Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 911) to require certain standards and enforcement provisions to prevent child abuse and neglect in residential programs, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which time Members may revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 911 into the Record.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 911, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009. I want to thank Chairman Miller and the committee staff for working with me on this important legislation, and for Mr. Miller's personal leadership on this over the years. I would also like to thank Mr. Platts and Mr. McKeon for all of the work that they have done on this important issue.

Over the years, far too many children have been abused in residential treatment facilities that were billed as places where parents could send their kids to help them overcome behavioral problems. What's even more disturbing is that, in many cases, children have died in the care of these facilities.

When we started working on this issue 2 years ago in committee, I became outraged over the testimony that we heard. In fact, the Government Accountability Office reportedly found thousands of cases of abuse and neglect at residential programs for teens. We heard gruesome accounts of abuse that occurred in residential treatment facilities.

These facilities often used highly deceptive marketing practices to bill themselves as safe and effective places for troubled teenagers to get the help that they need so they could get on with their life. Brochures would claim, for example, that counselors are highly trained survival experts, but as we heard from the GAO, these so-called highly trained survival experts did not recognize the signs of dehydration in a 15-year-old girl when she began complaining of blurred version, stumbling, and vomiting 3 days into a hike. After the fifth day, she died. And she lay there dead in the road for almost 18 hours because the survival experts were not equipped with a radio.

In other examples, we heard of abuses that included staff members forcing children to remain in so-called stress positions for hours at a time and to undergo extreme physical exertion without food, water, or rest. We even heard of a child that died as a result of being denied medically prescribed medication that could have saved his life.

Parents are sold a bill of goods about these facilities, are enticed by advertising schemes portraying these programs as safe with professional staff in highly qualified environments for their children.

I want to say, also, there are many good places that children go to, but these are the ones that obviously need to be regulated. When parents send their children to these facilities, they are often at the end of their ropes and see few, if any, alternatives.

We heard testimony from parents of children who died while in the care of residential treatment facilities. These parents thought they were doing the right thing by sending their children. They did research on where to send their children. Unfortunately, the information they were provided with was misleading. The GAO's investigation work has shown that a number of programs had deceptive marketing practices to appeal to parents and even uncovered deception, fraud, and conflicts of interests.

Corruption and deception has been a hallmark of many aspects of the system surrounding residential treatment centers. In fact, I recently read with disgust that two judges were charged after it was found that they sent their children to facilities in which they, themselves, had financial interests.

This is the height of corruption, and its impact is felt by the most vulnerable among us: children in trouble.

This bill will create necessary national standards on some very basic human rights. For example, we say that child abuse and neglect is prohibited. This should be common sense. We say that acts which humiliate a child are prohibited. This should be common sense. We say that staff must not deny children food and water. This should be common sense.

Another important provision is geared to help parents find good residential treatment facilities. We created a national Web site which will contain data on residential facilities and require programs to include information on their Web site in their marketing materials.

Finally, we will give money to States to help them create their own licensing procedures and a public database on programs.

This legislation is desperately needed to prevent anymore children from dying unnecessarily.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 911.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I thank Mr. McKeon for all of the work he did on the committee in working with us to bring this bill to the floor. I know that there are those that are expressing concern about the process. We have had several debates on this particular bill. It did pass last year overwhelmingly. We also had the markup last week where amendments were added.

But additionally, certainly I want to stress the bipartisan process in developing this legislation as an example to be followed to get the best product.

One of the best things that we need to understand is that we have many pressing needs that are coming through the Education Committee and many other committees. So this bill had been passed, and I support the bill, and I know Mr. McKeon supports the bill. Obviously, we never, never have a perfect bill, but the bottom line is we're putting forth procedures that will save children's lives. And I think that is the most important thing.

So I certainly encourage Members to vote for this piece of legislation.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I know there was a great debate in the committee during the markup and many amendments were brought up. And I also know that there were some Members that had wanted to insert certain language as far as for parents and their rights as far as medication. What we did know is that all States have different levels on what the law is for the parents to handle that kind of a situation. Many of us felt that it would have been too complicated to try to debate that on every single State.

The practices of many of these residential treatment facilities are shocking and outrageous. It is nearly impossible to believe that in the United States of America there are facilities that would employ child abuse as a teaching technique. This behavior goes beyond cruelty; children have died. The abuse has not only been carried out on children, who are defenseless in these circumstances, the abuse has also been carried out against parents who, through their best intentions, were trying to do everything they could to bring that child back into a natural setting.

There is a fundamental right in this country against abuse. That's why it is absolutely crucial that we make sure that children are kept safe when they are in these facilities by setting minimum safety standards. How can anyone oppose the setting of standards that assure the safety and well-being of children? How can anyone oppose stopping child abuse?

The bill before us today reflects a bipartisan compromise on legislation that we nearly finished last year. It passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 318-103, but unfortunately the Senate did not act. The legislation is supported by the American Association of Children's Residential Centers, the American Bar Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the Child Welfare League of America, Children's Defense Fund, Easter Seals, Mental Health America, the National Child Abuse Coalition, and many other organizations.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and end these practices once and for all.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Representative John Dingell Jr., who today becomes the longest serving Member in House history passing the Honorable Jamie L. Whitten. I want to thank Representative Dingell for his friendship and all the guidance he has shown me over the more than twelve years I have been in Congress. From his service in the United States Army to his diligent study of law at Georgetown University, his unwavering commitment and service to our nation has and will continue to be a benchmark my colleagues and I strive to match.

Representative Dingell, Jr. began his service in the House on December 13, 1955, and since then has honorably filled the seat his father once held. Over the course of his accomplished career, he has championed legislation that over time has proven to be critical to our nation's well being. As chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee for twelve years, he was an ardent advocate of environmental legislation and broke down partisan barriers in his pursuit to uncover instances of government waste and corruption. Under his watch, the Committee became one of the largest and wide-ranging in the House carrying with it a reputation for intolerance of federal mismanagement.

While steadfast in his own principles, the Representative's determination to work with others continually sets him apart from other lawmakers. On a personal note, his critical work with me in passing the National Instance Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 is a testament to his uncanny ability to find middle-ground on often divisive issues. The work that we did on that legislation will hopefully go a long way towards making our communities safer.

As Representative Dingell, Jr. begins his 19,420th day in office, I extend my congratulations to him in what has been and what will continue to be an exceptional career.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the CAMPUS Safety Act of 2009, H.R. 748.

First let me start by thanking Congressman Scott for his continued leadership on campus safety issues. He has been a steadfast supporter of establishing a National Center for Campus Public Safety as well as improving hate crime reporting on campuses under the federal Jeanne Clery Act.

Creation of a National Center for Campus Public Safety grew out of recommendations from a 2004 National Summit on Campus Public Safety convened by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS Office. The purpose of the Center is to support the field, foster collaboration and lasting relationships, facilitate information sharing, and provide quality education on safety issues facing colleges in a post-September 11, 2001 world.

After the tragic incidents of gun violence at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, at Northern Illinois University on February 14, 2008, and on other campuses across the country, we were reminded just how important this work is and it took on a new urgency. The Center will be able to help campuses create partnerships with mental health professionals and others to catch problems before they escalate and implement proven strategies to respond should another tragedy strike.

This effort is also consistent with and an important follow-up to legislation I sponsored that was enacted last year as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, P.L. 110-315. This new provision, known as the Virginia Tech Victims Campus Emergency Response Policy and Notification Act, or ``VTV Act'' and a part of the federal Jeanne Clery Act, requires institutions to enact comprehensive emergency response plans that include means to issue immediate warnings when an emergency threatens the campus.

I look forward to the Center working with the U.S. Department of Education, the agency with jurisdiction over the Clery Act, and campuses across the country to help them fully implement these life- saving notification requirements. Making sure that institutions have a central resource to turn to for assistance with this will be one of the most important things that we in Congress can do to help secure our Nation's campuses.

Important groundwork for the Center has already been laid. In 2006 the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, Inc., IACLEA, received a grant to develop a strategic plan for the Center. Among other things they convened an advisory board comprised of key constituency groups to help guide this process.

I was especially pleased to see that a leading voice for students and families on campus safety issues--Security On Campus, Inc., SOC--was included at the table. It is imperative that SOC and other groups that represent the interests of those the Center is intended to protect, along with campus public safety professionals, continue to be heard as this process moves forward.

I would encourage the Attorney General and his staff to make sure that the COPS Office continues to reach out to diverse constituency groups and organizations that may have important resources to bring to bear.

Establishment of a National Center for Campus Public Safety will be a tremendous asset for our Nation's colleges and universities as they work to protect their students, employees, and others on campus.

I support the bill and ask my colleagues to join me.

Madam Speaker, today, I was unexpectedly detained and missed one vote.

On rollcall No. 38, on the question of consideration of the bill H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, for the remainder of the time,

I am honored to announce that Speaker Pelosi will close.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a talented pathologist, professor, and author, Dr. James Crawford. Dr. Crawford recently moved to Long Island, New York to serve as the Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Long Island Jewish Hospital. His commitment to advocating for quality health care and the study of pathology deserves commendation.

Dr. Crawford will be stepping down at the end of December as Chair of the College of American Pathologists' Political Action Committee. Pathologists are laboratory physicians that play a key role in health care by diagnosing and characterizing diseases through examination of biopsies or bodily fluids.

Prior to accepting his new position at Long Island Jewish Hospital, Dr. Crawford served as Chair of the Pathology Department at the University of Florida, College of Medicine. A talented pathology professor, he has served as a faculty member at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, as well as the Yale University School of Medicine.

Dr. Crawford is a world expert in hepatic pathology and pathobiology who has served as the Senior Editor of three books, as well as authored over 170 original articles and book chapters. Dr. Crawford has also been an active supporter of early cancer screening tests, especially Pap tests. Through the years, Pap examinations have proven to be the most effective screening test for early detection of cervical cancer in women.

Dr. Crawford received his medical degree and PhD from Duke University. After completing medical school, he completed his Pathology Residency and Gastrointestinal Pathology Fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital, as well as a Fellowship in Hepatopathology at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

Although he will be stepping down as Chair of the College of American Pathologist's Political Action Committee, Dr. Crawford will continue to be a strong voice for promoting quality health care in his new position at Long Island Jewish Hospital. I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing this outstanding physician, professor, and author for his strong commitment to pathology and patient care.

I thank my colleague from New York, Louise Slaughter, for the time, Madam Speaker.

I am listening to all my colleagues and their arguments on both sides. This is not about Wall Street anymore; this is about my constituents. This is about the small stores on Main Street in every town that I represent. This is about the people that have put away money, small amounts of money every single month to try to have a pension. This is about stopping the bleeding that is going through this economy. This is about taking care of our people.

No one wants to be here to make this vote. But do you know what: Everything that has been mentioned here today on the floor, we can still take care of that. We can still do that. We are going to make sure that those CEOs don't get those large golden parachutes. We are going to make sure that those people who are going through foreclosures are going to be protected. These are the things we are going to be working on.

Today is not the end of all days. Today is the beginning of getting legislation passed so that we can protect the American people even more, so this does not happen again.

My colleagues, none of us like to have this vote today. None of us. It is our job to protect our people.

Madam Speaker, I rise in honor of Regina Corbin for her remarkable contributions to her community. Ms. Corbin has led a life of selfless devotion that is inspiring to all. Over the course of her adult life, she has established a successful career, an admirable and distinguished record of service, and is a proud wife, mother, and grandmother.

Regina has always been passionate about helping others. She has worked two jobs, one for 29 years as a Registered Respiratory Therapist at North Shore LIJ and another at the Nassau County Board of Elections for the past 14 years, where she currently works.

Regina's service to the community is not limited to her work experience. Regina has and continues to take the initiative in being a proactive community leader and organizer. As a mother, she has been active in the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of the America. Additionally, her continued support of Glory House Recovery, Inc., a residence recovery program designed specifically for women, is a testament to her good will. As a ``Democratic Zone Leader'', she has reached out to the community and educated citizens on the political process. In doing so, she has assisted countless men and women in drawing attention to their respective needs.

Her work has yielded tangible and productive change. After receiving a letter from an elementary school child in upstate New York whose friend was killed by an electronic gym door, she made it her priority to see that such a tragedy be prevented. As State PTA chairperson of the NYS Health/Safety and Juvenile Protection Committee, she used her unrelenting commitment and passion to get appropriate safety legislation adopted.

Regina's work is surely inspiring to us all, and I am immensely grateful to her for all she has done. I ask my colleagues to join me in expressing the gratitude of the U.S. Congress for her extensive contributions to society.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

In the past couple of weeks we have seen many Americans wondering what's going on; what's going on with our economy; what is going on down in Washington. People have watched anxiously as the markets and the banks have stumbled and many of us have seen investments that we spent years building up now disappearing within days.

Within only a couple of days, some of the world's largest financial institutions shut their doors and the U.S. Treasury Secretary had begun talks with Congress in an effort to avoid a potential collapse of our economy.

In recent days, we have seen and heard a variety of proposals to address the financial crisis. Americans have rightly been disturbed by the idea that Congress would bail out Wall Street and CEOs, but we also know that we could not just stand by and watch our economy crumble.

People needed to know that Congress was acting in their best interests and that their hard-earned money is going to be safer. We needed to make sure that not only was Wall Street going to remain solvent, but so was all our small towns and villages across this country.

We also needed to make sure that every proposal we put forward would protect those Americans who were hoping to retire within this year or next year so they don't lose their savings they need to live on.

I am pleased that we have been able to come up with a comprehensive package that strikes a fair balance and can potentially offer the relief we need to restore confidence in the markets. Both sides certainly don't like what's been put in front of us to have us in this position, but both sides, both leaders of our political parties have worked together--Barney Frank, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Boehner, Roy Blunt, Nancy Pelosi.

This is a crisis that is facing our country. And I know it's a tough vote, especially right before an election. This might cost some of us our election, but that's why we're here, we're here to certainly protect the American people. I'm here to protect my constituents back home, making sure that they have jobs in the next coming months.

We have to make sure this bill passes.

We have to make sure that people understand we're trying to stop the hemorrhaging to protect the people back home. That is the most important thing we are doing. That is why ``yes'' is the right vote.

Madam Speaker, my number one concern as we debate the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 is my constituents and how the instability and lack of confidence in our financial markets is going to affect them.

I am concerned that if we do not act soon we will find ourselves in a recession, the effects of which will be felt for many years to come.

In my district on Long Island, New York, we have already felt the effects of the foreclosure crisis. A large number of foreclosures in my district have already resulted in a decrease in home values for families and property tax revenue for Municipalities.

Now, my constituents are beginning to see the effects of the current economic crisis.

Small businesses in my district are seeing a decrease in activity. After seeing a decrease in the value of their 401k's, individuals who were thinking of retiring in the next year are having to reconsider that decision. Families preparing to send a child to college are finding it more difficult to obtain a loan.

All these things have consequences: Small- and medium-sized business owners may have to lay off workers or shut down; those planning for retirement may not be able to do so; and parents may have to tell their children that college just isn't an option.

If we do not act, this will only be the beginning. As unemployment rises, more people are unable to spend money on items large and small and the downward spiral begins. As banks make it difficult to obtain a loan for a house or car those industries begin to decline and the downward spiral continues.

This will all occur at the same time that families are being required to spend more money on gas and facing another cold winter with almost double the home heating costs compared to last year.

The causes of the problem are complicated but easy to identify. The proponents of deregulation have been able to slowly peal away requirements that would have kept companies like Bear Stearns from being too big to fail. Additionally, what little regulations we have been able to save from opponents of regulations were not properly enforced by an Administration who thought that the markets would regulate themselves.

It is unfortunate that the actions on Wall Street are going to affect Merrick Road and Hempstead Turnpike. But this is the reality of the situation we are faced with today. Merrick Road and Hempstead Turnpike are why I am going to vote for this bill today.

I am pleased that we have been able to come up with a compromise package that strikes a fair balance and can potentially offer the relief we need to restore confidence in the markets to ensure economic stability for the families in my district.

We will first reinvest in our troubled financial markets. Stabilizing our economy will insulate our communities from the mistakes and bad decisions of Wall Street. The Secretary of the Treasury will be allowed to invest $350 billion and potentially up to $700 billion in troubled assets held by financial institutions that are currently unwilling to extend lines of credit to each other or to small businesses.

The Secretary will buy up the securities that no one wants and that have almost no short-term value. This does not mean that they do not have any value. In fact, many of these securities have substantial long-term value and the U.S. taxpayer will realize this value over time.

We will then reimburse the taxpayer for this reinvestment. We have required that the Secretary take an interest on behalf of the taxpayer in any financial institution that sells troubled assets to the U.S. This will allow the taxpayer to be reimbursed for reinvesting in Wall Street.

If full reimbursement is not realized at the end of five years, the President is required to submit a plan to Congress to recoup any losses to the taxpayer.

In order to ensure that this program works for the American people, provisions requiring strong independent oversight and transparency have been included. Within 48-hours the Secretary is required to post details of every transaction. There will be periodic reports on everything from whether taxpayer dollars are used effectively to whether conflicts of interests are managed properly. Every $50 billion investment by the Secretary must be followed by a report justifying all transactions and the pricing of each purchase.

We will also reform how business is done on Wall Street.

Golden parachutes for executives are prohibited, compensation that encourages unnecessary risk-taking putting shareholders investment at risk is limited and bonuses can be recovered that are paid to executives who promise gains based on false and inaccurate information.

In evaluating transactions, the Secretary must protect the taxpayer and encourage the modification of home loans at-risk of foreclosure. As the one holding these mortgage-backed securities, we will have put the Secretary in a position to work with servicers to ensure that those who can afford their homes are able to modify their mortgages in order to stay in their homes.

At the end of the day, this compromise will ensure unemployment does not increase, families will be able to access lines of credit to make purchases, small businesses are able to make payroll, and municipalities are able to continue providing the services our communities rely on.

I will vote in favor of this compromise so that the families in my district who are already struggling under high gas prices and property taxes and facing high home heating prices will not be further burdened by the mistakes of Wall Street.

Madam Speaker, over the past several decades, employers, human resource professionals, policymakers, and everyone who works have come to understand the importance of supporting the often competing demands of work, home, and community. Support for the work-life juggling act has expanded to cover the predictable life events that occur throughout a career.

According to recent data and studies, balancing work and family is increasingly important to the strength of America's businesses today; 85 percent of United States wage and salaried workers have immediate, day-to-day family responsibilities outside of their jobs.

According to 2007 report by WorldatWork titled ``Attraction and Retention: The Impact and Prevalence of Work-life and Benefit Programs'', the quality of workers' jobs and the supportiveness of their workplaces are key predictors of job productivity, job satisfaction, commitment to employers, and retention.

Given the current economic crisis that is squeezing the family budget at a rate unprecedented since the Great Depression, from the escalating price of such basics as gasoline and food, at the same time housing values are declining, now more than ever it is essential to give working families some relief. Time is the new currency and has become as valuable a benefit as money. Research shows that workplace flexibility is the most highly prized response that employers can provide to 21st century workplace realities.

Workplace flexibility is not a trivial pursuit; it is a business imperative today. Corporations that engage in these family-supportive practices have earned 2-3 times the stock values, and creating a collegial, flexible work environment has been shown empirically to create a minimum of 9 percent of shareholder value.

No one is a pioneer; the path to flexibility is well-traveled, and best practices abound in all sectors--public as well as private. Many businesses are doing an exemplary job in this area already. H. Res. 1440 recognizes that

the goal of National Work and Family Month is to encourage all employers to pause once a year in October, take stock of the progress that has been made to creating great places to work, and move the bar up one notch, thus setting a new goal for the year to come. This is the way progress is accomplished, one step at a time. Today we recognize the importance of setting aside this time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in honor of the young men and women from Mineola High School taking part in National Service Learning Challenge Week. For over 10 years, all 9th grade students from Mineola High School have taken part in an interdisciplinary project sponsored by the English and Living Environment curriculums.

On October 8th, under the supervision and guidance of their teachers and New York City Parks Department employees, students will visit Queens' Alley Pond Park as part of a tree planting and forest reclamation project. During their park visit, students will not only add to the beauty of the park by planting trees, but they will also learn of the park's vast history and ecosystem. In learning of the park's indigenous plants, students will come to understand the vast and complicated dynamics nonnative plants can have on their environment.

The growing strength, interest, and funding for service programs in the area has enabled a wider range of students to participate. For the first time, Mineola's ``Life Skills'' students, who are developmentally and physically challenged, will be going to Alley Pond. Their experience will no doubt make the event more complete and fulfilling for all those involved.

As a conscientious citizen and ardent environmental advocate, I am proud to recognize the students of Mineola High School and commend events much like National Service Learning Challenge Week for broadening the education of our Nation's youth. Mineola High School, as a recipient of a Learn and Serve America K-12 Grant, is currently enjoying its 25th year participating in the Mineola Student Service Center and Service Learning Program. Mineola has, and continues to be, a nationwide model for exemplary volunteerism and service.

It is the continued strong will and selfless determination of the students of Mineola that make me proud to call the town my home, and I am immensely grateful to the men and women whose hard work make such great events happen. I ask my colleagues to join me in expressing the gratitude of the U.S. Congress for the extensive contributions to education these individuals have made through this program.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 2786) to reauthorize the programs for housing assistance for Native Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

This legislation creates a new housing program that will allow tribes to use funding in innovative ways. It directs the Secretary of HUD to seek out an organization with expertise in collection of housing data in identifying the housing needs in tribal areas. This bill gives more freedom to tribes to determine how housing moneys may be used while maintaining appropriate levels of oversight from HUD.

I want to thank Mr. Kildee, Mr. Watt and their staffs in their efforts for crafting this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) as much time as he may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my colleague from Oklahoma (Mr. Boren).

Mr. Speaker, I want to say to Mr. Kildee a great thank you. He has been certainly a fighter for our American Indians on the Education Committee, and I thank him for bringing forth this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, yesterday I was meeting with constituents off the House of Representatives campus and missed three votes. I would like the Record to reflect how I would have voted.

Rollcall No. 602 on suspending the rules and passing H. Res. 1335, celebrating the 120-year partnership between Government and State veterans homes, I would have voted ``yea.''

Rollcall No. 603 on suspending the rules and passing S. 2339, designating the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Alpena, Michigan, as the ``Lieutenant Colonel Clement C. Van Wagoner Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic'', I would have voted ``yea.''

Rollcall No. 604 on suspending the rules and passing H.R. 1594, designating the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, as the Michael A. Marzano Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in full support of passage of H.R. 3036, the No Child Left Inside Act.

I worked with Chairman Miller and Mr. Sarbanes, the sponsor of the bill and a member of my subcommittee which has jurisdiction over environmental education.

It is a pleasure to support the professional development of environmental educators and expand the capacity of these teachers and the States in which they work to bring environmental education to our Nation's young people through this bill.

The No Child Left Inside Act seeks to improve the professional development opportunities of our Nation's environmental educators. We know that teachers make the difference in the educational experience of young people and their educational outcomes. By creating professional development opportunities that are meaningful and relevant for our teachers, they in turn will make environmental education meaningful and relevant for their students. These students evolve into the voting citizens who will craft our Nation's future. The bill contributes to ensuring a scientifically literate society through ensuring a more scientifically literate teaching force.

The National Academies of Science recently released a report titled ``Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decision Making.'' The first conclusion states that ``When done well, public participation improves the quality and legitimacy of a decision and builds the capacity of all involved to engage in the policy process. It can lead to better results in terms of environmental quality and other social objectives. It also can enhance trust and understanding among parties. Achieving these results depends on using practices that address difficulties that specific aspects of the context can present.''

This is a description of democracy at work.

It is important to ensure that our society is scientifically literate and therefore capable of not only understanding, but critically assessing, scientific data and weighing the societal consequences of these decisions. Science education is critical for the future of our Nation. So many of the skills taught and utilized in science are used and necessary for success in the global knowledge economy. We know that students learn so much and may even be more inspired when presented with opportunities outside the classroom and programs like these are often what sparks a student's interest in science. H.R. 3036 has a role here.

Beyond professional development, the bill contains a grant program to make environmental education more effective and more widely practiced. These grants will have local, regional, and national impact, and will increase the number of young people who understand the importance of the environment and our interaction with it. To keep American competitive and number one, we must have a scientifically literate society, and H.R. 3036 works to ensure this. I ask my colleagues to join me in a yes vote on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Garden City Middle School for having received the prestigious Blue Ribbon School Award. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes schools that make significant progress in closing the achievement gap or whose students achieve at very high levels.

Garden City Middle School succeeds in providing an atmosphere where students foster a desire for life long learning and are motivated to reach their highest potential academically, creatively, socially, physically and emotionally. Last year Garden City Middle School ranked first in Nassau County in the percentage of students passing the New York State Grade 8 Math Assessment and second on the New York State Grade 8 English Assessment. Additionally, Garden City Middle School students ranked first on the New York State Grade 8 English Assessment of students scoring at the mastery level. A supplemental aspect of their curriculum is to teach the students social responsibility. Last year Garden City Middle School raised more money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital than any other school in the nation while also participating in Toys for Tots drives, collecting food for food banks, and collection campaigns to support the troops in Iraq.

The future of this country depends on the hopes and dreams of its children, and our community, and our nation, are enhanced by the contributions of high achieving students like those at Garden City Middle School.

Madam Speaker, it is with pride and admiration I offer my thanks and recognition to Garden City Middle School.