[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 19, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H2330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RESTORE FUNDING FOR EDUCATION

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, what the President and Democrats in 
Congress have been saying is that priorities, whether it be education, 
the environment, or protecting health care, particularly for seniors 
with Medicare and Medicaid, that these priorities should not be cut in 
these constant budget battles in this House of Representatives. That is 
why it is so important that we restore education funding.
  The House has passed a bill that cuts education funding by $3.3 
billion, a 13-percent cut over the previous year. That is going to mean 
layoffs in local school districts or it is going to mean property taxes 
to those school districts that want to keep educational programs that 
would otherwise be lost, and what we are saying is that in this budget 
battle education must be a priority.
  The Republicans in the Senate have already voted to restore this 
education funding because they do not want to see the teachers laid 
off. They want to make sure that students in the various school 
districts around the country get a proper education, that class sizes 
do not get too large, that they are able to get textbooks, and they are 
able to get the things that are necessary and provided under title I 
funding.
  The Republicans should not sacrifice education, and that is what they 
are doing here in this House.

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