Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2866) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the centennial of Boys Town, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to submit extraneous materials for the Record.

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 2866, the Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act, introduced by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry), and seek its immediate passage.

Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us commemorates the centennial, in 2017, of the founding of Boys Town, an almost mythic place that pioneered a method of caring for the youth of this country who had fallen by the wayside in one way or another. In a way, the coin commemorates the spirit of what was then still a young country and of Boys Town's founder, Father Edward Flanagan.

Irish-born, he had come to this country only a bit more than 100 years after the first Congress met, yet, by the time he had died, he had been sent by President Truman to all corners of the globe to teach others to care for kids as he had done. Ordained in 1912, Father Flanagan was assigned to the Diocese of Omaha and, after a stint of working with homeless men, decided to focus on youths, founding what later came to be called ``The City of Little Men.'' He famously thought, as the Boys Town Web site points out, that every child could be a productive citizen if given love, a home, an education, and a trade. He accepted boys of every race, color, and religion, and he believed that there are no bad boys, there is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking.

I am almost certain that every Member of this Chamber knows that famous line that became the motto of Boys Town: ``He ain't heavy, Mister. He's my brother.'' That is what is said by an older lad, with a younger boy on his shoulders, in a logo adopted during the Second World War. All of us, surely, know the ``Boys Town'' movie, with Mickey Rooney, that won Spencer Tracy an Oscar for the role of Boys Town founder, Father Flanagan, but how many of us know that the organization that began in a rented, rundown Victorian mansion in central Omaha as Father Flanagan's Home for Boys has grown to be one of the country's largest nonprofit child care organizations, serving the emotional, behavioral, and physical problems of children and their families--as many as 2 million people each year? Or that it operates throughout the country, in 12 major sites, from California to south Florida to New England, and even here in the District of Columbia?

Boys Town maintains its national headquarters in the Nebraska village of the same name, on the site of a farm Father Flanagan bought a few years after renting that first house for $90. There he founded a community that, under the careful hands of those leaders following his death, expanded its services to help kids live in a family setting, with married couples carefully watching the units that included both boys and girls. In the 1970s, the Boys Town National Research Hospital opened. It has become a top treatment center for kids with speech and hearing disabilities, with outreach programs that touch as many as 60,000 deaf and hearing-impaired students each year.

The bill before us would allow the minting and issue in 2017 of no more than 50,000 gold coins and no more than 350,000 silver coins in commemoration of the centennial of the founding of

Boys Town. The coins would be sold at a price that covers all taxpayer costs, and a surcharge on the sale of the coins would go to Boys Town to continue its work after Boys Town has raised an equal amount from private sources. The legislation has 293 cosponsors, and a Senate companion bill, introduced by Senator Johanns, has 36 cosponsors.

Mr. Speaker, the spirit of Boys Town embodies the best of America. This bill would help recognize and continue to nurture that spirit. I commend the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry) for his hard work on this issue. I ask for the immediate passage of the bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to, again, thank Mr. Terry of Nebraska for his hard work on this issue and so many other issues.

The passage of this bill is an appropriate way to commemorate the great work and the legacy of Father Flanagan, of his home for boys, of the medical center that bears that name, and the great work of the boys and girls who come through the facilities of Boys Town throughout the country; so I urge my colleagues to support the bill and pass it under suspension.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Thank you. I appreciate the support.

I also thank the gentlewoman from California for her support all the way from the beginning of this bill to today's passage. It means a lot to me and to the people of Omaha and Boys Town.

This bill will honor the significant contributions, Mr. Speaker, of Boys Town and how, in my district, it has impacted our community and our country with a fitting tribute to the legacy of Father Flanagan, who founded Boys Town.

A priest and an immigrant from Ireland, Father Flanagan was of modest means, but in 1917--about 5 years after becoming a priest--he borrowed $90 from B'nai B'rith member Henry Monsky to open a boarding house because they both shared a love for the homeless boys, who had been abandoned or orphaned, living on the streets of our city. They created this boarding house, went out and recruited boys from the streets to come in, where he not only housed them and fed them but where he educated them and taught them a trade. He really felt that the education and the trade were necessary parts of making them into men who would be part of the community and be successful. Father Flanagan did not differentiate between race or religion, and by the spring of the next year, 100 boys found refuge in Father Flanagan's home. It is great seeing the pictures from that era of boys of all races who were eating together and playing together.

In 1921, Father Flanagan opened his doors further. He was able to purchase the Overlook Farm way on the outskirts. Now I have to drive about 50 blocks east to get to it, as it is surrounded by Omaha. That is the property that is now known, iconically, as ``Boys Town.''

It became an official village with its own post office in 1936.

Today, Boys Town serves more than 2 million children and families across our country each year. It provides parental counseling. The Boys Town national hotline provides counseling to more than 150,000 children and families each year.

The Boys Town National Research Hospital is a national leader in the field of hearing care and research of Usher syndrome, and all of this is thanks to the vision of Father Flanagan when he borrowed $90 to start a boys' home.

Now, also I should mention that it was probably around the seventies--I can't remember the date--when women--young girls were allowed in there. In fact, a couple of times, I have had the pleasure of being invited to dinner at one of the houses there where they have a host family, and there were eight girls in this house who were then ordered by the court or placed there by a family to help them with a variety of issues, mostly disciplinary, some health care.

In fact, Boys Town is now becoming the leader in research for pharmaceuticals for young children, for children, teenagers. Most of them have come to Boys Town with about four or five different prescriptions, and Boys Town, because of their way of counseling and dealing with it, can get most of them off of the prescription drugs.

This is what Boys Town stands for. As Father Flanagan once said, ``I know, when the idea of a boys' home grew in my mind, I never thought of anything remarkable about taking in all of the races and all of the creeds. To me, they are all God's children. They are my brothers. They are children of God. I must protect them to the best of my ability.''

Mr. Speaker, 97 years later, inspired by Father Flanagan, here we are, and that vision stands as true today as it did in 1917.

It is the inscription of the iconic statue of the two boys, one on the shoulder of the other, that stood as the centerpiece of the village for more than 70 years now. ``He ain't heavy. He's my brother.'' That is the Boys Town way, to be full of compassion and to help our fellow man.

I encourage all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 2866, as amended, a bill which provides appropriate recognition for the outstanding work conducted by Boys Town, a nonprofit organization which selflessly promotes the interests of children and their families across the Nation.

Boys Town, which takes its name from Father Flanagan's Boys' Home, impacts the lives of more than 2 million families across America each year through its counseling services, outreach, and education. I am also pleased to report that, each year, Boys Town directly touches the lives of 45,000 Californians through its community support services and homes for troubled youths.

Father Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, focused on the inherent good in children and built a world-class organization that emphasized the rehabilitation of troubled youths rather than punishment. It is this compassionate approach and commitment to love, training, and guidance, regardless of race, creed, or color, that has made Boys Town such a success story and a lifeline for countless children and their families.

In commemoration of the organization's centennial anniversary, the bill before us today will require the U.S. Treasury Department to mint and issue $5 gold, $1 silver, and half-dollar clad commemorative coins. Surcharges associated with the sale of the coins will allow Boys Town to raise needed funds that will be dedicated to making a positive impact on the lives of children and families from underserved communities across America. I am also pleased to report that the passage of this bill entails no net cost to taxpayers.

I would urge my colleagues to join me in passing this commonsense, bipartisan bill without further delay.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2866, The Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act. This legislation will create a coin to honor Boys Town's longstanding commitment to the needs of at-risk children and struggling families in communities across America.

Driven by the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed, Boys Town serves children of every race, color, and religion. In my district, South Florida Boys Town provides incredible opportunities to help children achieve success and pursue their dreams.

I am pleased to honor Boys Town and I urge my colleagues to vote for this legislation and I yield back my time.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee on banking be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2866 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the Johanns amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.