Recognizing the second century of Big Brothers Big Sisters, and supporting the mission and goals of that organization.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) and I introduced H. Con. Res. 41 to honor Big Brothers Big Sisters, the oldest and largest youth mentoring organization in the United States which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. In recognition of this milestone, we encourage our colleagues to cosponsor the resolution which celebrates the centennial of Big Brothers Big Sisters and encourages the organization as it works toward its goal of serving one million children annually. A Senate companion to this legislation is being introduced by Senators Ensign and Dodd.

The gentleman from Nebraska and I both know firsthand the importance of mentoring, and we have both experienced its many rewards. I have been a Big Brother now for over 18 years. Beginning in 1986 when I was a relatively young lawyer, I walked into the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and volunteered to become a Big Brother. I was given three Little Brother applications, each of whom had been on a waiting list for years. I was also asked how I would feel about having a minority Little Brother, to which I responded I thought it would be an even better experience for me and I hoped for my Little Brother as well.

I was paired ultimately with David, then 7 years old, who had been on the waiting list for 2 years; and we were Big Brothers for a day. It was a test run. We went to the beach. We survived the beach, and we decided we were the survivors, and now 18 years later we are still the survivors in a brotherhood that has lasted for almost two decades. Over that time, we went to the movies, we went to the park, we threw a ball around, we did all the kind of things brothers do. We each became part of each other's family. I cannot say what kind of a difference I may have made in his life, but I can tell you he has made a wonderful difference in mine.

I had the opportunity some years ago to go to David's graduation from Yale University. I like to say, when people ask me whether I think that without my influence in his life David would have gone to Yale, I say, no, he would have gone to Harvard. There is more than a little truth in that. He is an extraordinary not-so-young man now.

I also had a wonderful opportunity to watch him graduate from USC film school, and I am looking forward one day to going to the premiere of one of his films.

It has been a fabulous experience for me, and I know it has been a fabulous experience for my colleague from Nebraska, who has long been a champion of mentoring, having established a successful program at the University of Nebraska. We join with many Americans in recognizing the significant contributions to our Nation's children that Big Brothers Big Sisters have been making since 1904 through mentoring, creating and nurturing one-to-one relationships between adults and children.

Through the 454 local agencies that make up this life-changing organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves more than 220,000 children ages 5 through 18 in 5,000 communities across the United States.

Research shows that Big Brothers Big Sisters one-to-one mentoring helps at-risk youth overcome the myriad of challenges they face. Little Brothers and Little Sisters are less likely to begin using illegal drugs or consuming alcohol, skip school and classes or engage in acts of violence. They have greater self-esteem, more confidence in their performance at school and are able to get along better with their friends and families.

The organization works closely with parents and guardians to match every child with appropriate Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Each potential volunteer is screened, trained and supervised to ensure that the mentor-child relationship will be a safe and rewarding experience for everyone involved. I can attest to that. My interview, I think, was several hours long.

Partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters benefits America's most important national treasure, our children. Major private investments have enabled the organization to be a pioneer in volunteerism and developing new ways to reach different populations of at-risk kids. As a result, Mr. Speaker, Big Brothers Big Sisters is an ideal Federal partner as Congress strives to provide a better future for America's children.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for yielding me this time, and I rise in support of this concurrent resolution. I want to congratulate Big Brothers Big Sisters on 100 years of service. I think any organization that lasts for 100 years is certainly doing some things correctly.

At this time, I would like to point out, Mr. Speaker, that it is a very difficult time to be a young person in our Nation. We have a great deal of family instability. Roughly 50 percent of our children today are growing up without both biological parents, so they have suffered some serious dysfunction in their lives. Roughly 22 million young people today are fatherless, and of course they are moving into a world in which a drug and alcohol culture and violence is quite prevalent. So it is very, very difficult.

We find that mentoring is one way that we can help these young people negotiate their way through a very difficult world. Mentoring works. As my colleague from Ohio mentioned earlier, it improves graduation rates and it improves school attendance. One of the programs I work with very closely improves attendance by 80 percent. It improves grades significantly. The program I am involved with, about a 40 percent improvement. It improves peer and family relationships and even improves personal hygiene, which is something that many people do not realize. It decreases drug and alcohol abuse in many programs by as much as 50 percent. It decreases crime, gang membership, teen pregnancy, and dropout rates.

So this is about the best thing we have going, and it is very important to remember that it is very cost effective. It costs about $30,000 a year to lock somebody up, and yet most mentoring programs, some of the very best ones, cost maybe $400 to $500 per mentee per year. So we cannot have a better return on investment than that.

I serve as a mentor. I have been mentoring a young person now for about 3 years, and I had another young person for 4 or 5 years before that. My wife also mentors. A mentor is somebody who cares, somebody who shows up. An awful lot of young people in our culture today do not have an adult in their life that they can count on; that they know cares about them unconditionally and will be there for them through thick and thin.

A mentor is somebody who affirms. Again, so many young people today in our culture do not have anyone in their lives who say ``I believe in you, I see some talent, I think you could be a mechanic, I think you could be someone who can go to a community college, I think you could do well in school.'' So affirmation is something that all of us have to have in order to live effectively, and a mentor provides that.

A mentor is someone who provides a vision of what is possible, because so many times a young person grows up in a family where no one has graduated from high school, no one has gone to college, no one has set any type of vision out there for them as to what they might be. So a mentor oftentimes fulfills that role.

According to the National Mentoring Partnership, 18 million children in our country today need a mentor, yet only about 2.5 million actually are being mentored. Big Brothers Big Sisters accounts for roughly one- tenth of that number. So we have a huge gap from what is needed to what we are actually getting done.

We had a mentoring amendment attached to the No Child Left Behind bill that last year was funded at $50 million. This year, that money is in jeopardy. A lot of that money went to Big Brothers Big Sisters. So I would certainly like to encourage my colleagues to support this program and further this cause, because we have reached hundreds of thousands of young people as a result of it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 41

recognizing the second century of Big Brothers Big Sisters, the oldest and largest youth mentoring organization in the United States which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year.

I want to thank Representative Tom Osborne for joining me in introducing this resolution and for his strong advocacy of mentoring. I also want to thank Chairman Tom Davis and Ranking Member Henry Waxman of the House Government Reform Committee for their diligence and helpfulness in getting this resolution to the Floor today. And I also appreciate and want to thank Senator John Ensign and Senator Christopher Dodd for their leadership in introducing this resolution in the Senate.

But the big heroes are the untold thousands of volunteers--Big Brothers and Big Sisters throughout the country--who for the last one hundred years have played critical roles in the mentoring of our nation's youth. Lastly and most of all, I would like to thank all of the Little Brothers and Little Sisters because they have been the ones to enrich our lives.

As you know, when Representative Osborne and I introduced this resolution in February, I came to the Floor to speak about my almost two decades of experience being a Big Brother, and my accomplished, now not-so-Little Brother, David. I was a young prosecutor in Southern California when I first became a Big Brother, and David was just seven years old. Through fun outings, good talks and merely spending time together, we learned a lot about each other and a lot about ourselves. He is now a Yale and USC film school graduate, and is emarking upon a wonderful career and many new adventures. Because of Big Brothers Big Sisters, I again experienced through David a child's wide-eyed optimism about the future, a teenager's eager determination to understand oneself and a young adult's pursuit of success.

Kids need to learn and mature in safe and nurturing environments, yet so many face difficult circumstances through broken families, poverty or simply a lack of opportunities. These situations create an emotional burden very heavy to bear at any age, but especially upon children. In some cases, these burdens are too much to bear, and a child who could have contributed greatly to society takes a much more destructive path. We can prevent this from happening. Through Big Brothers Big Sisters and like-minded organizations, we can reach those at risk of delinquency, and help them lead productive lives. Our children truly are an investment in the future, and all of those who have participated in mentoring know that it is an investment that pays off greatly.

Since 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been enabling Americans to make this investment--hundreds of thousands of times over, one child at a time. We thank Big Brothers Big Sisters for the magnificent contribution they have made to our country and we look forward to many more years of continuing success.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 41) recognizing the second century of Big Brothers Big Sisters, and supporting the mission and goals of that organization.

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 House Concurrent Resolution 41, the concurrent resolution under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Government Reform, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 41, a resolution that honors one of America's greatest charities. This year marks the 101st year since the founding of Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Over the past century, this organization has been devoted to the well-being and development of our Nation's young people. Big Brothers Big Sisters aims to provide a mentor to every child who wants or needs one. Today, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves over 200,000 children ages 6 to 18, nationwide.

Performance statistics prove that children who are mentored by Big Brothers Big Sisters are much less likely than their peers to use illegal drugs or alcohol, to skip school, and

are more likely to have strong relationships with their families.

Today, the House specifically recognizes the thousands of mentors who have made a difference through Big Brothers Big Sisters during its first century. Mentoring a child requires no special training or experience, just a willingness to spend time with a child during his or her formative years. We salute their compassion.

Mr. Speaker, along with my distinguished colleagues, the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff) and the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), I commend Big Brothers Big Sisters for its commitment to helping children in need reach their potential, and I urge the adoption of House Concurrent Resolution 41.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), one of the lead cosponsors of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) for sharing their personal experiences with us relative to mentoring, and I urge passage of the concurrent resolution.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to join my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) by stating my strong support for H. Con. Res. 41, recognizing the second century of Big Brothers Big Sisters and supporting the mission and goals of that organization.

Mr. Speaker, 2004 marked the 100th anniversary of Big Brothers Big Sisters, one of the Nation's greatest civic programs. Big Brothers Big Sisters is the oldest and largest youth-mentoring organization in the United States. As of last year, the organization served an astounding 225,000 youth between the ages of 5 and 18 in 5,000 communities across the country.

Research has demonstrated that mentoring helps at-risk youth overcome the many obstacles they face in their lives. Youths in the program, or ``Littles'' as they are called, are less likely to use illegal drugs, consume alcohol, skip school, or engage in acts of violence.

I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff) for introducing this important legislation. Big Brothers Big Sisters has made a positive impact on the lives of impoverished young people, especially, and others throughout the Nation. We all owe them a great debt of gratitude, and I trust they will have success as they continue in their work.

On a very personal note, Mr. Speaker, I had the good fortune to serve as a Big Brother to a little brother of mine, who then went on to become a staff person and work for the Mayor, Sharon Pratt, of Washington, D.C., and then went on to work for Vice President Al Gore, eventually becoming, and he is now, the minister and pastor of a church out in Maryland. So I know that the Big Brothers program is a good program; that it does work, because Reverend Courtney Miller is a prime example of that. And I certainly wish Courtney well as we wish the continuation of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.