Protect All Kids

This week, I called on the U.S. Senate to protect all of America's children from violent and sexual predators by passing two bills:

• The Child Care Development Block Grant Bill, which seeks to protect the 1.6 million children in federally subsidized daycares; and
• My bill - the Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act - which is cosponsored by Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and seeks to protect the nearly 50 million children in our nation's elementary, middle, and high schools.

My bipartisan measure would address the problem of sexual predators infiltrating our nation's classrooms. Since January 1 of this year, more than 410 teachers and other school employees have been arrested for sexual misconduct with children -- more than one per day of the year. The House of Representatives passed the legislation unanimously over one year ago, but the Senate Leadership has chosen not to act on the Toomey-Manchin bill.

The Toomey-Manchin legislation provides that any state receiving federal education funds must perform criminal background checks on all school employees who have unsupervised access to children. These checks include substitute teachers and coaches, who are often hired as contractors.

My bill forbids schools from hiring a teacher who has committed certain crimes, including any violent or sexual crime against a child. Moreover, the bipartisan legislation bans the horrible practice of a school helping a child molester obtain a new teaching job at another school -- a practice so common that it has its own moniker, "passing the trash."

Unfortunately, some of my Senate colleagues objected to passing these two bills together. But rest assured, I will keep fighting to keep all of our kids safe.  

Like many Pennsylvanians, my family and I have seen firsthand just how devastating Alzheimer's can be, not only for those suffering from the disease, but also for their families and caregivers.

This past Sunday, my three children and I participated in the 2014 Walk to End Alzheimer's in Philadelphia. I was proud to join over 10,000 Pennsylvanians in this unifying show of strength. Walking in this event is just one more way we can help raise awareness and money to fight Alzheimer's.

If someone in your family suffers from the disease, I encourage you to share your story. You will be amazed at the support you can provide to others who face the same difficult responsibility of caring for a loved one who suffers from Alzheimer's or dementia. Working together, I am confident we can defeat this disease.

On Monday morning, I joined Senator Bob Casey at the Committee of Seventy's annual breakfast. We took questions from the audience on a wide range of issues.

Sen. Casey and I have a common interest in doing what's best for the people of Pennsylvania. That is why the two of us have teamed up on numerous occasions and have succeeded in getting 10 judges confirmed to the bench and cleaning up the Delaware River.

I was glad to join Sen. Casey at this show of bipartisanship. I look forward to working with him in the new congress and continuing our joint efforts to serve the people of Pennsylvania. 

I attended a moving Veterans Day Ceremony at Owen J. Roberts High School in Pottstown, Montgomery County. We should all thank the veterans and active duty service members in our lives every day, but Veterans Day gives us the opportunity to come together to reflect and express our gratitude.

All the veterans I spoke to are great patriots who love this country and are glad they served. I was especially pleased this event was held at a high school. It's important our children remember, understand, and appreciate the magnitude of the service of these great Americans.

You can read more about my visit in the Pottstown Mercury.

Also on Veterans Day, I joined a roundtable discussion at McCann School of Business and Technology in Allentown with Rep. Charlie Dent and Tony Ianelli of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce to talk about ways we can help veterans find jobs.

We discussed ways we can make the transition from military life to civilian life easier for our veterans, and how the state and federal governments can work together. We need to do more to help our veterans find jobs by reaching out to them when they return from service.

You can read more about my visit in the Allentown Morning Call.