[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 143 (Wednesday, October 5, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
       IMPROVING AMERICA'S SCHOOLS ACT OF 1994--CONFERENCE REPORT

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the conference report.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. 
Kennedy] is recognized.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, we have a number of our colleagues who 
will speak in support of the legislation. I will just speak very 
briefly now and I will yield myself 3 minutes.
  Mr. President, this is an extremely important piece of legislation. 
This legislation fits into the composite of other very important pieces 
of legislation that have been fashioned in a bipartisan way. I express 
my strong appreciation to our colleagues on our committee, our 
Republican colleagues, who have been actively involved and instrumental 
in helping us to get to the point where we are.
  We have now, as a result of the actions of our committee, an 
expansion of the Head Start Program that helps very young children. We 
have the Goals 2000 Program that encourages bottom-up reform of our 
education system. We have the School-to-Work Program to help the 70 
percent of our young children who do not go on to college to move into 
employment.
  In higher education, we have the direct loan program and the tuition 
contingency repayment program for those who have debt and want to be 
able to repay their debt as a percent of income over a period of time.
  But the engine of reform in this particular legislation is the 
reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In the 
title I program, we have tried to enhance the targeting of resources on 
the children who are the neediest in our country, in terms of both 
educational challenges and the challenges of poverty. We have revised 
this very important program in the most significant way in 30 years. We 
have tried to give greater attention and focus to the neediest children 
in our country and, as a result, we will hear from some who are going 
to talk about how States have won and how States have lost.
  We have a fundamental choice to make: Are we going to do business as 
usual, or are we going to make a very modest change, giving additional 
weight to where the weight is needed, and that is to the needy 
children?
  We have also enhanced teacher training programs. Most of all, we have 
raised academic standards for those children who participate in the 
title I program.
  Mr. President, this legislation reauthorizes an absolutely essential 
program to enhance educational opportunity and educational advancement, 
to respond to the educational challenges of the neediest children in 
our country. It is not a perfect program, but it is, I think, 
reflective of the best that we could possibly manage in this particular 
Congress.
  I know it could be drafted differently or changed by different 
Members. I know there are provisions that are controversial. But, 
nonetheless, this legislation represents the best judgment of the 
Republican and Democratic Members of the conference and also of this 
body.
  Mr. President, I reserve the remainder of my time.
  Mr. COATS addressed the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Indiana [Mr. 
Coats] is recognized.
  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from Delaware to 
speak for 2 minutes in morning business and ask unanimous consent to 
take it off our time.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Delaware [Mr. 
Roth] is recognized.

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