Floor Statements

Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding and thank him for reserving this time in opposition.

I think the gentleman from California has made the point very clearly, this amendment is seeking to play by a set of rules that is different than any other contractor in the State, and also makes a point very clearly that there is no intent here by any of the parties to curtail these contracts in any immediate time or suggest that they be abandoned or they be found invalid, not at all. It is just a question of whether or not the basis on which they were determined to go forward, that biological opinion, has turned out not to be valid. So they are simply asking for a re-review of these contracts.

What this amendment would say is that this group of contractors gets to play by a different set of rules than everybody else in the State. As we all know, those of us who are from California and many of our colleagues in Congress have learned over the years this is a very, very integrated system. It is a very complex system, and it has multiple claims on the water in the State, from farming, from technology, from communities, from manufacturing, from the chemistry, and from the environment, from recreational fishers, from commercial fishers, from an industry that is hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of employees.

The question is are these contracts valid in light of the biological opinions. To say that they have been assumed in the biological opinions doesn't say that they have been reviewed. So this is just a question on this amendment to this legislation as to whether these people can take themselves outside of the judicial review, take themselves outside of the environmental considerations, take themselves outside of the economic considerations that no other water district, no other contractor gets to do.

Certainly at a time when people are under such stress about the availability of water, it starts to look like a very special privilege to be able to be plucked out when everybody else is undergoing this kind of scrutiny, trying to figure out how we can make the most flexible system, a system that can respond to this very diverse California economy and to the needs of domestic households in a very serious drought and a drought that may continue in the years to come. Again, nobody has suggested that we abrogate these contracts simply to proceed under regular order.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the bipartisan, bicameral Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

I want to thank my colleagues, Representatives Tierney and Hinojosa, for their commitment to improving our workforce training system, a job that they have labored at now for many years. And I want to thank Senators Harkin, Murray, Alexander, and Isakson for their leadership.

I also want to strongly thank the chairman of the committee, Mr. Kline from Minnesota, and subcommittee chairwoman Virginia Foxx for their leadership and cooperation on this legislation and, of course, the professional staff on both sides of the aisle in the House and in the Senate.

This is a critical moment. With almost 20 million Americans still out of work, workers need help learning skills and finding good jobs. Each year, WIA and the vocational rehabilitation programs serve millions of Americans in need of job training and employment services. But with a rapidly changing workforce and a competitive global economy, we need to update and improve the workforce training programs.

For 40 years, these vital programs have been authorized and reauthorized through bipartisan collaboration, and I am happy to see that that tradition continues today. I am especially pleased that the bill maintains strong protections and funding for populations in need, while also streamlining programs and creating new accountability measures.

This bill improves job training programs and aligns the training with real-world labor market needs. It better aligns vocational rehabilitation programs with special education services to help youth with disabilities transition into college or the workforce. It empowers people with disabilities to succeed in competitive, integrated employment. And it emphasizes the needs of youth, dislocated workers, undereducated adults, and English learners.

But this bill also makes other critical changes. Similar to the Tierney-Hinojosa Democratic bill, this agreement makes job training programs more efficient and effective. It requires that States develop unified workforce plans to coordinate their job training programs. It standardizes accountability metrics across all programs. It cuts the size of State and local boards so they can be more flexible and strategic. And it includes new benchmarks to help training program participants earn certifications that will allow them to find employment.

The bill also includes innovative policy solutions. Most importantly to me, this bill better connects job training programs with the needs of local employers and gives local employers a larger voice, and it requires sector initiatives at both the State and local levels.

It gives workers access to training for long-term job readiness and not just immediate employment. It helps prevent students with disabilities from being funneled into subminimum wage

employment, and it includes competency-based education, so that adults can get credit for what they have already learned.

Now, some will say the bill doesn't cut enough programs, and others will say that it didn't create enough new programs, but this is compromise legislation that aims for the middle ground. I think it has been accomplished, and I think the efficiencies have also been accomplished in this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I ask for an ``aye'' vote on H.R. 803, and I think it will support much, much-needed improvements to the primary Federal program that invests in America's workforce. Again, I thank my colleagues on the committee for all their attention and all their hard work.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained on June 27th and missed roll Nos. 360 through 368. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on roll Nos. 361, 362, 363, 364, 366, and 367. I would have voted ``nay'' on roll Nos. 360, 365, and 368.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained yesterday and missed roll Nos. 339 and 340. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on roll Nos. 339 and 340.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained today and missed roll No. 315. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. Chair, these are not regulations that were written in Washington, D.C. These are regulations that were written in cooperation with school food service personnel, superintendents and teachers and school districts all over the country.

After many years of deliberation, we have continued to improve this program. Plate waste is less now than it was before. What we have discovered is, if children can select what they wanted to eat from a healthy menu, where we didn't have to worry that they were just selecting high-sugar content and high-salt content, they were eating what they liked, what they became familiar with, plate waste went down.

The purpose of this program is not to increase the profits of food processors or the agribusiness industry in this country. The purpose of this program is to improve the nutrition of children in our schools. Why? Because we understand that nutrition is directly connected to how well those children do in the classroom, not because I say so, not because the Secretary of Education says so or the Secretary of Agriculture, but because classroom teachers will tell you that if children don't have nutrition in the morning, if there is not food in their homes and they come to

school, they start to act out in class because they start to drift. And the fact is the school breakfast program has made a remarkable difference. The school lunch program has made a remarkable difference in children not acting out in class and children being able to concentrate and to perform better, to get better grades, to graduate from high school. It is directly connected.

Now what we see is that industry thinks that this is simply some kind of marketing system for their products. It is like white potatoes aren't available to poor people, white potatoes aren't available to people on food stamps, white potatoes aren't available in America. Yes, they are. But in the WIC program, it is directly related to the health of that mother, the fetus, the newborn infant, and the young child. We have to think about what a healthy meal means to the healthy development of that child. A surplus of white potatoes in that diet is not necessarily what you want to have happen.

In that schoolroom, what we want is good nutrition. We are not going to let that be dictated by the industry. The idea that somehow school districts can't comply, well, 90 percent have complied, and 90 percent have complied within the additional amount of money that the Federal Government made available so they could comply.

The Secretary has been reaching out to those districts in trouble, and I suggest those districts reach out to other districts in their area that are complying and finding this to be helpful. This isn't some big burden by the Federal Government. This is working in 90 percent of the districts.

Our own School Nutrition Association of California is against this waiver. We have very creative people. In our committee, we brought those people in and we talked about plate waste, we talked about flexibility, and that was incorporated in this legislation when it became the law of the land.

So on the whim and the misinformation that somehow it is not working, somehow it is impossible to do, I will stand with 90 percent of the districts and school food service people who are implementing it. I will stand with the health officials. I will stand with the teachers that understand what a difference it means to have healthy and nutritious food available to these children during the school day.

We have got to support the Farr amendment. We have got to take care of our children. We have got to give them an opportunity to learn in our schools, and good nutrition provides that opportunity. Bad nutrition interrupts that opportunity.

And the time is expired for this kind of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah, formerly known as the California State Automobile Association, (CSAA) upon its 100th anniversary of supporting the insurance needs of AAA members. The club is one of the largest motor clubs in the American Automobile Association (AAA) National Federation, serving members across Northern California, Nevada, and Utah.

The club has a long history of having done so, tracing its roots to a 1900 meeting of car buffs in San Francisco's Cliff House. Recognizing the need for better roads, given the dearth of paved roads, signage, and consistent traffic laws across the region, those car owners formed the Automobile Club of California (ACC) to deal with barriers that hindered acceptance of the auto throughout the state. The club's efforts began to pay off in 1905, when the legislature passed a set of uniform regulations governing the use of motor vehicles on California highways. This legislation facilitated safe and efficient movement, as drivers were able to follow a consistent legal structure.

In 1907, ACC merged into the newly founded California State Automobile Association, which formally affiliated with the AAA in that same year. The new club's focus was ``Good Roads and Just Legislation.''

CSAA sent teams of cartographers to survey California's roads for the production of maps, with the first ones produced in 1909. The organization also helped post thousands of porcelain on steel traffic signs throughout the State and continued to do so until the State of California took over the task in the early 1950s.

CSAA began to offer automobile insurance in 1913 and homeowner's insurance in 1974. The club changed its name to AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah, or AAA in 2008. However, it still legally retains the California State Automobile Association name.

In 2013, the insurance company changed its name to CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer. In 2014 the California State Automobile Association or the CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA insurer, celebrates 100 years of supporting the insurance needs of AAA members.

The CSAA employs more than 3,500 Americans and sells AAA-branded insurance in 23 States and Washington DC. The CSAA Insurance Group, one of the Nation's most longstanding property and casualty insurance companies, provides auto and home insurance to nearly 2.4 million Americans.

I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating CSAA Insurance Group on its 100th anniversary of providing quality insurance to AAA members. Their history of providing quality service and security for their members has benefited us all. I look forward to a rich future of continued success by CSAA.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay special tribute to one of the most loyal, dedicated and creative members of my staff, Jody Calemine, who is leaving my staff on the Education and Labor Committee after more than 10 years of service.

I also want to thank Jody's wife Daria and their wonderful daughter Bella for sharing Jody with us and for their support and sacrifice all these years.

During his time on my staff, Jody quickly moved up the ranks, from labor policy advisor, to general counsel and for the last three years staff director.

Throughout this time, Jody has impressed us with his intimate, detailed knowledge of the laws, regulations and policies impacting workers and families across the country.

Jody's tireless advocacy on behalf of workers has been remarkable. During his time on the Committee staff Jody has earned the admiration and respect of Members of Congress, his colleagues on the Hill and in the Obama Administration, and among the labor and business community across the country.

Jody played an invaluable role in many of the Committee's accomplishments over the years including the enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was the first bill signing ceremony of the Obama Administration.

And I want to thank him and acknowledge his tireless work and leadership on the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, the Affordable Care Act, the Employee Free Choice Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and a number of mine safety initiatives.

Jody is leaving the Committee for a position with the Communications Workers of America where he will continue to work on these issues that he cares so much about.

I speak for everyone on the Committee and all of those who have worked with Jody over the years when I say how much we will miss him.

Jody has made significant contributions to improving the lives of the American people. I cannot thank him enough for all that he has done. On behalf of myself, his fellow staff and the members of the Committee, we wish him the very best in his new position.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today and invite my colleagues to join me in commending the members of the Danville- Sycamore Valley Rotary Club for their longstanding, strong support of K-12 Education in the 11th Congressional District in California. Living out the Rotarian motto of ``Service Before Self'', these men and women have marshalled their resources to reward outstanding students, teachers and administrators in local schools for the past 22 years.

Every month during the school year, the Rotarians highlight one K-12 school in the community. Each teacher and student, chosen by their principal, is recognized publicly with their family and colleagues in attendance. Without exception, the awardees are dedicated to their academic work and to community service in and out of the school setting.

Over the past two years, it has been my pleasure to participate in special celebrations recognizing the individual achievements of students and teachers from 11 Danville schools.

From Creekside Elementary School, the Rotarians honored students Mackenzie Michel and Griffin Snyder and teachers Kristen Berg and Nancy Rugani. From Hidden Hills Elementary they honored student Lohith Dasari and teacher Sherri Wright. From John Baldwin Elementary they honored students Lauren Batza and James Goldberg and teachers Chara Rodrigues and Dawn-Monique Elkin. From Tassajara Hills Elementary they honored students Kayla Sapir and Lauren Spain and teachers Sia Yfantis and Jeanie Small. From Dougherty Valley High they honored students Seunghwa Madeleine Han and Nicole Giles and teachers Megan Keefer and Duane Ingram. From Del Amigo High School they honored students Josh Gorski and Cole Ortiz and teachers Bill Collins and Carole Edwards Van Muijen. From Diablo Vista Middle School they honored student Anya Nutakki and teacher Janet Darrimon. From Charlotte Wood Middle School they honored student Connor Kay and teacher Kathleen Martins. From Coyote Creek Elementary they honored student Ashmit Gaba and teacher Stephanie Preston. And from Greenbrook Elementary School, they honored student Robert Corritone and teacher Kristen McDevitt. In addition to these outstanding students and teachers, the Danville-Sycamore Valley Rotarians honored members of the school district administration Chris Williams and Kirby Hoy for their outstanding work in support of K-12 education.

In recognizing the hard work of our students, teachers and administrators, we distinguish what works in education and help find ways to replicate the very best practices. I invite my colleagues to join me in congratulating the students, teachers and administrators who have been honored, and in thanking the Danville-Sycamore Valley Rotarians for their exceptional dedication to education and community service.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained today and missed roll No. 223. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Stated against:

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not in opposition.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this amendment and thank the chairman for working with me to include important improvements in the underlying bill.

I am especially pleased that this amendment includes provisions to promote the use of nondiscriminatory discipline practices as charter schools work to serve and retain all students.

We know that the overreliance on out-of-school suspension and expulsion disproportionately impacts educational successes of minority students and students with disabilities. According to the most recent civil rights data collection, the negative impacts on unequal implementation of these disciplines is impacting minority kids as young as 4 years old.

This is unacceptable, and I am pleased that this amendment seeks to better position charter schools to understand, implement, and report on the use of their fair practices.

I want to thank Mr. Davis, Ms. Wilson, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Fudge, Ms. Clarke, and Mr. Grayson for helping to ensure that these improvements in H.R. 10 are included.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

Unfortunately, I too oppose this amendment of my good friend, Ms. Moore, for the reasons that the chairman has just said, that we believe that much of this is already taken care of in the underlying bill and that we are directing money away from the program for responsibilities that should in fact be the responsibility of the authorizers, be they the State or local authorizers. That is their job. We are trying to strengthen that in this legislation to lead to high-quality expansion of these programs, with the caveat being that you can only authorize those high-quality programs that deal with the question of accountability and so forth.

I too find myself in the unfortunate position of opposing my friend on this legislation and expect the States, in response to continuing to receive these grants, to step up to their responsibility to deal with these problems.

Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this amendment to ensure that all students reap the benefits of the public charter schools. That is the purpose of this legislation, and certainly including foster youth.

I also rise to thank the gentlewoman for her just unrelenting effort to make sure that foster youth are not diminished because of their family status, if you will, because of the uncertain situation that they find themselves, many times in different situations throughout a given year, maybe in different schools. Both in her time in the State legislature and here in the Congress, she has just been remarkable in her advocacy on behalf of these students.

We all know the difficulty that these students have, the uncertainty that they have to deal with. Just the proximity of their families to be able to go to school creates a great deal of hardship and difficulty for these students. We definitely owe them an extra effort to make sure that they get full inclusion in those academic offerings and participation in the charter schools in this country.

Thank you so very, very much.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise in support of this amendment. He states it quite correctly: all secondary schools should be equipped to assist bridging the divide from high school to college to career.

I thank the gentleman for offering the amendment, and I urge my colleagues to vote in support of it.

Will the gentlewoman yield?

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

I rise in strong support of this amendment. I think her amendment addresses one of the concerns that I have had, and I believe many in the educational community have had for a long time: that we didn't intend to create two separate systems with public charter schools.

We were hoping to be able to allow some flexibility for innovation and best practices, and to develop different methods of teaching around learning, but those were to be shared with the traditional schools.

As Ms. Bonamici points out, traditional schools have also tacked in many different directions with the use of academies and career development programs that are best practices in those areas. Those should be shared with the charters. But that hasn't happened, some of it for political reasons, some of it because they are both so busy they haven't been able to get together. But we would all be enriched and all the systems would be enriched if this sharing in fact takes place.

I think this amendment is very helpful in getting that dialogue and that sharing and the outcomes started down a road that would benefit all students, whether they are in the traditional system or whether they have chosen to go to a charter school.

Thank you very much for offering this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy), who is the lead author on the Democratic side on this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Rokita, for bringing this bill to the floor, and to Congresswoman McCarthy, the ranking member on the subcommittee, for all of their effort to make sure that this legislation was considered in this session of Congress.

The Strengthening Education Through Research Act, SETRA, bolsters education research in a way that benefits both students and teachers. Congress passed the Education Sciences Reform Act, commonly known as ESRA, in 2002 to strengthen the quality and rigor of education research.

Twelve years later, we have a wealth of information that can be used to determine what is working for students, make corrections, and drive long-lasting improvements; but research is not effective if it stays locked in computer files or is only published in abstract trade journals. Research must be relevant, timely, and useful. It must be used to solve real problems faced by students and teachers.

I am pleased that this legislation will address this challenge, making education research more valuable. At the same time, it will ensure that research remains accurate, rigorous, and scientific.

I am also pleased SETRA increases the Federal investment in education research. In particular, our teachers need better actionable research on educating students with disabilities.

To address that need, SETRA includes a large increase in the funding of special education research, helping to make up for the devastating cuts in 2011.

The historic Federal role in education is protecting and promoting equity. SETRA maintains that commitment in three key ways. This bill keeps a laserlike focus on closing the achievement gap and ensuring that all students obtain a high-quality education.

The bill ensures that we collect data such as graduation rates and student achievement, but also vital information on school climate, student safety

and discipline, and student access to great teachers. This bill helps States and school districts use data systems to improve teaching and learning.

Mr. Speaker, I have often said that we, in the Federal Government, must get back to partnering with schools to improve students' lives. I am proud to say that this legislation takes a solid step in that direction, providing research that helps teachers and schools improve the student learning environment.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation. Again, I want to thank Mr. Rokita for bringing this legislation to the floor.

Before I yield the floor, Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment of this debate time that has been allocated to pay tribute and say thank you to Jeremy Ayers of our staff, who will be leaving the committee at the end of this month.

This is Jeremy sitting right here, in case anybody didn't know who he was. Bring the cameras in a little closer.

Jeremy skillfully managed the negotiations on the bill before us today and led the committee work on education technology, accountability in elementary, and secondary education and oversight in the administration's waiver policy, among other issues.

Jeremy is a strong advocate of what is best in the interest of students and has always maintained a focus on equity and civil rights. His humor and quick wit were always a welcomed addition to what sometimes can be hard and tedious policy work.

Jeremy has been a valued policy adviser and member of our education team, and he will be missed by the committee members on both sides of the aisle and all of his colleagues.

Thank you, Jeremy, for all of your service to our committee and to our education establishment in this country.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I yield myself 5 minutes.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 10.

I want to thank the chairman of the committee for all of his cooperation so we could arrive at this legislation to bring to the floor. I want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle for all of the time that they spent negotiating this legislation. I am delighted that we are here tonight to consider it.

The Success and Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools Act, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I guess we will be voting tomorrow on it, to vote in support of the legislation.

My support of H.R. 10 is grounded in my commitment to our Nation's public schools and my firm belief that every child in every neighborhood deserves access to a high-quality public education.

This bipartisan legislation would take us one step closer to making the promise of quality public schools for every child a reality.

In many ways, the innovations coming out of the charter school sector are helping to disprove some of the false assumptions about kids who happen to be from the wrong ZIP Code. Charter schools continue to prove that all children, from any background, can succeed. H.R. 10 seeks to build on that success. It will expand opportunities for all children to benefit from charter school innovations.

Along with Chairman Kline, I authored similar legislation last Congress. That legislation served as the basis for this bill which we are considering today and passed out of this Chamber with more than 360 votes.

I am pleased once again to collaborate with Chairman Kline on this reauthorization of the Charter Schools Program. By working together, we have been able to produce a truly bipartisan bill that will bring much- needed improvements to the only Federal program that supports the startup of public charter schools.

This existing Federal program provides startup funding for public charter schools from States where the public charter schools are permitted that win a competitive grant.

While the Charter Schools Program is in a small, competitive funding stream that reaches a limited number of schools, the program can and should be used as a lever to ensure the quality within the charter school sector, drive collaboration between charter and noncharter public schools, improve State oversight of charter schools to make sure that every public school is equitably serving the most disadvantaged students.

H.R. 10 would refocus the Charter Schools Program to achieve these goals while recognizing and supporting the success of public charter schools. Much of that success comes from the autonomy and flexibility that charter schools have in implementing innovative curricula and instruction. The research is clear: Access to great schools, fantastic instruction, and a safe learning environment matters.

Thousands of public schools across the country, both charter and noncharter, are great schools supported by millions of wonderful educators. Unfortunately, some of our Nation's public schools, both charter and noncharter, fall short.

I have been working on this issue for a long time. For me, it isn't about the quantity of charter schools; it is about the quality of all public schools. Over the years, I have requested numerous GAO reports that examine activities of public charter schools to look at the quality of the services for students who are traditionally underserved, including those with disabilities and English language learners. The results have pointed to the flaws in the charter implementation that shortchanged disadvantaged students.

Our Federal investment in charters must help support and drive improvements in the charter sector. For example, in Denver, when the data showed a discrepancy in the charter school services for students with complex disabilities as compared to noncharters, the district leaders said, ``We can do better.'' Instead of pointing fingers and placing blame, the district leaders and charter leaders collaborated on bringing needed programs and support to students with complex disabilities to all Denver public schools, including the charter schools.

Federal dollars that support charter schools must incentivize this type of collaboration on behalf of our most vulnerable students. The improvements in the Charter Schools Program that are embodied in H.R. 10 would do just that. That is why groups such as National Council of Learning Disabilities and the Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities enthusiastically support this bill. No public school, charter or otherwise, gets a pass when it comes to serving all kids.

H.R. 10 would also ensure that our Federal investment in public charter schools supports only high-quality charters that are serving all students and have demonstrated that they are accountable to parents and communities.

H.R. 10 includes unprecedented quality controls and mechanisms to improve charter authorizing activity and oversight. It challenges States to support and transfer the best practices among all public schools in order to ensure that the benefits of charter schools are reaching all students, not just a few.

This isn't a debate about charter schools. Charter schools are here and they aren't going anywhere. This is about increasing the quality, the equity, and the transparency in the charter sector. The sector is vibrant, and it is now serving more than 2 million students in 42 States and the District of Columbia.

A ``yes'' vote on H.R. 10 is a vote for much-needed program improvements that will help ensure that the Federal dollars supporting public charter schools only flow to quality schools and that those schools live up to the promise of the equitable education of all students.

I urge you to join me, Mr. Chairman, in supporting this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis).

There is no more enthusiastic and informed advocate of public charter schools in this Congress than the gentleman from Colorado. I thank him for all of the work that he put in on both sides of the aisle, working with us to make the improvements in this legislation, and for his support of it.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez).

I yield an additional minute to the gentlewoman from California.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis).

Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the tremendous work of the West Contra Costa Youth Service Bureau as the agency celebrates 30 years of service to the children and families of my Congressional District. The Youth Services Bureau (YSB) began in 1984 as a grass roots community movement focused on addressing the systemic causes of violence plaguing our West County neighborhoods at that time.

Under the outstanding leadership of Ms. Taalia Hasan, the Bureau consolidated services independently offered by the West County Unified School District, the County Probation Department, municipal and county law enforcement agencies, and local community based organizations. By coordinating the efforts of these agencies, YSB developed an innovative ``wraparound'' response system that has, since that time, been widely acclaimed as the most effective way to address the needs of children and families in crisis.

Using the Best Practices Model, the Youth Services Bureau staff has, for 30 years, successfully supported children and their families in difficult situations by providing reliable case management, professional counseling, critical crisis intervention, and caregiver respite services. YSB has also developed innovative programs such as the Family Enhancement Collaborative--known as Kinship, the Early Periodic Screening and Diagnostic Testing Program (EPSDT)--and has collaborated with community initiatives such as Building Blocks for Kids to ensure children and families in West County grow and thrive. The Youth Services Bureau also works closely with local law enforcement agencies and the West Contra Costa Unified School District to enhance delinquency prevention efforts and promote academic achievement.

Throughout the past 30 years, the Youth Service Bureau has been a constant guiding light in the West County community. I ask my colleagues to join with me today in recognizing work well done by Taalia Hasan and her dedicated staff and wish them many more years of success as they support our children, families and community.