[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7636-7638]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL WORK MONTH AND 
                         WORLD SOCIAL WORK DAY

  Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree 
to the resolution (H. Res. 266) supporting the goals and ideals of 
Professional Social Work Month and World Social Work Day.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 266

       Whereas social workers have the demonstrated education and 
     experience to guide individuals, families, and communities 
     through complex issues and choices;
       Whereas social workers connect individuals, families, and 
     communities to available resources;
       Whereas social workers are dedicated to improving the 
     society in which we live;
       Whereas social workers are positive and compassionate 
     professionals;
       Whereas social workers stand up for others to make sure 
     everyone has access to the same basic rights, protections, 
     and opportunities;
       Whereas social workers have been the driving force behind 
     important social movements in the United States and abroad; 
     and
       Whereas Professional Social Work Month, and World Social 
     Work Day, which is March 27, 2007, will build awareness of 
     the role of professional social workers and their commitment 
     and dedication to individuals, families, and communities 
     everywhere though service delivery, research, education, and 
     legislative advocacy: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of Professional Social 
     Work Month and World Social Work Day;
       (2) acknowledges the diligent efforts of individuals and 
     groups who promote the importance of social work and who are 
     observing Professional Social Work Month and World Social 
     Work Day;
       (3) encourages the American people to engage in appropriate 
     ceremonies and activities to further promote awareness of the 
     life-changing role of social workers;
       (4) recognizes with gratitude the contributions of the 
     millions of caring individuals who have chosen to serve their 
     communities through social work; and
       (5) encourages young people to seek out educational and 
     professional opportunities to become social workers.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New Hampshire (Ms. Shea-Porter) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
David Davis) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New Hampshire.


                             General Leave

  Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during 
which Members may insert material relevant to House Resolution 266 into 
the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New Hampshire?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to offer House Resolution 
266, which honors the dedication and compassion of professional social 
workers. Our highest calling as humans is to provide service to others, 
especially those less fortunate than ourselves.

[[Page 7637]]

  At the turn of the 20th century, thousands of people lived in despair 
and poverty, and it was the early progressive moment in which the 
social work movement was born, providing food, clothing, health care 
and education to the less fortunate.
  Social workers had a role in civil rights and in women's freedom. 
Today, social workers continue this fight to ensure that vulnerable 
families have the support and the health care that they need.
  Social workers are everywhere in our society, caring for all of us. 
They help people in all stages of life, from children to the elderly, 
and in all situations, from adoption to hospice care. You can find 
social workers in hospitals, police departments, mental health clinics, 
military facilities and corporations.
  Professional social workers are the Nation's largest providers of 
mental health care services. They provide more mental health services 
than psychologists, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses combined.
  More than 600,000 people in the United States hold social work 
degrees. The Veterans Administration employs more than 4,400 social 
workers to assist veterans and their families with individual and 
family counseling, client education, end-of-life planning, substance 
abuse treatment, crisis intervention and other services.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House 
Resolution 266. This resolution would recognize the important work of 
our Nation's social workers and support the goals and ideals of 
Professional Social Worker Month and World Social Worker Day.
  Social work is a profession for those with a strong desire to help 
improve people's lives and play a valuable role in the Nation's health 
care system. Social workers help people function the best way they can 
in their environment, deal with their relationships, and solve personal 
and family problems.
  Social workers often see clients who face life-threatening disease or 
social problems such as inadequate housing, unemployment, a serious 
illness, a disability, or substance abuse. Social workers also assist 
families that have serious domestic conflicts, sometimes involving a 
child or spousal abuse.
  For example, child, family and school social workers provide social 
services and assistance to improve the social and psychological 
functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family 
well-being and academic functioning of children. They assist single 
parents, arrange adoption, or help find foster homes for neglected, 
abandoned or abused children.
  In schools, they address problems such as teenage misbehavior and 
truancy and advise teachers on how they can cope with problem students. 
Social workers also specialize in services for senior citizens, running 
support groups for family caregivers or for the adult children of aging 
parents, advising elderly people or family members about choices in 
areas such as housing, transportation, and long-term care and 
coordination and monitoring of these services.
  Through employee assistance programs, they may help workers cope with 
job-related pressures or with personal problems that affect the quality 
of their work.
  Medical and public health social workers provide persons, families, 
and vulnerable populations with psychosocial support needed to cope 
with chronic, acute and terminal illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease 
and cancer. They also assess and treat individuals with mental illness 
or substance abuse, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other 
drugs. They also may help plan for supportive services to ease 
patients' return into the community.
  In my State of Tennessee, we have a long tradition of recognizing the 
vital role of social workers. In 2005, the Tennessee legislature, of 
which I was honored to serve as a member for many years, passed 
important legislation which required social workers to have received a 
B.S. or master's degree in social work from an accredited school, 
received a doctorate or Ph.D. in social work, or have a specialized 
certificate or license from the State.
  As a society, we have come to trust that the people using a certain 
title have completed specific training to prepare them for their work 
in assisting the public. Thanks to this legislation, Tennessee now 
ensures that positions requiring the skills and training of 
professional social workers are filled with fully qualified 
professionals.
  In addition, the East Tennessee State University Department of Social 
Work has a long and proud history of preparing the majority of social 
workers in the region that I represent. In addition to providing high-
quality education to future social workers, the Department hosts a 
Social Work Career Day where students, community agencies and 
practitioners come together and share educational experience and 
information on a career in social work. Students and faculty are also 
involved in a number of community based interdisciplinary learning and 
service activities.
  According to the United States Department of Labor, the need for 
additional social workers is expected to increase faster than the 
average of all other occupations through the year 2014 due to the 
rapidly growing elderly population which is expected to create greater 
demand for health and social careers. The growth in social work is 
expected to occur most rapidly in home health care services, assisted 
living and senior living communities and the school setting. In 
addition, there is expected to be a significant need for those social 
workers specializing in substance abuse.
  Nearly 50 percent of the United States population, age 15 to 54, 
report having at least one psychiatric disorder. Both severe and 
persistent mental disorders, including addictions, have profound 
consequences for individuals, their families and society, affecting 
their ability to learn, to grow into healthy adults and to nurture 
children, to work and secure housing and to engage in other routines of 
living. Recognizing the prevalence of mental disorders and the cost 
they exact on our society, social workers provide more than 40 percent 
of all mental health services available to Americans, making them an 
integral part of our Nation's health care delivery system.
  So we stand here to recognize the importance of our Nation's social 
workers and support the Professional Social Work Month and World Social 
Work Day. We also stand to encourage more young adults to seek out 
educational and professional opportunities as social workers where they 
can play a positive impact on changing people's lives.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in highlighting the 
contributions of social workers and to support House Resolution 266.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1500

  Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Today we thank all those who have toiled in the 
fields of our community, including my maternal grandmother, who left 
the comfort of her home each day at the turn of the century and went to 
the Lower East Side to help immigrants. And we praise all of those who 
reach out to others every day in their community.
  Social workers' service makes our communities stronger. March is 
National Professional Work Month, and Tuesday, March 27 is World Social 
Work Day. I honor their service and thank them for caring for all of us 
each day.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank my colleague Congressman Ciro 
Rodriguez for arranging this time on the floor for us to celebrate 
World Social Work Day and to acknowledge the contributions of social 
workers to the well-being of our society.
  I'm proud to say that I'm a social worker and that my predecessor, 
former Congressman and now mayor of Oakland, Ron Dellums, was also a 
social worker. I believe our records, interests and efforts here in 
Congress and outside reflect the influence of our social work 
background. This education has helped me to form my principles and has 
helped me to fight injustice and inequality, not just here in the U.S. 
but also abroad.

[[Page 7638]]

  Social workers make a difference in people's lives everyday and at 
all levels. They're in the streets working one-on-one with the 
homeless. They're in the hospitals and clinics helping people through 
their health crises. They're in the schools making our kids safe, 
adjusted, and prepared to take on the world. They're advocating for the 
rights of our country's most vulnerable citizens--our children, the 
elderly, the mentally ill, the poor, and others in our society that may 
not have a strong voice. They're fighting for social justice and human 
rights internationally and they're creating policies and programs here 
in the halls of both the Congress and the Senate that address the needs 
of our society.
  The hallmark trait of a social worker is their ability to empathize--
their ability and willingness to put themselves in someone else's 
place. This is not always an easy thing to do. Many times social 
workers encounter people who are in extreme states of crisis. Times 
when their lives are feeling out of control. It's no easy feat to step 
into someone else's nightmare and help them find the strength to cope, 
to problem-solve, and to move forward. But this is what social workers 
do on a daily basis.
  Nonetheless, there are also times that are incredibly heartening and 
rewarding--times that renew your faith in humanity. They are the times 
when you see the first trusting smile on the face of a child that came 
from the chaos of an abusive home and you feel that connection. They 
are the times when you're able to help a family--homeless and 
devastated by the ravages of a massive natural disaster. They are times 
when the grassroots movement you've been working with is able to 
achieve its goal. They're the times when you're able to help a young 
man who seemed like he was starting down the path to a life of crime to 
find a better road and to make better decisions.
  One of the ways that I think I've best used my social work education 
has been in the work I have done here in Congress. As a social worker, 
I am concerned about the many things that ail our community as a whole. 
That is why I have made the fight against AIDS a priority--not just 
domestically, but also abroad. We need to stop crimes against humanity, 
like the genocide that continues to ravage the Darfur region. I also 
believe we need to fully fund No Child Left Behind. Our education 
system is failing--No Child Left Behind is failing our children, our 
teachers, our parents, and our community as a whole.
  Recognizing the importance that social workers bring to our schools, 
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues who have 
cosponsored H.R. 171, the Student Support Act. I hope more of my 
colleagues will consider supporting this legislation, which helps 
ensure that our schools have the necessary amount of mental health 
professionals at their schools, including school social workers, school 
psychologists, counselors and psychiatrists. Almost all States fall 
below the recommended guidelines by the American Counseling Association 
of 1 counselor for every 250 students. My own State of California has 
966 students for every one counselor. So I hope my colleagues can 
cosponsor this important act, and maybe we can see this legislation 
make some progress here in the House.
  Social workers don't just make an impact on our students--social 
workers give back to our society by helping to make better citizens of 
us all. They strive to help their clients become the best that they can 
be, to improve their communities and to confront the injustices that 
they see. They foster a new way of looking at the world around you--one 
where you see promise and possibility. Social workers help us to 
realize a world where mediation, coalition building and effective 
communication are used to find peaceful solutions instead of military 
posturing.
  I'd like to close by saying, I'm grateful to be part of a profession 
that is devoted to service to our people and that is so necessary to 
our society's well-being. I know that many of my dedicated colleagues 
work quietly in the field and that their contributions are not always 
given the attention they deserve, so I'm very pleased to be able to 
celebrate this day and to publicly acknowledge their contributions.
  Thank you again, Congressman Ciro Rodriguez for organizing this 
special order, and also thank you to all of my colleagues who were able 
to participate tonight.
  Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance 
of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Shea-Porter) that the House suspend 
the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 266.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

                          ____________________