[Page: H2611]
---The amendment was agreed to. 

   The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Chair understands that amendment No. 23 will not be offered.                               Therefore, it is now in order to consider amendment No. 24 printed in House Report 107-69.

   AMENDMENT NO. 24 OFFERED BY MR. HILLEARY

   Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

   The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the amendment.

   The text of the amendment is as follows:

   Amendment No. 24 offered by Mr. HILLEARY:

    After part A of title IX of the bill, insert the following (and redesignate provisions accordingly):

   PART B--EQUAL ACCESS TO PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES

   SEC. 921. SHORT TITLE.

    This part may be cited as the ``Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act''.

   SEC. 922. EQUAL ACCESS.

    (a) IN GENERAL.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds made available through the Department of Education shall be provided to any public elementary school, public secondary school, local educational agency, or State educational agency, if the school or a school served by the agency--

    (1) has a designated open forum; and

    (2) denies equal access or a fair opportunity to meet to, or discriminates against,

[Page: H2618]

    (b) TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE AND OTHER ACTION.--

    (1) DEPARTMENTAL ACTION.--The Secretary is authorized and directed to effectuate subsection (a) by issuing, and securing compliance with, rules or orders with respect to a public school or agency that receives funds made available through the Department of Education and that denies equal access, or a fair opportunity to meet, or discriminates, as described in subsection (a).

    (2) PROCEDURE.--The Secretary shall issue and secure compliance with the rules or orders, under paragraph (1), in a manner consistent with the procedure used by a Federal department or agency under section 602 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d-1).

    (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.--Any action taken by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall be subject to the judicial review described in section 603 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 2000d-2). Any person aggrieved by the action may obtain that judicial review in the manner, and to the extent, provided in section 603 of that Act.

    (c) DEFINITIONS AND RULE.--

    (1) DEFINITIONS.--In this section:

    (A) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; SECONDARY SCHOOL; STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.--The terms ``elementary school'', ``local educational agency'', ``secondary school'', and ``State educational agency'' have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (as in effect after the effective date of this Act).

    (B) SECRETARY.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Education, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the Department of Education.

    (C) YOUTH GROUP.--The term ``youth group'' means any group or organization intended to serve young people under the age of 21.

    (2) RULE.--For purposes of this section, an elementary school or secondary school has a designated open forum whenever the school involved grants an offering to or opportunity for 1 or more youth or community groups to meet on school premises or in school facilities before or after the hours during which attendance at the school is compulsory.

   SEC. 923. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Notwithstanding section 5, this part takes effect 1 day after the date of the enactment of this Act.

   The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 143, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. HILLEARY) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. WOOLSEY) each will control 5 minutes.

   The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. HILLEARY).

   Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

   Mr. Chairman, I am proud to be before this House today with an amendment in support of one of our most revered institutions, the Boy Scouts of America. I find it interesting that this amendment comes immediately after the previous amendment regarding character education, because the Boy Scouts of America have been in the business of character education for many, many years.

   My amendment is very simple. It states that, if a school allows groups open access to its facilities, it must allow equal access to the Boy Scouts. All over the country the Boy Scouts are under attack and being thrown out of public facilities that are open to other similarly situated groups. From Florida to California, the Boy Scouts are being removed, not because they support an illegal right, but as retribution for the Supreme Court's ruling in the Boy Scouts of America versus Dale.

   The Boy Scouts won this case, but they have repeatedly once again defended this right in court. Thus far, the courts upheld the Boy Scouts' first amendment rights in assembly and speech and overturn their removal from public meetings areas such as schools. However, more and more schools continue to act, and the Scouts repeatedly have to get an injunction in court.

   This amendment is designed to stop this wasteful cycle in litigation and harassment. If one allows for an open forum for other groups to meet, it is only fair to allow equal access to the Boy Scouts.

   I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

   Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

   Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

   (Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

   Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Chairman, my objection is not because I object to the Boy Scouts. My objection is to intolerance. Since the Boy Scouts of America fought all the way to the Supreme Court for the right to discriminate, school districts, county governments, businesses and charitable groups like the United Way chapters have been breaking their ties with the Boy Scouts of America.

   This effort to stand up to the Boy Scouts' discriminatory policy is not a fringe movement; it is part of the mainstream belief that intolerance in any form is un-American.

   It is amazing to me that the proponents of this amendment support intolerance by revoking Federal funds unless a school or school district supports discriminatory policy and at the same time would take local control away from a school or a school district.

   Whether one agrees with the Boy Scouts or not, anyone who believes that local communities should have local control over their own schools will surely want to vote against this amendment.

   Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

   Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 15 seconds.

   Mr. Chairman, I would just say that this is not unprecedented, this sanction in this amendment. We do this also with regard to school prayer. We do it with regard to military recruiters if schools decide to discriminate against the military and not allow them in. This sanction is not without precedence.

   Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. PENCE).

   Mr. PENCE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

   Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the important amendment of the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. HILLEARY) to protect the freedom of association of the Boy Scouts of America that is inherent in the Constitution of the United States of America.

   Mr. Chairman, it is a sad, sad day in this country when the Boy Scouts of America, an institution recognized as a pillar of moral strength, is increasingly denied access to school facilities based on its membership or leadership criteria.

   Mr. Chairman, in an era where the headlines have been graced with atrocious incidents of kids killing kids, the rise of drugs and violence in our schools, it is shocking that this Congress would stand by those who point to the Boy Scouts and order them out of our schools.

   High school students in the State of Indiana can be asked to watch MTV programs to fulfill a course requirement, but the prospect of allowing the Boy Scouts of America to meet in the same building is somehow offensive to the Constitution of this great land.

   The Boy Scouts of America is a model of integrity, strong ethics, devotion to God and the public good. Closing school doors to them is at minimum misguided, and at the most it is extremism.

   The Founders of this Nation fought for one Nation under God. The phrase ``In God we trust,'' Mr. Chairman, graces the walls of this very Chamber as testimony to this historic truth. Let us in this place by this amendment make it possible for the next generation of Americans to embrace those same timeless values.

   Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

   Mr. Chairman, I would like to comment that, if those words are believed by the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. PENCE) on the other side of the aisle, then it would make sense that all boys, not just some boys can be members of Scouting.

   Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. DELAHUNT).

   Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time.

   Mr. Chairman, let us be clear. This amendment does nothing, nothing for the Boy Scouts. They are already well protected, not by some statute, but by the Constitution. That constitutional principle is already well established.

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   Under the first amendment, they cannot be denied for the use of any public forum that is made available to other groups. For example, back in 1968, a Federal Court of Appeals upheld the right of the Ku Klux Klan to use a high school gym for a Klan meeting. In this past March, a Federal District Court applied the same principle to the Boy Scouts when a school board in Florida attempted to deny them the use of school facilities. So my colleagues do not have to worry about the Boy Scouts. They are well protected now.

   The reality is that this amendment is not about the Boy Scouts. It is about a conservative social agenda that holds passionate views about sexual orientation. The Boy Scouts' policy on sexual orientation is well known. That is fine. The gentleman is entitled to his views, and the Boy Scouts' are entitled to their views. But they ought not to be entitled to use the Congress of the United States to make a political statement that promotes intolerance and discrimination.

   Vote no on the Hilleary amendment.

[Time: 16:30]

   Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. SCHAFFER).

   Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

   During the last series of votes, 68 Republicans voted against the President on the most important provision of his Leave No Child Behind plan, and that was the portion that would have allowed students to be educated in private institutions if their public institution had failed them. That is unfortunate, because that was the heart of the bill.

   And since we are not going to allow students to go to private institutions, it makes perfect sense that we should now adopt this amendment to at least allow the private institutions to come into the schools and help educate children. In this case, we are talking about the Boy Scouts of America, which, as we just heard from the previous speaker, there are some here in Washington who are willing to associate the word ``intolerance'' with the Boy Scouts of America, which, of course, is just absurd.

   The Boy Scouts of America are anything but that. They are extremely tolerant and extremely open and they are a fine organization that has a long history in helping to provide guidance and support and education to the young boys of America who will ultimately become some of America's best leaders, many of whom serve right here in the United States House of Representatives and over across the Capitol.

   Mr. Chairman, this amendment is an important one, because it does really level the playing field and it speaks specifically to an organization that deserves our support here in the Congress, and one that has been the target of an unfortunate and pernicious kind of discrimination. This amendment is very much consistent with the President's plan. Consistent amendments to the President's plan have been kind of in short supply this afternoon, but this is one I think we can wholeheartedly endorse, and I hope the House does.

   The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. BONILLA). The Chair advises that the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. HILLEARY) has 15 seconds remaining and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. WOOLSEY) has 1 1/2 minutes remaining.

   Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. LEE).

   Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, let me just say first that the Boy Scouts, I think, reflect the standards, of course, that we hope for in terms of all young men in our country, and so that is why I believe that this amendment would be dangerous in terms of restricting the use of Federal funds from schools and school districts that choose to stand against the Boy Scouts' discriminatory policies.

   Now, this amendment is really unnecessary. It is an unwarranted intrusion into a local school district's ability to set standards for the use of their own facilities. I am very concerned that Congress would eliminate vital funds for our children's schools simply because their school system stands up against discrimination. It also bestows upon the Boy Scouts and other youth groups unique rights that are not available to other student-led groups.

   The first amendment already guarantees the Boy Scouts the right to use any school or public facility to the same extent and in the same manner as any other group allowed to use those facilities. So the Hilleary amendment will transform these schools into open forums requiring them to allow anti-gay groups to use school premises regardless of a local school board's decision on the matter. So I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

   Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time and finish by saying that the Boy Scouts are not protected. They are the target of many, many votes of harassment, in my view, and this is simply to point out they should not have to use their precious resources to claim their constitutional rights in court, nor should the school systems have to use up their precious resources defending against the Boy Scouts in court. This just sets it right for them, and I urge all my colleagues to vote for this amendment.

   Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time and, in closing, I would like to point out I have a letter before me that has been signed by 22 organizations, such as the National PTA, the National School Boards Association, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the National Rural Education Association, among many others.

   Mr. Chairman, we should vote against this because it is not necessary in the first place, but a vote against this amendment would be a vote telling our children that all children are important, not just some children.

   Mr. Chairman, the letter I referred to earlier is submitted for the RECORD as follows:

   May 22, 2001.

   DEAR REPRESENTATIVE: We are writing today to urge you to reject the ``Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act'' which was offered as an amendment to the Leave No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (H.R. 1). This amendment would deny all Federal education funding to any school district or state education agency that has been found to ``discriminate'' against the Boy Scouts of America, or any other youth group that denies membership to gays and lesbians.

   The Hilleary amendment is an unnecessary, unwarranted intrusion into a local school district's ability to set standards for the use of their own facilities, and bestows uopn the Boy Scouts and other youth groups unique rights that are not available to student-led groups.

   The amendment is unnecessary because the First Amendment already guarantees the Boy Scouts the right to use public school facilities, to the same extent and in the same manner as any other group allowed to use those facilities.

   At the same time, the amendment is an unwarranted intrusion into the decision-making of local school boards because it mandates the creation of an ``open forum'' any time a school lets one community group use their facilities. The Hilleary amendment decrees that such an action transforms the school into an ``open forum,'' therefore requiring the institution to allow the Boy Scouts and any other anti-gay youth group to use school facilities or premises--regardless of the school's intention or the local school board's decisions on the matter.

   We, the undersigned organizations, strongly urge you to oppose this amendment. If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Nancy Zirkin, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations--American Association of University Women (AAUW) or Jamie Pueschel, Government Relations Manager--AAUW.

   Sincerely,
American Association of School Administrators
American Association of University Women
American Counseling Association
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
American Federation of Teachers
American Psychological Association
Americans for Democratic Action
Anti-Defamation League
Council of the Great City Schools
Council of Chief State School Officers
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Myra Sadker Advocates
National Association of Black School Educators
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of Girls and Women in Sport
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza
National Education Association
National Federation of Filipino American Associations
National PTA
National Rural Education Association

[Page: H2620]

   The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. HILLEARY).

   The amendment was agreed to.

   END

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