Bob Casey

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I am especially grateful to the senior Senator from Connecticut for his words tonight and the challenge those words present to us. We are grateful for his efforts to stand for children. I rise tonight to speak about children here in the United States. I spoke earlier about issues that related to women and girls and children generally in Afghanistan. But I wanted to highlight a report that came out recently by one of the leading organizations in the country that charts the well-being of children over time and advocates on their behalf. The name of the organization that many here have heard of, I am sure, is the Annie E. Casey Foundation--no relation to me--a foundation that has made it its mission to advocate on behalf of children. We cannot be an effective advocate--none of us--unless we chart their progress and find out what is working. So I am going to briefly summarize tonight the findings of the 2014 Kids County Report by the Casey Foundation. I have here at the lectern kind of a color-coded chart which I will not hold up because I do not have an enlarged version of it. I will not be able to have it printed in the Record. I want to summarize it. Basically, what is in front of me is a summary of various categories that the Annie E. Casey Foundation has developed to chart the well-being of children. They separate the comparisons into four sections, and then they determine whether over time--whether it is over 4 or 5 years or over a longer period of time-- whether for children the indicators have worsened or improved. It is a very basic set of metrics. The categories they track for children are the following four categories: first, economic well-being, and I will talk about some of the indicators there; second, education; third, health; and fourth, a category they call family and community. The basic indicators for the entire United States--of course, they have a breakdown for how the children in every State are doing on those indicators. For example, in terms of what is getting better, we should highlight and note when there are improvements made. I think the fact that we have improvements on these indicators for children over time indicates that public policy matters, what happens here in the Congress matters, what happens across the country in nonprofit organizations and advocacy organizations that fight every day for children and say over and over again, as the advocates tell us, that children are not small adults--we need specific strategies for children, whether it is for health care or for early education or to make sure they get enough to eat or to protect them from predators. Whatever the issue, we have to have specific strategies for children. Let's go through a couple of areas where there has been improvement-- not dramatic improvement, not enough improvement for us to say we have achieved a measure of success on one metric and we can move on. In the area of education, just by way of example, eighth grade children--eighth graders not proficient in math, so it is kind of almost a negative indicator the way it is phrased. In 2005, across the United States, 72 percent of eighth graders were not proficient in math--a very high number, 72 percent. When they looked at it again in 2013, it was down to 66. So it has improved by 6 percentage points, but thankfully it is moving in the right direction. But we can't be satisfied with 66 percent of eighth graders not--not--proficient in math, but it is good news it is moving in the right direction. Another bit of good news and maybe a more urgent issue in terms of what happens to very young children--in this case, low birth weight babies--there is an improvement there from 2005 to 2012. So over 7 years, the percentage of low birth weight babies, according to this data, has gotten better, but the unfortunate part is it only went from 8.2 percent to 8 percent--not much of an improvement but an improvement. We have a long way to go in the greatest country in the world when we say that there has been an improvement but still 8 percent of babies are low birth weight. So there is an improvement, but there is a lot more work to do. Maybe the best area indicator of improvement--and then I will move on to areas where there has been a worsening--children without health insurance. We hear a lot of discussion about health insurance, health care, and the Affordable Care Act in Congress, but in 2008 when that measurement was taken, 18 percent of children did not have health care. So in 2008 it was 10 percent, and as of 2012 it is down to 7 percent. So there is a substantial diminution or reduction in the number of children without health insurance. But if we do the math, 7 percent of the children of the country don't have health insurance. That is a big number. So it is getting better, substantially better, better than almost any other metric in terms of growth or progress, but we have to do a lot more to make sure that it is not 7 percent--that number should be zero--make sure that every child has health insurance. That has to be the goal, and that has to be what we are determined to achieve in the Senate. I will go through a couple of areas that have worsened, but thankfully, of what is 16 categories, there are more improvement categories than worsening categories. Unfortunately, we have to go through some of the areas where it is worse. One that is particularly disturbing is children in poverty. That has worsened between the years 2005 and 2012--19 percent in 2005 was the percentage of children in poverty. As of 2012 that went up to 23 percent. So prior to the great recession and then some time after the recession ended, the 2012 number was 23 percent. So that is a worsening number, and it should give us not just pause, but it should be an impetus to action to reduce that number--23 percent of the children in the country in poverty as of 2012. Children whose parents lack secure employment--that number got worse. Children living in households with high-housing-cost burden--that number got worse, unfortunately. I will give two more, and then I will conclude my remarks. Children in single-parent families--that number got worse between 2005 and 2012. Finally, children living in high-poverty areas--that was measured over a different time period--2000 versus a time period between 2008 and 2012. That number got worse as well. What this report indicates--and I won't go through the State numbers--is that first and foremost we have to keep records and we have to track progress. But it also indicates that even when there is an improving metric, when the numbers are getting better, say, for example, on low birth weight babies, that improvement is in many cases very slight and not nearly adequate or acceptable. I think both on the worsening numbers and on the improvement numbers, it should be a call to action. I believe that if we are doing the right thing for our children, if we are living up to what the Scriptures tell us about justice, where the Scriptures talk about ``Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied,'' if we think of how we treat children as a measure or as an indicator of justice and our commitment to justice, we cannot say that these numbers are in any way acceptable, that our hunger and our thirst for that kind of justice cannot be satisfied with these numbers. We should be committed to not just tracking and making marginal or incremental progress, we should be committed to the full measure of justice for our children. Hubert Humphrey said--and he may have said it on this floor when he represented Minnesota--``It was once said that the moral test of a government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.'' He said that was the moral test of a government. So if we are talking about what Humphrey said about children in the dawn of their life, we have to reflect upon and be motivated by the findings of the Annie E. Casey Foundation report. It is one of those reports that remind us how we can improve when it comes to the well- being of our children, but it also reminds us and I think alarms us about areas where we have not improved and we have a ways to go.

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mr. CASEY. I rise to speak about a topic that we don't talk about enough, which is what is happening in Afghanistan with regard to women and girls. I know the senior Senator from Arizona was speaking about Syria before I had recognition, and I am grateful to him for the work we have done together. He is working with me and others on the best way forward for us to have a constructive impact on what is happening, working to get more dollars and more efforts in the direction of supporting the well-vetted Syrian opposition. I am grateful to him for his compassion and his commitment on this issue, and we look forward to working with him going forward. I rise today to talk about an issue that we don't focus on enough here and that is the outlook for Afghan women and the children who have grown up during the past 13 years of war in Afghanistan. Children all too often are the innocent victims of the conflict. According to a recent report by the U.N. Secretary General to the Security Council in Afghanistan, child casualties increased by 30 percent between 2012 and 2013. While reporting was limited by the security environment, there were at least 790 documented incidents in which 545 children were killed and 1,149 were injured. That is just a snapshot of the horror that so many children have suffered in Afghanistan. Armed opposition groups such as the Taliban are responsible for a majority of the recorded child casualties. I have spoken on the floor a number of times about the substantial improvements that have been made in Afghanistan, with significant United States support. Our tax dollars, our people, and our government have helped enormously to get greater numbers of Afghan children, especially girls, into school. Where there were once only a few educational opportunities, now more than 8.3 million children are in school, boys and girls. By one assessment, up to 40 percent of those 8.3 million children are girls. The security situation and persistent Taliban aggression in Afghanistan continue to threaten this progress. According to the same U.N. report, there were at least 73 reported attacks on schools. In some especially horrifying incidents, improvised explosive devices--we know them as IEDs--were planted inside school premises. The American people should be proud of the sacrifices that have already been made by our fighting men and women and our diplomats who have served in Afghanistan and the progress--which I have just mentioned--that has been made. As the political transition approaches and we prepare for a full security transition, this issue merits continued focus. In 2013 and 2014, I led a bipartisan effort with Senator Ayotte to include language in the National Defense Authorization Act that highlights the security issues Afghan women and girls face and promotes the recruitment and retention of women in the Afghan National Security Forces. I focused on the issue because I believe the future of women and girls is critical, essential, to the stability of Afghanistan going forward and consequently our own national security interests in the region. According to the Institute for Inclusive Security: ``There is evidence that women in uniform are more likely than their male colleagues to de-escalate tensions and less likely to use excessive force.'' Some improvements have been made to recruit and retain women in the Afghan National Security Forces. For example, earlier this month, 51 women graduated from the Afghan National Police Academy. These women defy the Taliban's threats by serving as police officers. During the elections earlier this year, female police officers and searchers helped secure polling stations for women, and their effect was tangible: significant turnout by female voters despite serious security threats. Although significant progress has been made in women's rights and security, there are still far too many horrific incidents of violence against women and children. I was particularly disturbed, as I know many women were, by an article that ran in the New York Times on July 19 entitled: ``Struggling to Keep Afghan Girl Safe After a Mullah is Accused of Rape.'' That is the name of the article dated July 19. The article describes how a 10-year-old Afghan girl was raped by a mullah in a mosque. A local women's shelter took in the young girl after the attack to protect her from her own family, who were planning to carry out an honor killing. The activists at the shelter received death threats in addition to the threats to the girl. Once the young girl recovered, she was returned to her family. However, as the article concludes: ``Those caring for the girl said she had been terribly homesick and wanted to return to her family, but no one had the heart to tell her they had been conspiring to kill her.'' To say that this story is heartbreaking doesn't begin to translate the horror of what some young girls have to face in Afghanistan and other parts of the world as well. Extremists will no doubt continue to threaten women leaders and target innocent children in an effort to terrorize the Afghan people during this transition. We should send an unequivocal message that the United States continues to stand with Afghan women and children and that we see them as an important part of building a stable and secure Afghanistan. In an effort to honor the sacrifices of the American people and our service men and women, and to make sure those sacrifices are remembered, we have to make sure that we take steps in the Senate. I filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, and I am grateful again for the work Senator Ayotte has done with me. We were joined most recently by several cosponsors, Senator Shaheen, Senator Warner, and Senator Boxer. This amendment will address three main issues: No. 1, continue to prioritize recruitment and retention of women in the Afghan National Security Forces. No. 2. Support police units that are specially trained to work with female or adolescent victims and increase the number of female security officers specifically trained to address cases of gender-based violence. This would include ensuring Afghan National Police's Family Response Units have the necessary resources and are available to women across Afghanistan. No. 3. Finally, emphasize the need to maintain the female searcher capabilities that were established in the April 2014 Presidential elections and for the 2015 parliamentary elections. We must ensure that the gains made by Afghan women in every sector of society are preserved in a post-2014 Afghanistan. It is in our national security interests to help prevent Afghanistan from ever again becoming a safe haven and training ground for international terrorism. We have seen from the recent events in Iraq what happens after a security transition if some groups are marginalized. As we approach transition in Afghanistan, women and young people should not just be the target of Taliban violence; they should be full partners in building a stable Afghanistan. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. CASEY. About 10 minutes.

Mr. CASEY. I yield to the Senator from Michigan.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, Senators will be notified when any votes are scheduled.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 31, 2014; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 2648, the emergency supplemental appropriations bill, postcloture, with the time until 10 a.m. equally divided between the two leaders or their designees, with Senator Sessions controlling the time from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and the majority controlling the time from 11 a.m. to 12 noon; and finally, that the time during the adjournment count postcloture.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. I now ask for a second reading and object to my own request.

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I understand that S. 2709, introduced earlier today by Senator Manchin, is at the desk and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I understand that S. 2648, introduced earlier today by Senator Mikulski, is at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. I note the absence of a quorum.

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. CASEY. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to highlight an important piece of legislation that was just voted out of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions--known by the acronym HELP. We voted out of committee today S. 2539, the Traumatic Brain Injury Reauthorization Act of 2014. Senator Hatch and I introduced S. 2539 to reauthorize existing programs to support States' efforts to help individuals live with traumatic brain injury and of course to help their families. TBIs range from mild concussions to devastating life-altering injuries that collectively represent a significant public health challenge. It is the signature injury, unfortunately, of the conflicts of the last decade, whether it is Iraq or Afghanistan. It is also an injury that occurs approximately 2.5 million times in the United States each year. Over 50,000 people die of traumatic brain injuries every year. Traumatic brain injury is implicated in nearly one-third of all injury-related deaths. Children--just imagine this number--ages 0 to 4 and teens ages 15 to 19 are at the greatest risk for traumatic brain injury. Among all children in an average year, 62,000 will sustain brain injuries that require hospitalization and 564,000 will be seen in hospital emergency rooms. Clearly, we must continue to improve our response to traumatic brain injury, which includes prevention, timely and accurate diagnosis, and treatment. The bill passed today out of the HELP Committee would make modest but important improvements to the TBI Act that is in place already. We ask that the Department of Health and Human Services develop a traumatic brain injury coordination plan to ensure that Federal activities at HHS and other Federal agencies are being coordinated for maximum efficiency and effectiveness. We also ask for a review of the scientific evidence on brain injury and in particular brain injury management in children, with a special emphasis on evaluating scientific evidence behind the ``return to school'' and ``return to play'' policies. This of course is very important. As public awareness of the seriousness of traumatic brain injuries increases, parents, schools, and coaches are struggling to develop appropriate responses. A lot of attention thus far has been focused on the ``return to play'' policies, trying to ensure that children don't return to sports until they have healed from a previous concussion, but there is much less attention on the so-called return to school policies and how we can take steps to ensure that children with a concussion or a more serious brain injury can return to the classroom and continue learning safely and effectively. It is my hope that this bill, S. 2539, will help focus future research efforts and guide Federal and State agencies looking to develop policies in this area. Along with a lot of the members of the HELP Committee, I am pleased the committee voted today to move forward S. 2539, and I hope the rest of the Senate will join Senator Hatch and me in passing this legislation as quickly as possible. In conclusion, it has been a great honor to work with Senator Hatch on this legislation as it is when we work together on a whole series of important matters in the Senate. 2014 Kids Count Data Book Mr. President, I have brief comments on an important set of data that has just been released. I will highlight very briefly the 2014 Kids Count Data Book, something a lot of child advocates and families are aware of. This is an annual report, and I want to highlight the fact that the 2014 report is now on the record. This Kids Count Data Book was just published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation for this year. The Kids Count Data Book looks at every State to measure child well-being in States and across the country considering factors such as economic well-being, health, education, family, and community. Within each of these categories the report highlights four important metrics and notes whether we have improved from the year 2008 to 2012. Nationally, 10 of the 16 metrics showed improvement. That is good news. Five metrics worsened. Of course we don't like hearing that, but it is important to measure when we are going in the wrong direction. And one of the metrics remained unchanged. So we are happy the improvement number is 16 metrics and the worsening metric number is 5, but we still have a long way to go to improve in each of these areas. The report also ranks States based upon their overall results. Pennsylvania is ranked 16th in the Nation. I wish we were in the top 10. I wish we were in the top five and even No. 1. So we have some work to do in Pennsylvania. In some areas Pennsylvania is doing well compared to the national average. For example, we have a lower rate of children without health insurance. That is certainly good news, with still more to do on that. Teen birth rates in Pennsylvania continue to be below the national average. Pennsylvania has a slightly higher percentage of children attending preschool. That is good news. We have a lot more to do on that, both in Pennsylvania and across the Nation. Finally, Pennsylvania students continue to have higher proficiency rates in reading and math skills when compared to the national rate, but there is still more work to do there as well. The report also highlights areas where we need to improve both in Pennsylvania and nationally. Far too many children in the United States of America are living in poverty with parents who often lack secure employment. Too many teens are not in school and also not working, which dramatically worsens their ability to grow into economically self-sufficient adults. I would encourage my colleagues to review the 2014 Kids Count Data Book which is available on the Web site of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We should all consider what we can do in the Senate and in the other body to improve our children's lives and our future.

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise tonight to ask unanimous consent, first of all, to speak as if in morning business.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 489.

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the Kirk amendment to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble, as amended, be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration, en bloc, of the following resolutions, which were submitted earlier today: S. Res. 514, S. Res. 515, and S. Res. 516.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. I know of no further debate on the resolution.

Mr. CASEY. I further ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, following the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar No. 929, Harris, on Thursday, July 24, 2014, the Senate remain in executive session and consider Calendar No. 777, Disbrow; that there be 2 minutes for debate equally divided between the two leaders or their designees prior to the vote; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination; that if the nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to the nomination; that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the Record, and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. CASEY. For the information of all Senators, we expect this nomination to be confirmed by voice vote.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: Calendar Nos. 934 through 951 and all nominations placed on the Secretary's desk in the Air Force, Army, and Navy; that the nominations be confirmed en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.