The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“RAISING AWARENESS OF NATIONAL BULLYING PREVENTION MONTH” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1459 on Oct. 26, 2018.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
RAISING AWARENESS OF NATIONAL BULLYING PREVENTION MONTH
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HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE
of texas
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 26, 2018
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate National Bullying Prevention Month, a nationwide campaign held during the month of October to provide efforts in uniting communities to educate and raise awareness of bullying prevention.
As a Co-Chair of the House Congressional Children's Caucus, member of the Mental Health Caucus, and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, I have been saddened by one episode after another of children losing their lives and the lack of a coordinated response to incidents of bullying.
In September of 2018, the Jackson Lee Anti-Bullying bill, H.R. 68, the Tiffany Joslyn Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Reauthorization Act was passed by the House.
This legislation makes positive steps toward reform in juvenile justice and targets bullying and bullying prevention.
This bill: targets bullying and bullying prevention; reauthorizes the award of grants to consider this problem in the amount of $30 million for one year; and, subjects grants to accountability measures: the Office of Inspector General in the Department of Justice (DOJ) must conduct annual audits of selected grant recipients and the Department of Justice must submit an annual certification to Congress and identify and report on duplicative grant awards.
In October of 2015, I held an Anti-Bullying Town Hall Hearing in my district where over 40 witnesses--organizations, experts, bullying victims, and even bullies themselves--came out and shared their stories and experiences.
National Bullying Prevention Month was founded by the PACER Center's National Bullying Prevention Center, this campaign has been recognized by school communities all over the United States, for the past 12 years.
Bullying is defined as the use of repetitive aggressive behavior such as force, intimidation, threat, or abuse, which depicts an imbalance of power, socially or physically.
Studies show that at some point in a child's life, they experience bullying in some capacity, no matter what form.
No single factor puts a child at risk of being bullied or bullying others.
Time and time again, the root causes of bullying are racial, gender, sexual orientation, and religious discrimination.
Justification for this matter shows that when children perceived as different are not in supportive environments, they are more prone to being bullied.
Bullying based on religious differences tend to be the result of misinformation or spreading of negative perceptions on how an individual expresses their belief.
American schools harbor approximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of their victims.
Derrin Bridges, a 13-year-old boy from Kansas City, Missouri, was bullied and held at gunpoint by a 17-year-old.
Derrin who was noted to be on the autism spectrum, was severely mistreated; he was verbally assaulted with racial slurs, he was physically beaten, and money was stolen from him.
I extend my deepest sympathies to Darren Bridges, his loving mother, Emily Bridges, and the rest of his family.
This type of disheartening experience can affect a child for a lifetime.
It is important to note that a significant increase in bullying rates is due to the prevalent use of technology among teens.
The internet enables information to spread far and wide across the globe with the click of a button.
It is estimated that in 2011, approximately 2.2 million students experienced cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that happens over any digital device.
This consists of sending and posting negative, presumptuous, or harmful content about someone else, as well as sharing private information about someone in aim to cause humiliation.
Social media is an avenue that children and teens can easily access and use to engage in cyberbullying.
Sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube, are all platforms where the risk of cyberbullying is prevalent.
With easy access to an individual's page, users gain the ability to search and post discreditable information anonymously about anyone.
Bullying is now increasingly viewed as a contributor to the inflexed rates of suicide amongst youth.
It can leave a harsh toll on those affected, causing lasting impacts on mental health, substance use and suicide.
In 2016, Brandy Vela, an 18-year-old high school resident of my Congressional district, took her own life after experiencing relentless cyberbullying.
Brandy was a beautiful young lady, who was friendly and all around well-liked by her schoolmates.
Despite all the love given to her from friends and family, she took her own life due to the threats and messages she would continuously receive online, causing her to feel worthless.
I cannot fathom the sorrow that the Vela family endured at that time.
Brandy's memory lives on through her family and friends along with all those who work tirelessly to exterminate bullying .
The American youth witnesses bullying at least once a day.
Suicide rates solely among 10 to 14 year olds have grown more than so percent over the last three decades.
It is important that we act promptly to prevent such instances from happening; many of the deadly cases of bullying arise when children are teased and tormented simply for being different.
Our children are our future hence they must be our first priority.
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