To support the goals and ideals of Professional Social Work Month and World Social Work Day.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 240) to support the goals and ideals of Professional Social Work Month and World Social Work Day, as amended.

I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous materials on House Resolution 240 into the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the goals and ideals of Professional Social Work Month and World Social Work Day. Social workers are valuable members of all communities, helping people in all stages of life, from birth through the elderly, and in all situations, from adoption to hospice care and end of life. Dedicating their education and experience, social workers help to guide individuals, families, and communities through complicated issues and complex choices.

There are more than 600,000 people in the United States who have devoted their lives to social work and to the improvement of the society in which we live by obtaining social work degrees. Many social workers have been the driving force behind important social movements in the United States and abroad.

A few examples include Harry Hopkins, who relocated to New Orleans in order to work for the American Red Cross as Director of Civilian Relief, Gulf Division; or Francis Perkins, who championed the minimum wage laws and reduced the workweek for women to 48 hours.

My late grandmother, Ruth Schutz, was a social worker for over 20 years in New York City, as well as a progressive activist. These are the frequently unsung heroes of our communities, and that's why it's important that we recognize them here today, Mr. Speaker.

Social workers labor in schools, courtrooms, drug clinics, hospitals, senior centers, shelters, nursing homes, the military, disaster relief, prisons, and corporations all over the country as they stand up for others to make sure that everyone has access to the same basic rights, protections, and opportunities.

This is hard work, emotionally difficult, and frequently thankless work, which is why it's so important that our body take this step to honor social workers here today.

However, the need for social workers is expected to grow twice as fast as other occupations, especially in gerontology and home health care issues as our aging demographic requires more services for our seniors. Substance abuse, private social service agencies, and school social work also continue to increase.

Professional Social Work Month and World Social Work Day, which is March 17, 2009, will build awareness of the role of professional social workers and their commitment and dedication to individuals, families, and community everywhere through service delivery, research, education, and legislative advocacy.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution honoring those who choose social work as a profession in their endeavors to better society.

I reserve the balance of my time.

By passing this resolution and by bringing attention to Professional Social Work Month and World Social Work Day, which is March 17, 2009, we can not only bring attention and appreciation to an important profession, but engage in a discussion about the important role of social workers in keeping and weaving our community fabric together.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this important bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 240, which supports the goals and ideals of Professional Social Work Month and World Social Work Day.

As a health care professional of three decades and a former licensed nursing home administrator, I observed personally every day social workers making meaningful contributions throughout the Nation.

They are on the front lines helping people overcome life's most difficult challenges--poverty, abuse, addiction, illness, disability, discrimination, and more. Social workers are the Nation's largest providers of mental health services, delivering 60 percent of mental health treatment.

However, these highly trained professionals also work in schools, hospitals, health care agencies, senior centers, crisis centers, and military bases. Social workers also actively advocate changes in policy and legislation to strengthen the social safety nets critical to so many. Whether in direct practice, administration, education, research, or policy development, social workers promote social justice for all.

According to the International Federation of Social Workers, social work grew out of humanitarian and democratic ideals, and its values are based on respect for equality, worth, and dignity of all people.

Since its beginnings over a century ago, social work has focused on meeting human needs and developing human potential. Human rights and social justice serve as the motivation and justification for social work action. In solidarity with those who are less fortunate, the profession strives to alleviate poverty and to promote inclusion for the most vulnerable populations.

This year's Social Work Month theme--``Purpose and Possibility''-- truly highlights the special characteristics of those who choose social work as a profession and underscores the goals of their work. While their day-to-day work often goes unnoticed, we stand today to recognize with gratitude the contributions of the millions of caring individuals who have chosen to serve their communities through social work. I ask my colleagues to support this resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak on behalf of House Resolution 240, which honors the dedication and compassion of professional social workers. Our highest calling is to provide service to others, especially those less fortunate than ourselves.

In the early 20th century, thousands of people lived in despair and poverty, and it was the early progressive moment in which the social work movement was born, providing food, clothing, health care and education to the less fortunate.

Social workers had a role in civil rights and in women's freedom. Today, social workers continue this fight to ensure that vulnerable families have the support and the health care that they need.

Social workers are everywhere in our society, caring for all of us. They help people in all stages of life, from children to the elderly, and in all situations, from adoption to hospice care. You can find social workers in hospitals, police departments, mental health clinics, military facilities and corporations.

Professional social workers are the Nation's largest providers of mental health care services. They provide more mental health services than psychologists, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses combined.

The Veterans Administration employs more than 4,400 social workers to assist veterans and their families with individual and family counseling, client education, end-of-life planning, substance abuse treatment, crisis intervention and other services.

Today we thank all those who have toiled in the fields of our community, including my grandmother, who left the comfort of her home each day at the turn of the century and went to the Lower East Side to help immigrants. And we praise all of those who reach out to others every day in their community.

Social workers' service makes our communities stronger. March is National Professional Work Month, and Tuesday, March 17 is World Social Work Day. I honor their service and thank them for caring for all of us each day.