Supporting the goals and ideals of National High School Seniors Voter Registration Day.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 73 and thank Representative McCrery for introducing this very important concurrent resolution which encourages our Nation's youth to register to vote. There are few rights as Americans that are more sacred than the precious right to vote. Discussing this resolution today gives all of us in Congress the opportunity to express our support for the goals set forth by the great State of Louisiana to provide the opportunity for all high school seniors to register to vote at school and to encourage their participation in the political process.

Madam Speaker, you and I and many Members very frequently visit our high schools and speak with our students, and it is so important for the high school seniors to register to vote. A lot of them are very much interested in what goes on in this House, and it is important that we continue to engage in dialogue with them so that they will be participants, active participants in this political process.

In the spring session of 2002, the Louisiana legislature ratified House Concurrent Resolution 20, declaring the first Tuesday in May as Louisiana High School Seniors Voting Registration Day. This resolution encourages students to participate in our political process and in making democracy work. In my home State of California, the legislature passed the Student Voting Registration Act of 2003, which gives the Secretary of State the power to annually provide every high school, community college, and California State university and the University of California systems' campuses with voter registration forms to expand the number of youth participating in the voting process.

The goal of California's law is to ensure that every high school and college student receives a voter registration card with his or her diploma. California is achieving its goal by providing voter registration forms at the start of the school year, including voter registration forms with orientation materials, placing voter registration forms at central locations, and including voter registration forms with graduation materials. I am so pleased and so proud of the State of California for expanding this type of service to our high school students, and I hope that all States follow these models to enfranchise all of our Nation's youth.

I hope that this resolution on the floor today will encourage our youth to participate in our democracy not only by registering to vote and voting, but by becoming poll workers. To facilitate youth involvement in our elections, this summer I offered an amendment to H.R. 5576, the Transportation-Treasury-HUD appropriations bill, to double the funding to the Election Assistance Commission to administer the College Poll Workers Grant program. This amendment was accepted to the bill without objection. I realize that the resolution under consideration today only speaks to high school students, but it highlights an important first step in increasing youth civic engagement and strengthening American democracy.

I support this resolution and the continued goals and ideals of National High School Seniors Voter Registration Day and encourage all eligible students not only to register to vote but to exercise that franchise as well.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I applaud the gentleman from Louisiana for this very interesting and important resolution. I support the resolution.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to be on the floor today to support this resolution, and I thank the chairman and ranking member of the committee for bringing this to the floor today.

The resolution actually encourages the Congress to support the goals and ideals of National High School Seniors Voter Registration Day. This is a program that was actually started in my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, back in 1996; and the results have been indeed noteworthy. Just this year, for example, in the class of 2006, the high school graduating class of 2006, nearly 50 percent of the graduating class registered to vote in Shreveport this year. That is far above what you will find in most cities and towns that don't have a program similar to this in effect.

The goals and ideals of the High School Seniors Voter Registration Day are contained in the program's mission statement; and simply, the program's mission is to register to vote high school seniors and students of voting age on the first Tuesday in May.

And also, to encourage students to make a lifelong commitment to civic participation in all areas of society by educating them about the importance of voting.

That's the mission. Certainly I would hope this Congress today by its vote here in the House and I hope later in the other body would support the goals and ideals of this program.

Certainly we can think of no better message to send to young people in this country that civic participation is important, in fact critical to the progress of this Nation and perhaps, some would say, to the survival of this Nation.

So I am pleased to be able to present this resolution today endorsing a program that sprang up in my hometown and now has spread across the State of Louisiana and we hope will spread across the Nation. I urge its adoption.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 73) supporting the goals and ideals of National High School Seniors Voter Registration Day.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 73, introduced by my colleague from Louisiana, Congressman McCrery. This bill will establish the first Tuesday in May as National High School Seniors Voter Registration Day, during which volunteers will register high school seniors and other students of voting age on site in their schools.

As I have often stated, my goal as the chairman of the House Administration Committee is to make sure that every citizen who is able to vote does so. As an educator, I have witnessed firsthand the passion and energy our young people possess when given a chance to voice their beliefs, qualities that will serve them well as they enter the voting booth. The National High School Seniors Voter Registration Day will create an additional mechanism to register young men and women and perhaps encourage an early desire to participate in the political process. Accordingly, I call upon my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield as much time as he may consume to the sponsor of the resolution, Mr. McCrery of Louisiana.

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

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 73.