George Miller

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3180, a bill to temporarily extend programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965. At the beginning of February, the House took steps to reauthorize the Higher Education Act in passing H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. We now find ourselves in the near final phase of completing the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act as we work toward a compromise bill with the Senate to ensure that the doors of college are truly open to all qualified students. It is our goal to ensure that a final bill encompasses the major issues addressed in H.R. 4137, including skyrocketing college prices, a needlessly complicated student aid application process, and predatory tactics by student lenders. The bill under consideration today, S. 3180, will extend the programs under the Higher Education Act until July 31, 2008, to allow sufficient time for final deliberations on the two bills reported out of the respective Chambers. It has been nearly 10 years since the Higher Education Act was last reauthorized, and I believe the Members on both sides of the aisle and in both Chambers are anxious to complete the work on this bill in this Congress. We believe it can happen. I look forward to joining my colleagues on the committees in both the House and the Senate in completing our work on behalf of this Nation's hardworking families and students. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6358) to require certain standards and enforcement provisions to prevent child abuse and neglect in residential programs, and for other purposes.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of H.R. 6358, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008. This legislation incorporates the bipartisan compromise amendment to H.R. 5876 that this House debated yesterday and supported by a vote of 422 in a recorded vote that was taken on the substitute amendments. The ranking member, Mr. McKeon, and I worked together to develop this compromise legislation because we both agree that children's health and safety should never be a partisan issue. The Government Accountability Office has found thousands of cases and allegations of child abuse and neglect, stretching back decades, to teen residential programs, including boot camps, wilderness camps, and therapeutic boarding schools. The Education and Labor Committee has closely reviewed dozens of serious neglect and abuse cases, including cases that resulted in the death of a child. We have heard from parents of children who died of preventable causes at the hands of untrained, uncaring staff members. We have heard from adults who attended these programs as teens. They too were the victims of physical and emotional abuse and witnessed other children being abused. These abuses have been allowed to go on because of the weak State and Federal rules governing teen residential programs. An 18-month study by the Government Accountability Office showed that State licensing may exclude certain types of teen residential programs and thus place children at higher risk of abuse and neglect. In some States inconsistent licensing enables programs to define themselves out of the licensing altogether. According to GAO, in Texas a program that calls itself a residential treatment center would be required to obtain a license, but if that same program simply called itself a boarding school, it would not be required to have that license, and that's why this legislation is terribly important. Parents send their children to these programs because they feel they have exhausted their alternatives. Their children may be abusing drugs or alcohol, attempting to run away or physically harm themselves, or otherwise acting out. They turn to these programs because the promise of staff members that will help their children straighten out their lives. And surely there are many cases in which programs do provide families the help they need. These parents are desperate and their children are in deep trouble. But in far too many cases, when parents turn to those programs, they find they are getting conflicted information by people who have conflicts of interest in recommending the care for their children, financial conflicts of interest, ownership issues, and relationship issues that conflict that kind of advice. We also know that we see programs that violate the trust that must be established between the parent and these programs and the programs and the children. It's very difficult for these parents to find good programs and to find accurate information, since the reporting requirements are so thin or nonexistent in so many States. This legislation requires the Department of Health and Human Services to establish minimum standards for residential programs, and to enforce them. Ultimately, however, the States will have primary responsibility for carrying out the work of this bill. The legislation calls upon the States within 3 years to take up the role of setting standards and enforcing them at all programs, public and private. The Health and Human Services and the State standards would include prohibitions on physical, sexual, and mental abuse of children. The standards would require the programs to provide children with adequate food, water, and medical care. They would require that programs have plans in place to handle medical emergencies. They would also include new training requirements for program staff, including the training on how to identify and report child abuse. The legislation requires Health and Human Services to set up a toll- free hotline for people to call to report abuse in these programs. It also requires Health and Human Services to create a Web site for information about each program so that parents can look and see if substantiated cases of child abuse or a child fatality has occurred at the program that they are considering for their children. Finally, the legislation requires programs to disclose to parents the qualifications, roles, and responsibilities of all current staff members, and requires programs to notify parents of substantiated child abuse or violations of health and safety laws. Madam Speaker, we have the responsibility to keep children safe, no matter what setting they are in. Today, we are taking an important step to finally ending the horrific abuses that have gone on in these residential programs for teens. I want to thank again Congresswoman McCarthy of New York for all of her help and work on this legislation, and Congressman McKeon for all of his work on this legislation. His suggestions as the bill left the committee made this a better piece of legislation, and I encourage my colleagues to support the bipartisan legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I want to thank Congressman Platts for his support of this legislation.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 5876 into the Record.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, because I was chairing a hearing today on whether OSHA is failing to adequately enforce construction safety rules, I was unable to vote on the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, H.R. 6331. I strongly support the legislation, and I would have voted in favor of H.R. 6331 had I been present during the vote.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5876, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs For Teens Act of 2008. Last year, a 17-year-old boy in a Maryland residential program for teens became unresponsive after he was physically restrained by staff members. According to the press reports, prosecutors alleged that the staff members waited 41 minutes to call 911 because they thought the boy was faking. The boy died. A 15-year-old boy in a wilderness camp in Colorado died in May 2007 from a staph infection. According to the press reports, State authorities said the boy showed observable signs of infection that were neglected by the camp staff members. Tragically, these recent deaths are not isolated cases. The Government Accountability Office has thousands of cases and allegations of child abuse and neglect stretching back decades in teen residential programs, including boot camps, wilderness camps and therapeutic boarding schools. The Education and Labor Committee has closely examined a number of these neglect and abuse cases, including cases that resulted in the death of a child. We have heard stories about program staff members forcing children to remain in so-called stress positions for hours at a time, to stand with bags over their heads and nooses around their necks in mock hangings, to eat foods to which they were allergic, even as they got sick, or to eat their own vomit. We have heard from parents of children who died preventible deaths at the hands of untrained, uncaring staff members. Bob Bacon testified that program staff members mocked his son, Aaron, when the 16-year-old boy asked for medical help, calling him a faker. For weeks, the staff deprived Aaron of adequate food and water even though his weight loss became frighteningly apparent. When Bob and his wife Sally went to the mortuary to see their son, they found scars of abuse and dried skin stretched taut over Aaron's bones. Cynthia Harvey told the Education and Labor Committee that program staff members waited 45 minutes before summoning appropriate medical care for her daughter, Erica, who had collapsed and was having difficulty breathing. Paul Lewis testified that program staff members ignored his son Ryan's obvious signs of emotional distress, denying him psychiatric care that could have saved his life. In addition to wrenching stories like these parents told, the Education and Labor Committee has also heard from adults who attended these programs as teens. They too were victims of physical and emotional abuse and witnessed other children being abused. Madam Chairman, these abuses have been allowed to continue unchecked because of the weak patchwork of State and Federal regulations governing teen residential programs. An exhaustive 18-month study by the Government Accountability Office showed that State licensing programs may exclude certain types of teen residential programs, and thus place children at higher risk of abuse and neglect. In some States, inconsistent licensing enables programs to define themselves out of the licensing altogether. According to the GAO, in Texas a program that calls itself a residential treatment center would be required to obtain a license; but if that same program were simply called a boarding school, it would not require a license. Even when licensing exists, GAO found that there may not be minimum standards to effectively prevent child abuse and neglect. Parents often send their children to these programs when they feel they have exhausted all their alternatives. Their children may be abusing drugs or alcohol, attempting to run away--or physically harm themselves--or otherwise acting out. Parents turn to these programs because of the promise that staff members will help their children straighten their lives out. And surely there are many cases in which programs do provide families with the help they need. In far too many cases, however, the very people entrusted with the safety, health, and welfare of these children are the ones who violate the trust in some of the most awful ways imaginable. We have learned a great deal from the Government Accountability Office about programs' irresponsible operating practices that put kids at risk and about the deceitful marketing practices that programs use to lure parents desperate for help for their children. The Government Accountability Office also found examples of the shady network that programs sometimes relied on, such as referral service providers that claim to offer independent services to parents but that actually have close financial or personal ties to the very programs that they are ``independently recommending.'' We know that there are many programs and people around the country who are committed to helping improve the lives of young people and who do good work every day. But, unfortunately, it has become extremely difficult for parents to tell the good programs from the bad. And I would remind you again that very often these parents seek nothing but the best for their children, children who are extremely difficult to handle, who have failed in other efforts and other programs to deal with their problems. So these parents have exhausted most of their options, and then they run into some of these programs which then endanger their child even though the parent is seeking the best for their child. The legislation before us today, H.R. 5876, would help keep children safe in residential programs and help ensure that parents have information they need to make safer choices for their kids. The legislation requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish minimum standards for private programs to enforce those standards. With children's health and safety at risk, this Federal rule is a necessary recognition that we are dealing with an emergency and we cannot wait for the States to act. These abuses have been going on for years. States have had time to act and in many instances they have failed to do so. Ultimately, however, States will be primarily responsible for carrying out the work of this bill. The legislation calls for States within 3 years to take up the role of setting standards and enforcing them on all programs, both public and private. The Health and Human Services Administration and the State standards would include prohibitions on physical, sexual, and mental abuse of children. The standards would require that programs provide children with adequate food, water, and medical care. They would require that programs have plans in place to handle medical emergencies. They would also include new training requirements for program staff members, including training on how to identify and report child abuse. The legislation requires Health and Human Services to set up a toll- free hotline for people to call to report abuse in these programs. As you can see, Madam Chair, these are minimum requirements for the health and the safety of the children that have been placed in this care. It also requires Health and Human Services to create a Web site with information about each program so that parents can look and see if substantiated cases of abuse have occurred at a program that they are considering for their children. Finally, the legislation helps prevent programs from using deceptive marketing tactics to target parents. Among other things, it requires programs to disclose to parents the qualifications, roles, and responsibilities of all current staff members, and requires programs to notify parents of substantiated reports of child abuse or violations of health and safety laws. The legislation has the strong support of the American Association of Residential Centers. One of the association board members, Dr. Christopher Bellonci, testified in support of the legislation earlier this year. He said, and I quote, ``The goal of this legislation is to ensure that children are not abused in these treatment settings, not to limit access to appropriate, regulated, and licensed residential care for children who are in need of these services. All of us working in licensed residential centers should support this goal.'' Madam Chairman, we have a responsibility to keep children safe no matter what setting they are in, and today we are taking an important step towards finally ending the horrific abuses that have gone on far too long in residential programs for teens. I want to thank Congresswoman McCarthy of our committee for her hard work on this legislation, and I want to thank Congressman McKeon for his effort. And we will be offering a manager's amendment later that I think will help make this bill bipartisan and helps deal with some of the concerns that people had with the legislation. So I want to thank Congressman McKeon and his staff. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield the gentlewoman 1 additional minute.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott). (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield 1 additional minute.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged concurrent resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) who's been very, very involved in the drafting of this legislation and also in other matters before our committee to keep children safe in whatever setting they're in.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman).

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. If the Chair might advise us of how much time we have remaining.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. If the gentleman has no further speakers, I would be happy to yield back the general debate time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) for all of his assistance, for his remarks, and we all recognize that this is a bill that is a work in progress. I think certainly at this stage we have it about right, but we will continue those discussions. Again, I thank him for his assistance.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk, the manager's amendment.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Chairman, I yield myself 5 minutes. I rise in strong support of this manager's amendment, and I offer this manager's amendment on behalf of myself and Congressman McKeon, who worked with us on this amendment to improve the legislation. It is the intent, as you have just heard from the debate on this legislation, to ensure that children are safe no matter what settings they are in. And this amendment further refines the legislation to improve the legislation. The main changes that are offered in this amendment--and Mr. McKeon pushed for these changes and recognized the need for them--one is to broaden the Federal oversight to include public residential programs as well as private ones. It strikes the right provided under this Act for families to sue in Federal court for violations of the national standards. And it strikes the requirement that the Health and Human Services conduct site inspections of all covered programs at least every 2 years. It was my belief that we continue and are able to maintain the intent and the purposes of this Act to make sure that children are safe in these varied settings, as we heard from Mr. Murphy of Pennsylvania, children who are very difficult to handle in many instances and parents who have run out of the capacity to deal with these children seeking to have this care. I believe that the manager's amendment further refines the legislation, strikes a better balance in the bill, and I want to again thank Mr. McKeon. I reserve the balance of my time on the manager's amendment.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I have no further requests for time if the gentleman would yield back.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.