part of that, madam president, is the jenna quinn law. this bipartisan piece of legislation that i introduced with senator hassan over a year and a half ago to help identify and stop child sexual abuse in communities across our country has passed the senate unanimously but stuck in the house of representatives. nationwide there are more than 42,000 survivors of child sexual abuse, adults now. 42 million adult survivors of child sexual abuse. sadly these victims -- victims often stay silent for days, months, years, even a lifetime. as a result, they and countless other victims continue to be abused. we need to stop this cycle as quickly as possible and that's why the jenna quinn law is so important. it is modeled after 2009 texas law which requires teachers and caregivers and other adults who work with children receive training on how to identify and report child sexual abuse. after the texas law passed in 2009, one study found educators reported child sexual abuse at a rate almost four times greater after the training than they got during

quinn law -- the jenna quinn law that's pending in congress will do. and it will encourage other states without similar laws to implement programs to address child sexual abuse. there are -- should be few things more unifying than the war against child sexual abuse which is why this bill passed the senate unanimously earlier this year. the days have turned into weeks and weeks have turned into months and the house still hasn't passed jenna -- the jenna quinn law. it's not because house members oppose the bill. if it came up on the floor today, nearly every member of the house of representatives would vote for it. this bill hasn't been able to pass the house because one chairman, democratic chairman, won't even give the house a chance to vote on it. for months education and labor committee chairman bobby scott has refused to move the jenna quinn law despite repeated requests from countless child advocacy groups and a bipartisan group of senators and congressmen. it continues to -- it continues in purgatory on the committee calendar. senator hassan sent

just to give you an idea of the type of legislation they're holding up, let's start with the jenna quinn law. this legislation carries the name of an inspiring young texan who is a survivor of child sexual abuse and who has made it her mission in life to end the cycle of abuse that harms our children in communities across the country. jenna was the driving force between a, behind a 2009 texas law requiring training for teachers and caregivers and other adults who work with children on how to prevent, recognize, and report child sexual abuse. you can imagine the teachers in particular who spend, at least before covid day after day after day with their children, they're actually in the best position sometimes to identify symptoms of sexual abuse if properly trained. but since 2009, a number of other states have passed similar laws, but the training often lacks adequate funding, and that's where our federal legislation comes in. i introduced this bipartisan bill with senator hassan of new hampshire to finally back that training with federal funding through grants from the department of heal