Date: 2000-03-21
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman from Indiana for yielding me this time and thank him for his involvement with this legislation as I do the gentleman from Pennsylvania. apparently everybody from Pennsylvania is involved. and commend them for this resolution. I would. however. say this. that I would hope that as we count down the number of legislative days remaining in this session that we keep the purpose and the intent of this resolution in mind and that is about strengthening families and giving families the tools by which they can strengthen the relationship among the members of that family. especially with their children. recognizing the complexities and the pressures of contemporary American society. But I would hope also that the Congress would take this resolution to heart and would understand that there is a family agenda that yet needs to be met within this Congress. It deals with the issues of education. it deals with the issue of the safety of our children. it deals with the issue of the health care available to our families. housing available to our families and the kind of child care that is now needed by families as they find the pressures of the workplace encroaching more and more on the time that they used to have for their families and to take care of the mentoring of their children. And to fix our crumbling schools. We see there is some $112 to $115 billion backlog in school facilities. recognizing the need to do this so children can go to a decent facility where they can engage in the learning experience and acquire the tools that will befit them as they take their place in our society. I am worried that this resolution becomes a substitute for addressing that agenda. because that would not be fair to Americas families. Clearly Americas families. those who toil at the minimum wage. need an increase in the minimum wage. We know that those who toil at the minimum wage continue to toil and at the end of the year if they work all year long. they are below the poverty rate in this country. We now see where the biggest growth in homeless. certainly in my State in California but in many other areas of the Nation. is working families with children. They simply have been priced out of the market. It does not mean they are not working. It does not mean they are not caring for their children. It does not mean they do not love their children. They simply now are unable to find housing for their children. That is the biggest new growth rate in homeless in the State of California which is having an economic resurgence unparalleled anywhere else in the country. At a time when we are creating over 100 millionaires a week. we find out that the very same people who are working for many of those millionaires in their factories are unable to live near their work or to find a house at all for them and for their children. In many instances those workers are temporary workers. they work essentially what we would call full time but they are characterized as temporary workers. which means they do not get the benefits. So they do not have health care for them or their children. In many instances the companies fail to provide it or are unable to provide it. And so clearly there are these kinds of efforts that we can make on behalf of Americas families and on behalf of Americas children. Because in many instances there is no other place for these families to go to get help while they work and they struggle and they work full time. They do not have the means to provide health insurance. They do not have the means to provide housing. They are going to have to turn for assistance to the other. the great American family. if you will. that sees that plight and understands that struggle. So hopefully this resolution will not only recognize the needs of families and our commitments to them. it will also provide them some additional empathy by Members of Congress of the plight of many millions of American families who are working very hard and struggling and still not able to make ends meet that we have an obligation to see what we can do to make sure that they can do that so they can provide a healthy environment and a sustainable environment for their children.