A resolution designating the week beginning May 4, 2003, as "National Correctional Officers and Employees Week".

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 180, introduced by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland), along with our colleagues, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney), the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Green), and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Holden).

H. Res. 180 is a bipartisan resolution designed to honor correctional officers and employees by acknowledging and supporting the goals and ideals of National Correctional Officers and Employees Week. The resolution directly honors correctional workers at all levels, local, State and Federal, including psychologists, chaplains, teachers, and kitchen staff.

Correctional officers and employees play a vital role in protecting and promoting public safety. They work in our county jails, in our State prisons and Federal penitentiaries. They have a tough job to do in a tough environment. And with the emphasis that Congress and State legislators have placed on eliminating incentive programs for inmates, such as parole, good conduct credits and funding for college courses, that job has been made only tougher.

Recently, by reducing inmate jobs in the Federal prison industries program, even more pressure will be put on correctional officers to maintain a safe and productive environment for prisons.

So it is fitting, Mr. Speaker, that we pause at this time to recognize and commend our correctional workers and employees for the very important job they do. To them we say thank you.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland), the sponsor of the legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Ohio and the gentleman from Wisconsin for sponsoring this resolution, and I urge Members to support it.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 180) supporting the goals and ideals of ``National Correctional Officers and Employees Week'' and honoring the service of correctional officers and employees.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 180.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support House Resolution 180, honoring corrections officers and employees for the good work they do each and every day. This resolution passed the Committee on the Judiciary unanimously, and it is an appropriate expression of congressional support for this critical aspect of our criminal justice system.

These men and women work each day to protect society from the real threat of criminal activity. They risk their lives ensuring that we are safe. They maintain peace and order in a dangerous place, while at the same time ensuring the needs of one of the most difficult groups in society are addressed. It is not often that we get the opportunity to thank them for the good work they do.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in fully supporting this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Green).

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I would like to associate myself with the remarks just made by my colleague from the other side.

Mr. Speaker, correctional facilities obviously play a fundamental role in our justice system. As the gentleman said, they are much more than buildings. Without correctional officers, those buildings would be of little value.

The people that we are talking about are dedicated and hard-working professionals. They ensure the safety and the secure operation of our justice system every single day. It goes without saying that they have a difficult and very often dangerous job. They work in the most challenging of environments. They work with people who are already proven to have little regard for others,

for their property, for their safety, for their security. So it is a challenging venue.

We do not think very much about what takes place in correctional facilities, and perhaps that is the greatest testimony that we can possibly make on behalf of our correctional officers. We do not think often about those facilities, because we do not have to. They do such a great job, they are so dedicated to the smooth operation of the system, they take on for us what is a difficult and challenging function.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that we honor them. They are true public servants. They deserve our support. They deserve all the honor and respect that we give them. So with that, I am pleased to join in supporting this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, as a cochair of the Congressional Correctional Officers Caucus, I rise today to honor correctional officers and employees of correctional facilities across our country.

Earlier this month, correctional officers came here to Washington to celebrate National Correctional Officers and Employees Week. Awards were presented to officers whose exceptional service merited special recognition, and wreaths were laid in memory of fallen comrades who had made the ultimate sacrifice while on duty.

Correctional facilities are a critical component of our public safety and criminal justice systems. We rely on correctional facilities to do just that, correct the errant behavior of certain members of our society. But prisons and jails are more than just buildings. They are made up of correctional officers and other personnel who are highly trained to work in a challenging and often dangerous environment.

I worked for many years as a psychologist at a maximum security prison in Ohio, and the respect I gained for my coworkers during that time is enormous. First and foremost, correctional officers are public servants. The officers with whom I have had the honor of being acquainted give back to their communities in countless ways.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House of Representatives is joining together to honor these men and women who work for our government at the Federal, State, and local levels.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, as we perhaps know, at the beginning of May we kicked off National Correctional Officers and Employees Week. It is in this week we recognize correctional officers and employees across the Nation and applaud their dedication and service to our country. They are often asked to work long hours serving the public, and in the past few years we have asked them to work even more difficult schedules.

Statistics from the Bureau of Justice indicate that we are housing more and more men and women in prisons and jails than ever before. As an aside, Mr. Speaker, prison overcrowding is another issue that warrants our consistent attention.

As we focus on taking the most dangerous elements of our society off the streets, it is the correctional officer and the employee upon whom we rely to maintain order and assure safety.

Correctional officers' and employees' daily duties to safeguard the public and the incarcerated are oftentimes dangerous. I gladly support H. Res. 180, which encourages the goals of the National Correctional Officers and Employees Week. This resolution recognizes the exemplary work done by correctional officers and the employees across the Nation.