Expressing the sense of Congress in support of Buckle Up America Week.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 166) expressing the sense of Congress in support of Buckle Up America Week.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

This week is Buckle Up America Week. The legislation before us, House Concurrent Resolution 166, expresses the sense of Congress in support of Buckle Up America Week.

This national campaign is dedicated to increasing the proper use of seat belts and child safety seats. For the first time in several years, highway fatalities increased from the previous year. Nearly 43,000 people died and over 3 million were injured on our Nation's highways last year. This is the highest number of highway fatalities since 1990.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research, in the past 26 years safety belts prevented 135,000 and 3.8 million injuries, saving $585 billion in medical and other costs. If all vehicle occupants had used safety belts during that period, nearly 315,000 deaths and 5.2 million injuries could have been prevented and $913 billion in costs saved.

We have made significant headway recently. Seat belt use has increased dramatically over the last 20 years. In 1984, seat belt use was only 15 percent. Today, the national average is 75 percent. But more needs to be done.

Most vehicle occupants killed in motor vehicle crashes in recent years were not wearing seat belts. Even more disturbing is the fact that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 6 and 14. About half of children ages 4 to 7 who are fatally injured in motor vehicle accidents were completely unrestrained.

Child safety seats save thousands of children's lives during motor vehicle crashes each year. This resolution draws much-needed attention to the pressing issue of increasing seat belt and child safety seat use. I applaud the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter) for introducing this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Buckle Up America Week marks a high point in our push for greater seat belt and child safety seat use. This week kicks off a massive $20 million ``Click It or Ticket'' mobilization, the largest-ever nationwide law enforcement program to increase safety belt use. More than 12,000 law enforcement agencies in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico will conduct safety belt checkpoints as part of the mobilization.

And all I can say is, watch out, Members, because we are doing it in this region.

This year, the effort is specifically targeting one of our most at- risk populations: teenagers. Due in large part to low seat belt use, fatality rates for teen drivers are four times higher than for older drivers. In 2002, 4,942 16- to 19-year-old teens were killed in traffic crashes, and thousands more were injured. Two out of the five deaths among teens are the result of a traffic crash.

Today, safety belt use stands at 75 percent of the general population, but less than 69 percent for teens. We know the way to increase seat belt use is through strong laws and high visibility enforcement. Prior campaigns of this kind have produced a 9 percent overall increase in seat belt use. So today we begin by putting people on notice to click it or expect a ticket. The campaign runs through June 1st.

I want to commend the chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri), as well as the sponsor, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter), for bringing this matter to the House floor. Because of our efforts, and especially efforts of communities and law enforcement agencies around the Nation, I believe we will see Americans and American teenagers

buckling up as never before. I strongly urge my colleagues to vote for this lifesaving measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I offer this resolution today and encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting Buckle Up America Week. This national campaign promotes awareness of safety belt and child safety seat use. The fundamental message is that seatbelts save lives. In 2002, over 42,850 people were killed in automobile accidents, and 2.9 million people were injured in such. An average of four Americans die every hour in car accidents, ninety-six people a day. Many of these injuries and deaths could be prevented by wearing a seatbelt.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated safety belts saved more than 11,000 American lives in 2000. Educational Programs like Buckle Up America Week have successfully increased seat belt usage. These programs aim to encourage children and adults to start or continue to use safety belts each time they get into their vehicles. I applaud all law enforcement agencies for their commitment to the enforcement of safety belt usage laws. Such dedication serves to encourage increased seat belt usage.

Lack of seat belt use costs Americans $26 billion every year. We all pay higher health care and insurance costs because of unbelted drivers and passengers. But, the true cost is the loss of life. Car crashes are the leading killer of all children.

Please join me in supporting this important resolution. I urge all of my colleagues to talk with their families and friends about the importance of wearing safety belts. Let's encourage all drivers and passengers to insist that their fellow automobile passengers buckle up and that all children are secured in the appropriate child safety seats.

Mr. Speaker, because of a family emergency I was unable to be present on Monday for three recorded votes.

Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: Rollcall No. 192, H. Con. Res. 166--Expressing the sense of Congress in support of Buckle Up America Week, I would have voted ``yes''; rollcall No. 193, H.R. 1018--To designate the building located at 1 Federal Plaza in New York, New York, as the ``James L. Watson United States Court of International Trade Building,'' I would have voted ``yes''; rollcall No. 194, H. Con. Res. 147--Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Orphan Drug Act and the National Organization for Rare Disorders, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, on May 19, 2003, I was unable to vote on H. Con. Res 166, Expressing the Sense of Congress in Support of Buckle Up America Week (rollcall vote 192), H.R. 1018, James L. Watson United States Court of International Trade Building (rollcall 193), and H. Con. Res. 147,

Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Orphan Drug Act and the National Organization for Rare Disorders (rollcall vote 194). Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on all three measures.