Press Releases
House Committee on Education and Workforce Includes Pascrell Campus Fire Safety Right to Know Language In College Access and Opportunity Act
Washington, DC,
July 22, 2005
Tags:
Education
LEGISLATION AWAITS ACTION ON HOUSE FLOOR Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.'s (D-NJ-08) "Campus Fire Safety Right to Know" legislation overwhelmingly passed today in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The legislation passed as an amendment to the College Access and Opportunity Act, H.R. 609. U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ-1), a member of the committee shepherded the legislation through the committee process with the help of U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY-4). Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC-2) is the lead cosponsor of the legislation and played an integral role in assuring its passage. H.R. 2637, "The Campus Fire Safety Right to Know Act" amends the Higher Education Act to require colleges and universities to provide prospective and current students with fire safety information on campuses. The legislation also authorizes a report from the Secretary of Education to Congress on the extent of the national problem and possible solutions. It utilizes the same procedure that requires schools to disclose crime statistics and other safety information. In the wake of Seton Hall University's tragic fire on January 19, 2000, which killed 3 students and injured over 50 others, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. introduced the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act in the 106th Congress. Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) is the current sponsor of the Senate companion legislation, S. 1196. In March of 2004, Dana Christmas, a survivor and hero of the Boland Hall fire stated, "we must take responsibility for those situations that can be prevented and avoided. We all have a right to know, and we all have a right to be protected. Please do not subject another child to this fate." "I am pleased that my colleagues in the House Education Committee share my commitment to protecting our precious youth against needless tragedies," stated Pascrell. "Passage of this amendment affirms the remarkable bipartisan effort to end the epidemic of campus fire deaths that have plagued our universities this academic year." Rep. Wilson made the following statement, "As millions of American college students prepare to head back to school, Congress took action this week to help improve fire safety on campuses throughout the nation. By providing students and their families with access to information about fire prevention and statistics on campus, we'll ensure that they can make informed decisions when choosing residence halls. I appreciate Congressman Pascrell's commonsense leadership on this issue." Ed Comeau, Director for the non-profit Center for Campus Fire Safety made the following statement," The Center for Campus Fire Safety is pleased with this action. Congressman Pascrell, Congressman Wilson, and their supporters on the Education Committee have demonstrated real leadership to help protect the youth of our nation and schools across America." An important first step in fire safety, the Pascrell legislation would require campus fire safety information to be made public, and would provide a powerful incentive for colleges and universities to voluntarily upgrade their safety systems. Following are the highlights of the legislation:
Only 35% of dormitories and fraternity/sorority houses that suffer fires are equipped with sprinkler systems. There have been 75 fire fatalities in student housing since January 2000. This year has been one of the most tragic on record for college fires occurrences - with 11 people dying in the past academic year. ### |