[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 64 (Thursday, April 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5288-S5290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   WINNERS AND LOSERS OF THE CONTRACT

  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, I would like to discuss the first 
100 days of Congress, and the winners and losers of the Contract With 
America.
  We have heard a lot from those who would compliment the leaders in 
the House for their speedy answers to some of this Nation's most 
pressing problems. Many will say that they have made history for their 
ability to address so many issues in a mere 100 days. I dare say, 
though, that if the Contract With America makes history, it will not be 
for its achievements, but for the reckless manner in which critical 
issues were considered, issues that have will have a severe negative 
impact on the lives of countless Americans.
  At the outset, I want to say that we all know that spending must be 
reduced. We all know that the deficit must be brought under control. 
This is why I supported the balanced budget amendment. But out jobs as 
Members of Congress means prioritizing the needs of the American people 
within our fiscal constraints. What the Contract With America does is 
give the wealthy a higher ranking over working class families and 
children in this country.
  I can sum up the winners in the last 100 days easily, the super 
wealthy and the billionaires. Unfortunately the list of losers is much 
longer, children, students, hard working middle-income families, and 
the list goes on. The losers are those who would greatly benefit our 
investment in the people of this great Nation, quality education for 
our children, job training for young people and adults, efforts 
calculated to help prepare this Nation for the future.


                           Winners/Expatriots

  Who are some of the winners in the first 100 days? Some of the 
winners have been big. The big winners include 24 billionaires who 
escape $1.4 billion in income and estate taxes by renouncing their 
citizenship, the expatriots who abandon this great land that has helped 
them gather their wealth. Democrats tried to close that loophole in the 
Finance Committee we were outvoted by the Republican majority.
  Our current tax laws are not neutral. To favor those that would 
renounce their citizenship over hard working loyal American citizens 
who are struggling to get by.
  A few dozen ex-patriots take advantage of this loophole in Federal 
tax laws by removing their assets beyond the reach of U.S. taxing 
jurisdiction just before renouncing their U.S. citizenship, thereby 
avoiding taxation of the appropriated value of their assets.
  While they enjoyed the benefits of U.S. citizenship--police 
protection, roads, schools, national security, and countless of other 
Government services--they looked for ways to get around paying their 
fair share of taxes.
  Although the Senate Finance Committee voted to eliminate this 
loophole, the provision was restored in conference. This is nothing 
short of astounding. At the same time that Republican leaders in the 
House were proposing massive cuts to be placed on the backs of the 
children and families of this country, the House Republicans chose to 
continue granting massive benefits to billionaires.


                       Winners/House Tax Package

  Among the other winners, are those that would benefit from the House 
tax and spending package that has been labeled the crown jewel of the 
Contract With America. I fail to see the glitter in this jewel.
  Among the tax cuts is a provision which will give families that pay 
taxes eligibility for a $500 tax credit for each child under the age of 
18, including families earning more than $200,000 a year.
  But what this crown jewel does is reverse an original proposal which 
would have made the credit partially refundable, meaning that some low-
income working families, who pay no income tax but who do pay 
substantial social security and Medicare taxes, could have received the 
credit. This version is now nonrefundable. And what that means is that 
those earning $200,000 will not be affected, but that the working poor 
of this country have once again lost out.


                             Losers/Opening

  And who else loses, well, these tax loopholes and tax breaks are paid 
for at the expense of middle Americans who will have to pay more to 
send their children to college or to a child care program. These breaks 
are also being paid for by the children in this country, thousands of 
kids, who are on waiting lists to attend a Head Start Program. For 
example, in my hometown of Chicago, only 26 percent of all poor 
children qualifying for Head Start are able to attend a program because 
of the shortage of slots available.
  I would like to take a moment to talk about the many other 
educational programs that will suffer as a result of the past 100 days. 
I would also like to review, in somewhat greater detail, the 
consequences of these ill-considered actions to decimate programs that 
invest in this country's future.
  Mr. President, it is an understatement to say that it is
   vital to the interest of our Nation that we maintain quality public 
education for all Americans. Education is not just a private benefit, 
but a public good. It is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy and as 
a society, we all benefit from a well educated citizenry. What quality 
education results in is the means by which we prepare our children to 
succeed, to earn a living, participate in the community and give 
something back to their communities.


                   losers/education and the workforce

  Education is also the vehicle to understanding the technology that 
has reshaped our workplace. This country is experiencing a new era in 
economic competition. If we are to succeed and retain our 
competitiveness into the 21st century, there must be a renewed 
commitment to education in this country.
  The results of a failed commitment to our educational system will 
have direct ramifications on this country's work force--the private 
sector--and this country's economy. Every day, businesses across this 
country are trying to cope with the fact that a great percentage of the 
work force is functionally illiterate. Every day, thousands of 
Americans are being told that they do not qualify for jobs because they 
lack a high school diploma, or a college degree.
  Mr. President, our continued commitment to education will mean jobs 
for the American people.
  Nonetheless, as other leaders of our countries continue to recognize 
the increasing importance of education, many in this country continue--
and I am sorry to say, many Members of Congress--continue to wear 
blinders. 
[[Page S5289]] We must not retreat from this commitment.


                         house rescissions bill

  The rescissions bill sent to this chamber by the U.S. House of 
Representatives would cut $1.7 billion from the 1995 Department of 
Education budget. It enacted this legislation would cut: $481 million 
from the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program; $261 million from 
vocational education and literacy programs; $186 million from the Goals 
2000 program; $113 million from chapter 1, and $50 million from 
bilingual education programs.
  The House has also recommended rescinding critical funding for 
programs which advance our Nation's education technology 
infrastructure, which I will also address. These cuts include:
  $30 million from the Educational Technology Program, a program which 
promotes equal access for all elementary and secondary students to the 
educational opportunities made available through advances in 
technology.
  $10 million from the Star Schools--a program designed to improve 
instruction in math, science, foreign languages, and other subjects 
through telecommunications technologies. It also supports eligible 
telecommunications partnerships organized on a statewide or multistate 
basis to develop and acquire telecommunications equipment, 
instructional programming, and technical assistance.
  $2.7 million from the Ready to Learn Program, the first national goal 
which states that all children should start school ready to learn. The 
program helps local school districts meet this goal by supporting the 
development and distribution of educational television programming for 
preschool children.


                               gao report

  Mr. President, last year, I asked the GAO to conduct a nationwide 
study on the condition of our Nation's public school facilities. 
Earlier this week, I elaborated on the second of those reports--
released this week by GAO--which focuses on our Nation's education 
technology infrastructure needs. I would like to just briefly comment 
on this critical subject again.
  This GAO report concludes that our Nation's public schools are not 
designed or sufficiently equipped to prepare our children for the 21st 
century. More specifically, the GAO report found that more than half of 
our Nation's schools lack six or more of the technology elements 
necessary to reform the way teachers teach and students learn 
including: computers; printers; modems; cable tv; laser disc players; 
VCR's, and TVs.
  In fact, the GAO report found that even more of our Nation's schools 
do not have the education infrastructure necessary to support these 
important audio, video, and data systems. More importantly, this second 
GAO report confirmed our worst fears, the availability of education 
technology in our Nation's public schools is directly correlated with 
community type, the percentage of minority students, and the percentage 
of economically disadvantaged students.
  Mr. President, this is simply unacceptable and the proposed cuts to 
educational programs are also simply unacceptable. There is no reason 
why our Nation's children should not have equal access to the best 
education technology resources available.


                        education infrastructure

  Let me mention briefly the first GAO report, released in February, on 
the state of school facilities. This report found that our Nation's 
public schools need $112 billion to restore their facilities to 
``good'' overall condition.
  And what is the Republican response to our Nation's schoolchildren? I 
am sorry to report that the House rescissions bill would also slash 
funding for all new education initiatives, including the education 
infrastructure act which I introduced last April to help local school 
boards improve the physical conditions of our schools and ensure the 
health and safety of their students.


                   education cuts impact on illinois

  While the Senate bill does restore some of the educational funding, 
it is not enough. The cuts are still deep and will have a great impact 
on children throughout this country. I would like to use my State of 
Illinois as an example. Some of the Senate-recommended cuts will result 
in the following loss to the children in Illinois alone: Disadvantaged 
Students Program, (Title I): -$3.4 million; Safe & DrugFree Schools: 
-$4.3 million; Goals 2000: -$2.4 million.
                            Higher education

  The contract's attack on education does not stop at the grade school 
and high school levels. College students and middle-income American 
families will also pay a higher price.
  For example, the proposed elimination of four higher education 
programs--supplemental educational opportunity grants, Federal work 
study, Perkins loans, and the State student incentive grants, along 
with the elimination of the ``in-school interest forgiveness exemptions 
on student loans''--will increase the cost of college for American 
families by $20 billion over the next 5 years.
  Eliminating the subsidy on school interest forgiveness alone would 
mean the following for middle-American families: 4.5 million current 
borrowers will accrue interest on their loans while they are still in 
school; a student who borrows $17,125 over 4 years would owe $3,150 or 
more and have his or her monthly payments increased by more than 18 
percent and, in my State of Illinois, the number of students who will 
pay more for student loans will increase by 198,053.


                               AmeriCorps

  The contract's attack on young people continues. Republican attempts 
in the House to gut the AmeriCorps Program would eliminate 
opportunities for thousands of students to serve their country while 
earning money for their own education. A promise that has been made to 
these thousands of young Americans; the communities they serve; the 
charitable groups they serve with; and, the partners who share the 
costs of the National Service program, will be broken. Thousands of 
working families who depend on the promise of college scholarships for 
service, will lose this valuable financial assistance.
  The House rescission on AmeriCorps will mean that the almost 700 
projected number of students who could take part in the program in 
fiscal year 1995 will be rejected.
  Mr. President, I would like to use City Year Chicago--the model 
program that AmeriCorps is based on--as an example of some of the 
outstanding and desperately need work that is being done by students in 
the Chicago area. Some of the community service work includes: The 
Alter Group Team--Members work with Bethel New Life, a community 
development corporation in the Garfield Park neighborhood, a low-income 
area in Chicago. Projects include designing and piloting a computer-
literacy program for adults and assisting in the renovation of both a 
hospital, which will become senior housing and a school, which will 
become transitional housing for battered women.
  The First Chicago/Harris/LaSalle/Northern Trust Team--Members are 
running a teaching assistant program at the Brian Piccolo Elementary 
School in West Humboldt Park, a public elementary school serving 
approximately 966 African-American and Latino students. Each team 
member works as a teaching assistant in a classroom, tutoring children 
with special needs, assisting in bilingual classes, or helping to 
implement special art or education programs.
  Mr. President, these are just two examples of what's being done under 
the AmeriCorps Program after only 6 full months of operation. I would 
like to submit for the Record, a complete list of the AmeriCorps 
Community Service Programs underway in Chicago, and ask unanimous 
consent that the list be printed in the Record following my statement.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Across this country, more than 20,000 AmeriCorps 
members have begun to serve their neighbors; children, the elderly, 
students, and persons with AIDS.
  AmeriCorps members have taught or tutored more than 9,000 pre-school, 
elementary, and junior high school students in basic educational 
skills. They have launched after-school and summer tutoring programs 
for more than 4,600 kids. And they have organized hundreds of community 
service projects, cleaning up neighborhoods and providing food for the 
elderly.
                         [[Page S5290]] Closing

  In closing, I want to make clear what I am for and what I am not for. 
As I stated at the start of my remarks, a lot of what the spending 
process includes is prioritizing. By providing the needed and long 
overdue support for educational programs, job training programs, and 
programs for children, we invest in this country's future. Cutting 
these opportunities is clearly in the wrong direction. We must not 
retrench on our commitments to young people and American families.
  Mr. President, before the celebrating of the contract and the first 
100 days begins, the American people need to understand who's been 
invited to this party. If you are a billionaire, or part of the small 
percentage of the superwealthy elite in this country, your invitation 
has been signed, sealed, and delivered.
  For the rest of American people--the children, students, or hard-
working, middle-income Americans--I dare say, your invitation has been 
lost in the mail.
                               Exhibit 1

     City Year Chicago--Community Service Update--as of March 1995


                          The Alter Group Team

       The Alter Group Team is working with Bethel New Life, a 
     Community Development Corporation in the Garfield Park 
     neighborhood. In the mornings, the Alter Group Team members 
     participate in a variety of group and individual projects 
     under the direction of Bethel New Life staff. Corps members 
     are designing and piloting a computer-literacy program for 
     adults; organizing community improvement and gardening 
     projects; helping to organize a volunteer week and other 
     community events; and assisting in the renovation of both a 
     hospital which will become senior housing and a school which 
     will become transitional housing for battered women. In the 
     afternoons, the team members tutor students in the after 
     school program in Bethel's affiliate elementary school.


       The First Chicago/Harris/LaSalle/Northern Trust Bank Team

       The Bank Team is running a City Year in Schools Program at 
     the Brian Piccolo Elementary School in West Humboldt Park, a 
     public elementary school serving approximately 966 African-
     American and Latino students. Each team member works as a 
     teaching assistant in a classroom, tutoring children with 
     special needs, assisting in bilingual classes, or helping to 
     implement special art or physical education programs. Corps 
     members also act as role models for the young students by 
     establishing an environment of common goals and values and 
     promoting the City Year values of team work and inclusivity. 
     When the school day is finished, the team continues working 
     on a project designed to improve students' self-image and 
     enliven the school environment through the creation of 
     inspirational banners.


                             the amoco team

       The Amoco Team also works in partnership with an elementary 
     school: the John Spry Community School in Little Village. 
     Spry is a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school with 
     approximately 1,300 students. By working individually in 
     classrooms as teaching assistants, City Year corps members 
     are helping to give students the confidence to excel 
     academically. They lead small groups in math and reading, 
     work closely with troubled students and teach lessons in 
     English as a Second Language and art. The Team also 
     participates in such special programs as the celebration of 
     Young Readers Day, for which corps members rotated classrooms 
     and read to over 700 children. The creation of perfect 
     attendance and honor roll certificates for the entire school, 
     and the renovation and reorganization of the Spry School 
     Library for reopening can also be credited to the team 
     members. The Amoco Team is currently working on a violence 
     prevention curriculum, which the team will take to classrooms 
     throughout the school.


             the ronald mcdonald children's charities team

       The Ronald McDonald Children's Charities Team is helping to 
     run an after school club at the Chicago Youth Centers-Lower 
     North in Cabrini Green for over 100 children. The team's 
     service is focused on expanding the curriculum offered at the 
     youth center and strengthening the educational components of 
     the program. The team members not only tutor the young 
     children in the program, but create and run after school 
     clubs such as Arts and Crafts, No-Bake Cooking, Tumbling, 
     Volleyball/Softball, Basketball, and Chorus. Along with their 
     work with the After School Club, the team is succeeding in 
     changing the face of the Youth Center. The team has painted 
     most of the building's interior surface, repaired the outside 
     fence, created a mural in the gymnasium, and completed many 
     other physical service projects at the Center. When not at 
     the Center, the Ronald McDonald Children's Charities Team 
     works in partnership with Careers for Youth and Uptown 
     Habitat for Humanity on the West side. They are painting and 
     installing light fixtures in a two-flat apartment building, 
     so that a family can move in this Spring.


                 the digital equipment corporation team

       The Digital Equipment Corporation Team runs an after school 
     club for approximately 80 children at the Price School in the 
     Grand Boulevard community through Chicago's Youth and Family 
     Resource Center. Under the supervision of the Digital Team, 
     the children study and work on their homework for two hours 
     tech day. Corps members give the special attention and 
     individual tutoring that is often difficult for teachers to 
     provide in a classroom context. Following completion of their 
     homework, the children can participate in one of the Digital 
     Team's After School Clubs: ``An Exploration of Culture;'' 
     Art; Rap Session (a discussion group); Dance; Music; Reading 
     and Writing Workshop; and Athletics. The Team also works with 
     Habitat for Humanity/Careers for Youth doing renovation and 
     carpentry for low cost housing on the West Side. In addition, 
     Team members work with the Chicago Historical Society's 
     Neighborhoods; Keepers of Culture Exhibition, a project 
     created to collect, interpret and exhibit the histories of 
     four Chicago neighborhoods. The entire Digital Team is also 
     being trained as AIDS Counselors, and this Spring will begin 
     doing AIDS/HIV outreach in the Little Village community.

  (Mr. FAIRCLOTH assumed the chair.)

                          ____________________