[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20996]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        CAMPUS FIRE SAFETY MONTH

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 
40, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will state the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 40) designating September 2009 as 
     ``Campus Fire Safety Month.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or 
debate, and any statements related to the resolution be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 40) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                               S. Res. 40

       Whereas, each year, States across the Nation formally 
     designate September as Campus Fire Safety Month;
       Whereas, since January 2000, at least 129 people, including 
     students, parents, and children have died in campus-related 
     fires;
       Whereas more than 80 percent of those deaths occurred in 
     off-campus residences;
       Whereas a majority of college students in the United States 
     live in off-campus residences;
       Whereas a number of fatal fires have occurred in buildings 
     in which the fire safety systems had been compromised or 
     disabled by the occupants;
       Whereas automatic fire alarm systems provide the early 
     warning of a fire that is necessary for occupants and the 
     fire department to take appropriate action;
       Whereas automatic fire sprinkler systems are a highly 
     effective method of controlling or extinguishing a fire in 
     its early stages, protecting the lives of the building's 
     occupants;
       Whereas many college students live in off-campus 
     residences, fraternity and sorority housing, and residence 
     halls that are not adequately protected with automatic fire 
     sprinkler systems and automatic fire alarm systems;
       Whereas fire safety education is an effective method of 
     reducing the occurrence of fires and reducing the resulting 
     loss of life and property damage;
       Whereas college students do not routinely receive effective 
     fire safety education during their time in college;
       Whereas it is vital to educate young people in the United 
     States about the importance of fire safety to help ensure 
     fire-safe behavior by young people during their college years 
     and beyond; and
       Whereas, by developing a generation of fire-safe adults, 
     future loss of life from fires may be significantly reduced: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates September 2009 as ``Campus Fire Safety 
     Month''; and
       (2) encourages administrators of institutions of higher 
     education and municipalities across the country--
       (A) to provide educational programs to all students during 
     September and throughout the school year;
       (B) to evaluate the level of fire safety being provided in 
     both on- and off-campus student housing; and
       (C) to ensure fire-safe living environments through fire 
     safety education, installation of fire suppression and 
     detection systems, and the development and enforcement of 
     applicable codes relating to fire safety.

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