[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 88 (Thursday, May 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H5591]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE VALUE OF EDUCATION

  (Mr. MARTINEZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I do not think anyone can dispute the fact 
that education is one of the keys to success.
  All one needs to do is look around and see that the leaders in every 
walk of life are generally educated people.
  Mr. Speaker, so many of our immigrants came here with no education 
and not much else either.
  But they worked hard and sacrificed so that their children could have 
an education and reap the harvest of the bountiful opportunities in 
their wonderful new country.
  As a result, each succeeding generation did better and we as a 
country enjoyed the fruits of that harvest.
  Sadly, as hard as it was for the first Americans, it is not that easy 
anymore--costs are up and the economy is down.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe the price of freedom is a well-educated 
people, and our Founding Fathers thought so too when they created a 
public school system to educate every young person in our country.
  Now, as today's leaders, we should realize in a modern world that K 
through 12 is not enough to keep us competitive.
  If this is true, and I think most would agree, then why is the 
leadership on the other side of the aisle--who incidentally are both 
college professors and know the value of education--leading us away 
from a full education commitment in a way that will allow only the very 
rich of this country to be educated?

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