Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, children are our greatest resource in this country. As citizens, as legislators, as parents and grandparents, it's our job to keep them safe, to be vigilant about protecting these children from those who wish to do them harm. The Child Protection Improvements Act of 2010 goes a long way toward ensuring that our children are not harmed by those that they are told to trust. Specifically, this bill extends the Child Safety Pilot Program which provides a background check for volunteer organizations that work with children. The bill also creates a mechanism to replace the pilot program with a permanent background check system that will enroll any organization using the Child Safety Pilot Program. Originally created in 2003 under the PROTECT Act, the Child Safety Pilot Program has been a proven and effective resource for protecting America's children. Of almost 90,000 background checks performed through the pilot program, 6 percent of volunteer applicants were found to have a criminal history of some concern. These included serious offenses such as sexual abuse of minors, assault, child cruelty, drug offenses, and even homicide. Since inception of the Child Safety Pilot Program, over 42 percent of those with criminal histories had convictions in a State other than the State in which they were applying to volunteer.…”