Date: 2010-03-03
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker. the argument against this legislation is that somehow 31 States have taken care of this problem and that we all share the concern. The facts are that 31 States have not taken care of this problem. As we pointed out. in a number of States. it only goes to one particular population in that school. in that setting. or to an age bracket. or to just reporting. what have you. These are not laws that are designed to protect these children in this situation. Illinois has been cited. Illinois is very close to what you would like to see have happen. and they have spent a lot of effort trying to do that. But in my own State. we talk about the 14.000. When you ask the person responsible for this. they say. We dont use the data. So is that sufficient for Members of Congress? California has "addressed the problem"? Yes. they collect data that they refuse to characterize or do anything else with. Paige could have been in that data. She could have been one of those 14.000. So I think we have to understand. I appreciate there is a difference here about the approach. But as Mr. COURTNEY pointed out. in 1998 we had a national discussion. an expose of many of the same behaviors that are going on today. it is 12 years later. and children are still being abused. dramatically abused. Restraint and seclusion is being dramatically misused. It is being used by people who dont know what to do in that situation. They have not been trained. I find it interesting that the school boards who have to live with this problem on an everyday basis support this legislation. The classroom teachers who have to live with this on an everyday basis support this legislation. People who are on the front lines want this legislation passed because it will bring them greater understanding. greater knowledge. greater skill. and greater training to deal in these situations. An understanding. yes. there are situations where. in an emergency case. where there is a danger to the individual student or to others. that this may be proper. But it also takes training to understand that and how you use it. I refuse to believe that was the 14.000 incidents in California. that each one of those was an emergency. dangerous situation. They may say it is an emergency. but in California they dont describe what an emergency is. So compliance with current law all across this country is not a big deal. It is not doing much for the families of these children. It is not doing much to protect these children. That is why we move. We move with some minimum standards about taping children. mechanical restraints of children. about secluding very young children in darkness for hours at a time. maybe repeatedly for days on end. You should not be able to do that. We have other investigations in the committee where the simple withdrawal of water has killed children because of dehydration. So we ought not to withdraw water here. We ought to not withdraw food as a means of punishment. We ought not deny them the use of the bathroom facilities. We ought not have them in a situation where they are soiling themselves in front of their classmates. where they are humiliated. where circles are drawn around their chair and they sit in the classroom tied down by duct tape. while they are humiliated and pointed at by the teacher. These are 4- and 5and 6yearold kids. None of us would stand for this with our children or our grandchildren. not for a minute. But many of these parents are never notified that this is happening to their children. Many of the grandparents are never notified that this is happening to a child that they were caring for. Many of the foster parents are never notified that their children are in danger. in peril. Think about it. Just put the vision of your child. your grandchild. your nextdoor neighbor child in this picture. And you want to say. We have addressed it. the States have addressed it. there is no role for the Federal Government. Well. who the hell is going to step in and protect these children? They cant do it themselves. This may not be perfect. but we ought to take this step to put us on record that we are prepared to do something to end this practice. this abuse. this torture. of very young children. in many instances children with disabilities. children who are unable to communicate in an effective fashion. Just think about that. Think about your family. You dont have to take this to the abstract. These children cannot defend themselves against this practice. and their parents cant speak for them if they dont know. These children cant control themselves if they are denied the use of a bathroom facility. That is what this legislation is about. It is about whether or not we are going to take this step. whether or not this step is important. and I do not believe that you can nullify this by suggesting that somehow because 31 States have done something. that this problem need not be addressed. need not have our attention. We cannot do this to these children and these families. I urge my colleagues to vote for this legislation.