Expressing support for a National Foster Parents Day.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 179) expressing support for a National Foster Parents Day.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Madam Speaker, I would yield such time as she might consume to the sponsor of this legislation, Representative Nancy Boyda from Kansas.

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

Madam Speaker, over 500,000 children in the United States are involved in some form of foster care. Placements in foster care have increased significantly over the past 10 years. In situations of abuse and neglect, children may be removed from their parents' home by a child welfare agency and placed in foster care. Some of the reasons for foster care placement include severe behavior problems in the child and/or a variety of parental problems such as abuse, abandonment, illness, including physical or emotional problems, incarceration, AIDS, alcohol, substance abuse, and death.

The resolution we are considering today honors foster parents. Foster parents are people who open their homes and their hearts to children in need of temporary care. The task is both rewarding and difficult. As a matter of fact, I have met individuals who have adopted children. I know one police officer who has adopted 13 children, a most unusual and unbelievable man, salt of the earth, pillar of the universe.

Foster parents take children for medical care and to school events. They may facilitate visitation between the child and the birth parents in the foster home or other approved locations. Foster parents face many challenges in caring for the physical and emotional needs of children. We need more foster parents to care and nurture our children who are unable to remain in their homes. Foster parents should be commended for their big hearts and commitment to provide stable homes for children.

This is an issue that is very personal to me in a very serious way. My congressional district has more grandparents taking care of children than any other district in the Nation, and it is followed closely by two additional congressional districts in the Chicago area. I want to commend the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. I also want to commend some of the social welfare agencies that deal seriously with foster parenting for children, agencies such as Sankofa an organization that was started out of a crisis situation and now does an outstanding job. Agencies like One Church One Child that attempts to get individuals to become foster parents to teenagers coming out of correctional facilities, which is not an easy task.

So I commend the gentlewoman from Kansas (Mrs. Boyda) for introducing H. Res. 179, and urge its passage.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I know that I had a number of individuals who had hoped to be here because they are very interested in this subject matter and who had intended to make comments, certainly Representative Melissa Bean who still might get here before we finish, Representative Michele Bachmann from Minnesota, Representative Fortney Pete Stark, and Representative Dennis Cardoza all had statements that they wanted to present.

I would now yield to the other side to see if they have got other speakers, to see if any of my additional speakers will come before we yield back.

Madam Speaker, I don't think that our other speakers are going to make it; but suffice it to say that this is a very important resolution. It is a resolution that speaks to the heart and soul of America. It is a resolution that emphasizes the words of the blues singer who said once, ``Who will save the world? Who's willing to try? Who will save the world that is destined to die?''

We are talking about saving the children, those unfortunate young people, many of whom their parents are incarcerated. There are more than 1.5 million children in America whose parents are in prison or in jail. They are in need of foster parenting.

So, again, not only do we urge passage, but I commend the gentlelady from Kansas, and urge listeners and watchers and viewers to see whether or not there is an opportunity for you to open your heart and your home and become a foster parent.

Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of our time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 179, which calls for the establishment of a National Foster Parents Day. We should establish this day to recognize and appreciate our country's foster parents--the pillars of our child welfare system.

These are the men and women who go out of their way to help children in need--children who have been maltreated or who had to be removed from dangerous home situations. Foster parents open their hearts and their homes to these children, providing them with so much more than shelter. They allow these children to feel safe and secure once again, and help them to begin the healing process.

Children placed in foster care often come from some of the worst conditions imaginable. They have been abused, neglected, and broken down in ways beyond the physical. Many of these children enter foster care with serious emotional damage as well. They have learned that their home, the one place where they should feel safe, can actually be more dangerous than the world outside. It is the foster parent who helps build these children back up, reminding them how love and attention feel, and reassuring them that home can once again be a comfort.

Far beyond helping a single child, quality foster care is also an investment in our communities. We have learned that being abused or neglected dramatically increases the risk that kids will grow up to commit violent crimes, which is why it is so important to have a strong foster care system to place children in as soon as possible. Research has shown that abused and neglected children who became wards of the court and initially remained at home, but were later placed in foster care because of continuing abuse or neglect, were more likely to become violent criminals than abused or neglected children who were placed in a safe foster home right away.

This is why we must continue to support our foster parents. No child should be forced to remain in a dangerous situation because there are not enough available foster homes. We must make sure that funding for foster care is never capped or reduced so that our foster families can continue to receive the resources they need to provide supportive, loving spaces for these children in need.

Additionally, we must increase our investment in preventing child abuse and neglect through programs such as the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program and in-home parent coaching programs. We also need to ensure that children in foster care find safe, permanent homes, either by reuniting them with their families or by adoption.

The success of our foster care system is vital to protecting our children, and our child welfare system relies on people like foster parents to run smoothly. These men and women on the front lines of the child welfare fight deserve all the recognition they can get. It is my hope that a National Foster Parents Day will also draw attention to the need for quality foster care and capable foster parents, and allow this system to continue benefiting our children in need.

I thank Representative Boyda for sponsoring this legislation, and I urge its passage.

Madam Speaker, in the late 1980s, a Topeka couple, Clifford and Phyllis Oshel, welcomed a foster child into their homes and into their hearts. For 2 years, they provided shelter, food, and, more importantly, caring. Through their patient guidance, they led that child from a time of crisis to what he now calls ``the best years of my life.''

That child's name was Kevin Surbagh. Ever since he left the Oshels' house, he has worked to repay his debt of gratitude. For 17 years, he has fought tirelessly for a national day of recognition for foster parents, one day of the year, just one day, to honor their contributions, and to respect their sacrifices.

Soon after I was sworn into Congress, Kevin approached my office and told me about his mission. At Kevin's urging, I now submit for your consideration the National Foster Parents Day resolution. I ask you to join me in saying thank you, not only to Clifford and Phyllis Oshel, but to the hundreds of thousands of foster parents across our great Nation.

When I think back to the support I received from my mom and dad, I recognize the crucial role of our parents. My mom set me on the path that has led me to Congress today. She taught me my faith. She taught me to do unto others as I would have them do unto me. She taught me to speak to everyone in a room no matter what their role or position. She also taught me never to wear white shoes after Labor Day. All of her words of wisdom led me to where I am today.

In a perfect world, every child's biological parents would play the role that my parents played for me. But sometimes a family can't provide a safe, supportive, sufficient home. When tragedy strikes or turmoil rips a family apart, children are left dislocated and need a new place to call home, at least for a while.

Because many of these kids grew up in unstable households, some suffer emotional disturbances. Some are grieving the loss of their parents. All have endured more than any child should and all deserve a caring and supportive family. Today, over 500,000 American children still need a temporary home, a foster home. Today, 380,000 have found one, thanks to foster parents.

To the foster parents in Kansas and throughout America, today's vote in Congress is our way of honoring your efforts. You are deeply appreciated, and your contribution doesn't go unnoticed.

I hope that our vote is more than symbolic, that it encourages more families to open their homes to foster children. Caring for a foster child is one of the greatest challenges that you'll ever face, but the reward is immense. You'll help a little girl piece her life back together. You'll help a little boy feel safe and loved. You'll earn the respect of your community, your country, and of this Congress.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 179, a resolution declaring the sense of the House that a National Foster Parents Day should be established.

I have a very personal interest in this issue. Seven years ago, I adopted two foster children. Since then, I have advocated on behalf of adoption and foster children in the California Assembly and in Congress.

Our Nation's foster care system was created as a temporary safe haven for abused and neglected children. Sadly, it has become a way of life for too many of our youth. On average, foster children spend nearly 3 years in the system, and move as many times from one placement to another and from school to school. Far too many spend much longer in the system, with as many as 24,000 young adults expected to ``age out'' of the system this year, cut loose with no family and little support. Several studies released in 2005 documented the special challenges facing these youths, especially in the areas of mental health, education and employment. They are especially poorly prepared to be self-sufficient.

Despite the sometimes valiant efforts and good intentions of social workers, judges, foster parents and others, day-to-day life for children in foster care is often filled with emotional hardship. Each year, thousands of children entering foster care will be separated from their brothers and sisters, some losing touch with each other for years to come. The trauma of foster care takes its toll on young children. Over one-third will neither earn a high school diploma nor a GED. One in four children in foster care will be incarcerated within the first 2 years after leaving the system, and over 20 percent will become homeless at some time after they turn 18.

These children are waiting. Speaking from personal experience, there is no greater joy in life than helping a child.

Every child, no matter what station they may be born to, deserves a chance to be raised in a stable and loving home. Innocent children should not be forced to bear the mistakes of others.

This is a big problem that will require bold solutions. In order to save the next generation of children, we must re-dedicate ourselves to their welfare and pledge to do whatever necessary to nurture and protect them.

This resolution, by highlighting attention to the problem, is a necessary first step. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

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

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, there are over 500,000 children in foster care homes around the country. I am proud to support legislation recognizing the dedicated efforts put forth by foster parents.

These men and women open up their homes and their hearts to these youths by providing them with a stable, caring environment for months and, in some cases, years. H. Res. 179 establishes a National Foster Parents Day to praise their contributions to society.

These parents provide a vital role in the welfare and upbringing of children who need emotional support, guidance, and mentors. They teach children family values and morals and help them become significant members of society. Foster parents teach these values to help enable children become stable and confident adults. Children being cared for in foster homes can be traced all the way back to biblical times.

Foster care became increasingly widespread in the United States when Charles Loring Brace, a minister and director of the New York Children's Aid Society, noticed a large number of homeless immigrant children in New York. In 1953, Brace came up with a plan to provide them homes by advertising for families in other areas of the United States who were willing to take them in.

While many of these children were often indentured, Brace's movement is the origin of today's foster care program. Today, foster parents and families provide a safe and nurturing temporary home for children living in unstable conditions. There they can learn and grow until they have the opportunity to return living with their family.

Foster parents are crucial towards ending the vicious cycle of neglect and child abuse that endanger children's lives.

This resolution also calls on the President to issue a proclamation bringing greater awareness to foster care through various ceremonies, activities, and programs. These events educate communities and demonstrate support for foster parents who devote their lives lending a hand to children in need.

Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to join me to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I have no other speakers at the moment. I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman, but we have no further speakers at this time.