A resolution designating October 14, 2004, as "Lights On Afterschool! Day".

Mr. President. today I join my friend and colleague from New Mexico, Senator Domenici, in support of a resolution declaring next week National Character Counts Week. Senator Demenici and I have worked together for many years on the issue of character education and hope that by designating a special week to this cause, students and teachers will come together to participate in character building activities in their schools. In 1994, Senator Domenici and I established the Partnerships in Character Education Pilot Project and have worked regularly since then to commemorate National Character Counts Week. I am pleased that we are continuing our efforts today to help expand States' and schools' abilities to make character education a central part of every child's education.

Our schools may be built with the bricks of English, math and science, but character education certainly is the mortar. Character education means teaching students about such qualities as caring, citizenship, fairness, respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, and other qualities that their community values.

Character education provides students a context within which to learn. If we view education simply as the imparting of knowledge to our children, then we will not only miss an opportunity, but will jeopardize our future. Character education is not a separate subject, but part of a seamless garment of learning. Taking this to heart, teachers and administrators at the Ivy Drive Elementary School in Bristol, CT, incorporate the fundamentals of character education into a school wide program. In its eighth year, the Character, Assets & Resiliency Education, C.A.R.E, program integrates several pillars of character into daily lessons and special events. This year Ivy Drive chose ``swimming to success'' as their theme to build on the previous year's ``lets go fishing'' giving each child the opportunity to focus on the fundamentals of character education.

Two Hartford, CT Elementary Schools, Burr Elementary and Kennelly Elementary, recently demonstrated outstanding community service through their character education program. Supervised by their teachers, students raised close to $1000 in financial support for the family of a fifth grade student who died of leukemia. In doing so, they implemented the character pillars of caring, citizenship, and diligence.

The New Haven Public Schools recently implemented a 4-year character education curriculum within a pre-existing social development program. Grades K-3 experience the ``incredible

years'' curriculum, focusing on social skills and peer relations through service learning, community outreach, and teacher and parent training. A total of 700 character related lessons were taught in 2003- 2004. Community service projects included visits to the central firehouse, local animal shelter and elderly care home.

Character education programs work. Schools across the country that have adopted strong character education programs report better student performance, fewer discipline problems, and increased student involvement within the community. Children want direction, they want to be taught right from wrong. The American public wants character education in our schools, too. Studies show that about 90 percent of Americans support schools teaching character education.

As all education policy should be, character education is bi- partisan. This year we have 31 cosponsors to our resolution, cosponsors on both sides of the aisle. Character education is also actively supported by a number of national education and youth organizations including 4-H and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Character education can and is being incorporated into children's lives in and outside of the classroom.

This measure provides a helping hand to our schools and communities to ensure those children's future are bright and filled with opportunities and success. Character education not only cultivates minds, it nurtures hearts. While our children may be one quarter of our population, they are 100 percent of our future.

s. res. 462

Mr. President, I rise today to support, with my friend Senator Dodd this resolution regarding National Character Counts Week.'' Our resolution says the week of October 17th of this year will be known across the country as National Character Counts Week.

Nearly a century ago President Theodore Roosevelt said the following about character:

Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the

life of an individual and of nations alike.

I submit that character truly does transcend time as well as religious, cultural, political, and socio-economic barriers. I believe our country is having a renewed focus on character and this sends a wonderful message to Americans, and will help those of us involved in character education reinvigorate our efforts to get communities and schools involved.

I say that because a number of years ago we started this approach to character education called ``character counts.'' Senators Nunn, Dodd and I first submitted the resolution that has now passed the Senate on innumerable occasions. The resolution simply declares that for all of America, one week during the year will be known as National Character Counts Week.

Frankly, we hear a lot about how we should help our young people growing up in this often difficult society. However, I believe the key is finding those ideas and programs that work. We all understand that there are certain people who have the primary responsibility to care for our children like mothers, fathers, siblings, and grandparents. We are not in any way talking about negating that responsibility of raising a child with good values. However, we have found the teachers in our schools have been yearning for something they could teach our children that for some reason had been eliminated from both the public and private school agenda curriculum. It is sometimes referred to as character education.

I choose to speak about the ``character counts'' program that is being used in many public schools in our country, and certainly in my State of New Mexico where teachers embrace the six pillars of character. The values comprising the six pillars are everyday concepts that Americans across this land wish their children would have and hope America will keep. They are simply: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. They transcend political and social barriers and are central to the ideals on which this Nation was built.

I could speak for hours about the 200,000 New Mexico schoolchildren in public, private and parochial schools learning about good character. About 90 percent of the grade school children, and a significant portion of the others, are now participating in character education programs that simply and profoundly bring them into contact with each of these Pillars one month at a time.

So if one walks the halls of a grade school in Albuquerque, they might see a sign outside that says, ``This Is Responsibility Month.'' And all the young people will be discussing the concept of responsibility in their classrooms, and they will put up posters saying, ``responsibility counts.'' At the end of that month they may have an assembly where responsibility will be discussed by all the kids, and awards will be given to those demonstrating the most responsibility. The next month it might be ``respect.'' The month after that it might be ``caring.''

I could go on for quite some time talking about ``character counts'' in New Mexico. The bottom line is that I believe it is working in New Mexico and other parts of the country. Consequently, I think we need to salute the efforts already underway and encourage even more character education across our country.

So today, Senator Dodd and I are here to submit a resolution to accomplish just that and hopefully our renewed effort will bring together even more communities to ensure that character education is a part of every child's life.

I hope that my colleagues will support this effort.

Mr. President, I rise today in support of the resolution with my colleague, Senator Lamar Alexander, designating November, 2004, as American Music Month.

Of all the creative and artistic contributions our Nation has offered to the world in its short history, our music is perhaps the most definitively American aspect of our culture.

America's vast and profound repertoire of music expresses our country's vital cultural and social identities and empowers us to preserve our past and pursue our future; it transforms our wondrous and harsh experiences into potent messages that freely declare democratic choice and freedom of expression; it inspires social justice, enlivens collective action, and reflects our Nation's dynamic social movements.

Senator Alexander and I ask our colleagues to join with us in recognizing American musical heritage as an expression of this country's democratic freedoms and indomitable spirit.

Several prominent music organizations and their members have been celebrating American Music Month in November for many years. The contributions of these groups, in music education, preservation, scholarship, promotion and performance, should be highlighted during American Music Month. They help us experience and appreciate our Nation's musical heritage.

The Society for American Music, first named in honor of Oscar G.T. Sonneck, early director of the music division in the Library of Congress and pioneer scholar of American music, strives to stimulate the appreciation, performance, creation, and study of American music and its cultures in all their diversity.

The MENC: The National Association for Music Education was established in 1907 to advance music education by encouraging the study and making of music to celebrate and preserve our cultural heritages. Today it includes a membership of more than 100,000 active music teachers, university faculty and researchers, college students preparing to be teachers, high school honor society members, and music afficianados.

The College Music Society actively promotes music teaching and learning, music research and dialogue, and diversity and interdisciplinary interaction among cultural institutions.

The Music Library Association provides a forum for study and action on issues that affect music libraries and assures that users of music materials are well served by their libraries.

The American Musicological Society was established in 1934 as a body of scholars devoted to the advancement of research in the various fields of music as a branch of learning and scholarship.

The organization Americans for the Arts, created in 1996 as a result of the merger of the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies and the American Council for the Arts, is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

The United States Marine Band was established by an Act of Congress in 1798 and represents America's oldest professional musical organization. Its primary mission is to provide music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. November 2004 marks the sesquicentennial of the birth of John Philip Sousa, director of the Marine Band from 1880 to 1892. Sousa brought ``The President's Own'' to unprecedented levels of excellence and shaped the band into a world-famous musical organization. The band continues to maintain Sousa's standard of excellence for the performance of America music today, through White House performances, public concerts, and national tours.

In June of 2004, the Illinois House of Representatives adopted a measure similar to that which we offer today. Approval by the Senate will be an important step toward the national recognition of this month of celebration. I urge the Senate to pass this resolution in a timely fashion so that we can properly honor American Music in all its forms.

s. res. 461

Mr. President, I rise today in support of this resolution that commemorates the annual Red Ribbon Week. The purpose of Red Ribbon Week is to educate and advocate a commitment to a drug-free life style. Red Ribbon Week also remembers the contribution of one soldier in the war against drugs, DEA Special Agent Enrique ``Kiki'' Camerena. I am honored to seek the Senate's recognition and support again for the Annual Red Ribbon Campaign.

In my State of Alaska, Red Ribbon Week will be a Statewide celebration involving thousands of school children and those people and organizations who care about the welfare of our children and community. On October 22, the City of Anchorage of will celebrate with a series of Red Ribbon events coordinating with the Alaska Federation of Natives, the Alaska National Guard, the Alaska State Troopers, the Mayor of Anchorage, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Alaska, many PTA groups and many others across the community.

Throughout the week, Alaskans will be encouraged to show gratitude for all the lives that remain drug free, pledge to live a safe and drug-free life and remember those we have lost in the fight against drugs.

The Red Ribbon Week Campaign was started in 1988 by the Federation of Parents. It was organized as a 8-day event and was then chaired by President and Mrs. Reagan. The event began as a tribute to DEA Special Agent Enrique ``Kiki'' Camerena who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by drug traffickers in 1985. I suggest to those who advocate that drugs are a victimless crime talk to the widow and children of Agent Camerena. His sons, Erik and Enrique, Jr. continue to honor their father and work to help children and families that are victims of crimes. His death has become symbolic of the cost of illicit drugs.

The Red Ribbon which we put on is a symbol of zero tolerance for illegal drug use and a commitment to drug abuse prevention. The ribbon will be worn or displayed in the up coming Red Ribbon Week by millions of Americans in an act of unity and remembrance of Agent ``Kiki'' Camerena.

Illicit drugs, the abuse of drugs, and the business of illegal drugs are not a private matter. Drugs harm children. Drugs harm our communities. Illegal drugs only facilitate dependency, addiction and the breakdown of the families.

Alaska has the highest rates of domestic violence in the Nation and one of the highest rates of sexual assault in the Nation. According to the Anchorage Police Department in almost 80 percent of these cases alcohol and drugs were contributing factors to these crimes. In one rural area of Alaska, 97 percent of all the domestic cases involve drugs or alcohol.

We must encourage our children to make better choices by making the same commitment in our own lives. We as parents and leaders must set good examples.

Our children are growing up in a community that continues to send confusing and mixed signals. Our children are confronting difficult choices on a continuous basis. The popular idols in the media, the movies, television, and music often encourage them to make the wrong decisions. The Red Ribbon Campaign is one effort to help our children make the right decisions.

I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this resolution to help illustrate the Senate's commitment to ensure our children are safe and to encourage all people to live a healthy drug-free life.

Mr. President, October 4, 2004, marked a historic milestone in human space flight. On that day, SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded space vehicle to escape from and safely return to Earth twice within 2 weeks, thereby winning the Ansari X Prize. The craft also broke the record for maximum altitude achieved by a plane, which was set by the X-15 in 1963. This is a truly landmark achievement, and its designer, Burt Rutan, as well as its test pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie, are to be commended along with the rest of the SpaceShipOne team for their extraordinary courage and ingenuity.

The Ansari X Prize was established to jumpstart the space tourism industry, to inspire and educate students, to focus public attention and investment capital on this new business frontier, and to challenge explorers and rocket scientists around the world. It has already achieved each of these goals, and without a penny of Government funding. The $10 million prize was modeled after the $25,000 Orteig Prize won by transatlantic aviator and American legend Charles Lindbergh in 1927. It should be noted that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, uses a similar prize model to accomplish many of its mission-oriented breakthroughs. So perhaps given the success of this approach in unleashing the potential of America's brightest minds, we should use it to tackle other areas of research critical to our nation's future as well.

As for the cost, one of this competition's most amazing results is the potential of a dramatically reduced price tag for human space flight. The total investment in SpaceShipOne was reportedly just over $20 million from the drawing board to yesterday's success, which is currently far less than the cost of a single Government-sponsored human mission. More affordable technology will lead to applications that could only be imagined until now.

I eagerly look forward to the annual competition for an X Prize Cup, which begins in 2006 at White Sands Missile Range outside Las Cruces in my home State of New Mexico. This competition will build on the success of the original X Prize to foster the early evolution of commercial human space flight, and make the dream of space travel a reality that anyone can achieve.

To commemorate the tremendous talent and vision demonstrated by the SpaceShipOne team, today Senators McCain, Hollings, Brownback, Domenici and I are introducing this Senate resolution. I hope that other Members of the Senate will join us in honoring their remarkable accomplishments.

S. Res. 459