On the recordMarch 3, 2010
I'd like to thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for engaging with me today and my colleague from California in the discussion that we've had on both the underlying bill and the question of the need to bring jobs to the United States of America. The minority would have you believe that we have totally clamped down on this process and would not allow them to bring up dissenting views on this bill. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the Rules Committee granted the minority the opportunity to submit a substitute. They chose not to. We made in order both amendments that were submitted to the committee. So basically everything that was offered as a suggestion to improve the bill has been incorporated to this point. The gentlelady chose not to respond when I pointed out that 19 States have no restrictions whatsoever on using child restraints. And her own State allows for seclusion and restraint to maintain order, and does not require that there be imminent danger or even an emergency in order to duct tape children to seats, to lock them in closets, deny them food, deny them water, deny them access, without parental notification. That is the purpose of this underlying bill, to improve the situation that children are exposed to in our classrooms. Just a few years ago, 33,000 children in just the two States of Texas and California were exposed to this kind of situation, or at least allegedly so.
