Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ella Secchiaroli as a winner of the first annual ``Lessons of the African- American Experience'' Creative Writing Contest. Ella is currently in the fifth grade at North Stonington Elementary School, which is located in North Stonington, Connecticut.

In celebration of Black History Month, I sponsored a creative writing contest for all third through eighth grade students within the Second District. As we know, Black History Month is a time to reflect on the struggles and triumphs of our nation's past. The lessons learned during this month continue to serve as the stepping stones of our nation's future. Ella's poem eloquently embraces this belief.

Ella's poem shows a remarkable enthusiasm for learning that is inspiring to all. She identified the values that she learned during Black History Month and creatively discussed how those values affect her life and the lives of others. For this, her poem was among the four winners selected.

Mr. Speaker, today is a proud day for the Mystic Seaport Museum and the city of New London, as our freedom schooner Amistad prepares to sail into Havana Harbor as a floating goodwill ambassador. The Amistad's visit to Cuba culminates its current Caribbean Heritage Tour to help commemorate the United Nations- designated date of March 25 as a Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Atlantic slave trade.

The 19th century Amistad Incident ultimately led to a profoundly important U.S. Supreme Court decision that arguably turned the tide against slavery itself. The ship serves as a global icon of racial tolerance and a platform for serious examination of shared history across Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the United States. Today, the world is watching as the Amistad sails into Havana Harbor to set new milestones for diplomacy and remembrance. Today, from New London to the Caribbean, we honor our common heritage and wish the Amistad fair winds and following seas.

The following is a story from the New London Day:

Amistad Is Sailing Back To Where Its Story Began

(By Ted Mann Day)

Havana.--Over a breakfast of melon, eggs and thick, dark

Cuban coffee, Quentin Snediker, Maureen Hennessy and William

Pinkney seem barely able to stand the wait for the coasting

schooner Amistad and its crew to arrive in Cuba.

It is a wait older than the ship itself, says Snediker, who

was the project coordinator of the design and construction of

the Amistad for Mystic Seaport.

``To complete the story, we always felt the vessel had to

return here,'' he said on Sunday morning, as he and Pinkney,

who was the first in command of the ship when it launched

nearly 10 years ago, prepared for a press conference at the

Museo Nacional de Bellas Ades to announce the Amistad's

impending historic visit to Cuba.

``Here'' means Havana, the Cuban capital and trading

center, where the African captives who would make the Amistad

famous were auctioned illegally in 1839 as slaves in

violation of the Spanish and English treaties banning the

international slave trade, and bound for the eastern

agricultural districts that made Cuba a power in the sugar

and coffee trade.

Brought to Havana on a slave ship after being taken captive

in Sierra Leone, the 53 men and boys were transferred to the

Amistad, a modest vessel that transported goods and freight

along the Cuban coastline.

In an ornate, wood-paneled room at the Museo Nacional,

Cuban historian Miguel Barnet, Pinkney and Snediker took

turns reviewing the subsequent twists of the Amistad story

for a crowd of about 45 journalists from the Cuban national

press, American TV networks and the BBC.

Despite the 1807 passage of the Wilberforce Act--whose

anniversary, now the United Nations' international day of

commemoration for victims of the slave trade, the Amistad

will mark with its formal arrival in Havana on Thursday--

Cuba's booming sugar and cattle businesses precipitated a

dependence on human slavery.

It was a case of ``negocios sucios,'' or ``dirty

business,'' Barnet said, but one into which leaders in Cuba

and in its colonial patron, Spain, felt driven by necessity.

``Both the Spaniards and the Cubans needed fresh hands,'' he

said.

The Amistad never reached its destination. The leader of

the captives, known as Cinque to his Spanish-speaking

handlers, led a revolt that would change not just the history

of slavery in Cuba and the Spanish empire, but also in the

United States.

Picking the locks of their shackles with a nail, the

captives seized the ship and killed most of the crew,

including Captain Ramon Ferrer, with machetes. The remaining

crew members were ordered to steer the Amistad back to

Africa--away from the setting sun.

But as those crew members tried to sabotage Cinque and the

Africans, the Amistad zig-zagged up the east coast of the

United States until it was captured off Montauk and towed

into the Custom House in New London.

The captives, initially put on trial for the killings,

would eventually be freed, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled

that since they had been taken from Africa in contravention

of international treaties banning the slave trade, they could

not be property.

Instead, the court ruled, Cinque and his countrymen were

necessarily men, with a right to defend themselves against

those who kept them captive.

The Amistad's visit resonates not just with its historical

legacy; it is also, Hennessy noted, a rare opportunity for

open interchange between the Cuban and U.S. nations, at a

time when their respective governments remain at uneasy odds.

Hennessy, who, like Snediker, was taking time off from her

work at the Mystic Seaport to meet the Amistad and its crew

as they arrive in Matanzas today, said the group met over the

weekend with officials from the Cuban Ministry of Culture.

The ministry plans to broadcast Steven Spielberg's 1997

film ``Amistad'' on one of the state-run television channels

Tuesday night, in an attempt to drum up popular interest in

the ship's visit.

As the press conference concluded Saturday morning,

journalists descended on the Amistad representatives,

particularly Pinkney, wanting to know if this combined

diplomatic effort of the State Department, United Nations and

Cuban officials represented a new thawing in mutual

relations.

The visit comes months after the incoming Obama

administration relaxed travel restrictions and other facets

of the nearly 50-year U.S. embargo of Cuba, but significant

tensions still persist. Billboards on the highway into Havana

from Jose Marti International Airport depict the mug shots of

Cuban prisoners held in the United States--without cause,

according to the Cuban government. And U.S. commentators

continue to raise questions about the Cuban government's

policies, including its economic system and approach to

dissidents.

But the Amistad represents shared strands of history, said

Barnet, the Cuban historian and writer, and the American

visitors agreed.

While interviewers continually asked him variations of the

question ``can this be a step'' toward normalization, Pinkney

said, this visit transcends the political considerations that

have divided the two countries.

``Now they're completing the Amistad story by coming into

Havana, where it all started,'' he said. ``Here, we have

nothing to express but the solidarity of humankind.''

Mr. Speaker, it has been 2 days since President Obama signed this bill into law. And after all the overheated, over-the-top rhetoric about government takeover, you would expect that the health insurance industry would have collapsed in the wake of that act.

Well, what have we seen from the stock market in the last few days? Aetna's stock is up, CIGNA's stock is up, United Health Care stock is flat. The fact of the matter is is what we have done is tried to reshape a private health insurance market so that people will have a coherent, understandable benefit that has a minimum level of consumer protection in a provision to make it affordable for working Americans, which will be a healthy, prosperous future for our health insurance industry, which the minority side indicates that that is something that they care about.

All they have to do is look at their own benefits, their own purchasing exchange, which, as Members of Congress, they participate in, with a choice of private health insurance plans, comprehensive benefits, no rescissions, no lifetime limits, no annual limits. That's what we are giving to the American people, what Members of Congress have. It's time to move forward and create an end to the days of have and have not.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express concerns about three outstanding issues in the final health care reform package: an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans which will be implemented in 2018, cuts to home health care, and the formation of an Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).

Since introduction of the America's Affordable Health Choices Act in July of 2009, my colleagues in Congress and I have been working to craft a health insurance reform bill that creates affordable insurance coverage, lowers costs, and improves access to stable health care that is there when you need it. These efforts have been reflected in the Affordable Health Care for America Act, and Senate-passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) as modified by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (H.R. 4872).

The final reform package reflects significant progress in terms of limiting the negative impact of an excise tax on high-cost plans on middle class Americans. The 40 percent excise tax on high-cost plans included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act included cost thresholds that were inadequate to account for premium cost factors independent of generosity of benefits, such as age, gender, and region. I authored a letter, with support from 192 of my Democratic colleagues who opposed this proposal. The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act made significant improvements to the excise tax, such as adopting higher thresholds for age and gender. More importantly, the bill delays the implementation of the tax until 2018, which will allow ample time to better understand its impact--especially in high-cost regions--and mitigate potential negative consequences.

Another deficit mitigation component that I have concerns about in the reform package includes Medicare ``market basket updates'' for home health providers. While the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes more modest cuts than what was included in the House-passed Affordable Health Care for America Act, I remain concerned about the aggregate size of the cuts to home health care providers. Safeguards in H.R. 3590 such as payment adjustment review authority by the Health and Human Services Secretary should be utilized if ``market basket updates'' prove to be unsustainable for home health care providers in the future. H.R. 3590 also includes provisions that guarantee Medicare home health benefits will not be reduced, which further reiterates the obligation of the Secretary to ensure fair reimbursements.

While I supported passing H.R. 3590 as modified by H.R. 4872 to make significant progress in extending and strengthening current health care coverage, I also maintain concerns about the establishment of the IPAB. Over the course of the health care debate, the IPAB--along with the similar proposals of the Independent Medicare Advisory Council, IMAC, Act (H.R. 2718) and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, MedPAC-- have garnered attention as a mechanism to reduce aggregate health care costs.

However, I believe that the solidification of IPAB would be a move in the wrong direction in terms of broad health care reform. Congress has played an integral role in shaping a Medicare system that reflects unique care needs of varying demographics as well as need differences between regions and states. Further, this system has been developed with transparency and accountability in congressional debates. Redirecting control of Medicare to the Executive branch would limit the strengths of the current system, and would continue a disturbing trend of ceding Congressional authority to the Executive branch.

That is why I cosigned letters in July and December 2009 opposing the establishment of a Payment Advisory Commission. While I did not support the inclusion of IPAB in the H.R. 3590, I am reassured that the bill does not empower the Board to override Medicare laws. Going forward, I urge that the IPAB conducts business transparently, with public input. I also urge that the Board reach out to all Medicare stakeholders and take seriously the role of the Consumer Advisory Council in the future.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project of Oxford, Connecticut for the performance of its sleds in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project designed and built the Night Train sled that led the United States Four-Man Bobsled Team to win the Gold Medal for the first time in 62 years.

Even more incredible than helping the U.S. team claim victory is the mission of this remarkable company. The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project is one of the great Made in America stories of our time. NASCAR veteran Geoff Bodine had a vision of providing the highest quality, American-made bobsleds to our athletes. He wanted to make sure that they were using not only a domestic product, but one that was able to compete internationally and win.

At the time Bo-Dyn was founded, the United States bobsled team purchased and raced used European-made sleds. The members of the team would famously spend much of their time raising money for the sleds and get into physical condition when they weren't doing that. BoDyn changed this by creating an enterprise that funds the research, development, and manufacturing of the sleds. Generous companies like Whelen Manufacturing of Chester make donations that allow the athletes to use the sleds at no charge. Phil Kurze, vice president at Whelen Engineering and president of the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project,

fondly recalls a time when the company turned down offers from generous foreign buyers so that our athletes could have access to a superb and uniquely American sled.

I admire the good people of Bo-Dyn for putting their values into practice as they proudly carry their founder's vision. The hard work and creativity of the American people is something that we should all recognize and work hard to perpetuate. For this reason I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project.

Mr. Speaker, tonight we are going to answer a question which the tea party on the right to reformers on the left ask constantly, which is, Why can't the American people have access to the same type of benefit that Members of Congress have?

It's a good question. Some of the most hysterical voices in opposition have access to a purchasing exchange through the Federal employee benefits plan that has comprehensive benefits, choice, no rescissions, no lifetime caps. And this bill is going to give the American people exactly what Members of Congress have. And in case there is any question about that, section 1312 will make sure that starting in 2014, Members of Congress have to use exactly the same purchasing exchange that the American people will have to use.

No more haves and have-nots. No more tax-paying Americans who don't have health insurance, underwriting the health benefits of Members of Congress who would deny them access to quality, affordable health care. It is time to answer that question tonight in the affirmative by passing this legislation.

Madam Speaker, in the State of Connecticut last weekend, we had an opportunity to see the health care crisis up close. Mission of Mercy, a national organization that holds free dental clinics, was in Middletown, Connecticut, and Connecticut--the wealthiest per capita income State in America--shattered the Mission of Mercy record, serving 2,045 working adults sleeping in their cars, lining up two nights before to get access to dental care. We're not talking about teeth whitening or teeth cleaning; we're talking about people walking in with abcesses that were so pronounced that it threatened the stability of their jaws, extractions, major surgery. This is the state of health care in America today.

There is one group, though, that doesn't have to sleep in their car to get health care: Members of Congress, who participate in a Federal purchasing exchange subsidized by the American taxpayer. Madam Speaker, how do they demonize a plan which they benefit from every single day courtesy of the American taxpayer? I don't know how they do that.

This week they have an opportunity to help those people who were lined up in their cars over the weekend to get the same access to care that those people who work every day pay with their taxes.

Vote for health care reform.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize and celebrate this week, March 7 through March 13, as Girl Scout Week and the 98th anniversary of Girl Scouting. In the state of Connecticut, we have approximately 44,000 Girl Scouts. I am pleased to see Girl Scouts' strong commitment to enriching the lives of young females, and contributing to our nation's communities, evolve over the past 98 years.

Juliette Gordon Low founded Girl Scouts in 1912. Since then, the organization's membership has grown from 18 members in Savannah, Georgia to 3.4 million members throughout the United States, including U.S. territories, and more than 90 countries through USA Girl Scouts Overseas. Today, there are over 2.4 million girl members, including my daughter, and 928,000 adult members working primarily as volunteers. Throughout history, more than 50 million American women enjoyed Girl Scouting during their childhood. That number continues to grow as Girl Scouts of the USA continues to inspire, challenge, and empower girls everywhere.

The Girls Scouts' mission includes building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make our country and the world a better place. The organization motivates these young women to have fun, create meaningful friendships, and discover the power of young women working together. Through enriching experiences such as extraordinary field trips, skill-building clinics, community service projects, cultural exchanges, and environmental stewardships, girls grow courageous and strong. Girl Scouting encourages girls to develop to their full individual potential; to relate to others with increasing understanding, skill, and respect; to develop values to guide their actions and provide the foundation for sound decision-making; and to contribute to the improvement of society through their abilities, leadership skills, and cooperation with others.

I know that Connecticut's young women will continue to benefit from the Girl Scouts program for generations to come. That is why we are thankful for the outstanding work they have done in eastern Connecticut communities. Girl Scouts' commitment to community and empowering women and girls is certain to continue to enrich our communities for many more years. I ask my colleagues to join with me and my constituents in recognizing and celebrating Girl Scout Week and the 98th anniversary of Girl Scouting.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate and honor the 31st Annual Windham Special Olympics Invitational Swim Meet. This Saturday, I will have the great pleasure of attending the Opening Ceremony of this event with hundreds of athletes, families and volunteers from around the region. I am familiar with the good work of Special Olympics Connecticut and am particularly excited for Saturday's meet.

All of the events that the Special Olympics organizes are first and foremost about the athletes who participate in them. They provide a unique opportunity for these individuals to compete and learn the benefits of regular training and physical fitness activities. In addition to the athletic component, I want to highlight the overwhelmingly positive impact that Special Olympics competitions have on the lives of the athletes. The social, educational, and professional skills that are gained from mere involvement in these programs are outcomes that the organization and the athletes should be tremendously proud of.

I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the many volunteers and other members of the community that make each and every Special Olympics event possible. Without them, the athletes and their families could not enjoy the activities and terrific memories that come from these events. Thank you for all your service and good luck to the athletes competing in the Windham Special Olympics Invitational Swim Meet.

Mr. Speaker, as we've heard this morning, in the last month this country has been subjected to jaw-dropping increases of health insurance rates--39 percent in California, over 20 percent in the State of Connecticut. Small businesses and the self-employed are being asked to make a choice between jobs and paying for health care. But it is not just limited to small businesses. School districts that are now putting together their school budgets are getting increases. In the State of Connecticut, 14 percent increase in Coventry, 16 percent in Old Saybrook, 18 percent in Clinton, 21 percent in Plainfield, and 25 percent in Waterford.

For school districts who cannot afford their budgets because of the bad economy, they are now going to be forced with making choices between laying off teachers, closing schools, forcing our kids into bigger school classrooms, or paying for health insurance.

For those who say start over, the insurance companies aren't going to start over. These school districts have to make decisions now, and it is time for this Congress to make a decision now to reform our health care system, protect our school districts, and help small businesses who are getting killed with these rate increases.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to mark the passing of a great citizen and member of the community in eastern Connecticut. Raymond E. Dobratz, Jr. of Old Saybrook, a beloved son and brother, devoted husband and grandfather, died tragically while working on the site of the Kleen Energy Plant in Middletown on February 7, 2010.

Ray was a masterful tradesman and a 40-year member of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 777 who spent his life giving back to the people around him. He served his country with honor in the Army National Guard and also served a member of the Old Saybrook Police for 13 years. He had an incredible sense of what it meant to be a citizen and he spent his life putting that into practice.

Ray's love for his wife, 3 sons, and 5 grandchildren is what really defined him. Two of Ray's sons grew up shadowing their father as a pipefitter. They admired him greatly and were thrilled when they got to spend time with him on the football field. Ray co-founded the Old Saybrook Youth Football Athletic League as a coach in the 1980s and it still exists today. He loved sports and often played football, soccer, and baseball with his friends and family when he had the time. He was a fixture in the community and will be deeply missed.

Ray had a seemingly endless amount of energy to give to his country, town and family. He was a model citizen and family man. I ask my colleagues to join me in mourning the loss of Raymond E. Dobratz, Jr.

First of all, I want to thank the chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, Mr. Miller, for his leadership on this legislation.

The hearing which was held at the Education and Labor Committee was one of the most stunning, amazing, eye-opening events, I think, of this Congress. The bipartisanship which came together after that hearing to craft this legislation, again, I think is a testament to your leadership and the bipartisanship that you have created on that committee.

Mr. Speaker, back in 1998, The Hartford Courant won a Pulitzer Prize for a four-part investigation of seclusion and restraint all across the country. The name of the series was ``A Nationwide Pattern of Death,'' which I'd like to offer a copy of for the Record, and which, again, in chapter and verse, laid out the shocking, uneven application of this type of force against America's schoolchildren. In Connecticut, it actually resulted in action in terms of legislation which was put into place. Many of the minimum standards which are included in the legislation we're voting on today were incorporated into that measure. But, clearly, as a Nation, we have much more work to be done.

[From the Hartford Courant, Oct. 11, 1998]

A Nationwide Pattern of Death

(By Eric Weiss)

Roshelle Clayborne pleaded for her life.

Slammed face-down on the floor, Clayborne's arms were

yanked across her chest, her wrists gripped from behind by a

mental health aide.

I can't breathe, the 16-year-old gasped.

Her last words were ignored.

A syringe delivered 50 milligrams of Thorazine into her

body and, with eight staffers watching, Clayborne became,

suddenly, still. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth

as she lost control of her bodily functions. Her limp body

was rolled into a blanket and dumped in an 8-by-10-foot room

used to seclude dangerous patients at the Laurel Ridge

Residential Treatment Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The door clicked behind her.

No one watched her die.

But Roshelle Clayborne is not alone. Across the country,

hundreds of patients have died after being restrained in

psychiatric and mental retardation facilities, many of them

in strikingly similar circumstances, a Courant investigation

has found.

Those who died were disproportionately young. They entered

our health care system as troubled children. They left in

coffins.

All of them died at the hands of those who are supposed to

protect, in places intended to give sanctuary.

If Roshelle Clayborne's death last summer was not an

isolated incident, neither were the recent deaths of

Connecticut's Andrew McClain or Robert Rollins.

A 50-state survey by The Courant, the first of its kind

ever conducted, has confirmed 142 deaths during or shortly

after restraint or seclusion in the past decade. The survey

focused on mental health and mental retardation facilities

and group homes nationwide.

But because many of these cases go unreported, the actual

number of deaths during or after restraint is many times

higher.

Between 50 and 150 such deaths occur every year across the

country, according to a statistical estimate commissioned by

The Courant and conducted by a research specialist at the

Harvard Center for Risk Analysis.

That's one to three deaths every week, 500 to 1,500 in the

past decade, the study shows.

``It's going on all around the country,'' said Dr. Jack

Zusman, a psychiatrist and author of a book on restraint

policy.

The nationwide trail of death leads from a 6-year-old boy

in California to a 45-year-old mother of four in Utah, from a

private treatment center in the deserts of Arizona to a

public psychiatric hospital in the pastures of Wisconsin.

In some cases, patients died in ways and for reasons that

defy common sense: a towel wrapped around the mouth of a 16-

year-old boy; a 15-year-old girl wrestled to the ground after

she wouldn't give up a family photograph.

Many of the actions would land a parent in jail, yet

staffers and facilities were rarely punished.

``I raised my child for 17 years and I never had to

restrain her, so I don't know what gave them the right to do

it,'' said Barbara Young, whose daughter Kelly died in the

Brisbane Child Treatment Center in New Jersey.

The pattern revealed by The Courant has gone either

unobserved or willfully ignored by regulators, by health

officials, by the legal system.

The federal government--which closely monitors the size of

eggs--does not collect data on how many patients are killed

by a procedure that is used every day in psychiatric and

mental retardation facilities across the country.

Neither do state regulators, academics or accreditation

agencies.

``Right now we don't have those numbers,'' said Ken August

of the California Department of Health Services, ``and we

don't have a way to get at them.''

The regulators don't ask, and the hospitals don't tell.

As more patients with mental disabilities are moved from

public institutions into smaller, mostly private facilities,

the need for stronger oversight and uniform standards is

greater than ever.

``Patients increasingly are not in hospitals but in

contract facilities where no one has the vaguest idea of what

is going on,'' said Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, a nationally

prominent psychiatrist, author and critic of the mental

health care system.

Because nobody is tracking these tragedies, many restraint-

related deaths go unreported not only to the government, but

sometimes to the families themselves.

``There is always some reticence on reporting problems

because of the litigious nature of society,'' acknowledged

Dr. Donald M. Nielsen, a senior vice president of the

American Hospital Association. ``I think the question is not

one of reporting, but making sure there are systems in place

to prevent these deaths.''

Typically, though, hospitals dismiss restraint-related

deaths as unfortunate flukes, not as a systemic issue. After

all, they say, these patients are troubled, ill and sometimes

violent.

The facility where Roshelle Clayborne died insists her

death had nothing to do with the restraint. Officials there

say it was a heart condition that killed the 16-year-old on

Aug. 18, 1997.

Bexar County Medical Examiner Vincent DiMaio ruled that

Clayborne died of natural causes, saying that restraint use

was a separate ``clinical issue.''

But that, too, is typical in restraint cases. Medical

examiners rarely connect the circumstances of the restraint

to the physical cause of death, making these cases impossible

to track through death certificates.

The explanations don't wash with Clayborne's grandmother.

``I'll picture her lying on that floor until the day I

die,'' Charlene Miles said. ``Roshelle had her share of

problems, but good God, no one deserves to die like that.''

With nobody tracking, nobody telling, nobody watching, the

same deadly errors are allowed to occur again and again.

Of the 142 restraint-related deaths confirmed by The

Courant's investigation:

Twenty-three people died after being restrained in face-

down floor holds.

Another 20 died after they were tied up in leather wrist

and ankle cuffs or vests, and ignored for hours.

Causes of death could be confirmed in 125 cases. Of those

patients, 33 percent died of asphyxia, another 26 percent

died of cardiac-related causes.

Ages could be confirmed in 114 cases. More than 26 percent

of those were children--nearly twice the proportion they

constitute in mental health institutions.

Many of the victims were so mentally or physically impaired

they could not fend for themselves. Others had to be

restrained after they erupted violently, without warning and

for little reason.

Caring for these patients is a difficult and dangerous job,

even for the best-trained workers. Staffers can suddenly find

themselves the target of a thrown chair, a punch, a bite from

an HIV-positive patient.

Yet the great tragedy is that many of the deaths could have

been prevented by setting

standards that are neither costly nor difficult: better

training in restraint use; constant or frequent monitoring of

patients in restraints; the banning of dangerous techniques

such as face-down floor holds; CPR training for all direct-

care workers.

``When you look at the statistics and realize there's a

pattern, you need to start finding out why,'' said Dr. Rod

Munoz, president of the American Psychiatric Association,

when told of The Courant's findings. ``We have to take

action.''

Mental health providers, who treat more than 9 million

patients a year at an annual cost of more than $30 billion,

judge themselves by the humanity of their care. So the misuse

of restraints--and the contributing factors, such as poor

training and staffing--offers a disturbing window into the

overall quality of the nation's mental health system.

For their part, health care officials say restraints are

used less frequently and more compassionately than ever

before.

``When it comes to restraints, the public has a picture of

medieval things, chains and dungeons,'' said Dr. Kenneth

Marcus, psychiatrist in chief at Connecticut Valley Hospital

in Middletown. ``But it really isn't. Restraints are used to

physically stabilize patients, to prevent them from being

assaultive or hurting themselves.''

But in case after case reviewed by The Courant, court and

medical documents show that restraints are still used far too

often and for all the wrong reasons: for discipline, for

punishment, for the convenience of staff.

``As a nation we get all up in arms reading about human

rights issues on the other side of the world, but there are

some basic human rights issues that need attention right here

at our back door,'' said Jean Allen, the adoptive mother of

Tristan Sovern, a North Carolina teen who died after aides

wrapped a towel and bed sheet around his head.

Others have a simple explanation for the lack of attention

paid to deaths in mental health facilities.

``These are the most devalued, disenfranchised people that

you can imagine,'' said Ron Honberg, director of legal

affairs for the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill. ``They

are so out of sight, so out of mind, so devoid of rights,

really. Who cares about them anyway?''

Few seemed to care much about Roshelle Clayborne at Laurel

Ridge, where she was known as a ``hell raiser.''

But Clayborne had made one close friendship--with her

roommate, Lisa Allen. Allen remembers showing Clayborne how

to throw a football during afternoon recess on that summer

afternoon in 1997.

``She just couldn't seem to get it right and she was

getting more and more frustrated. But I told her it was OK,

we'd try again tomorrow,'' said Allen, who has since rejoined

her family in Indiana.

Within three hours, Clayborne was dead.

She had attacked staff members with pencils. And staffers

had a routine for hell raisers.

``This is the way we do it with Roshelle,'' a worker later

told state regulators. ``Boom, boom, boom: [medications] and

restraints and seclusion.''

After she was restrained, Roshelle Clayborne lay in her own

waste and vomit for five minutes before anyone noticed she

hadn't moved. Three staffers tried in vain to find a pulse.

Two went looking for a ventilation mask and oxygen bag,

emergency equipment they never found.

During all this time, no one started CPR.

``It wouldn't have worked anyway,'' Vanessa Lewis, the

licensed vocational nurse on duty, later declared to state

regulators.

By the time a registered nurse arrived and began CPR, it

was too late. Clayborne never revived.

In their final report on Clayborne's death, Texas state

regulators cited Laurel Ridge for five serious violations and

found staff failed to protect her health and safety during

the restraint. They recommended Laurel Ridge be closed.

Instead, the state placed Laurel Ridge on a one-year

probation in February and the center remains open for

business. In a prepared statement, Laurel Ridge said it has

complied with the state's concerns--and it pointed out the

difficulty in treating someone with Clayborne's background.

``Roshelle Clayborne, a ward of the state, had a very

troubled and extensive psychiatric history, which is why

Laurel Ridge was chosen to treat her,'' the statement said.

``Roshelle's death was a tragic event and we empathize with

the family.''

With no criminal prosecution and little regulatory action,

the Clayborne family is now suing in civil court. The Austin

chapter of the NAACP and the private watchdog group Citizens

Human Rights Commission of Texas are asking for a federal

civil rights investigation into the death of Clayborne.

Medications and restraint and seclusion.

Clayborne's friend, Lisa Allen, knew the routine well, too.

For six years, Allen, now 18, lived in mental health

facilities in Indiana and Texas, where her explosive

personality would often boil over and land her in trouble.

By her own estimate, Allen was restrained ``thousands'' of

times and she bears the scars to prove it: a mark on her knee

from a rug burn when she was restrained on a carpet; the loss

of part of a birthmark on her forehead when she was slammed

against a concrete wall.

Exactly two weeks after Roshelle Clayborne's death, Lisa

Allen found herself in the same position as her friend.

The same aide had pinned her arms across her chest.

Thorazine was pumped into her system. She was deposited in

the seclusion room.

``It felt like my lungs were being squished together,''

Allen said.

But Lisa Allen was one of the lucky ones.

She survived.

The fact of the matter is that today, 19 States have no laws or regulations related to the use of seclusion or restraints in school. Seven States place some restrictions on restraint, but do not regulate seclusions. That's within the 31 that was referred to by Mr. Kline. Seventeen States require that selected staff receive training before being permitted to restrain children. The rest do not. Thirteen States require schools to obtain consent prior to foreseeable or nonemergency physical restraints, while 19 require parents to be notified afterwards. Only two States require annual reporting on the use of restraints. Eight States specifically prohibit the use of prone restraints or restraints that impede a child's ability to breathe.

I would argue, Mr. Speaker, that as a government, as a Nation that provides massive amounts of education dollars across the country, we would never countenance racial discrimination or gender discrimination by any institutions that receive those funds.

I don't think it's too much to say that we should not allow these types of practices which, in some instances, result in, as the chairman said, actual deaths and traumatic lifelong injuries, to be countenanced by the American taxpayer. This measure establishes minimum standards. It establishes transparency. It gives us as a country the opportunity to allow States to take leadership in terms of implementing their own rules and regulations. But it says as a Nation we are not going to tolerate this type of behavior, of which schools themselves are mandated reporters. If it was happening in a child's home, and as a teacher became aware of it, they would be required by law to report it to child protection agencies as a result of Federal law. We can do at least as much for the school environment which children go to every day in this country.

I urge a strong, powerful bipartisan vote in support of this legislation so that we can raise our children to a new level as they go to school every day.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to mark the passing of my friend and constituent Ronald Crabb who died tragically while working on the site of the Kleen Energy Plant in Middletown on February 7, 2010. Ron was a devoted father, husband, and son, and his loss has been felt by countless individuals in his community and by those who called him a friend.

He was a skilled tradesman who exemplified hard work and citizenship by constantly giving back to the people of Colchester. As a pipefitter for the Connecticut Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 777, he took on leadership roles to ensure the safety and improve the lives of his fellow union members. Ron was also an active member of his community. He served on Colchester's Democratic Town Committee and, until recently, was a member of the Board of Finance for several years.

It was Ron's love for his wife, Jodi, and his two sons that made him so passionate and upbeat. Anyone fortunate enough to call him a friend would tell you that he kept their love with him no matter where he was or what he was doing. He loved spending time with them and spoke fondly of them in their absence.

On the job and in life, Ron had a seemingly endless desire and ability to help. He did this by putting his good values into practice and his town, friends, and family are better for it. He left us too early and we will miss him dearly. I ask my colleagues to join me in mourning the loss of Ronald Crabb.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1072) recognizing Louisiana State University for 150 years of service and excellence in higher education, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on House Resolution 1072 into the Record.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1072, which celebrates Louisiana State University for 150 years of service and leadership in higher education.

Founded in 1860 as a seminary school and a military academy, the university has grown to educate more than 26,000 students annually, including more than 1,400 international students and over 4,000 graduate students. The students and faculty, past and present, guide LSU to its current standing as the flagship public university of the State of Louisiana.

LSU's dedication in the classroom is matched by its athletic excellence. The university fields 20 Division 1A sports teams and has earned over 46 national championships, including a recent 2009 national men's baseball championship.

LSU also demonstrates leadership and serves the communities of Louisiana. This was best exemplified by its role in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In addition to accepting 2,300 displaced students from universities throughout the region, 3,000 LSU students volunteered to help injured Hurricane Katrina evacuees. LSU's support of the hardest hit communities in the Gulf Coast is critical to recovery, and I thank the university and its students for their service.

This year, Louisiana State University will celebrate 150 years of providing excellent education and cultivating young men and women who become local, State, and national leaders.

Madam Speaker, once again, I express my support for Louisiana State University and thank Representative Cassidy for bringing this bill forward.

I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1112) congratulating the Pennsylvania State University IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) on its continued success in support of the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on House Resolution 1112 into the Record.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1112, which recognizes Pennsylvania State University's Dance Marathon fund- raiser for its enthusiastic continued support of the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital. This is an event which was first started in 1972. It raised $2,000 in that year, and since then has continued on an annual basis and has raised a staggering amount of money for an incredibly good cause, the Children's Hospital at the Hershey Medical Center.

I know the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), the sponsor of this resolution, is far more familiar with the history of this extraordinary effort than I am, and I would just as soon defer to him to talk about this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, again, I urge strong support of the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.