On March 9, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution (S. Res. 299) recognizing and supporting efforts to enhance the public awareness of child abuse and neglect. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) sponsored the resolution.
According to the resolution, “Each year in the United States approximately 3,000,000 reports of suspected or known child abuse and neglect, involving 5,000,000 children, are made to child protective service agencies.” The resolution also states that every year in the United States more than 1,200 children, 85 percent of whom are under the age of six, lose their lives as a direct result of abuse and neglect.
The resolution expresses the sense of the Senate that all Americans should keep the victims of child abuse and neglect in their thoughts and prayers; all Americans should seek to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect and give victimized children hope for the future; and the faith community, nonprofit organizations, and volunteers across America should recommit themselves and mobilize their resources to assist abused and neglected children.
