Supporting the goals and ideals of National Campus Safety Awareness Month.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1288) supporting the goals and ideals of National Campus Safety Awareness Month, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days in which Members may revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H. Res. 1288 into the Record.

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

I rise today in support of House Resolution 1288, which recognizes September as the National Campus Safety Awareness Month. I urge colleges and universities from across the country to do what they can to prevent violence, crime and abuse on their campuses.

The campus safety movement started in the late 1980s, soon after the tragic death of a student at Lehigh University. On April 5, 1986, Jeanne Clery, a freshman at Lehigh, was beaten, raped and murdered in her dormitory room. The offender was another Lehigh student who tried to rob Jeanne as she slept in the room. The two did not know each other.

Clery's case brought college campus safety to the forefront when it exposed flaws in the reporting of crime information related to violence on the campus. At that time, violent and nonviolent incidents were reported to campus authorities, but administrators did not have to disclose the information.

In the aftermath of Ms. Clery's murder, her parents, Connie and Howard Clery, founded Security on Campus, Inc. to end violence on all college campuses. It is a unique, nonprofit grass roots organization dedicated to safe campuses for college and university students.

Security on Campus, Inc. partners with a number of colleges to offer educational programs on sexual assault, alcohol and drugs. Programs like Security on Campus, Inc. have done a lot to educate students about campus safety. They have partnered with over 150 colleges and universities from 42 States across this Nation.

More than 37 homicides and 8,112 forcible sex offenses were reported on college and university campuses from the year 2004 through 2006. Many of the violence and rape cases take place within the first few weeks of school.

As we commemorate National Campus Safety Awareness Month in September, let us focus our efforts on educating our students about campus safety. Students need to be reminded every year about practical precautions to increase their safety. Anyone can become a victim of a campus crime, and it is imperative that students are taught how to avoid dangerous situations.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I express my support for National Campus Safety Awareness Month, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 3 minutes to the author of this very important resolution that we're considering, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sestak).

I continue to reserve, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and ask my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, this August and September students will be returning back to their colleges and universities. It's a great time. And yet we're reminded by the comments on either side of the aisle that they're not going to be immune from the unique challenges that face us in the realities of our own homes elsewhere in the cities and suburbs of America. The tragic shootings at Virginia Tech, which ended in the death of 32 people, or the shootings at Northern Illinois University, where 24 people were shot and six died, emphasizes the importance of this issue of campus safety.

As my colleague mentioned, the Department of Education noted that between 2004 and 2006 there were not only 8,000 forcible sex offenses, 9,000 aggravated assaults, 3,000 cases of arson, but also 37 homicides on the colleges and universities of what we like to think are our ivory towers.

We also know that between one-fifth and one-fourth of female students will become the victim of a completed or an attempted rape--usually by someone they know--during their undergraduate careers, and yet less than 5 percent of the cases are ever reported.

The National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism notes that each year there are over 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 who will die from unintentional alcohol-related injuries, including motor vehicle accidents. That's why this resolution is so important, originally introduced by a colleague on the other side of this aisle in 2005, and the idea of a national nonprofit organization in my district, Security on Campus--King of Prussia, Pennsylvania is their home base--founded by the parents of which you noted, my colleague, by the parents of a 19-year-old college freshman, Jeanne Clery, who was raped and killed in her bed in college.

In 2007, 150 colleges came together from 42 States and the city of Washington, D.C. to participate in programs on campus security; this was up from 50 the year before. This year, we expect over 350 colleges to come together. This is not the step, but it is a step towards eliminating an issue that we all have cared about, that of our children and their security, particularly when they are there to have education security.

I urge all my colleagues to show their concern for the safety of the more than 15 million students we have in this great Nation of ours. And I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, each fall, students arrive on college campuses and universities across the Nation to further their education. There is a general excitement about campus life and the opportunity to live away from home for the first time with little to no rules. However, the harsh reality soon becomes evident--that campuses are not immune from the threat of crime.

Recognizing the very real presence of crime on college campuses and universities across America, I am a cosponsor of H. Res. 1288, Supporting the goals and ideals of National Campus Safety Awareness Month. This resolution designates the month of September as the National Campus Safety Awareness Month in partnership with hundreds of colleges and universities in the Nation.

As the co-chair and founder of the Congressional Victim's Rights Caucus, I strongly believe that we need to raise awareness about crime issues present on campuses, such as sexual assault, stalking, hazing, and alcohol and drug abuse.

This resolution encourages our Nation's colleges and universities to promote campus safety and crime awareness prevention programs. I am proud to know that several colleges and universities from my home state of Texas participated in the National Campus Safety Awareness Month last year, and my hope is that even more campuses and universities participate this year.

The facts are before us--from 2004-2006 there were 8,114 forcible-sex offenses, 8,923 aggravated assaults, and 37 homicides on college and university campuses. Although we would like to think that these higher education institutions are immune from such heinous acts of crime, sadly they are not.

I join with Rep. Sestak in support of H. Res. 1288, the National Campus Safety Awareness Month, because although there is a lot of work to be done to make our campuses a safer place, this resolution is a step in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1288, supporting the goals and ideals of National Campus Safety Awareness Month.

Each year since 2005 the national non-profit organization Security On Campus, Inc. has designated September as National Campus Safety Awareness Month.

Security On Campus partners with colleges and universities across the country each year to offer important campus safety programming during National Campus Safety Awareness Month in September.

I am pleased to have worked with Security on Campus on a provision in the Higher Education bill dealing with timely safety notifications on college campuses.

This year 350 campuses will formally partner with Security on Campus to offer campus safety activities as a part of National Campus Safety Awareness Month.

This programming covers critical issues including sexual assault, high risk drinking, and hazing, which are among the most serious safety issues facing our Nation's campuses.

September, at the beginning of the new school-year, is an ideal time to reach out to new and returning students, many of whom are on their own for the first time.

I applaud Security on Campus as a leading voice on behalf of students and parents for safer college and university campuses, and their partners for offering this life-saving program.

As a proud cosponsor of H. Res. 1288, I would also like to thank Congressman Sestak for introducing the resolution.

I encourage my colleagues to support this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1288, a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of National Campus Safety Month.

I would like to thank my colleague, Congressman Sestak, for introducing this important resolution, recognizing the importance of safety on college campuses, and the efforts of outside organizations to dedicate September to promoting greater awareness of campus safety issues.

Over the past few years, we have seen how important it is to pay attention to our students' safety on campus. It is unfortunate that sometimes it takes tragic events like those occurring at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois for us to remember that crimes take place on college campuses all over the country. It is important that Congress continue to encourage institutions to update their campus security plans and ensure that they have plans in place to deal with all types of emergencies.

I'm pleased to support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same.

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

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan).

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' for this resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.