[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 26 (Thursday, March 10, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                               speech of

                IMPROVING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                        HON. WILLIAM F. GOODLING

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 9, 1994

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 6) to extend 
     for 6 years the authorizations of appropriations for the 
     programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965, and for certain other purposes:

  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
  Mr. Chairman, when we began this debate, I indicated that when the 
staffs from both sides had completed their work, we had a good bill and 
we had a bill with a lot of merit and not many add ons. I also 
indicated that as we went through subcommittee and full committee 
markup, everyone had to have something, and so I mentioned all these 
items:
  We had Library media, $200 million; technology education, $300 
million; technology product development, $50 million; rural education, 
$125 million; urban education, $125 million; school finance technical 
assistance, $8 million; community arts partnership, $75 million; school 
facilities/construction, $200 million; charter schools, $15 million; 
adding back star schools, $10 million; civic education, $15 million; 
national writing project, $10 million; native Hawaiians, $13.5 million; 
Women's Equity Act, $5 million; territorial education programs, $5 
million; Ellender, $4.4 million; and innovative elementary school 
transition, $10 million.
  And so then we end up at $1.6 billion added to a bill that, as I 
said, when it came from the staff was a very good bill. All of these 
things, of course, are wonderful ideas, I am sure. All of them, I am 
sure, were very well thought out, but we are being asked as a 
committee, just like every other committee, to tighten our belts and 
show where savings can be made. But we are not doing that as a 
committee. We added 25 reporting requirements. I do not know how much 
that is going to cost local school districts and States, but I would 
imagine it is a considerable amount of money.
  Yes, if we would only fund the mandates we already have out there, we 
could buy books that are in the year 2000 and above, but we send them 
all the mandates on special education and then send them 8 percent of 
the money. We send one mandate after another, and we do not send the 
money. So how can local school districts do the kinds of things they 
would love to do and would want to do if we as a matter of fact make 
them spend money on what we think is important?
  The gentleman from Florida [Mr. Miller] is not antieducation in any 
way, shape, or form. He is just trying to be responsible, as I said, 
and we as a committee are being asked by the Budget Committee to show 
where we can come up with savings. We are going the opposite. We are 
showing where we can come up with additional spending.

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