School Safety Enhancements Act of 2008

Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 2353, the ``School Safety Enhancements Act of 2007'', which is aimed at making America a safer place. The bill under consideration addresses health and safety issues for children. I support this bill and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

H.R. 2353 is necessary and will ensure the protection and safety of our children in a learning environment. Violence at our schools have increased at an alarming rate in states such as California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin over the last few years. H.R. 2352 seeks to curb that stem of violence.

H.R. 2352 increases authorized annual funding from $30 million to $50 million for FY 2008-2009 for the Secure Our Schools grant program, and decreases the non-federal grant participation percentage from 50 percent to 20 percent. It requires institutions of higher education to conduct annual campus safety assessments and develop and implement campus emergency response plans.

This bill seeks to address the violence in our schools. It will ensure the safety of students and teachers and will make sure that education is the paramount concern of educators.

The Act also increases the federal portion of the funding from 50 percent to 80 percent, which decreases the non-federal portion from 50 percent to 20 percent. According to the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office of the Department of Justice, which administers the Secure Our Schools grants, many of the poorer communities that need help the most have been unable to participate in the program because they cannot afford the previously required 50 percent non-federal grant match. The proposed change in non-federal funding is more in line with the COPS traditional 75/25 percent split, and should allow more participation in the program.

The Act increases the possible uses of funding to include surveillance equipment, hotlines to report potentially dangerous situations and capital improvements to make school facilities more secure. Finally, the Act requires the establishment of an interagency task force to develop and promulgate advisory school safety guidelines.

The Act amends the existing requirements for grant applications, and requires each grant application to be accompanied by a report, signed by the chief education officer and the attorney general or other chief legal officer, demonstrating that the proposed use of the grant funds is an effective means for improving school safety, is consistent with a comprehensive approach to preventing school violence, and meets the individualized needs of the particular school.

Finally, the Act amends the Higher Education Act and requires each eligible participating institution to conduct an annual campus safety assessment, and develop and implement a campus emergency response plan to address emergency situations, including natural disasters, active shooter situations, and terrorist attacks. The bill is sponsored by Mr. Rothman, and has 52 cosponsors.

my three amendments that were offered and accepted

I have three amendments that I offered and that were accepted concerning this bill. The first extended the current requirement of establishing a hotline or tipline to include the reporting of hazardous conditions, including the presence of hazardous chemicals.

The second one requires schools to develop and implement safety measures to protect students in the event of a terrorist attack or other hazardous condition or situation. It would further require that no funds would be disbursed unless the school had a safety plan in place to respond to a terrorist attach or other hazardous condition or situation.

The need for schools to respond to hazardous conditions or situations is necessary because often children are confronted with hazardous conditions and they simply ignore them. This has been a big problem in the Houston Independent School district. For example, in Key Middle School students were getting sick because they were learning in classrooms where mold was growing on the walls and ceilings. The students saw the mold and were getting sick but they did not know how to respond. These amendments would ensure that children are aware of the toxicity of these chemicals and organic substances. This is a real threat. Key Middle School was subsequently closed because of the severe health risks posed to students. My call for student awareness, training and prevention as pertains to a terrorist attack does not need mach explanation. In light of the tragic events of 9/11, we can never be too cautious with schooling and protecting our children. Children need to know what to do and how to respond to dangerous situations during a terrorist threat.

My last amendment goes to the heart of administrative practice. The original bill required that a taskforce create guidelines. Because the taskforce is to be established within 30 days of enactment of this act, my amendment allows the taskforce to convene and within 60 days issue a preliminary advisory school safety guideline and after that time it should provide the public with an opportunity through notice and comment and publish a final advisory school safety guideline not later than 30 days after the preliminary guidelines. This is good administrative practice and ensures public participation by students, teachers, and parents.

I urge my colleagues to support this very important bill.

I thank the gentleman from Virginia not only for the time but also for his leadership on the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

I also want to thank my friend and colleague from California (Mr. Issa) for all his support in moving this legislation forward.

I also want to recognize the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Gohmert from Texas. I also would like to acknowledge the leadership of Chairman Conyers and Ranking Member Lamar Smith.

Mr. Speaker, we are often asked, as Members of Congress, why don't you people do anything important? Well, today we're about to do something very important.

Back in 2000, when I was a member of the Judiciary Committee, I received two different letters from two different young girls in two different middle schools in my district. And the letters basically said, Congressman, we're afraid to go to school. There are gangs, there are wise guys, there are kids on drugs. We're not sure who's coming in and out of our school. And we're constantly looking over our shoulders wondering if someone's going to hurt us. Aren't you supposed to be doing something about that? You adults, protecting us kids?

As the father of two kids then, now of two kids and three stepkids, it really did strike me very deeply. And I went to our chairman, may he rest in peace, Chairman Henry Hyde, and I told him about the situation. I told him I had an idea. I said that we should have a matching grant program so it wouldn't be a Federal mandate, that schools that wanted to participate could, those that didn't want to didn't have to. But those who wanted to get metal detectors, new locks on their doors, security training for their personnel, they could apply to the Federal Government through the Justice Department for a grant, a 50/50 grant; the schools put up half, the Feds put up the other half. And if the schools were really destitute and out of money and could demonstrate that, as well as a real need, the Federal Government would pay 100 percent.

This was at the time right after Watergate, rather, after the Clinton impeachment. Needless to say, there was disagreement amongst the parties. The Republicans were in charge.

The bill passed unanimously out of the House Judiciary Committee and then came to the floor and passed unanimously. And since then, more than 3,400 schools nationwide have benefited, have added security cameras and metal detectors and new locks to limit entranceways and egresses from the schools. More than 177 schools in the Garden State of New Jersey, my State. And I've gotten letters and phone calls and people stopping me on the street thanking me, Congressman, thank you for protecting us.

This year, 7 years after we passed the Secure Our Schools, actually we passed it in 2001, we have an improvement, the School Safety Enhancements Act.

What we found, unfortunately, was that the $30 million authorized level wasn't enough money to cover all the schools in the country who wanted to participate, who wanted to put up half the money for these security improvements for their schools. There wasn't enough money to go around. So we made our case to the subcommittee and to the full committee, and they

were kind enough to work with us and introduce this bill, the School Safety Enhancements Act, to raise the dollar amount from $30 million authorized to $50 million authorized.

The other changes we made were to change the Federal match so that the Federal Government could provide even a larger percentage than the 50/50 percentage. We know how strapped local property taxpayers are back home, and so that's the least we could do from the Federal Government.

We also added a couple of other things, as Chairman Scott referred to, namely, a campus safety assessment program to implement a campus emergency response plan that would have to be established at all of our universities across the country so that parents who are sending their kids to these universities and colleges would know that, at the very least, there was a plan if, God forbid, there was a tragedy.

We worked very closely, we also established a hot line for call in for kids and others to report problems.

We worked with Senator Barbara Boxer from the Senate who was instrumental in helping us in that body in adding some of these provisions.

Again, this has complete flexibility. This is not a Federal mandate. Schools have to make the applications on the merits of their need for these safety improvements and for the financial contribution from the Federal Government. But they're willing to kick in their own dollars to help pay for these security improvements, metal detectors, locks on doors, locks on windows and training for security personnel.

It doesn't get better than this when we can provide the money for even more schools and to protect even more students. That's our job, our responsibility as Members of Congress, to protect the people, as moms and dads, aunts and uncles, grandparents and friends of kids. My goodness, there's nothing more important than preventing harm to our children.

I urge the adoption of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6309 the ``Lead Safe Housing for Kids Act''. First, I would like to thank my distinguished colleague, Keith Ellison of Minnesota, for introducing this important legislation. This bill will amend the ``Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992'' by setting the environmental intervention level for lead to 10 micrograms per deciliter. Its purpose is to enact stricter provisions concerning the hazards resulting from lead-based paint in households. I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this act.

The ``Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act'' is important because of its potential to ensure

greater protection for children. Children are most at risk of suffering from the toxicity of lead paint. Lead is a dangerous substance, especially so for children under the age of six, who are only beginning the process of developing their bodies and brains. Lead paint can cause nervous system damage, loss of hearing, stunted growth, severe kidney damage, and can even disrupt the development of the brain and the faculty of cognition.

Lead-contaminated household dust, resulting from lead paint is the primary cause of lead poisoning in children throughout the United States. Though the number of children in the United States with dangerous levels of lead has dropped from 13.5 million in 1978, roughly 300,000 children still have unsafe blood lead levels that are in excess of 10 micrograms per deciliter. 300 thousand, a number equaling half of the population of Texas District 18, are currently at a distinct risk of suffering from lead poisoning. Indeed, this is a major problem.

Of the $43.4 billion spent in the United States annually on pediatric environmental disease, a great majority goes to combating and treating childhood lead poisoning. It is because of this that we must act now in putting forth more stringent testing requirements to combat the grave danger posed by lead paint.

Upon enactment of the act, the HUD will have 90 days to comply with the new environmental intervention blood lead level of at or above 10 micrograms of per deciliter, the point at which the CDC has found cause for concern. This bill will save countless children from suffering from the myriad ailments that come hand in hand with lead paint.

The tragedies of these children and others have exposed the fundamental problem which this bill addresses. For too long there has been no clear federally mandated standard to indicate excess blood lead levels in households, or to require action. This bill will go far to ensure that the children of our Nation are able to enjoy good health, by making certain that all houses become lead safe.

Recently I amended H.R. 2352, the ``School Safety Enhancement Act of 2007'', which sought to enhance the safety of our elementary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher learning, by increasing the amount of money available for school safety. It is critical especially that we make funds available for poor communities, and specifically to require the creation of a tip hotline for school officials, parents, and students, to report the existence of hazards and chemicals. I also provided amendments that would require institutions to create a safety plan, dealing with potential terror, chemical, or otherwise hazardous situations. These concerns for the safety of children in schools are similar to those concerns that I have for the wellbeing of children in their homes. In both situations, I believe children should be free from the dangers presented by hazardous materials and situations, including the threat of lead paint.

As the safety of children should be critical to all Americans, I urge my colleagues to support this act to protect our Nation's children and our Nation's future from harm's way.

Madam Speaker, I support H.R. 2352, the ``School Safety Enhancements Act of 2007'', which is aimed at making America a safer place. The bill under consideration addresses health and safety issues for children. I support this bill and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

H.R. 2352 is necessary and will ensure the protection and safety of our children in a learning environment. Violence at our schools have increased at an alarming rate in States

such as California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin over the last few years. H.R. 2352 seeks to curb that stem of violence.

H.R. 2352 increases authorized annual funding from $30 million to $50 million for FY 2008-2009 for the Secure Our Schools grant program, and decreases the non-Federal grant participation percentage from 50 percent to 20 percent. It requires institutions of higher education to conduct annual campus safety assessments and develop and implement campus emergency response plans.

This bill seeks to address the violence in our schools. It will ensure the safety of students and teachers and will make sure that education is the paramount concern of educators.

The Act also increases the Federal portion of the funding from 50 percent to 80 percent, which decreases the non-Federal portion from 50 percent to 20 percent. According to the Community Oriented Policing Services, COPS, Office of the Department of Justice, which administers the Secure Our Schools grants, many of the poorer communities that need help the most have been unable to participate in the program because they cannot afford the previously required 50 percent non-federal grant match. The proposed change in non-Federal funding is more in line with the COPS traditional 75/25 percent split, and should allow more participation in the program.

The Act increases the possible uses of funding to include surveillance equipment, hotlines to report potentially dangerous situations and capital improvements to make school facilities more secure. Finally, the Act requires the establishment of an interagency task force to develop and promulgate advisory school safety guidelines.

The Act amends the existing requirements for grant applications, and requires each grant application to be accompanied by a report, signed by the chief education officer and the attorney general or other chief legal officer, demonstrating that the proposed use of the grant funds is an effective means for improving school safety, is consistent with a comprehensive approach to preventing school violence, and meets the individualized needs of the particular school.

Finally, the Act amends the Higher Education Act and requires each eligible participating institution to conduct an annual campus safety assessment, and develop and implement a campus emergency response plan to address emergency situations, including natural disasters, active shooter situations, and terrorist attacks. The bill is sponsored by Mr. Rothman, and has 52 cosponsors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the School Safety Enhancements Act of 2007. This legislation reauthorizes and strengthens the Secure Our Schools program, which provides critical support to our Nation's schools for equipment to keep our children safe during their educational time. Over the past 6 years, $65 million in Federal grant funds have been put to work in a partnership between law enforcement agencies and local schools to invest in security and school safety at more than 2,400 schools nationwide.

As the former superintendent of North Carolina's public schools, I know that a student needs fertile soil for learning to take seed. I have rare firsthand knowledge of the importance of quality school buildings to the educational goals we hold for our schools, and the challenges those schools face in inadequate facilities. There really is no substitute for bricks and mortar when it comes to quality schools. While good teachers and administrators are central to education, we also need a good environment for students. Children cannot learn in facilities that are substandard or overcrowded or where they do not feel safe. That is why I have made it a priority in Congress to support funds for school construction, for school safety, and for school emergency preparedness needs.

This bill is a step to address the pressing needs that schools have for safety. Even as teachers, administrators, and students are working together with law enforcement to make schools a safe place for learning, they can use additional help and guidance to make their planning as effective as possible. I speak to students from North Carolina who are concerned about violence in their schools, about gang activity, or about bullying. Secure Our Schools gives schools and law enforcement agencies the flexibility to address their community's unique needs.

Although schools are central institutions to our communities, they are often overlooked in security and emergency planning. The partnerships between schools and law enforcement facilitated by Secure Our Schools have far-reaching benefits to school safety and the health of our communities.

H.R. 2352 gives these partnerships new tools to keep our children safe by allowing the use of funds for surveillance equipment and capital improvement. In recognition of the incredible need for these funds, it expands the authorization for Secure Our Schools grants to $50 million. It is a solid step to improve our schools and recognize the hard work of teams of teachers, administrators, health care workers, security staff, and law enforcement personnel in keeping our children safe.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting yes for H.R. 2352.