Supporting the goals and ideals of "National Internet Safety Month".

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Indiana for yielding and for his work to promote Internet safety.

I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 1260, which supports the goals and ideals of National Internet Safety Month, and I echo the sentiments shared by my colleagues here tonight. Consideration of this resolution today follows House passage of a similar resolution last year recognizing June as National Internet Safety Month. Although we are considering today's resolution just following the close of the month, I believe it is important to recognize June 2008 as National Internet Safety Month and use this opportunity to continue to raise awareness for Internet safety.

H. Res. 1260 recognizes the important work many Internet safety organizations, Internet service providers, all levels of government, schools, parents, and concerned citizens do regularly to protect children online and promote Internet safety education.

The resolution calls on all concerned citizens to increase their efforts to raise the level of awareness for the need for online safety in the United States.

I want to commend the Internet safety organizations, Internet service providers, FTC, and other individuals who joined me this June in launching the National Partnership for Safe Computing. I am proud to join Congressman Frank Wolf as a co-chair of this partnership, which will work with Members of Congress to provide resources and experts for Internet safety forums in their districts.

Over 35 million students have access to the Internet and use it every day to expand their knowledge beyond what they can learn in textbooks and in the classroom.

But while the Internet has increased their productivity and opened new opportunities to our children, it has also created new threats. These threats, whether it be unwanted online solicitations, Internet scams, or cyber bullying, are troubling and real.

In order for our children to use the Internet safely, we must work together to raise awareness, and as noted in today's resolution, 93 percent of children between 12 and 17 years old use the Internet regularly. Half of them use an online social networking site. Forty- three percent of teens between 13 and 17 have experienced cyber bullying within the past year. And 61 percent of students admit to using the Internet unsafely or inappropriately.

Fortunately, our schools and nonprofits, local, State and Federal governments, and concerned corporate citizens have been actively engaging children regarding Internet safety. Programs vary, but they all emphasize the importance of protecting personal information, keeping parents informed of Internet actions, and being careful who kids are talking to when they're online.

Over the last few years, parents have been getting more involved in their children's actions online, but there's room for improvement. As noted in today's resolution, 68 percent of parents have household rules about what type of Internet sites their children can or cannot visit, and 65 percent of parents review the Web sites their children have visited while on the Internet.

But parents need to stay engaged and ask their children what they're doing online. As a parent, you wouldn't let your son or daughter play with a friend without knowing who was in charge and where they would be playing. The same should be the case with the Internet. It is a large virtual playground, and just like the stranger danger at the neighborhood park, kids need to be supervised.

While raising awareness is important, I am very proud that since June 2007, when we recognized National Internet Safety Month last, the House has passed several pieces of legislation as part of an Internet safety initiative. They included the SAFER NET Act, which I introduced, which would authorize national public awareness campaigns and create a virtual clearinghouse of all necessary Internet safety information at the FTC.

We also passed the PROTECT Act, which I introduced with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, which would build a strong nationwide network of highly trained law enforcement experts to track down the digital footprints of known sex offenders.

The KIDS Act was also passed, which was introduced by Congressman Earl Pomeroy, which I was proud to cosponsor, and would require sex offenders to

register their e-mail and instant message addresses with the National Sex Offender Registry so Internet service providers could prohibit their access to Web sites used by children. They already have to register their physical addresses if they move into your community. They should also have to register their Internet addresses as well. These bills and the others the House has passed will assist parents and teachers in keeping our kids safe online.

In closing, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1260 and encourage them to use the recent observance of National Internet Safety Month as an opportunity to support the efforts of our local, State and Federal Government, our local and national nonprofit organizations, and other concerned citizens in promoting Internet safety.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1260) supporting the goals and ideals of ``National Internet Safety Month''.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 1260, a resolution that expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Internet Safety Month.

During the past decade, the Internet has become an integral part of our lives. Members of our armed services stationed abroad use the Internet to stay in contact with their families.

Telemedicine relies on the Internet to bring cutting-edge medical care to rural residents in their communities, reducing health care costs without sacrificing the high quality of service that everyone deserves.

Through the Internet, our students have access to the world's informational and educational resources. Distance learning levels the playing field so that all students have the opportunity to learn.

The Internet has also had a profound impact on the way that we do business. Through the Internet, the entire world has become a market for American goods and services.

Our children have never known a world without the Internet. They have incorporated the advantages of the Internet into their everyday lives, to communicate with their friends, to do research for school assignments, and to entertain themselves.

The Internet offers great promise to the next generation. In order to achieve those promises, we must give our children the tools they need to safely navigate the Internet.

Just as the Internet has offered many good people the opportunity to better themselves, it has also created a pathway for dangerous activities. This is most troubling when the potential victims are our children.

Internet Safety Month reminds us all that there are ways to use the Internet wisely and responsibly.

The Federal Trade Commission has created ``OnGuard Online,'' a resource for both parents and children to take advantage of all of the opportunities of the Internet in a safe and responsible manner.

Congress provided for the establishment of a kids.us domain to provide a safe online environment for children and help prevent them from being exposed to harmful material on the Internet.

Educational, industry, and community-based organizations have also created resources to help families use the Internet safely. If we educate our children, we give them the tools they need to navigate the Internet safely.

I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the goals and ideals of National Internet Safety Month.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, the creator of this piece of legislation is our next speaker. She has worked tirelessly and skillfully in bringing this issue to the floor of the House of Representatives, and at this time, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from Illinois (Ms. Bean).

Mr. Speaker, a designated National Internet Safety Month would provide parents, educators, and communities with an opportunity to further coordinate efforts to protect our children on the Internet. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1260 supporting the goals and ideals of ``National Internet Safety Month''. I would first like to thank my distinguished colleague, Representative Melissa Bean of Illinois, for introducing this important legislation. The bill reaffirms our commitment to the safety of our children when they use the internet and the importance of providing information and training to develop skills to use the internet safely.

We all know what an amazing tool the internet is. We can do everything from taking classes to reconnecting with old friends online. But despite this, the internet has many flaws.

In America, 93 percent of children ages 12 to 17 use the internet, but how wisely do they use it? Studies have shown that approximately 24 percent of students in grades 5 through 12 have hidden their online activities from their parents and 61 percent of them admit to using the internet unsafely or inappropriately. Even when they aren't looking at inappropriate material, children are picking on one another. 43 percent of teens ages 13 to 17 have experienced cyber bullying within the past year. This must stop.

It saddens me that a wonderful resource like the internet can be used in such a damaging way. Cyber bullying is a serious epidemic that must be addressed by all levels of government. Unlike regular bullying, where there is often physical damage, cyber bullies leave their victims with lasting emotional trauma. With the high level of connectivity our children now have, it is nearly impossible for them to escape these new bullies. We owe our children more.

It is up to us to teach our children the difference between right and wrong in life and this principle should not be ignored when dealing with the internet. In passing this resolution, we are telling parents that the children need guidance and that it is their responsibility to provide that guidance.

And we can help the parents in their task. 61 percent of parents want to be more involved in the internet safety of their children. It is simply a matter of giving them the tools they need to get involved. When we pass this legislation, we help parents, educators, Internet service providers, and volunteers to increase their efforts to raise the level of awareness for the need for online safety in the United States.

The Houston public libraries have recently adopted a budget that would allow them to provide all their branches full internet access. In doing so, however, they added a limitation: the computers in the children's section would have filters to prevent them from accessing inappropriate material. This is an example the rest of the nation needs to follow. We can all take simple actions like installing filters and monitoring internet use to make our children safer.

I urge my colleagues to pass this resolution and establish our support of internet safety. Tell communities around the nation we need to follow the example of Houston's public libraries and consider the children when designing policies. Tell communities that progress needs to be made.

Mr. Speaker, I rise also in strong support of H. Res. 1260, supporting the goals and ideals of National Internet Safety Month. This legislation is very important, and of course, it's quite timely. I urge my colleagues obviously to support it.

The Internet, as we all know, has revolutionized communications, business, and entertainment. Much of its success is due to the largely unregulated status that we have given it. Industry has done a tremendous job of deploying it, including to children, who increasingly rely on it to learn and to create things.

In the United States, more than 35 million children in kindergarten through grade 12 have Internet access, and 93 percent of children between 12 and 17 years old use the Internet. But just like any other technology, it is sometimes used by bad people to do bad things.

Recent studies show that sexual predators, cyber bullies, cyber stalkers, and identity thieves represent very real online dangers for children of all ages. According to the Crimes Against Children Research Center, 22 percent of people targeted by online predators were children with ages between 10 and 13. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports 25 percent of children say they've received unwanted sexual material while simply surfing the Internet. The Identity Theft Resource Center reports that children are the newest target for identity theft, since they can be easily persuaded to divulge personal information, and the crime is unlikely to be discovered until the victim is much older. As these numbers demonstrate, Internet safety should be of paramount concern to all of us.

Furthermore, these statistics highlight why online safety education is so very important. By arming parents and children with the information, we can go a long way to avoiding some of the pitfalls out there on the Internet and obviously maximize its benefits.

That's why I support National Internet Safety Month and this resolution, and I urge its support.

I reserve the balance of my time.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and urge my colleagues to support this very good legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1260, a bill that recognizes June 2008 as National Internet Safety Month, and supports helping all citizens, especially our children, to learn more about being safe and responsible online.

The Internet is truly transformational technology that over 21 million teens--87 percent of kids across the Nation--take advantage of everyday. While this technology has presented our children with unprecedented opportunities, it has also presented our kids with new dangers.

Just as we tell our kids not to talk to strangers when we send them off to school, the digital age now requires us to give our children the same warning when they log on to the Internet. Parents, educators, Internet safety organizations, and law enforcement have taken extraordinary measures to proactively help our children avoid the dangers that exist on the Internet, and we must continue to increase our efforts to raise the level of awareness for the need for online safety.

I have long been a strong supporter of internet safety efforts, and I believe that Congress must continuously update our laws to keep our children safe from sexual predators who would exploit our children with this technology. I strongly urge you to support House Resolution 1260 to make sure that all citizens know about the importance of online safety.