Joe Manchin: “First, I wish to thank my good friend Senator Pat Toomey for working with me on this critical legislation to make sure…”

“First, I wish to thank my good friend Senator Pat Toomey for working with me on this critical legislation to make sure our kids remain safe in every single school across this great country of ours. I am a father of three and grandfather of eight, and there is nothing more important to me than protecting our children and grandchildren. Our bill is just common sense and has already passed by a voice vote with not one in opposition in the House. This legislation makes sure all employees who work with our students pass a background check to make sure they have no criminal records or an abusive history. That includes everyone from principals, teachers, and secretaries to cafeteria workers and janitors. Since January 1, 410 teachers across America have been arrested for sexual misconduct--just since January 1 of this year. That is more than one teacher per day who has sexually assaulted a student. And that only includes those who have been caught and detained. Do we dare wonder how many predators we could have prevented from harming our students if this bill had been passed years ago, including the outcome of the rape of a young West Virginia student named Jeremy Bell? Twelve-year-old Jeremy was a fifth grade student from Fayette County, WV, who had been on an overnight fishing trip with his elementary principal when he mysteriously died from a head injury in 1997.…”