WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania is working with Democratic Rep. George Miller of California to address the national epidemic of school employees sexually abusing students.

The lawmakers introduced identical legislation in both chambers of Congress to require current and future school employees to undergo more thorough background checks in an effort to weed out child molesters, the Pocono Record reports.

“As a father of three young children, I cannot imagine the suffering of a parent whose child is sexually assaulted,” Toomey said.

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Toomey’s legislation would also prohibit the practice known as “passing the trash,” in which school and union officials negotiate a quiet resignation for suspected abusers in exchange for a letter of recommendation for employment elsewhere.

The federal legislation passed the House by a voice vote last fall, but its companion bill in the Senate appears to have stalled after the national teachers unions raised concerns about how the legislation might impact employee rights.

“The bill has run into objections from major teachers’ unions like the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. In letters to lawmakers, their criticisms included concerns that the measure might jeopardize workers’ protections under union contracts,” the Associated Press reports.

In other words, the teachers unions are more concerned with the contractual “protections” afforded rapists and pedophiles than protecting students from these vile monsters. The NEA is also reportedly concerned that because minorities make up a disproportionately high percentage of criminals, they’d be disproportionately impacted by the bill.

None of that should matter.

Toomey, Miller and a growing number of lawmakers from across the political spectrum are coming to understand the national epidemic of teachers raping their students is a far more serious problem than ensuring these pedophile teachers are afforded their full “due process.”

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The fact that the nation’s teachers unions continue to defend these vile monsters really says all parents need to know about these self-serving organizations.

The federal bill mirrors legislation introduced by Pennsylvania state Sen. Anthony Williams, which was approved in the Pennsylvania Senate and is currently pending in the state House, the news site reports.

“Sen. Toomey and I may disagree on approaches and even political philosophy on some issues,” Williams said. “But some things are beyond partisan divides. The safety and welfare of our children, all of our children, is a universal value on which we can and do agree, so I’m happy to have Sen. Toomey join our fight.”