Schmotzer: GOP Still Stalling Legislation on Child Abuse, Education

State Rep. Martin Michael Schmotzer said in a news release on Tuesday that Republican majority leaders of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives are still stalling legislation regarding child sex abuse and education reform.

The week of Oct. 1, the House was scheduled to vote on a bill (H.B. 2318) that would require school districts to include age-appropriate child exploitation awareness education guidelines—that would be developed by state officials—in the health curriculum for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Schmotzer, a longtime Baldwin-Whitehall School Board member, has filed education reform amendments to the bill.

"First, Republicans stalled this legislation by canceling a session day and cutting another one short," Schmotzer, a Democrat who represents Baldwin Township and parts of Whitehall Borough, said in the news release. "The initial cause of their shutdown was to avoid voting on a resolution calling for a federal investigation of why Jerry Sandusky was allowed to remain free for more than two-and-a-half years. However, now that Republicans have used procedural tricks to kill that call for accountability, they need to get on with voting on legislation that would address child sex abuse education and education reform.

"Republicans control the state House of Representatives, 109-91. They have the votes to do whatever they want. They should do the right thing.

"I was particularly disappointed that Republicans even canceled session days as part of their games to avoid a call for accountability in the Sandusky case. If we have to stay in Harrisburg a little longer to vote on this important legislation, then we should. We owe it to the taxpayers and children of Pennsylvania."

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