker, to the general public at 
large.
  The community service for youth across this great Nation is, I think, 
for the most part, doing one of the best jobs it can for the youth of 
America who are homeless, who each day, instead of a bright, sunlit 
opportunity, they find despair, and they do not know what hope is. They 
do not know what joy is. But they probably know what a prison cell 
looks like at a very young age.
  What this legislation does, and what we all should continue to 
pursue, is dedicate our words to the front line of service that Mr. 
Davis was talking about and Mr. Osborne has mentioned,

[[Page 20190]]

those people who are mostly volunteers that provide the shelter, 
provide the hope, provide the work for these people who are homeless.
  And what we hope this resolution will do, and what we should continue 
to work towards, is to create a better framework for homeless youth, 
that more people will get involved. The community service, the front 
line service, can be expanded to an immense pool of people that will 
spend just a very small amount of their time on a weekly or monthly 
basis if they go out into their community and find out where a homeless 
shelter is and then visit that homeless shelter and talk to those youth 
and give them hope and give them opportunity and let them know that 
someone cares about them. Create a Boy Scout troop for juvenile 
delinquents. Create a Boy Scout troop or a Girl Scout troop for people 
who are homeless, who are living in homeless shelters.
  Almost 40 years ago, my brothers and a couple other people who had 
not gone to college, we all got out of the service. We had just gotten 
out of Vietnam, and we got involved with a minister and a lawyer that 
created a Boy Scout troop for people who committed felonies. We created 
a Boy Scout troop for juvenile delinquents. And the way to get in that 
Boy Scout troop was that you had to have committed a felony or you had 
to be homeless or one of those categories. And it transformed their 
lives.
  This Sunday in my district, we are going to have a picnic for 30 
homeless children and, if they come, their parents. And what we are 
going to do is we are going to walk through the woods, we are going to 
feel the cool shade of the forest, and we are going to identify trees 
and we are going to talk about nature's design. Then we are going to 
take them on a short canoe ride and walk them on the beaches of the 
Sassafras River. But we are going to show them that in their dreary, 
hopeless life, there are magnificent opportunities.
  The people on the front line need help. There is a massive amount of 
opportunity out there for people to see something that they don't see 
every day, to find out where a homeless shelter is in your community, 
and then go and talk to the people who service those homeless shelters, 
talk to the people who fund those homeless shelters, and talk to the 
people who are in those homeless shelters and provide them with 
dignity, respect, hope, and opportunity. It is a matter of initiative, 
ingenuity, courage, and compassion. And it can all be done.
  And I want to thank Mr. Osborne, Mr. Davis, and Mr. Porter and his 
staff for this great resolution.

                              {time}  2115

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, what an honor to be able to 
join my colleagues this evening and to again thank the distinguished 
gentleman from Illinois for using the terminology: There are no 
throwaways.
  Let me thank the manager Member, Mr. Osborne, for his leadership; Mr. 
Gilchrest, delighted to have a good Speaker in the Chair from Texas.
  I rise today because I believe that this is an important statement 
that is being made today on the floor of the House. I do want to 
capture those words again that our young people are not throw, there 
are no throwaways. I say it very often as I go to schools or interact 
with young people that we meet in our congressional districts and 
really around the Nation.
  I spent some time with Covenant House and spent some time on the 
streets as they invited me in one of their night outs to be able to 
interact with homeless youth, to hear their stories, to hear their 
feeling about, in essence, being thrown away or thrown out.
  I do not think most Americans dwell on the fact that there are some 
1.6 million to 2.8 million homeless young people. That means that they 
have barely a place to be more than one night. And there are these good 
Samaritans, these people who hold vigils on the streets of America, 
trying to protect our young people.
  It was a shocking experience as I stood on a cold night in Houston, 
Texas, gets a little cold there sometimes in the wintertime, as we 
gathered under a streetlight. The word had gone out that Covenant House 
was out and about, that you could come and hear a little music, get a 
little food and talk, to hear some of the stories of these young people 
who had either been sexually abused or who had been emotionally abused 
or had been physically abused, to hear them tell stories of guardians 
or parents who themselves were addicted and other problems that were 
associated with the household, and there was no comfort.
  So I find that this resolution should do a number of things. As my 
colleagues have said, it should reemphasize and thank those who are out 
with our young people, the various ministries, the Boys and Girls Club, 
the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, but, as well, the agencies that go out 
during the night to find these young people.
  But, again, it should say that we are not doing enough. And we should 
also say that there are role models, that there is something to live 
for, and that we should not be ashamed of trying to enhance the funding 
to provide transitional pathways for young people to transition into 
adulthood, provide them with interim housing as they move from 17, 18, 
19, which causes them to be homeless.
  Because one of the major problems is what we call ``aging out'' in 
foster care, where you have gotten to a certain age at 18, 17, 18 in 
some States. And many of us who have young people in our homes, we 
raised our children, they are in their 20s, and you are taking care of 
them. So you age out in a foster care system, and you have no place to 
go, and you have been in foster care for 10, 15 years, or 10 years or 5 
years.
  We see this as a prevalent situation that leads to disaster. This may 
be indirect, but I want young people to understand that they are 
important.
  I raise this picture of this beautiful young lady on the front page 
of the Washington Post today by the name of Emily J.T. Perez. The 
headline reads, West Point Mourns a Font of Energy, Laid to Rest By 
War.
  The story is about a young woman who, unfortunately, lost her life on 
the front lines of Iraq. But the story describes an outstanding, 
energetic, committed patriot and the first African American woman 
sergeant at West Point. She was a young person. She lost her life. But 
she certainly represents the best of our youth.
  In the midst of homeless youth, there are those who are the best. And 
this resolution, I think, focuses our attention on providing more 
resources so that we can ensure that the young people, homeless that 
they may be, will not have despair but will have a future and will be 
affirmed by this Nation that they can contribute.
  I rise in support of this legislation, but I ask my colleagues as 
this session wanes down, let us commit ourselves, if we are fortunate 
enough to be reelected by our constituents, to come back and fund 
opportunities for providing for homeless youth, to give them a future.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to thank the 
gentlewoman from Texas for her statement and for the energy that she 
puts into everything that she does.
  I also want to again commend Mr. Porter for introducing this 
resolution and thank Mr. Osborne and say that, when he is not here, I 
am going to miss him tremendously, because he is a real advocate for 
young people, and I have never seen anyone do it more effectively or do 
it better.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. OSBORNE. I thank the gentleman. We share a strong interest in 
young people, and we are often together on bills. And I would like to 
thank Mr. Davis for all that he does. I would also like to thank Mr. 
Porter for authoring this resolution.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. 
Res. 1009, a bill supporting efforts to promote greater public 
awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the need 
for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and support

[[Page 20191]]

for homeless youth and youth in other high-risk situations.
  As the Chairwoman of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I am 
integrally involved in the efforts of Congress to help protect and look 
after the children of this Nation, and to ensure that they have an 
equal opportunity to learn, to grow, to achieve, and most importantly, 
to dream.
  Youth that end up on the streets or in emergency shelters are often 
those who have been thrown out of their homes by their families. These 
youth are also, tragically, more likely to have been physically, 
sexually, or emotionally abused at home. It is also common for these 
youth to have been discharged by State custodial systems without 
adequate transition plans. Many have lost their parents through death 
or divorce, and many are too poor to secure their own basic needs. It 
is clear that this situation is a family, community, and national 
concern.
  The prevalence of runaway and homeless youth in the Nation is an 
epidemic. Studies suggest that between 1,600,000 and 2,800,000 young 
people live on the streets of the United States each year. Running away 
from home occurs across the country. A staggering 1 out of every 7 
children in the United States running away before the age of 18.
  The future well-being of the Nation is dependent upon how we value 
our young people. The opportunities we provide for our youth to attain 
the ability and the knowledge needed to develop into safe, healthy, and 
productive adults.
  When it comes to our young people--all of our young people--including 
our runaway, throwaway and homeless youth--we must always be willing to 
stand up, to speak up, and to never give up.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 
1009, a resolution to promote greater awareness of effective runaway 
youth prevention programs. This legislation, introduced by my friend 
from Nevada, Mr. Porter, is a step in the right direction towards 
reducing the number of our youth that separate from their families in 
times of distress and discouragement. Raising awareness of concerns of 
the disadvantaged in our communities and bringing issues to the 
attention of lawmakers and the general public is often the catalyst for 
action.
  The number of young people who currently live on the streets is 
alarming. Without any family or community support, these youth fall 
through the cracks of society. It is critical for our young people, who 
are the future of our country, to be afforded the best possible 
opportunities in order to succeed and become balanced, well-informed 
citizens.
  On Guam, there are a number of community-based youth organizations 
that provide structured counseling for at-risk youth and their loved 
ones. One such program under the Department of Youth Affairs (DYA), 
Jumpstart, works to strengthen family ties with the goal of integrating 
troubled teens back into their homes. Sanctuary is another longstanding 
and effective nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing Guam's at-
risk youth. In addition to counseling, these organizations work 
preventatively, targeting and providing education about drug-use, 
physical and mental abuse, and violence. Another program, the Youth At-
Risk Life Skills Training Program, is affiliated with the 4-H Club and 
the University of Guam's College of Natural and Applied Sciences 
(CNAS). This program focuses on education paired with life skills such 
as peer mentorship and environmental sciences.
  I take this opportunity today to commend the efforts of organizations 
such as these that take action in their communities, often working from 
the grassroots. The success of these organizations depends on the 
dedication of the people who run the programs and, as a result of their 
conviction and hard work, troubled teens and their families have a 
network of support and hope for a better future.
  These are the individuals and organizations for which H. Res. 1009 
seeks to bring recognition upon, and it is their work this resolution 
seeks to support. I urge all of my colleagues to support H. Res. 1009.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
strong support of runaway youth prevention programs.
  Children are our greatest resource, and positive investment in our 
children is essential for America's future.
  We are facing a potential crisis in America. There are nearly 20 
million American teenagers that are at serious risk of not achieving a 
positive adulthood.
  For our Nation's homeless youth, this path towards positive adulthood 
is even more challenging.
  It is estimated that each year there are 1.5 million runaway and 
homeless youth in the United States. Last year, in Dallas County we saw 
about 9 thousand children ran away from home.
  We cannot simply forget these children. They need a life-line, a 
place to stay, and the tools to have a bright future.
  The Promise House Emergency Shelter and Street Outreach Programs are 
exceptional programs that are vital to Dallas.
  Promise House offers invaluable services for runaway and homeless 
youth.
  I have seen first-hand the outstanding contributions Promise House 
has made to the Dallas Community.
  Promise House not only gives these young people a safe place to stay, 
but it gives them a life-line, and a chance to change their outlook and 
situation.
  I would like to commend the staff of Promise House, Dr. Harriet 
Boorhem, and the many volunteers for the extraordinary service they 
provide to the Dallas community.
  I would also like to thank Mr. Porter for offering this Resolution.
  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1009 
which seeks to promote greater public awareness of effective runaway 
youth prevention programs and the need for safe and productive 
alternatives, resources and supports for youth in high-risk situations. 
I would like to thank the leadership for allowing this resolution to 
come to the House floor as it highlights a very tragic and important 
issue.
  Runaway episodes among our Nation's youth are serious and widespread, 
with one out of every seven children and youth in the United States 
running away or being turned out of the home before the age of 18. A 
recent study by the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention estimates that nearly 1.7 million youth experienced a 
runaway or thrown away episode in a single year. The prevalence of 
runaway and homeless youth in the Nation is astounding; with studies 
suggesting that between 1.6 million and 2.8 million young people live 
on the streets of the United States each year. The primary factors of 
running away or being turned out of a home are severe family conflict, 
abuse and neglect, and parental abuse of alcohol and drugs.
  In the district that I represent in southern Nevada, the statistics 
are similar. In the year 2003, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police 
Department reported 4,527 runaways. There were approximately 3,500 
children who required emergency shelter. Eighteen hundred of these 
children were placed in foster care. In addition to that, the Clark 
County School District estimates that 3,500 of our students were 
homeless. These astonishing statistics highlight the need for our 
support of those important programs that seek to prevent these types of 
incidents.
  Many of the conditions that lead young people to leave or be turned 
out of their homes are preventable through interventions that can 
strengthen families and support youth in high-risk situations. 
Successful interventions are grounded in partnerships among families, 
community-based human service agencies, law enforcement agencies, 
schools, faith-based organizations and businesses.
  The National Network for Youth and the National Runaway Switchboard 
have collaborated since 2002 in cosponsoring National Runaway 
Prevention Month during the month of November. National Runaway 
Prevention Month is a public education initiative aimed at increasing 
the awareness of issues facing runaways as well as making the public 
aware of the role they play in preventing youth from running away. As a 
result of this collaboration, communities across the country have 
undertaken a range of activities to commemorate National Runaway 
Prevention Month.
  Preventing young people from running away and supporting youth in 
high-risk situations is a family, community and national concern. 
Please join us in encouraging all Americans to play a role in 
supporting the millions of young people who have run away and who are 
at risk of doing so each year. H. Res. 1009 supports efforts to promote 
greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs 
and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources and 
supports for youth in high-risk situations.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1009, 
a resolution to support greater public awareness of effective runaway 
youth prevention programs. I would like to thank the gentleman from 
Nevada, Mr. Porter, for bringing this forward. I am proud to be a 
cosponsor.
  November is National Runaway Prevention Month.
  I am proud that this body, in a bipartisan manner, comes together 
each year to commemorate this month and to urge our communities to get 
involved in runaway prevention activities.

[[Page 20192]]

  Runaway Prevention Month is a public education campaign spearheaded 
by the National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) and the National Network for 
Youth (NNY) to increase the awareness of the issues facing runaways, 
and educate the public about the solutions and the role they can play 
in preventing youth from running away.
  It is a national tragedy that an estimated 1.6 to 2.8 million young 
people live on the street each year. One out of seven children in the 
United States runs away from home before the age of 18. The dangers 
these young people face on the streets cannot be overstated.
  In my home State of Texas, our runaway and youth crisis hotlines 
offer crisis intervention, telephone counseling, and referrals to 
troubled youth and families. A volunteer workforce of about 60 people 
answer the phones.
  Many callers face a variety of problems including family conflict, 
delinquency, truancy, and abuse and neglect issues.
  The program increases public awareness through television, radio, 
billboards and other media efforts. Hotline telephone counselors 
respond to about 40,000 calls annually.
  These people are true heroes because they save lives.
  The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act represents our national commitment 
to protecting and improving the lives of our most at risk youth. Sadly, 
funding for these programs has been eroded with the across-the-board 
cuts we have been seeing in our appropriations bills over the past few 
years.
  I hope that this year, this Congress will commemorate Runaway 
Prevention Month by increasing the resources available to keep our 
young people safe, healthy, and off the streets.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, as Congress considers H. Res. 1009 this 
week, I would like to highlight the outstanding efforts of an 
organization in my district, Promise House of Dallas. Since 1984, 
Promise House has served as a pillar of the Dallas community through 
its mission to serve the needs of runaway and homeless youth throughout 
our community.
  Promise House was originally established by Lovers Lane United 
Methodist Church to provide a 16 bed emergency shelter for teenagers. 
Today, this program provides over eight large programs for runaway, 
homeless, and at-risk students, and is supported by numerous churches, 
businesses, and individuals. At-risk youth and their families may 
access services ranging from food and clothing to counseling, 
education, transitional living arrangements, and parenting services. 
With communal support, the Promise House staff works endlessly to offer 
hope to youth and families in crisis.
  Promise House has helped countless youths pursue their hopes and 
dreams. When he entered Promise House, Justin was a 17-year-old young 
man who was physically and emotionally abused by his father. Between 
the abuse and family disarray, Justin turned to aggressive behavior and 
heavy drug usage. In a courageous and lifesaving decision, Justin came 
to Promise House for help. Promise House provided Justin with a safe 
environment and a variety of services, including shelter, counseling, 
intensive case management and life skills therapy. Through the support 
of Promise House, Justin turned his life around. Justin continued 
therapy services even after leaving Promise House and successfully 
graduated from high school. Today, Mr. Speaker, I am happy to say that 
Justin is a senior at the University of Texas at Dallas and a recipient 
of the Blake Davis Memorial Scholarship--established by Promise House 
to promote opportunities for higher education and a better life.
  Justin's story serves as an example of how Promise House provides 
youths with a safe haven to help meet their life goals. I am proud of 
Promise House's selfless efforts in reaching out with open arms to the 
needs of the children and teenagers in the north Texas area.
  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1009.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________