[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 156 (Tuesday, October 10, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14949-S14950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    EDUCATION CUTS JUST AREN'T SMART


 Slashing education hurts productivity, causes long-term economic pain

 Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, we are confronting a crucial point 
in the history of our Nation. The next few decades could determine 
whether America has what it takes to adjust to a more competitive world 
with global markets. And quality education will be the key.
  This Nation has enjoyed the greatest education system in the world. 
We cannot let up now, as the nature of our workforce changes. Global 
competition is putting greater and greater pressure on our workers, 
making it more important than ever that Americans have the educational 
tools they need to stay competitive and become even more productive. 

[[Page S 14950]]

  That is why I am astounded that the Senate Appropriations Committee 
has approved an education funding bill that slashes our investment in 
education by $2.2 billion--a 7.7 percent reduction below the 1995 
amount.
  Yet, this Congress passed a Defense appropriations bill that provides 
$6.7 billion more in spending for defense programs than the Pentagon 
wanted or believes we need. It makes no sense to take $2 to $3 billion 
from education while questionable military projects like star wars 
receive increased funding. In fact, eliminating funding for two 
amphibious ships, which were added to the defense bill by the 
Republican Congress, could restore education spending to the 1995 
level.
  I find it unconscionable to deny more than 55,000 low-income children 
the opportunity to enroll in Head Start or to deny 6.5 million 
disadvantaged kids the help they need to improve their math and reading 
skills in order to pay for unneeded military hardware. We are saying to 
local school districts that we cannot afford to help them implement the 
reform plans they have developed--but we can afford an enormous 
increase in our defense spending that the military experts say we do 
not need.
  I hear from parents and students in North Dakota and across the 
country every week about the difficult time they are having paying for 
a college education. And yet the majority party in Congress has 
responded by cutting Federal financial aid by 11.4 percent and higher 
education by 7.5 percent.
  If these programs are not an investment in our Nation's defense, then 
I do not know what is. I think these education cuts will prove to be 
devastating for the future of our country. Education ought to rank at 
the top of the national agenda, and if funding is not restored to 
reasonable levels, I will find it impossible to support this 
appropriations bill.

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