[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 7, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H4439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               AMERICANS DO NOT SUPPORT CUTS IN EDUCATION

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the House Republican symbol 
should no longer be the elephant, because the elephant never forgets. 
The House Republicans, especially the Republican leader and my friend 
from Texas, cannot seem to remember that the American people are 
overwhelmingly opposed to cuts in education. Less than 1 month after we 
had a budget agreement that restored the cuts in education, they are 
back to say, let us pay for a gas tax by cutting education funding.
  Most Americans support a cut in the Federal gas tax. Frankly, I 
support one. But not at the expense of education funding. While two-
thirds of all Americans are concerned about the quality of education, 
my colleague, the gentleman from north Texas, Dick Armey, is proposing 
cutting funding for education programs in order to offset that revenue 
loss for a gas tax cut.
  Eliminating our commitment to education is like declaring war on 
ourselves. We need only to look at our world class competitors in other 
countries to see what they are doing on education. They are not cutting 
funding. They are actually putting more money into it and requiring 
more out of it. We need to hear more about preparing for a better 
future for our children and our grandchildren.

                          ____________________