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Three Ways I’m Fighting For Children
By Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
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October 1, 2007
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(Washington, DC) -- As I travel the 20th Congressional District, I have noticed a recurring theme when I talk to constituents. Whether I talk to a senior in the supermarket or a young parent at my children's ballgames, the overwhelming consensus is that everyone wants Congress to improve the quality of life for our nation’s children. The good news is that with the help of my colleagues, advocates and many concerned citizens we are getting it done! This month I am focusing on three pieces of legislation (two of which I initiated) to improve the lives of children throughout the country. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), federal pool and spa safety legislation (H.R. 1721), and legislation that will provide the FBI much needed resources to catch online sex predators.
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization will preserve health insurance for 6.6 million children in the USA and expand coverage for an additional 3.4 million uninsured children. A total of ten million children will be covered by this vital piece of legislation, fully funded by an approximate increase of 61 cents per pack on the current tobacco tax. Here in Florida the SCHIP program is called KidCare. We currently have over 700,000 children in Florida without health insurance. Right now, KidCare only covers about 320,000 children. Under the SCHIP legislation passed by Congress, Florida would receive enough funds to provide an additional 230,000 children with health insurance through KidCare. That is 230,000 more children who can see a doctor when they are sick, receive preventative care, or who can go to a dentist. Although this will not cover every uninsured child in Florida, it will make a world of difference for 230,000 children. While the legislation received wide bi-partisan support in Congress, it was callously vetoed by President Bush, preventing it from becoming law. It is unclear as I am writing this column, whether we will be able to convince 25 more members of the House of Representatives to vote to override the President’s veto of children’s health insurance. All I can tell you is that I will be fighting hard to get the votes we need to provide insurance for uninsured children.
The second bill that I am working on this month is a bill I introduced to prevent accidental drowning of children. Known as “The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act”, it would provide funding to states that pass swimming pool and spa safety legislation to help prevent childhood drowning -the second leading cause of accidental death among children ages one to fourteen years old. Enacting comprehensive pool and spa safety legislation has been one of my top priorities since my days as a state legislator. Three hundred and thirty five children died in the United States in 2004 as a result of drowning -a statistic that could have been reduced with basic pool safety legislation. As of my writing this column, the legislation has passed out of committee and is expected to be voted on by the full House of Representatives in mid-October. Companion legislation in the Senate, introduced by Sen. Mark Pryor (AR) has passed out of committee and is awaiting a vote in the full Senate.
The third piece of legislation I am working on is a bill I will introduce the second week of October to combat the explosive spread of child pornography on the Internet. The legislation, called the Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007, will help provide federal leadership and resources to establish a national network of highly trained federal, state and local investigators to focus exclusively on child exploitation.
The Department of Justice and the FBI have testified before Congress that child exploitation is growing rapidly. New investigative techniques have allowed law enforcement to identify nearly 500,000 individuals trafficking child pornography over the Internet. If this statistic is not shocking and disgusting enough, even worse is the fact that due to the lack of resources at the Federal, state and local level, only two percent of known offenders are being investigated.
Even more disturbing is that many of the cases of child pornography traded on the Internet, involve ongoing exploitation of children. These images, involve the actual rape of kids, many under the age of ten years old. Research shows that if we were to investigate these cases we could rescue one in three victims of child exploitation.
Recently, at a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee, I questioned FBI Director Robert Mueller as to why the FBI had 2,342 investigators dedicated to white-collar crime and only 242 investigators dedicated to child exploitation. You can view my questioning of FBI Director Mueller by clicking HERE.
On October 17, and working with the National Association to PROTECT Children and the Surviving Parents Coalition (made up of parents of victims of child sexual assault including the father of Jessica Lunsford and the father of Polly Klaas), the House Judiciary Committee will be holding a hearing on my legislation. The hearing will include testimony from parents whose children were exploited on the Internet as well as now-adult survivors of child exploitation. Senator Biden (DE) has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
I will continue to do everything possible to protect -and fight for- children, families, and seniors in South Florida and around the country. To that end, I want to hear any thoughts, questions or concerns you have. Please contact me in my Pembroke Pines (954) 437-3936, Aventura (305) 936-5724, or my Washington, DC Congressional Office (202) 225-7931. Or, visit me online at http://wassermanschultz.house.gov
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