[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 138 (Thursday, September 7, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1725-E1726]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             RECOGNITION OF THE FIRST LADY HILLARY CLINTON

                                 ______


                        HON. PATRICIA SCHROEDER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 6, 1995
  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, hats off to First Lady Hillary Rodham 
Clinton for her powerful statement at the U.N. Conference on Women in 
Beijing. Over the past 3 years, the First Lady has been a strong voice 
for children, families, and women. She has never shied away from 
speaking out on issues she cared about--be it childcare or women's 
health. Over the next week, I would like to highlight excerpts from 
Mrs. Clinton's statements on women, children, and families so that 
Members in the House as well as their constituents at their own public 
libraries can read them.
  The first excerpt is from her commencement speech at the University 
of Minnesota given this past year and focuses on education:

       But instead of support and appreciation for education 
     today, we see a movement among us to undermine education. We 
     see some among us who would knock down the ladders of 
     opportunity after they themselves have already reached the 
     top rung. For generations, education has been the gateway to 
     opportunity and, when married with responsibility, has been 
     the recipe for the American Dream. Education is not just 
     about acquiring facts, or even about acquiring skills to 
     prepare oneself for a career. It is also about learning how 
     to meet the challenges of one's time. How to solve problems 
     and adapt to new circumstances. How to go forward into the 
     world with the spirit and optimism that Eric talked about. It 
     is about building a deeper understanding of the complexity of 
     human civilization. Understanding our history, knowing that 
     there is much we can learn from those who came before. 
     Defining one's place in the world, and figuring out how to 
     live in a way that does honor to those who have believed in 
     us.
       Education is also not, if it ever were, a one-shot deal. 
     There are all kinds of people in our society today who need 
     to learn and want to learn. They range from the very young to 
     the very old. They are all kinds of people who recognize that 
     the challenges of the global economy are such that they can 

[[Page E 1726]]
     only be met by a spirit of learning. But tragically as we all know 
     today, there is a movement afoot in state capitals, and the 
     nation's capital, to retreat on America's historic commitment 
     to education funding. It is a retreat marked by a rather 
     unusual argument. One that says, slashing education funding 
     is for the good of our children. Under this skewed logic, 
     cutting back on education will enable us, in some miraculous 
     way, to provide more and better opportunities than we now 
     enjoy. Nothing could be further from the truth. If we sound 
     the retreat on education in America, we deny the opportunity 
     of preschool and Head Start to thousands of children. We deny 
     tens of thousands of elementary school students the resources 
     they need to improve their reading and math schools. We deny 
     summer jobs and learning opportunities to young people. And 
     most cruelly of all, we deny the opportunity for college to 
     millions of Americans by decreasing the availability of 
     loans, making them less flexible, and raising interest 
     payments and tuition beyond the reach of many working 
     families.
       It is particularly ironic that those who profess to worry 
     most about values in America are on a crusade to diminish 
     federal support for education and obliterate the National 
     Service program known as Americorps, that the President 
     launched last year. It is a false debate to pit a discussion 
     about values against the real economic concerns of the 
     American people. It is not either/or. It is both/and. We need 
     both a strong economy that protects jobs and values that we 
     want our children to be raised by. And what better example 
     than National Service of what we mean by taking economic and 
     educational opportunity and marrying it with values. The 
     values you get from tutoring children, building homes for the 
     elderly, working with police officers, cleaning up the 
     environment, immunizing children. National Service is built 
     on very old-fashioned values of hard work, discipline, and 
     community service. The men and women who serve do so because 
     they want to help people. And in return they get some small 
     assistance with their education that not only helps them, but 
     helps us as a country.
       So whether we belong to Generation X, Y, or Z, each of us 
     has the opportunity in our own way to make clear what values 
     really matter. And we also can make a difference with those 
     values in the lives of people we love and care about. 
     Education matters. Kindness matters. Truth matters. Patience, 
     hard work, tolerance, empathy, discipline--all of these 
     matter. Forgiveness matters, and gratitude matters, 
     especially on a day like today.
     

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