[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H9996-H10013]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IMPROVING EDUCATION IN OUR NATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hayworth). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of May 12, 1995, the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Fields] is 
recognized for 60 minutes.
  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, 
tonight I rise to talk about two very important issues; one, education, 
and how we move forward in this Congress and in Congresses to come as 
relates to education from a budgetary perspective. I would first like 
to bring to the House's attention a meeting that the Education Caucus 
held on July 31 of 1996. Right before we left for the August break we 
had a caucus meeting, and we talked about bringing businesses together 
to talk about how we can get businesses involved in improving education 
for our country because we feel that that, Mr. Speaker, is a 
relationship and a marriage that must be forged all across this country 
in order to improve the quality of education in this Nation. I am very 
happy that Senator Wellstone from the other body, who is the co-chair 
along with myself of this Education Caucus, cochaired this meeting with 
me, and we had several panelists who discussed various ways that the 
business community could help in improving education in this country.
  One of the panelists, Mr. Speaker and Members, was Audrey Easaw from 
Giant Food. She was the project manager for Apples for Students Plus.
  This is a very unique program that Giant Food market decided to 
institute in several States across the country, and we certainly urge 
other businesses across America to do the same, because when businesses 
actually take an interest in education in which they get dividends in 
the long run because, after all, these are the individuals that they 
will be employing to run their businesses. Giant Food market decided to 
embark upon a program where they actually go in and put computers in 
schools.
  I mean you have heard the President and you have heard the Vice 
President talk about the need to put computers in every classroom 
across America to bring our kids into the 21st century and to also 
prepare them for the Superhighway, Information Highway.
  Giant supermarket has already taken this challenge and accepted this 
challenge, and I am happy that, according to their testimony, Mr. 
Speaker, they are operating in four States, and what they choose to do 
is go into a school or go into a community, go into a State and 
actually put the computers, the software into the schools and help kids 
through the necessary tutorial programs where they train teachers and 
then help teachers train kids about computers and the necessary 
software.
  One of the unique ways they raise money for this project is by taking 
a certain percentage of the gross receipts of individuals who are 
consumers who shop at their stores. So that also encourages people to 
shop and save their receipts and then give them to the school kids to 
turn them in at the next school day so that they can be credited at the 
end of the day for more and additional software.
  So that is in fact, Mr, Speaker and Members, a program that I am very 
pleased about, and I want to put the testimony of Audrey Easaw into the 
Record.
  They not only buy computers, but they also buy telescopes, 
microscopes, math equipment. TV's, VCR's, and other equipment that the 
school may need as relates to telecommunication and communications in 
general.
  They have also established an adopt-a-school program, and I am 
talking about these programs, Mr. Speaker, because I want individuals 
to know what kind of impact businesses can have on schools, because 
there are many schools across America, quite frankly speaking, that 
just do not have the necessary dollars in order to improve the 
infrastructure, in order to improve the computer technology within the 
schools, and therefore businesses can merge or forge a relationship 
with schools and actually get a benefit as a result of it. They have an 
adopt-a-school program where they target over 10,000 businesses per 
year to challenge them to put matching funds from their employees. When 
their employees give money, then they challenge businesses to match 
those funds as well.

  We have the opinion that government cannot do everything and cannot 
do it all, not only in education, but in any facet of our society. But 
when we have everybody pulling that wagon in the same direction, then 
we can get there a lot quicker.
  So I would like to put the testimony of Miss Audrey Easau in the 
Record, and next I want to talk about a Mr. Norman Manasa. He is from 
the National Education Project Inc. who testified before the caucus, 
the Education Caucus. They started and initiated a nationwide tutorial 
program serving medium-sized cities. They decided to go into medium-
sized cities and actually build schools and have a tutorial program to 
educate kids in math, reading, science, and other subjects, and they do 
it very intense. They actually go into a school and have schools to 
open up hours and actually have tutors on staff to help train kids in 
the necessary subjects.

[[Page H9997]]

  I mean, that is another program that we saw to urge businesses to 
play a role, because we feel that that certainly will help strengthen 
our educational system all across this country.
  No government funds are required for this effort. It is designed to 
directly impact elementary and college students as well. Undergraduate 
institutions are targeted and supported by corporate sponsors. Students 
are required to provide 60 hours of tutoring per semester as a part of 
a 3-credit course. So they also have the colleges involved, which is 
very unique because I mean if you can give a college student credit for 
going into the community and actually tutoring a kid, that is something 
that certainly not only builds this Nation educationally, but it also 
gives a student some sense of community service as well.
  Decca Armstrong, who is from the National Cable Television 
Association, spoke of two of the cable industry's major educational 
initiatives.

                              {time}  2000

  One is cable in the classroom, and cable's high-speed educational 
connection. Those were two important programs that he spoke of during 
the education caucus meeting. Since 1989 cable companies have worked 
with school districts. Approximately 75,000 schools nationwide have 
been provided free cable connection through this program. Thirty-five 
programs provide 540 hours each month of quality commercial-free 
programming. All of this is free.
  Here again, this is where businesses play a very key role in helping 
our educational system across this country improve, not only from an 
infrastructural viewpoint, in terms of computers and actual physical 
plant of the building, but also getting into the classroom and dealing 
with the meat of the educational systems, teaching and tutoring kids 
about the different subjects.
  Teachers are provided with instructional materials and curricula 
supplies to assist them in classrooms. This is very needed because 
there are so many teachers who work into classrooms every day and do 
not have the necessary tools to teach. So when businesses get involved 
and help supply teachers with the necessary school supplies, and the 
students, then it certainly makes for a better educational situation in 
that classroom. Because we can have the best classroom in the world, 
and if the teacher does not have the tools to teach, the books, 
computers, and other tools and resources, then very little learning 
will probably take place in that classroom.
  Last, we heard from Mr. William Oliver from Bell South who addressed 
the Education Caucus on the availability of new technology and the 
availability of employees who are prepared to accept the challenges 
that corporate America is sure to present them. His perspective was 
more they are training many of their employees to go into the schools, 
because they realize that many of today's students will be tomorrow's 
employees. So they are training their employees, and they have a 
particular division, as I appreciated, of their operation to go into 
schools, inner-city schools, and teach kids about new technologies that 
are available.
  It just goes to show you what can happen and what should happen when 
business and education connect, and I would like to put all of this 
information in the Record, because these are individuals who testified 
before the Education Caucus committee and did a great job. We certainly 
do not want their information, this information, to go unnoticed.
  Mr. Speaker, next I want to talk about an initiative that the 
President initiated some weeks or a couple of months ago. We have often 
talked about how the Government can play a role in improving the 
infrastructure of schools across America. I am very pleased that the 
President decided to start an initiative to help local schools across 
America build their infrastructure.
  As we know, there are many schools across America who do not have the 
financial wherewithal to improve their infrastructure. We all know that 
there is a serious problem with schools decaying. We have schools that 
are falling by the very bricks that are holding them up. We have 
schools that could not pass a code on any day of the week, but they are 
still open and they are still in the process, in the business of 
educating our children.
  Our schools in many instances or in some instances are in worse 
condition than jails and other facilities in the area. So the President 
has made a decision, proposed a new initiative to help communities 
and States to help rebuild the Nation's schools. This is a very 
straightforward program, one that the Education Caucus supports. We 
have talked about it for a long time. We are glad that the President 
has taken the initiative to bring it to the forefront, and also put 
money behind it and support it as well. It is not a free-fall program, 
it is a program that will put about $5 billion into infrastructure 
building across America.

  Individuals have to, quite frankly, start their new construction or 
renovate their schools, refurbish their schools, and 50 percent of the 
interest money they spend on building their schools or refurbishing 
their schools will be subsidized by this $5 billion program.
  We have talked enough about refurbishing and rebuilding schools in 
America. We all know that is a serious problem and a serious calamity. 
In order for us to make our schools what they should be, it is going to 
take initiatives like this. It is going to take initiatives like what 
the business community is doing. We encourage more of them to do the 
same, to do so.
  I would like just to talk a little bit about this program, and then I 
will yield to my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Illinois 
[Mr. Jackson] who I have been joined by, who is also a distinguished 
member of the Education Caucus, to further talk about the President's 
initiative.
  Key elements of this program are very simple: Up to 50 percent of the 
interest subsidy for new schools, new school construction and 
renovation, one will be able to access under this $5-billion program. 
The initiative will reduce interest rates on new school construction 
and renovation projects by up to 50 percent, with a sliding subsidy 
scale dependent on the need.
  So this is not where a school system, Mr. Speaker, can just walk in 
and say ``I want to benefit from this new subsidized program.'' They 
must have the qualifications in order to participate. It is going to 
spur about $20 billion in new construction. This $5 billion will end up 
being about $20 billion, based on the number of construction dollars 
that will actually be put into schools over a 4-year period.
  The interest reduction is equivalent to subsidizing $1 out of every 
$4 for construction. This is something we have needed for a long time. 
Now poor school districts across America can now say ``We can afford to 
refurbish our schools, we can afford to renovate,'' and in some cases 
even build new schools.
  The goal of the 25-percent increase in school construction over the 4 
years is a very simple one. On average we spend about $10 billion a 
year in present dollars in school construction, $40 billion over a 4-
year period, which means that we will, if we put $20 billion over a 4-
year period each year, that will be substantial dollars in school 
construction. These are one-time construction initiatives, paid fully 
by the one-time spectrum auction that the President has decided to pay 
for this program out of. So these are not new tax dollars, these are 
money that will come from the one-time spectrum auction.
  Local and State governments maintain the responsibility and control 
over construction. Still, education and construction is still the 
responsibility of local and State government. The Federal Government is 
not stepping in and seizing that responsibility. It is only assisting. 
I have often said, and I say today, that education is a partnership. It 
is not a State problem or a State responsbility or a local problem or a 
local responsibility or a Federal problem or a Federal responsibility. 
Education is a partnership. We all have to play a role in improving the 
quality of education for our kids.

  Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, the gentleman from Illinois 
[Mr. Jackson].
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by taking this 
opportunity to thank the distinguished gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. 
Fields] for

[[Page H9998]]

being so kind as to allow me the privilege of participating in this 
special order.
  I was in my district this past August, certainly there for the 
Democratic convention, but also in town hall meetings and working with 
constituents. I had the opportunity to talk to, as I do on many 
occasions, some young people in my district, some of whom were 
fulfilling their responsibilities with their summer jobs. Some of the 
young people for the very first time, it really set me aback, Mr. 
Fields, when one of the young men said he had three friends who had 
been to the university. I said, ``They have been to what college?''
  North Carolina A&T State, that is where I graduated, and you went to 
Southern Louisiana in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I said, ``What university 
did they go to?'' They said, ``No, we are talking about the university 
in Joliet.'' I know, as well as the gentleman probably knows, as well 
as millions of Americans know there is no university in Joliet. What he 
was referring to was the jail in Joliet. Now it is becoming more street 
language, if you will, more street-appropriate, to not refer to jail as 
a place of incarceration but to refer to it as a university.
  My father always says that it is a real sad day in our country when 
jails are becoming a step up. After all, in jails they have heat in the 
wintertime and they have air conditioning in the summertime. They have 
three square meals a day. They have organized recreation. They have 
health care and medical attention while they are in jail. They have 
library facilities. They have organized religion; certainly spiritual 
development, even if it is done on an ad hoc or unofficial basis. You 
can get your high school diploma while you are in jail. You can get a 
GED.
  For many people in my district, certainly in the City of Chicago and 
around the country, many young men are now joining their fathers for 
the first time in jails. This is the first time we are looking at two 
and three generations of young men and in many cases young women who 
are part of our penal system.
  One of the reasons I am so impressed with the President's initiative 
to rebuild the infrastructure of schools in our Nation, what we are 
really trying to do here is put jails on an even playing field, a level 
playing field, with the schools. We want the schools to be raised to 
the levels where they become a real choice, a real alternative for our 
young people.
  On President Clinton's proposal, this new initiative to help local 
communities and States rebuild the Nation's schools. Here are the 
realities. One-third of all schools, serving about 14 million students, 
need extensive repair or replacement. According to the GAO, about 60 
percent of schools have at least one major building feature in 
disrepair, such as leaky roofs or crumbling walls. Over 50 percent have 
at least one environmental problem, such as poor indoor quality of air.
  Second, schools do not have the physical infrastructure to allow our 
students to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. Many schools do 
not have the physical infrastructure to make the best use of computers, 
printers, or other equipment. About 50 percent, about 46 percent of the 
schools report inadequate electrical wiring for computers 
and communications technology.

  We have already passed a bill in this Congress. Now we must update 
the schools so they can be the recipients, the much-needed recipients 
of the legislation we passed in this body.
  Expected enrollment growth imposes an additional burden on many of 
these physical facilities. Many school districts also face the need to 
build new schools to accommodate this enrollment growth. Public school 
enrollment in grades K through 12 is expected to rise 20 percent 
between 1990 and 2004. So the President's proposal to spend $5 billion 
rebuilding the infrastructure of our Nation's schools is very timely 
and very important.
  I realize we are both Members of this distinguished body, and I know 
we are both very supportive of this proposal, but I would encourage 
constituents of other Members to certainly call their office to let 
them know that they support this initiative. They can do that simply by 
calling 202-225-3121. Call your Member of Congress and say this is a 
very important proposal that should be supported.
  There are the key elements to the President's legislative initiative, 
the school construction initiative, that we should highlight. Up to 50 
percent interest subsidy for new school construction and renovation. 
This initiative will reduce the interest cost on new school 
construction and renovation projects by up to 50 percent with a sliding 
subsidy scale, depending on the school district's needs. There is $20 
billion in school construction spurred by $5 billion in Federal jump-
start funding over 4 years. The interest reduction is equivalent to 
subsidizing $1 billion out of every $4 billion in construction and 
renovation spending.
  There is a goal of 25 percent increase in school construction over 4 
years. National spending on school construction and renovation is 
currently at about $10 billion a year, or $40 billion over 4 years. By 
focusing on incremental or net additional construction projects, this 
initiative aims to ensure that at least half of the $20 billion 
supported by Federal subsidies would not be otherwise incurred, a one-
time construction initiative fully paid by a one-time spectrum auction.
  This part of the bill is controversial, because I have certainly 
raised concerns in my own district and certainly in my city about our 
constant using of spectrum auctions for the purpose of financing these 
projects. But who can deny that rebuilding the infrastructures of our 
schools does not warrant the need for us to consider selling additional 
spectra, particularly between channels 60 and 69, to help jump-start 
this proposal.
  State and local governments must maintain responsibility and control. 
The States would administer the bulk of the subsidies, while the 
largest school districts would apply directly to the U.S. Department of 
Education.
  Let me just add this, Mr. Speaker. In my district, particularly in 
the south suburban part of the Second Congressional District, we have 
seen the steel industry leave. We have seen large manufacturing jobs 
leave our area. Therefore, we are now putting a disproportionate amount 
of the education and the local municipality's burden for social 
services on local homeowners.
  One way beyond the welfare bill to put people back to work is to get 
industries to relocate to these areas so they can share their fair 
share of the tax burden. But in the absence of industries that are 
getting to these areas, we have declining schools in Harvey, in 
Markham, in Phoenix, in Dixmoor, in Ford Heights, that need a boost 
that only the Federal Government at this time can provide.

                              {time}  2015

  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. I want to thank the gentleman. I want to 
share with the gentleman also some statistics from his State as well as 
my State as relates to the GAO report, the recent report, as relates to 
the infrastructure of schools across the Nation.
  I do not know if the gentleman is aware, but if we take the State of 
Illinois, the percentage of schools reporting at least one inadequate 
original building in Illinois is 29.2 percent of the schools and in 
Louisiana, 28.0. So from that perspective, Illinois and Louisiana, as 
most of the schools if we look at the chart, we see schools across the 
country in the teens, high teens. Florida 18.3, Georgia 18.5, Hawaii 
16.3, Idaho 27.4, Kansas 33.7. When we talk about the percentage of 
schools reporting at least one inadequate original building, it is a 
devastating number or percentage as relates to this report.
  Then the percentage of schools reporting at least one inadequate 
attached and/or detached permanent addition, in Illinois, your State, 
it is 8.8 percent. In Louisiana it is 8.7 percent. Here again the 
numbers in Louisiana and Illinois are somewhat the same.
  On page 33 of the GAO report. The percentage of schools reporting at 
least one inadequate temporary building in Illinois, your State, 4.4 
percent, and in Louisiana which is, I think Louisiana almost leads the 
Nation from this perspective, 24.8. South Carolina with 29.4.
  It just goes to show how schools all across America, we need to 
invest in infrastructure. Just the other year we passed legislation 
that put $30 billion, actually about $12 billion, $17 billion in 
building jails. What is wrong with putting $5 billion in helping local 
and State government refurbish their schools.

[[Page H9999]]

  Percentage of schools reporting at least one inadequate onsite 
building, 31.0 percent in Illinois and 38.6 percent in Louisiana. Very 
interesting numbers. We can go down the list and we see that many of 
our schools across America are in great need of repair.
  I was looking at page 66 of the GAO report where it talked about the 
description of the estimate in terms of what it would cost to get 
schools into a status where they should be in terms of improving 
infrastructure. Very interesting numbers. Nationwide, the total amount 
estimated needed to put American schools into good overall condition, 
GAO estimated that it would take $112 billion. That is an investment we 
have to make to our children not as a Federal Government, I am talking 
State, local, Federal, business, we all must come together to improve 
the quality of education. We cannot expect kids to learn in a school 
that does not have an air conditioner during the summertime. It just 
does not make sense. Or a heater during the wintertime. For crying out 
loud, if a prisoner was in prison and they did not have an air 
conditioner during the summertime, then some Federal judge would close 
the prison down. We have to make sure that we invest in our future.

  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. If the gentleman will yield, it would be 
cruel and unusual punishment. For students to be in school without 
adequate heat in the wintertime or air conditioning in the summertime, 
I think it is cruel and unusual punishment. Would the gentleman agree?
  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Absolutely, no question about it. The 
education caucus, as the gentleman knows, we have made it a point not 
to bash members, to make it a partisan issue, because education is not 
a partisan issue. It is a nonpartisan issue. Both sides of the aisle 
agree that we must improve the quality of education. We have to get out 
of the business of pointing fingers because while we point fingers, we 
have kids out there who do not have the kind of schools that they need, 
that are conducive for learning, teachers that are not paid the kind of 
salaries that they deserve in order to live, in order to take care of 
their day-to-day expenses like a house note, a car note, and things of 
that nature.
  Further, the average amount estimated needed per school, this is an 
interesting figure, $1.7 million. That is the average amount, according 
to GAO, that is needed to repair a school, $1.7 million. We ought to 
have a summit with Federal, State, and local officials to talk about 
how we get these schools up to par.
  You cannot open a barber shop in Baton Rouge, LA unless you pass all 
of the fire codes, unless you pass all of the city codes. We had 
schools open up yesterday, I grant you in Baton Rouge, LA, and Chicago, 
IL, and in Washington, DC, that could not pass a code, a city code, if 
they tried.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. If the gentleman will yield, six schools in 
Washington, DC, did not open for the very same reason that the 
gentleman is speaking of.

  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. I think we have to press that issue. I think 
we have to get real serious about the safety and soundness of our 
schools and the conditions of our schools for the interest of not only 
the students and the teachers but for the interest of education, 
period. I think we have to send a very strong message that if a school 
does not pass the necessary codes, if it is not up to par, then it 
should not open.
  I am one of the strongest advocates, as the gentleman is, in this 
House as relates to education. But I do not think we ought to allow 
schools to open, schools that do not meet the code, because we will not 
allow a person to open up a barber shop, and one cannot opine the 
thought that we have more than interest in a barber shop or a shoeshine 
shop than we have in a school, an elementary and secondary school.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. If the gentleman will yield further, one of 
our colleagues a little while ago on the other side of the aisle 
indicated that a part of the welfare initiative was to move tax 
consumers off of the welfare rolls and make them productive. Who can 
argue with that? We want to move people who consume taxes off of the 
welfare rolls. But the only way to move them from our perspective off 
of the welfare rolls is to take a tax consumer and make a revenue 
generator out of them. Someone who generates revenue obviously has a 
job. When people have jobs, they pay taxes. When taxes are paid, 
deficits go down, interest rates go down, and people who pay taxes also 
pay to local governments, they pay to State governments and they also 
pay the Federal Government. That is how we can rebuild the 
infrastructure of these schools. But there is a presupposition there 
that we have a plan to put people to work, to move them from welfare to 
work. That is clearly the next phase that we find ourselves in.
  I would like to just use two examples for some of our colleagues who 
may be listening in their offices. Let us take the town of Ruraltown, 
USA. A typical problem. The town of Ruraltown has three schools in need 
of major renovations to improve air quality ventilation and the roofs. 
Typical cost to repair of these schools is expected to be about $5 
million. Some of the typical obstacles in Ruraltown. Ruraltown faces 
difficult challenges in renovating its schooling. Its tax base is too 
small to pay for the necessary renovations, and bond financing is 
obviously too expensive.

  Here is the impact of the President's proposal on this school 
construction initiative. It reduces local cost of school construction. 
The President's proposal would cut the interest rate paid by Ruraltown 
in half. This would save the town more than $1.7 million in interest 
cost over the life of the $5 million bond. This is equivalent to saving 
$1.2 million immediately, a savings of roughly 23 percent off the face 
value.
  Let us look at Metropolis. I represent the city of Chicago and I also 
represent Ruraltown. In the city of Metropolis, Chicago, IL, typical 
problems. Like cities across the Nation, Metropolis has a large school 
construction and renovation need. Two of its schools need major 
renovations, including plumbing and new roofs, and an additional 
elementary school is needed to accommodate a rapidly growing school age 
population. Here are the typical costs. The repairs and two new school 
buildings are expected to be about $10 million, $2 million each for the 
major renovations of the two existing facilities, and about $6 million 
for the new elementary school.
  The typical obstacles: Despite the clear need for the repairs and the 
two new schools, the school board has been reluctant to propose issuing 
a bond when it could be rejected as too costly. As a result, only 
emergency repairs funded out of an operations account have been 
undertaken.
  Here is the impact of the President's school construction initiative. 
It reduces the local cost of school construction. The President's 
proposal would cut interest payments in half, saving Metropolis $5 
million in interest costs over the life of the $10 million bond. This 
is equivalent to saving about $2.9 million immediately, a savings of 
about 29 percent off of the face value. I think this is a good 
initiative that should enjoy broad bipartisan support.
  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Absolutely. I think the President is so 
right on this initiative. And if others, local, State, and the business 
community will all join hands and do something similar, just work with 
this initiative or have one similar to it, we can refurbish, rebuild 
and have new construction of schools all across America so we can give 
our kids an opportunity to learn again.
  We cannot, and I have said it over and over again tonight, we cannot 
expect learning to take place in a classroom when you have students 
walking in the classrooms all across America that do not have the 
proper tools. What purpose does it serve when we have students sitting 
in classrooms when they do not even have the proper textbooks? We have 
three and four students sharing the same textbook. We have some 
students that do not have a textbook at all. These are real situations 
that teachers have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. We have to 
address that calamity. The biggest national threat we have in this 
country is how we deal with education and how we deal with illiteracy. 
We have to give our kids a fighting chance.
  A final example. Who is committing crimes in this country? Over 83 
percent of the people in jail are, what, high school dropouts? The 
people involved

[[Page H10000]]

in drugs for the most part, many of them are high school dropouts. Most 
of the people who are unemployed, high school dropouts. We have to do a 
better job of retaining our kids in school and do a better job of 
educating our youth.
  I see we have been joined by the gentlewoman from Texas [Ms. Jackson-
Lee]. I will be happy to yield to the gentlewoman.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Louisiana and certainly the gentleman from Illinois. I could not help 
but listen to your very effective and pointed advocacy for the 
education of our children. I was working in my office and as I listened 
to you, I was engaged in a conversation with a Carol Douglas, a 
constituent who is executive director of the NAACP in my district or in 
the community of Houston. We were talking about a program where we 
would be passing on the torch of leadership of the NAACP to young 
people throughout the community. As I listened, it seemed so much in 
line with your discussion, because education helps to pass on the torch 
to our children.
  I am reminded of the weeks that have just passed. We have had several 
conventions, both Republican and Democratic. It saddened me to hear the 
discarding of something that I think all Americans have accepted. As I 
recall my early pioneer history, if you will, when we studied the 
history of early America, from the colonial days to the charge and 
challenge, go west, young man or young woman, it was communities that 
built up around issues involving thriving or growing. So, for example, 
in the colonies, it was the community that built a school. In essence, 
it takes a village. When the pioneers went west, in fact, as I 
understand it, they gathered in certain areas and they did not live 10 
blocks away from each other or 20 blocks, they lived sort of in a very 
close radius of each other and it was a community, in essence, the 
village, who built the public school. Out of those schools, those log 
cabin schools came the concept of public schools which helped to make 
America the world power that it became as it moved into the 1900's and 
then as it moved into the 1930's and 1940's as we began to educate and 
submit to the world Nobel Peace Prize winners such as Dr. King, Nobel 
laureates in literature and science, it came out of the infrastructure 
of the public school. So I am taken aback that we would even have a 
discourse or discussion where one party seems to be castigating the 
reality of how important it is to have a system, a public school system 
along with a private school system and charter schools but a real 
system that puts children first. I applaud the President. Because let 
me say to you, you gave examples of rural America and metropolis, I 
come from the fourth largest city in the Nation. We just enjoyed your 
very fair and fine city. I want you to know, we started out this school 
year with collapsed school roofs. We had a closed school, not because 
we had a hurricane or a tornado but out of the wear and tear, those 
children who hungered for education. In fact, we saw the little 
preschoolers and the kindergartners with tears in their eyes because 
they were not going to be at their school, the school in fact that 
their mother, their father, their grandparents because it was a 
community school, it had some years on it, their neighbors had gone to, 
collapsed roof.

                              {time}  2030

  This was not the only school that was suffering from that problem. I 
support both the Education Caucus leadership and the President's 
leadership, who I can call the Education President, that with a mere 
$1.7 million per school would have allowed those children to open their 
eyes to knowledge by going into that school for the very first day.
  It is interesting that in addition to this question of school 
buildings, we found that our schools opened where children did not have 
school supplies. There were various campaigns to ensure that children 
have school supplies.
  Now, I read a letter to the editor, and they said they have always 
fed their children, they do not believe in school lunches, and I would 
imagine that same writer would say they did not believe in helping 
youngsters with their school supplies.
  I can assure you that working mothers, working parents, single 
parents who work very hard to get their children to school, it is a 
burden to get the school supplies. So we have a whole realm of concerns 
that face us in trying to educate our children. I was glad to 
participate with several corporate partners in Houston to try to get 
some school supplies to the most needy of the children.
  When we disregard the value of education, I think we throw away the 
21st century. We in Houston recognize that we have to be part of the 
entire country when it comes to education. You cannot be isolated on 
this issue. You cannot make it a partisan issue. You cannot disregard 
the community's interest, the village interest in educating a child.
  We have schools that do not even have computers. I heard the 
gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Fields] talk about the bare essentials 
such as textbooks, current textbooks. We are going into the world of 
the superhighway, and as we passed the Telecommunications Act, one of 
the concerns of many of us, the Education Caucus, was out front and 
forward on having the Internet be accessible to our schools and 
libraries. Now that the law is passed, it behooves us not to sit back 
and watch the progress, without ensuring that the inner-city schools 
and rural schools and schools that typically would not be at the 
forefront of high-income children or high-income families share in 
this, and we certainly applaud those who are able in this country to be 
able to access the Internet.
  I will be joining our local school district on Net Day, where we will 
have 4 days in October to bring in volunteers. That is how we have to 
do it, bring in volunteers to try to make sure that our schools are 
accessible to the Internet and that our children have the Internet.
  I heard you discuss that before I came over, that you were talking 
about technology and the importance of technology. Well, this plea 
going out for Net Day '96 is saying we need you to come volunteer, 
because obviously there are not enough funds. We are going to make sure 
that those who benefit from the telecommunciations bill, and they have 
already joined in on that, so this is not an indictment, but that they 
will embrace these schools and make sure they have the right kinds of 
computers.
  I have been to schools in my district where children are lined up to 
use one computer, and the computer is outdated. So it takes me a back a 
little bit to even hear some of the rhetoric about how we can educate 
our children, or leave it to the communities, or it is too costly to 
renovate these schools.
  The gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Fields] has been speaking about 
this for a period of years. I hope that this Congress can rise to the 
occasion and join in on this effort, that we may reach the hamlets and 
towns and cities that are now missing the value of a clean and dry and 
good education, because they are in facilities that are in total 
disrepair.
  Let met just add this point as I listen to your further debate as 
well. It bothers me when we can take it to such a level to begin to 
label teachers. I heard a discussion of Teachers' Unions. I have had 
teachers all during the month of August right after that statement was 
made in a public setting at the convention, the Republican convention, 
wonder why they were under attack? These are teachers that have taken 
their summers to work in our schools, to help our children get ahead. 
These are teachers that work after hours and do tutorials. These are 
teachers who sacrifice because they believe in our children. These are 
teachers who buy clothes for our children who may not have all of the 
needs.
  So I hope we take a different spin in the Education Caucus under the 
leadership of the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Fields] that we know 
that teachers are a partner with us in trying to educate our children, 
along with parents, community, church, and government. I hope that we 
will not be in the business, if you will, of castigating any group that 
raises itself up as a vehicle of helping to educate our children.
  I know that I will leave this week and go back and interact with our 
children in the schools and interact with teachers and make myself 
available to be of assistance, to be of help. So I applaud this one 
hour that you have been focusing on this, because it burdened me 
throughout the whole time that we

[[Page H10001]]

were in our districts, of this importance of education, and what my 
children in the 18th Congressional District needed to make them equal 
partners in the world. I hope this Congress rises to your challenge.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Will the gentleman yield for a question?
  Mr. Speaker, my colleague mentioned schools in her dsitrict where the 
roofs had actually collapsed. What local initiatives are taking place 
in her district to repair those schools and in what way could the 
President's proposal help subsidize those initiatives?
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for that 
question. We have attempted, in fact I think the President's initiative 
is going to help spur us on, because we attempted to pass a bond 
election. Unfortunately, we were not successful, because I think the 
clear message of the need of our children did not really hit the 
voters.
  More importantly, I think that they were confused as to how we could 
best leverage those bond dollars with a Federal effort. Now with the 
President's effort, we stand in a much better stead to partnership with 
our local voters and to partnership with the President to do the right 
thing for our children. So we have been challenged by the President's 
initiative. That will be an initiative that will carry us very far as 
we plan to work with his program and ensure that there is real local 
participation and that the right information gets to our voters and our 
parents, who are saddened by the loss because of confusion offered by 
those who are always challenging government in terms of taxes, giving 
wrong information.
  Now I think we have the right information and the right leadership by 
way of the President with this initiative to help local communities 
like Houston and the school districts there.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. If I may, I would like to share with the 
gentlewoman an instance in my district. There is a high school called 
Bloom High School located in a south suburb and area in my district, 
and we tried twice to pass a referendum whereby we would increase 
property taxes to roughly the cost of a can of soda. And what actually 
ended up happening was it failed twice.
  So we sent our workers into the field to find out why we could not 
pass this referendum. A little bit about the school: This school begins 
classes at 9 o'clock in the morning and roughly ends about 1 o'clock. 
We cannot afford to pay the teachers a full salary. This is a high 
school with a tremendous amount of students. Even one of our more 
famous syndicated columnists is a graduate of this particular high 
school.
  We found that our senior citizens whose incomes have basically 
stagnated, who would traditionally vote to help students and pay for 
more and better schools, decided to vote against the referendum because 
of their stagnated incomes. They do not feel they can afford even the 
equivalent of a can of soda or a bag of potato chips a day to help 
subsidize the local school. The middle class in this area, their 
incomes have likewise stagnated. So the students were caught in the 
middle, the school almost closing. The State funding formula in our 
State is a little regressive. Therefore this particular school district 
does not have the same kind of funding that schools in the northern 
part of the city of Chicago or other more affluent suburbs have.
  So I certainly recognize that the gentlewoman's concern about schools 
in her district are very similar to referendums that we have fought in 
our district. Voters want to vote for better schools, but if their 
incomes have stagnated and they do not feel that a can of soda or a bag 
of potato chips is worth the increase because they do not see the real, 
if you will, the real dividends in terms of cost-benefit to their 
actual contribution to the school system, then our students again are 
caught in the middle.
  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. I thank the gentleman. While we are on the 
subject of Illinois, I had an opportunity during the convention to 
visit your State and your district. The most impressive thing that I 
saw during that convention, during my week stay in Illinois, was the 
fact that young people came together. The refurbished a school in 
Chicago, Area Academy, which as a matter of fact you had a lot to do 
with that.

  Because of your insistence and because of your commitment to schools, 
we were able to get young people together to go, as the gentlewoman 
knows, and paint and clean and scrub bathrooms and just refurbish the 
Area Academy. Now that school is open to first through third graders. I 
think they started school today or yesterday. And that was because of 
the work, the sweat of young people.
  Now, but for that effort, that community effort, with young people 
actually going into that school, and they felt good about it. Just to 
see young people doing that, and feeling good about it as a project, 
and you see the little kids in first through third grades just sitting 
there coloring, making nice little signs because administrator Carol 
Browner, for example, was one of the persons who went in and actually 
scrubbed and cleaned and painted. It was just an amazing thing.
  Mr. Speaker, if more people across America just took the time to take 
a little time to go into schools and refurbish them, repaint them, you 
just should have seen the smiles on those kids' faces. I enjoyed it.
  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. I yield to the gentlewoman.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Before you leave that point, there is such 
a joy in your comments about that, and that was a very fine example, 
because you hit home with what happened in our community. I did not in 
any way intend to suggest that there were not the good folk across the 
community who care about children. But obviously they can be guided in 
another direction when they hear maybe a small core of individuals 
focusing only on one aspect, which is the cost, recognizing that a vast 
number of people are dealing with stagnant income.
  In fact, some of our seniors had been hearing the stories of cuts in 
Medicare and cuts in Medicaid for our children. So they were kind of 
really concerned listing to the debate on the House floor by the 
Republican majority of cutting their Medicare. With that in mind, all 
of that impacts of decisions how you expend dollars. Obviously a bond 
election means an increase in taxes.
  Let me compliment the districts for sucking it in, if you will. With 
the meager funds they had, they got themselves together to fix those 
schools that needed to be fixed. But in fact the example that you cited 
out of Chicago, and this initiative in cooperation with our President 
and the education caucus advocacy, that includes funding for schools in 
terms of renovation, but also the value of the community coming 
together with young people to say we love our schools too. This is our 
school and we love it too.
  Mr. Speaker, we have had examples of our young people eliminating the 
graffiti, for example, and painting the walls. So it is important for 
America to know the value of youngsters who themselves value education. 
How can we do less for these youngsters by letting them down, by having 
them attend schools in rural and urban areas where the roof will fall 
in? What is $1.7 million, not with any disregard for the cost, but in 
terms of an investment in your child's future?
  And what can we take from the history of America, where public 
schools have been the mainstay, if you will, of educating most of 
America? Any orator that you want to call, any scientist that you want 
to call, any educator that you want to call, you can find them tracing 
their roots at some point to an early education by the public schools.

                              {time}  1930

  I think that we have a lot of way to go, but it is important that we 
focus on education for our children.
  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. It is like the unique bumper sticker that we 
have all seen in our travels, if you can read this, thank a teacher. 
You cannot put it any more pointedly than that. If you can read this, 
thank a teacher.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will continue 
to yield, I know that the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas spent a 
considerable amount of time engaging in the debate that took place on 
the floor of this Congress. I know she was very active in the 
committee. I think we have to move now, though, to the meat and the 
potatoes of this initiative.
  It is easy for this initiative, in 1996, during this particular 
period, to be

[[Page H10002]]

called campaign rhetoric and empty promises, unless we move our 
discourse to how are we going to pay for this. Can this be paid for. I 
know that not long ago we passed an appropriations measure in this 
Congress that increased the military budget by $7 billion more than the 
President requested. I know that we are talking about balancing the 
budget in 7 years using CBO numbers. The President has made that 
commitment. We have heard those numbers mentioned on both sides of the 
aisle. Whether or not it is actually doable in 7 years is another 
issue. But I do not want this proposal, and I think the gentleman from 
Louisiana and other members on both sides of the aisle, they do not 
want this proposal to get lost in pork barrel election year rhetoric. 
Can we afford this proposal?
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, absolutely. Primarily because 
already we have gotten a commitment, and many of us have, as the 
gentlemen here on the floor, have engaged vigorously in debate on the 
balanced budget amendment. It is interesting, for those of us who come 
from urban and rural America, to say to Americans, we are not afraid of 
a balanced budget. I think it is a question of priorities. And when you 
get some $7-8 billion more than not only the President but the Defense 
Department wanted, then we have a problem.
  Yes, we can. And education can be comfortably funded without an 
excess burden on taxpayers in America, with reasoned tax cuts that have 
been offered, such as the mortgage tax deduction. As we are well aware, 
the education tax benefits that may come. It can be funded. We should 
realize that and the President has both that program and both that 
structure that can allow us to enhance education and also balance the 
budget.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Is this another big government program that 
is coming from Washington, DC, another big bureaucracy that we are 
trying to create? I am sure we will be hearing a lot of that.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. What I like about this program is that it 
partnerships with local government. There is one thing about local 
government, it is under scrutiny. And, therefore, when you say moneys 
are designated for renovation, repair, rehab, internet, or computers or 
books, you can be assured those parents, those teachers, those 
librarians, those students will be there with an eagle eye making sure 
those funds are expended well. I do not think this is pork barrel. We 
have a way of paying for it. These are not empty promises. How can we 
make empty promises to our children just 4 years away from the 21st 
century?
  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman knows, if he 
is speaking of the $5 billion program, under the President's proposal, 
it would be paid for by the selling of the spectrums. So the $5 billion 
program is in fact paid for or will be paid for. An expanded program, I 
do not know if the gentleman was speaking of an expanded program, a 
serious problem in terms of the number of dollars we need to improve 
all of the American schools. It was in the billions, I forgot the exact 
number. But we have to focus on it. I think it has to be a partnership 
between local, State, and Federal government.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I think that the leveraging, I 
might add, of the $5 billion, the GAO has also suggested that it could 
be upwards of $20 billion when you consider local and State and even 
private funds that would go into such an initiative.
  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. These dollars are the dollars for the 
interest subsidy. You have to spend money on the construction first in 
order to benefit from the dollars, the $5 billion, because the $5 
billion is not, they are not construction dollars per se. They are the 
interest, 50 percent of the interest of construction dollars. That is 
why we have come up with the figure of about $20 billion over a course 
of 4 years, $20 billion a year, actually.
  Let me add a couple other things just to shed some light on how 
serious this problem is across the Nation.

  I am about to read from the GAO report, page 16. They did an 
extensive report, and I think the gentlewoman, Senator Moseley-Braun, 
ought to be commended for requesting such information. About a third of 
all, about a third of the students in America, which is about 14 
million, attend schools with one inadequate building. About 60 percent 
of the students in America, which is about 25 million, attend schools 
with at least one inadequate building feature. The same number, about 
25 million, attend schools in buildings with at least one 
unsatisfactory environmental condition which means asbestos problems 
are still a real problem within our school systems. About 12 million 
students, 30 percent, attend schools with both problems, at least one 
inadequate building, one inadequate building feature and some problems 
with the environmental aspects. So it is a real problem that affects 
schools all across this Nation.
  Looking at this report, there is not one State in this country that 
is not affected. Every State in the United States of America is 
affected by this school infrastructure problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I have about 5 more minutes. I yield to the gentlewoman 
from Texas, Ms. Jackson-Lee.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very 
much. As I conclude my remarks, let me challenge those in my local 
community and the State of Texas to secure a copy. We would be happy to 
help them secure a copy of that GAO report. I do want to acknowledge 
Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, for that is a both devastating but a very 
vital report on the Nation's children.
  Might I add another aspect of the needs of schools and that is 
overcrowding. How many of us faced this school year the fact that we 
did not have enough space in some of our schools that might have been 
in good repair to even come to the school and sit in classrooms or 
enough teachers to teach these children?
  I think the more that Americans hear about the needs of our children, 
I think they will discard the rhetoric of big government. Because what 
we are talking about is getting right back home, not big government and 
large offices here in Washington. It is information that we need to 
assist our local school districts, our parents, our teachers at home. I 
think the leveraging of those dollars will be vital but we face both 
overcrowding and disrepair. And we also face the lack of resources for 
high technology.
  So I thank the gentleman for this time and will recommit myself as a 
member of the Education Caucus to translate a fiscally responsible 
budget back to the children in our community.
  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Illinois [Mr. Jackson].
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished 
gentleman from Louisiana for his outstanding work in this area and also 
join him as well as the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas in 
congratulating the senior Senator from the State of Illinois, Carol 
Moseley-Braun, for her outstanding work in this area.
  Why do we have this problem? We have this problem in part because of 
irresponsible supply side tax policies of the seventies and the 
eighties that really put our Nation and our Government into a deep 
hole. The past 15 years we have seen incomes stagnate for most 
Americans, particularly middle-class Americans, while their Federal 
taxes have unfortunately risen. But the reality is that the only way we 
are going to be able to repair our Nation's schools and put our 
children back on track is not to make any more proposals, any more 
voodoo tax proposals.
  These buildings, this infrastructure that needs to be fixed is going 
to cost and we are going to have to pay for it. We either pay for it in 
the form of rebuilding the infrastructure of our schools, putting 
legible and good books in the hands of our young people. Some students 
are reading books where Nixon is still the President. That is no longer 
obviously the case.
  So I want to take this opportunity to thank the distinguished 
gentleman from Louisiana for this opportunity, thank Sheila Jackson-
Lee, the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas, for joining us and thank 
the Speaker for his indulgence.
  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank both the 
gentleman from Illinois and the gentlewoman from Texas for first of all 
serving on the Education Caucus, and I want to thank Members from both 
sides of the

[[Page H10003]]

aisle who serve on the Education Caucus. We must make education a 
priority.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record speeches and articles on the 
Education Caucus.
  I thank the Speaker.

          Speech for Congressman Cleo Fields' Education Caucus

(Speaker: Audrey L. Easaw, Marketing Projects Manager/Project Manager, 
             Apples for the Students PLUS, Giant Food Inc.)

       Good morning (afternoon);
       First of all, on behalf of Giant Food, I want to thank 
     Congressman Fields for inviting me to talk to you about 
     Giant's role as a corporate supporter of the elementary and 
     secondary schools within our market area. We commend 
     Congressman Fields for spear-heading this much-needed 
     education caucus and we appreciate his vision for involving 
     both the private and public sectors to assist in improving 
     our educational system.
       I'd also like to introduce to you Donna Carter, senior 
     coordinator for Giant's Apples for the Students PLUS Program. 
     Donna and I have been with the program since it's inception. 
     Donna does a tremendous job of maintaining a sophisticated 
     data base of over 3,200 public, private, and parochial 
     schools throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. She's also 
     responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operation of our 
     Apples office.
       Let me preface this talk by stating that I do not come to 
     you as an expert on the educational system, but rather as a 
     member of the corporate community who has witnessed first-
     hand, the magnificent impact that business can make on the 
     education of our youth when both monetary and manpower 
     commitments are made--and kept.
       Giant Food is no stranger to the education system both 
     inside and outside of the Beltway. Over 50 years ago, we saw 
     the need to become more actively involved within the 
     communities that we served and that had been consistently 
     loyal to us.
       I have had the extremely good fortune to work with an 
     organization whose former CEO, the late Israel Cohen believed 
     that assisting in the education of our youth was essential to 
     becoming a successful member of the business community. Izzy 
     believed that the support of education should not be tied to 
     sales. He felt strongly that educational programs such as the 
     35 year-old ``It's Academic,'' high school television quiz 
     show and our eight year-old Apples for the Students PLUS are 
     simply the right initiatives for Giant to support.
       And there is no question in my mind that the children in 
     over 3,200 schools that have been the beneficiaries of one or 
     both of these educational programs will remember the Giant 
     name for years to come. Whether they shop in our stores as 
     they grow older or whether they mention to others in their 
     communities that Giant provided scholarships or 
     contributed computers that could not have otherwise been 
     obtained by their schools, the children will remember. And 
     that makes these sponsorships well worth every dime and 
     minute spent by Giant.
       Giant's commitment to education started in 1959 when our 
     founder N.M. Cohen announced that Giant would grant five 
     $1,000 scholarships, a small beginning. Then in 1967, we 
     began sponsoring the award-winning ``It's Academic'' a 
     ``college-bowl'' formatted TV program which showcases the 
     academic excellence of high school students. Giant has 
     awarded in excess of $2 million to participating schools in 
     the Washington and Baltimore Metropolitan Areas. (These 
     scholarships enable students to pursue higher education at 
     some of the best schools in our Nation.)
       Apples for the Students was first introduced to us in 1989 
     by Terry Gans, Giant's vice president of advertising and 
     sales promotions. Terry saw the opportunity for Giant to 
     begin placing computers and other technology in our schools 
     during a time when school budgets were being cut to bare 
     bones almost daily. Based on findings from a survey conducted 
     by an outside marketing firm, we determined that elementary 
     and secondary schools were the schools that faced the most 
     extreme budgetary cuts. Today Giant maintain a staff of nine 
     associates who are responsible for serving schools in 
     Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Delaware, New 
     Jersey and beginning this fall, Pennsylvania. That's how 
     committed we are to making sure that every school in the 
     areas we serve receives needed educational equipment.
       For the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with Giant's 
     Apples Plus, the program works quite simply: Schools are 
     asked to save their special colored receipt tapes from Giant 
     and super G stores, total them, and turn them in to Giant for 
     free educational equipment. This equipment is paid 100 
     percent by Giant.
       In fact, Giant is extremely proud of the fact that since 
     October, 1989, we have spent over $42 million for educational 
     equipment alone. This figure does not include staffing and 
     administrative costs, or advertising. It translates into over 
     135,000 computers, printers, software packages, CD-roms, 
     telescopes, microscopes, math equipment. TVs and VCRs and 
     other learning tools.
       A major component of our Apples for the Students Plus 
     program, is our Adopt-a-School plan. We sent invitations to 
     over 10,000 businesses each year asking them to consider 
     adopting an equipment-challenged school by setting up a tape 
     collection box at their business for employees and customers 
     to donate their tapes. We also ask businesses to consider 
     matching their receipt tape collection with a cash gift made 
     directly to their adopted school.
       What we have found is that even this type of limited 
     commitment by our Adopt-A-School business partners, goes a 
     long way toward effecting change in our schools and creating 
     good-will not only for Giant, but for scores of other 
     businesses in our community.
       At Giant, we believe we've made a difference, especially 
     when we hear that a school has built a new computer and 
     science lab to accommodate equipment earned through Apples 
     for the Students Plus. But we still believe there's so much 
     more to be done. And we welcome your partnership to assist in 
     opening up an exciting new world of educational opportunities 
     for so many more children. Thank you.

  Remarks by Norman Manasa, Director, the National Education Project, 
  Inc. Before the Education Caucus of the U.S. Congress--July 31, 1996

       Representative Fields, Senator Wellstone, Members of the 
     United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, 
     Honored Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen: I am very honored and 
     delighted to have been invited here today to discuss The 
     National Education Project, Inc., and to describe the 
     Project's 20-city initiative, which is designed to provide 
     reliable, profoundly effective tutors on a massive scale to 
     children in the elementary schools of 20 medium-size cities 
     across the country, cities such as Dayton, Ohio; Richmond, 
     Virginia; or San Diego, California, for example.
       The tutoring is done by undergraduates as part of a three-
     credit college course, and each undergraduate is required to 
     produce 60 hours of tutoring per semester. As a result, 20 
     programs in one city will provide a total of 126,000 hours of 
     tutoring to children in that city's elementary schools over a 
     three-year period (that is, 20 programs x 105 undergraduates 
     per program x 60 hours of tutoring produced by each 
     undergraduate). The National Education Project's 20-city 
     initiative will produce a total of 2,520,000 hours of 
     tutoring (that is, 20 cities x 126,000 hours of tutoring 
     produced in each city).
       The purpose of this initiative is to transform the 
     elementary school systems of 20 medium-size cities, and show 
     to the nation the profoundly beneficial effect that reliable 
     tutors on a massive scale can have on entire school systems. 
     There would be a limit of one city per state, so that, when 
     fully operational, a minimum of 20 states would be involved.
       No government funds, Federal, state, or local, are required 
     for this effort. Instead, as it has done in the past, the 
     National Education Project will solicit funds in each city 
     from corporations, foundations, law firms, and from the 
     general public. The Project will use these funds for three 
     purposes: [1] to provide 20 grants to colleges in each city 
     in the amount of $25,000 per grant (that is, 20 cities x 20 
     grants per city x $25,000 per grant); [2] to contract with an 
     independent third party to systematically evaluate the 
     effectiveness of the tutors; and [3] to underwrite the cost 
     of operating 20 programs in each of 20 cities across the 
     country.
       It should be pointed out that we do not actually need 20 
     different colleges in each city to participate, since one 
     college can operate several programs at the same time. Five 
     colleges in one city, for example, could operate four 
     programs each. In that event, the National Education Project 
     would provide each of the five colleges with four grants in 
     the amount of $25,000 per grant; that is, one $25,000 grant 
     for each of the departments participating.
       Once 20 program are in operation in each of 20 cities, the 
     National Education Project then will begin the second stage 
     of this initiative, which will be to find another 20 medium-
     size cities across the country willing to mount 20 programs 
     in each city. This will produce another 2,520,000 hours of 
     tutoring (that is, 20 cities 126,000 hours of tutoring 
     produced in each city). We will repeat this process until we 
     have transformed the school systems of every city in America 
     that wishes to participate.
       The National Education Project, Inc. is a non-profit, 
     501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation with two main purposes:
       (1) To encourage colleges and universities across the 
     country to offer courses in the Humanities and Social 
     Sciences that combine experience and theory at the same time 
     and provide undergraduates with a more realistic education 
     than they can get through courses that provide only classroom 
     theory. In a word, these courses are designed to inject 
     experience into the search for Truth.
       (2) To provide reliable and effective tutors on a massive 
     scale to children who must have this help if they are to 
     master the basic literacy skills that are required for 
     employment in a technological economy.
       The courses are taken as three-credit electives in various 
     academic departments, such as Sociology, Economics, and 
     Education. As a result, virtually all of the nation's 
     10,000,000 college students (and virtually all college in 
     every city in America) are eligible to participate, since 
     undergraduates, generally, must take elective courses to get 
     a degree.
       In these courses, undergraduates obtain real-world 
     experience by working as tutors six hours each week of the 
     semester in elementary schools that are selected for their 
     ability to provide a graphic illustration of the academic 
     discipline as it exists in the real world. The undergraduates 
     also are required to meet in weekly seminars with their

[[Page H10004]]

     supervising professor. In these seminars, the students' 
     experience in the community is matched against the theories 
     of the academic discipline.
       In this way, the undergraduates get a mix of experience and 
     theory at the same time, and a greater understanding of the 
     academic discipline than they can get in the college 
     classroom alone. (This, of course, is not very new. Courses 
     that combine experience and theory at the same time have been 
     considered to be the highest form of learning in Western 
     culture since the time of Galileo.)
       Here is an example of how this course works: Undergraduates 
     who register for this course in Economics would tutor in an 
     inner-city elementary school where they would see poverty 
     firsthand. It is then the role of the Economics professor in 
     the weekly seminars to examine poverty in modern society, and 
     to describe, for example, how the major theories and authors 
     in the field of Economics attempt to explain the existence of 
     poverty in the richest nation in history, and why it is that 
     poverty, against our best efforts continues to exist.
       This was the reasoning behind the original program that I 
     began in the fall of 1968, when I was an undergraduate at the 
     University of Miami in Florida. That program, upon which the 
     National Education Project is based, registered its first 
     undergraduates in the fall of 1969 and remained in operation 
     until 1973. During that time, over 1,000 undergraduates 
     enrolled in these courses, which were offered by a number of 
     academic departments, including the Department of Economics.
       Academic credit served to acknowledge that the 
     undergraduates were learning things about the various 
     academic disciplines that they genuinely needed to know. In 
     assessing the educational value that these courses had for 
     the undergraduates, an Economics professor at the University 
     of Miami wrote:
       ``The field experience brought a dimension to the 
     [undergraduates'] education which would otherwise have been 
     absent. The practical experience gave them insights into 
     social realities which would have been nearly impossible to 
     impart in a pure classroom environment, and this also made 
     them think much more critically about many concepts which 
     they had encountered on a purely intellectual level.
       ``Coming from an abstract discipline like Economics, I 
     found this particularly gratifying.''
       In addition to their educational merit, however, these 
     courses also have the following benefits for undergraduates:
       (1) These courses provide undergraduates with work 
     experience in the real world, the sort of experience that 
     will help them to make a sensible choice of a college major, 
     and a career.
       (2) It is this same work experience that will help the 
     undergraduates to get a job upon graduation, since they will 
     be able to show employers a clear record of achievement at 
     something genuinely important; that is, teaching someone to 
     read.
       (3) And, not least, these courses permit undergraduates to 
     learn the ``old virtues'' of duty, obligation, and 
     compassion.


                      The Five Course Requirements

       These courses have five requirements, and, to receive 
     credit for the course, the undergraduates are required to:
       1. Tutor six hours each week of the semester. (Each 
     undergraduate is required to produce a minimum of 60 hours of 
     tutoring per semester; that is, six hours of tutoring per 
     week x the 10 weeks in a semester.)
       2. Attend a weekly seminar with their faculty supervisor.
       3. Submit a one-page report each three weeks of the 
     semester to their faculty supervisor.
       4. Keep a private journal.
       5. Submit a Final Report to their faculty supervisor at the 
     end of the semester.


         Operational Benefits of the National Education Project

       Although the National Education Project is primarily an 
     academic program for undergraduates, it is also designed to 
     transfer to the illiterate poor the power to create wealth in 
     the technological age; that is to say, Reading, Writing, and 
     Mathematics. For this reason, the undergraduates work as 
     tutors, and only as tutors, for the entire semester. They are 
     not permitted to engage in any other activity.
       Moreover, it should be said that this Project is designed 
     to use the resources that already exist in nearly every 
     community in the nation; that is, undergraduates tutoring in 
     established elementary schools under the direct supervision 
     of classroom teachers. As a result, in terms of cost, 
     simplicity of operation, and effectiveness, the National 
     Education Project has the following advantages:
       1. There are no expenditures for buildings or books. The 
     undergraduates are permitted to work only in existing 
     schools, and they use the books and instructional materials 
     already in the classroom.
       2. The undergraduates are required to work under the direct 
     supervision of classroom teachers, who provide the 
     undergraduates with the minimal on-the-job training they 
     require. The classroom teachers volunteer to accept the 
     tutors into their classrooms, and they provide this training 
     to the tutors as a part of their normal classroom duties.
       3. The classroom teachers decide which children will 
     receive tutoring and the teachers also select the specific 
     subject in which the children will be tutored. The tutors use 
     the methodology of the classroom teacher, and work in the 
     back of the classroom, while the classroom teacher conducts 
     the larger class.
       4. The undergraduates work as tutors in the old, classical 
     sense of the term, and they are required to work on a 1:1 or 
     1:2 ratio, or in very small groups. The undergraduates are 
     not permitted to work with the class as one large group. 
     Moreover, the undergraduates do not grade papers for the 
     classroom teacher, monitor the cafeteria at lunchtime, 
     supervise recess, or do office work for the school principal.
       5. Each undergraduate in this Project is required to 
     produce a minimum of 60 hours of tutoring per semester; that 
     is, six hours of tutoring per week x the 10 weeks in a 
     semester.
       6. The undergraduates are required to tutor on a regular 
     schedule for the entire semester (for example, Monday, 
     Wednesday, and Friday mornings, from 9:30 to 11:30), and they 
     are required to sign-in and sign-out for each tutoring 
     session in a book that is kept in the principal's office. 
     There are no excused absences.
       7. Because the tutoring is done as part of a college 
     course, the undergraduates are reliable, accountable on a 
     daily basis, and remarkably effective.
       8. The classroom teachers provide the National Education 
     Project with one-page, written evaluations at the end of each 
     semester that measure the advances of the children in 
     reading, writing, and mathematics.
       9. There is no cost whatsoever to the children who are 
     tutored by the undergraduates.
       10. The undergraduates are not paid to do the tutoring.
       11. The $25,000 grants are provided by The National 
     Education Project, Inc. to colleges and universities under a 
     standard, three-year contract, and each $25,000 grant is 
     disbursed by the National Education Project to the colleges 
     in six payments over a three-year period. These grants are 
     used mainly to cover college faculty costs during the three-
     year grant period. At the same time, undergraduates who 
     enroll in the course pay to the college or university the 
     standard tuition that is required for any three-credit 
     course.
       12. Since the undergraduates pay tuition to take these 
     courses, each college, if it chooses to do so, will be able 
     to offer the course after the Project's three-year, $25,000 
     ``start-up'' grant ends, since the course in the fourth year 
     would be funded by the tuition of the undergraduates who 
     enroll in the fourth year, the course in the fifth year would 
     be funded by the tuition of the undergraduates who enroll in 
     the fifth year, and so forth.
       13. As a practical matter, virtually all of the nation's 
     10,000,000 college students (and virtually all of the college 
     students in the districts and states represented here this 
     morning) are eligible to participate, since these courses are 
     offered as ``electives'', and since undergraduates, 
     generally, must take elective courses to get a degree.


             how to get this course started at one college

       To get the first semester started at one college, it is 
     only necessary that one academic department agrees to offer 
     the course, that one member of the full-time college faculty 
     agrees to supervise the undergraduates, and that a minimum of 
     five undergraduates enrolls in the course. (Institutions 
     eligible to participate include public and private two-year 
     colleges, four-year colleges, full universities, and 
     community colleges.)
       During the first semester, the five undergraduates would 
     work in one elementary school, which would be selected by the 
     college or university. The elementary school must have a 
     demonstrated need for tutors, and should be located near the 
     college or university. During each of the next five 
     semesters, it is expected that 20 undergraduates would enroll 
     in the course, for a total enrollment of 105 undergraduates 
     over the three-year/six-semester grant period. The tutors 
     would be evenly divided each semester between two elementary 
     schools. The university, if it chooses to do so, may send the 
     undergraduates to the same elementary schools each semester 
     of the three-year grant.


            the project's seven basic operational documents

       The National Education Project has developed seven basic 
     operational documents, which, to a great extent, have been 
     responsible for the success of our programs across the 
     country. These documents are listed below:
       (1) The Project's Standard Three-Year Contract with the 
     Colleges;
       (2) The College/School Agreement;
       (3) Guidelines for the Classroom Teacher;
       (4) Classroom Teacher's One-Page, End-of-Semester 
     Evaluation Form;
       (5) Midterm Report of Hours of Tutoring Produced;
       (6) Outline for the End-of-Semester Report by the College 
     Faculty Member; and
       (7) Final Report of Hours of Tutoring Produced.


    Hours of Tutoring Produced by the Undergraduates in One Program

       Each undergraduate enrolled in these courses is required to 
     produce a minimum of 60 hours of tutoring per semester; that 
     is, six hours of tutoring per week x the 10 weeks in a 
     semester. During the life of the three-year grant, 
     undergraduates from one university would produce a minimum of 
     6,300 hours of tutoring; that is, 105 undergraduates x 60 
     hours of tutoring produced by each undergraduate.
       Here is a breakdown of the number of hours of tutoring 
     produced by undergraduates from one program during each 
     semester of the three-year grant:

[[Page H10005]]

       (1) 1st Semester: 5 undergraduates x 60 hours of tutoring 
     produced by each undergraduate = 300 hours of tutoring
       (2) 2nd Semester: 20 undergraduates x 60 hours of tutoring 
     produced by each undergraduate = 1,200 hours of tutoring
       (3) 3rd Semester: 20 undergraduates x 60 hours of tutoring 
     produced by each undergraduate = 1,200 hours of tutoring
       (4) 4th Semester: 20 undergraduates x 60 hours of tutoring 
     produced by each undergraduate = 1,200 hours of tutoring
       (5) 5th Semester: 20 undergraduates x 60 hours of tutoring 
     produced by each undergraduate = 1,200 hours of tutoring
       (6) 6th Semester: 20 undergraduates x 60 hours of tutoring 
     produced by each undergraduate = 1,200 hours of tutoring
       Total number of hours of tutoring produced by 105 
     undergraduates from one college over three years = 6,300


         Hours of Tutoring Produced by 20 Programs in One City

       Undergraduates from 20 programs in one city will provide a 
     minimum of 126,000 hours of tutoring over three years to 
     children in that city's elementary schools; that is, 105 
     undergraduates per program x 20 programs x 60 hours of 
     tutoring produced by each undergraduate. Each program would 
     send tutors to work in two elementary schools; 20 programs 
     in one city, therefore, would send tutors to a total of 40 
     elementary schools.
       (1) 1st Semester:
       5 undergraduates per program 60 hours of tutoring produced 
     by each undergraduate 20 programs = 6,000 hours of tutoring.
       (2) 2nd Semester:
       20 undergraduates per program 60 hours of tutoring produced 
     by each undergraduate 20 programs = 24,000 hours of tutoring.
       (3) 3rd Semester:
       20 undergraduates per program 60 hours of tutoring produced 
     by each undergraduate 20 programs = 24,000 hours of tutoring.
       (4) 4th Semester:
       20 undergraduates per program 60 hours of tutoring produced 
     by each undergraduate 20 programs = 24,000 hours of tutoring.
       (5) 5th Semester:
       20 undergraduates per program 60 hours of tutoring produced 
     by each undergraduate 20 programs = 24,000 hours of tutoring.
       (6) 6th Semester:
       20 undergraduates per program 60 hours of tutoring produced 
     by each undergraduate 20 programs = 24,000 hours of tutoring.
       Total number of hours of tutoring produced by 105 
     undergraduates per program 20 programs over three years = 
     126,000.


      end-of-semester reports to corporate and foundation sponsors

       At the end of each semester, the National Education Project 
     prepares an End-of-Semester Report for its corporate and 
     foundation sponsors; this report has two main parts:
       (1) The precise number of hours of tutoring produced by the 
     undergraduates during the previous semester.
       (2) Evaluations written by the classroom teachers that 
     measure the advances of the children in reading and 
     mathematics during the previous semester. (Please see the 
     Project's standard Classroom Teacher's One-Page End-of-
     Semester Evaluation Form.)
       In 1985, the National Education Project began a national 
     campaign designed to demonstrate that these programs could be 
     made to work anywhere in the country. The Project was 
     successful in this effort, and had programs in operation 
     several years ago at 12 colleges and universities in six 
     states across the country, including New York, California, 
     Mississippi, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
       The National Education Project also had considerable 
     success raising funds from private sources for this effort, 
     and a total of 19 corporations, law firms, and foundations 
     provided support for these programs, including The Xerox 
     Foundation, Hughes Aircraft Corporation, the Los Angeles 
     Times, the New York Daily News, Houghton Mifflin Company, 
     Exxon Education Foundation, Manufacturers Hanover Trust 
     Company Digital Equipment Corporation, Taconic Foundation, 
     Latham & Watkins, and Bank of Boston. In addition, a number 
     of publications have written about the Project over the 
     years, including The Washington Post, the Miami Herald, the 
     Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Baltimore Sun, the Beaufort 
     Gazette, Parade Magazine, and U.S. News & World Report.
       Most important, however, are the Project's results, and a 
     two-page Summary of Results from the program that we had in 
     operation in Chicago is attached. The undergraduates in this 
     program tutored at Manierre Elementary, which drew its 
     children from the Cabrini-Green Public Housing Project. The 
     remarkable results at Manierre were produced in one semester, 
     after just 302 hours of tutoring, and give a clear indication 
     of what 2,520,000 hours of tutoring over the next several 
     years will do for children in the elementary schools of the 
     20 cities we now seek.
       The purpose of the National Education Project's 20-city 
     initiative is to provide reliable and effective tutors on a 
     massive scale to children who are in great difficulty, and, 
     in doing so, to raise reading and math scores across entire 
     cities. It should be said, however, that the technological 
     age is coming not just for the United States, but for every 
     nation on earth, and, as a result, every nation must have a 
     literate work force to create the nation's wealth. In light 
     of this, it is certainly possible to begin programs at 
     colleges and universities in other countries, and, to date, 
     the following countries have indicated an interest in the 
     work of the National Education Project: Brazil, India, 
     Ireland, and South Africa.
       I would like to thank Representative Fields, Senator 
     Wellstone, and all of you once again for your very kind 
     invitation to join you today, and I will be happy to answer 
     any questions you may have.

      Results: Columbia College of Chicago--Spring Semester, 1988

       At the end of each semester, the faculty member at each 
     college prepares a Final Report, which evaluates the 
     effectiveness of the undergraduates during the previous 
     semester. This is the Final Report for the Spring semester of 
     1988, prepared by the faculty member responsible for the 
     course at Columbia College of Chicago. During this semester, 
     five undergraduates produced 302 hours of tutoring:
       ``All five of the undergraduates tutored at the Manierre 
     Elementary School, which is located at 1426 N. Hudson Street 
     on Chicago's Near North Side. The school serves mainly 
     children from the Cabrini-Green Public Housing Projects. 
     These Projects are home to nearly 10,000 children, 76% of 
     whom live in female, single-parented households. These 
     Projects are predominately black, and have one of the highest 
     concentrations of poverty in Chicago.
       ``Manierre Elementary School has all the challenges of an 
     inner-city school, from truancy to family transiency and 
     instability, but has the advantage of an efficient principal, 
     Marlene Syzmanski, and some good dedicated teachers, like 
     Carolyn Driver-McGee, our 2nd Grade classroom teacher.
       ``Ms. Syzmanski assigned all of our tutors to Ms. McGee's 
     class of 2nd Graders, because the Reading the Math skills of 
     the children were so low. In essence, all 13 children in the 
     class were non-readers and most had difficulties in Math. Two 
     of the children moved during the term, and several others 
     were not present for testing, thereby eliminating data about 
     their progress.''
       At the end of the Spring semester of 1988, Ms. Carolyn 
     Driver-McGee, the 2nd Grade classroom teacher at Manierre 
     Elementary, provided written evaluations of the effectiveness 
     of the tutors from Columbia College, and her evaluations 
     follows. It should be said that the undergraduates produced 
     these results in just one semester of tutoring.
       ``Bill [the undergraduate] was a very positive force in 
     both Gregory's and Bernard's school year. He motivated the 
     boys with stories, guided activities, and games. The boys 
     felt very special because they had Bill as their tutor.
       ``Gregory gained 1 Year and 8 Months in Reading. Bernard 
     gained 1 Year and 1 Month in Math.''
       ``Connie [the undergraduate] worked diligently with Orlando 
     and Shadeed. Each boy is a very unique student by all 
     standards, but Connie was always there to motivate and 
     interest the boys in different areas.
       ``Orlando gained 1 Year and 5 Months in Math, and Shadeed 
     gained 6 Months in Math.''
       ``Tammie [the undergraduate] was very positive for the 
     children. . . .  She reinforced class activities when needed. 
     Her students were always begging to be tutored first, because 
     each section was meaningful.
       ``Latoya gained 9 Months in Math. Akil gained 1 Year and 3 
     Months in Math.''
       ``Nicole [the undergraduate] was very warm and caring for 
     Michael, Stanley and Artrice. She motivated them in all 
     subject areas when possible by reading stories, guiding 
     activities, and with games.
       ``Stanley gained 1 Year and 6 Months in Math, and Artrice 
     gained 9 Months in Math. No data was available for Michael. 
     Nicole was a very good tutor for the students.''
       ``Kristen [the undergraduate] worked very closely with her 
     students. One of her students transferred and she had to 
     start with a new tutee. She motivated him the same way she 
     motivated the other students. She was very positive and it 
     showed on the students' faces each time after sections.
       ``Lawrence gained 7 Months in Reading, and Terrance gained 
     self-confidence. No [test] data was available for Terrance, 
     but the self-confidence was even more valued.''
       All of these evaluations were written by Mr. Carolyn 
     Driver-McGee 2nd Grade Classroom Teacher, Manierre Elementary 
     School, Chicago, Illinois--June 1, 1988.

                       The Project's Press Clips

       (1) Baltimore Evening Sun; (2) Baltimore Sun; (3) Beaufort 
     Gazette; (4) Houston Chronicle; (5) The Miami Herald; (6) 
     Parade Magazine; (7) presstime--The American Newspaper 
     Publishers Association; (8) Reader's Digest; (9) Richmond 
     Times-Dispatch; (10) The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle; (11) 
     San Antonio Express-News; (12) U.S. News & World Report; and 
     (13) The Washington Post.

         Grants From Corporations and Foundations--1985 to 1996

       In 1985, The National Education Project, Inc. (formerly 
     known as The Washington Education Project, Inc.) began a 
     national fund-raising campaign designed to provide $25,000 
     ``start-up'' grants to colleges all across the country. To 
     receive these funds, the colleges agreed to establish special 
     three-credit courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences in 
     which undergraduates would be required to work as tutors in 
     various community agencies, mainly elementary schools.
       Since 1985 the Project has received support for this effort 
     from the following corporations, foundations, and law firms:

[[Page H10006]]

       (1) Bank of Boston; (2) Boston Gas Company; (3) Corina 
     Higginson Trust; (4) Correction Connection, Inc.; (5) Digital 
     Equipment Corporation; (6) Exxon Education Foundation; (7) 
     Federal Communications Bar Association Foundation; (8) 
     Goodwin, Procter & Hoar; (9) Houghton Mifflin Company; (10) 
     Hughes Aircraft Company; (11) Latham & Watkins; (12) Los 
     Angeles Times; (13) The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur 
     Foundation; (14) Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company; (15) 
     New York Daily News; (16) Pinkerton's, Inc.; (17) Primerica 
     Foundation; (18) Taconic Foundation; and (19) The Xerox 
     Foundation.

  Statement By Decker Anstrom President of NCTA Before the Education 
                 Caucus Washington D.C., July 31, 1996

       Good morning. My name is Decker Anstrom, and I am President 
     of the National Cable Television Association (NCTA), which 
     represents more than 100 cable programming networks and most 
     of the cable operators serving our nation's 63.7 million 
     subscribers. Thank you for inviting me to participate in this 
     morning's discussion on education.
       Cable operators and program networks understand that we 
     have both a responsibility and an opportunity to help our 
     nation's schools and teachers. Our industry has a long-
     standing commitment to education, and we have been acting on 
     that commitment--not just talking about it.
       I would like to highlight two of the cable industry's major 
     education initiatives for you today.


                         cable in the classroom

       Cable's commitment to education is built on the foundation 
     of Cable in the Classroom. Starting in 1989, cable companies 
     have worked with school districts to make available high 
     quality, educational, commercial-free television to schools 
     and teachers. To date, 8,400 local cable operators have 
     connected 75,000 schools nationwide to their cable systems--
     for free (roughly 75 percent of all K-12 schools in the 
     country). And 35 program networks provide 540 hours each 
     month of quality, commercial-free programming--again, free of 
     charge.
       Cable in the Classroom companies also supply teachers with 
     instructional materials, curriculum supplements, and a 
     monthly guide which identifies programs available for use in 
     the classroom. All of the programming available through Cable 
     in the Classroom is copyright-cleared and may be freely used, 
     taped, and replayed by teachers in their classroom.


                cable's high speed education connection

       Just three weeks ago, on July 9, the cable industry 
     announced its latest education initiative, ``Cable's High 
     Speed Education Connection.'' Beginning this year, cable 
     companies will introduce high-speed digital services to 
     communities across the country. As these services are 
     introduced, cable companies will equip at least one site in 
     every consenting elementary and secondary school passed by 
     cable in that community with a cable modem providing basic 
     high-speed access to the Internet--free of charge.
       In many instances, individual cable operators may go beyond 
     the industry's commitment and offer additional training, 
     inside wiring of classrooms, enhanced information services, 
     and extra equipment.
       Cable's new high-speed services will make a real 
     difference--because teachers don't always have the time to 
     wait for information to be downloaded through existing 
     telephone lines. Cable modems are faster--they allow students 
     and teachers to retrieve material from the Internet at a rate 
     of 10,000 kilobits a second, hundreds of times faster than 
     conventional telephone modems. Even the telephone companies' 
     most advanced lines, ISDN, move data at only 128 kilobits a 
     second. The speed of cable modems enables teachers to use 
     Internet material in their classrooms, and reduces the 
     ``fidget factor'' since kids don't have to wait for 
     information to be retrieved.
       The power of cable modems was demonstrated here in 
     Washington on July 9 at the launch of ``Cable's High Speed 
     Education Connection.'' In the following video, Brian 
     Roberts, President of Comcast, and several local school 
     children experience first-hand the benefits of using high-
     speed cable modems to access the Internet.


                               conclusion

       Mr. Chairman Cable in the Classroom and cable's new 
     initiative, the ``High-Speed Education Connection,'' won't 
     solve our nation's educational problems. But it is a 
     contribution we can make. Deployment of cable modems won't 
     happen overnight--we're in the process of inventing this new 
     high-speed business as we speak--but the cable industry has 
     made a start. And we will finish the job.
       Thank you for your interest in the cable industry's 
     education initiatives. I would be pleased to answer any 
     questions you might have.

                         The Future Is on Cable

 Cable Television's Contributions to America's Children and Families, 
                               July, 1996


                              introduction

       The cable industry remains the clear leader in bringing a 
     wide variety of quality children's programming to families 
     and children. In addition to popular cable networks whose 
     programming is completely devoted to children (Nickelodeon, 
     Cartoon Network, WAM! America's Kidz Network), more cable 
     networks are responding to the call for quality children's 
     programming by increasing their commitment to include 
     extended programming blocks just for kids (The Disney 
     Channel, The Learning Channel, The Family Channel); other 
     networks continue to consistently offer educational and 
     enriching programs for children as part of their regular 
     programming format (Discovery Channel, The History Channel, 
     C-SPAN).
       Specifically:
       Cable television provides 65 percent of all television 
     programs available to children.*
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     * Source: Study released by the Annenberg Public Policy 
     Center of the University of Pennsylvania on June 17, 1996.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Cable television provides more children's programming--more 
     than four times as much as all other programming sources 
     combined--averaging 385 hours per week on cable, compared to 
     all other sources combined airing an average of 85.8 hours 
     per week.**
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     ** Source: 1996 Cable TV Facts, Cabletelevision Advertising 
     Bureau.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Cable television networks offer more than 80 percent of all 
     television hours that are devoted to children.**
       More than 75 percent of children's programming viewed by 
     children in cable households is viewed on cable 
     television.**
       Cable television provides 59% of all high quality 
     children's programs available on television.*
       Cable's leadership role in serving the needs of children 
     and families is carried out in a number of other ways, as 
     well:
       Since 1989, over 8,400 cable operators and 35 cable 
     programmers have invested over $420 million in Cable in the 
     Classroom, the industry's educational centerpiece, providing 
     cable connections and commercial-free educational programming 
     to more than 75,000 schools and 38 million students 
     nationwide--all at no cost to schools or students. Cable 
     programmers provide schools 540 hours each month of this 
     quality, commercial-free programming.
       In October 1994, the cable industry and the National PTA 
     formed an educational partnership, The Family and Community 
     Critical Viewing Project, which empowers families nationwide 
     with the information and tools to become better and wiser 
     television viewers. To date, more than 1,500 cable leaders 
     and PTA members have been trained and are presenting critical 
     viewing workshops around the country.
       Earlier this month the cable industry publicly committed to 
     provide America's elementary and secondary schools with high-
     speed access to the Internet using cable's advanced 
     technology and new high-speed cable modems--again, at no cost 
     to schools.
       Cable operators, too, use local programming to provide 
     children in their communities with entertaining and 
     educational programming.
       Additionally, cable operators and networks have instituted 
     community-based public affairs and educational initiatives to 
     speak to children on a host of different issues, including 
     violence, community service, diversity, the environment, and 
     more.
       The attached materials provide you more information about 
     what the cable television industry is already doing to 
     enhance television and education for children. Should you 
     have any comments, questions or require additional 
     information, please call the NCTA's Public Affairs department 
     at (202) 775-3629.

  Cable TV Network Programming: A Growing Commitment to Children and 
                                Families

       Cable television networks provide more children's 
     programming--more than four times as much as all other 
     programming sources combined--averaging 358 hours per week, 
     compared to all other sources airing 85.8 hours per week.
       Cable networks offer more than 80% of all television hours 
     devoted to children.--Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau, 
     1996 Cable TV Facts.


                   children's programming on cable tv

       The following is a summary guide of cable networks that 
     provide educational children's programming. Intended to 
     illustrate the breadth and diversity of children's 
     programming on cable, this summary is comprehensive; however, 
     it does not include every children's program available.
       A&E Television Network--A&E features original biography 
     series, dramas, documentaries and performing arts specials. 
     A&E Classroom is designed specifically for kids. It is a 
     commercial-free Cable in the Classroom programming block of 
     selected A&E programs airing weekday mornings. Program 
     examples include Pride & Prejudice, Pocahontas, Frederick 
     Douglass and Elizabeth Custer. Each fall and spring A&E 
     Classroom Kits are distributed to educators, and beginning 
     this month, the network publishes a new magazine, The Idea 
     Book for Educators, offering new classroom materials. 
     Contact: Libby O'Connell (212/210-1402).
       American Movie Classics--AMC features Kids' Classics, a 
     weekly series showcasing classic films that have educational 
     or historical value to children. Among the films featured are 
     Young Mr. Lincoln, Phantom of the Opera and A Tree Grows in 
     Brooklyn, in addition to films adapted from literacy 
     classics, including The Secret Garden, Journey to the Center 
     of the Earth, and many more. AMC also features Family 
     Classics, a weekly series showcasing Hollywood's best-loved 
     family-oriented movies. Contact: Dina White (516/364-2222).
       Black Entertainment Television.--Storyporch is a weekly, 
     award-winning half-

[[Page H10007]]

     hour children's program featuring stories written exclusively 
     for BET that are told by celebrity guests to children ages 4 
     to 9. BET also participates in Cable in the Classroom under 
     the BET on Learning umbrella, providing teachers with an 
     assortment of support materials, including YSB and Emerge 
     magazines. BET's Teen Summit is a weekly, live one-hour talk/
     entertainment show where the focus is solely on African 
     American teens. Contact: Rosalyn Doaks (202/608-2058).
       Bravo.--Bravo in the Classroom combines programming and 
     resource materials that provide teachers and students with 
     weekly tools to enhance arts and humanities studies and 
     appreciation at the secondary level. Programs include 
     literary and historical adaptations, the performing and 
     visual arts, plus a profile series featuring well-known 
     writers, musicians and artists. Contact: Theresa Britto (516/
     364-2222).
       Cartoon Network.--A 24-hour network offering animated 
     entertainment from the world's largest cartoon library, 
     Cartoon Network recently introduced Big Bag, instructional 
     and educational programming produced exclusively for pre-
     school children ages 2 to 6. Developed in conjunction with 
     the Children's Television Workshop (producers of Sesame 
     Street), Big Bag consists of live studio hosts, Jim Henson-
     created animated ``shorties'' and music designed to nurture a 
     disposition toward investigation, creative thinking and pro-
     social behaviors among its young audience. Es Incredible! is 
     a commercial-free Spanish language instructional program that 
     airs once a month, and Small World brings animation from the 
     U.K., Sweden and France to American audiences for the first 
     time. Contact: Shirley Powell (404/885-4205).
       CNBC.--CNBC in the Classroom, airing weekly, is designed to 
     provide America's youth with a basic understanding of 
     business news, stock market coverage and personal finances. 
     Teacher/student support materials, including vocabulary and 
     reading lists, are available in print and via Ingenius. 
     Programming is closed-captioned for the hearing impaired, and 
     specific educational programs are available on videotape on 
     request. Contact: Mark Hotz (201/585-6463).
       CNN/Turner Adventure.--CNN Newsroom/CNN Newsroom's 
     WorldView are two daily fifteen-minute, commercial-free 
     telecasts that air as part of Cable in the Classroom. The 
     programs focus on historical and cultural background of world 
     events. A daily teacher's guide accompanies each program, and 
     Turner MultiMedia--a compilation of low-cost videotapes and 
     CD-ROM products with printed support material--is available 
     to teachers interested in applying world events, science and 
     technology, and literary classics to their curriculum. 
     Contact: Jacque Evans (404/827-3072).
       Turner Adventure Learning is a series of live, interactive 
     ``electronic field trips'' for students of all ages to visit 
     a variety of places all over the world. These live 
     educational telecasts are ideal for student screenings and 
     include on-line Internet activities, real-time questions-and-
     answers with experts on site in the field and a host of 
     educational support materials. Upcoming field trips include 
     Election '96: Behind the Scenes, Protecting Endangered 
     Species: In the Shadow of the Shuttle; The Science and 
     Mathematics of Baseball; Virus Encounters: Microorganisms and 
     the Human Body; and The Ancient World: Where it All Begins. 
     Contact: Libby Davis (404/827-3175).
       Court TV.--Earlier this spring, Court TV launched a three-
     hour programming block, Teen Court TV, aimed at kids ages 12 
     to 18, airing on Saturday mornings. The programming block 
     explores the justice system from a teen's point of view and 
     allows interactive participation. Three programs air during 
     the block: Justice Factory, going on site to locations as 
     varied as teen courts and gang hangouts; What's the Verdict?, 
     a recap of real trials from a teen's perspective; Your Turn, 
     an issue-oriented talk show featuring a participatory format 
     with a panel of teens and a studio audience of teenagers. 
     Court TV also regularly airs specials geared towards young 
     people, including: Earth, Getting Physical and AIDS: Its Side 
     Effects on America. Contact: Susan Abbey (212/973-3379).
       C-SPAN.--A public service of the cable industry, C-SPAN 
     offers gavel-to-gavel coverage of the House of 
     Representatives, Senate and other public policy events. 
     During the 1996 campaign season, nearly 2,000 hours of 
     campaign coverage will air under the umbrella of Campaign 
     '96. The C-SPAN School Bus brings this extensive coverage 
     directly to students across the country, introducing new 
     voters to politics. All C-SPAN produced programming is 
     copyright cleared for classroom taping and use, thus giving 
     educators and students an up-close-and-personal view of the 
     election process as its never been seen before. Contact: 
     Joanne Wheeler (202/626-4846).
       Discovery Channel.--Discovery Channel provides educational 
     programming for all ages and features many documentaries. 
     Selected programs particularly designed for young viewers 
     include: Assignment Discovery, a daily, one-hour commercial-
     free program that highlights a different subject each day, 
     including science and technology, social studies and history, 
     natural science, arts and humanities, and contemporary 
     issues--all especially created for children ages 6 to 12; The 
     Know Zone, a program which explores a scientific subject, 
     idea or invention by looking at its past and present, and 
     speculating about its future; and Discovery Magazine, a 
     televised version of the popular monthly magazine. Recent 
     specials include: Harlem Diary: Nine Voices of Resilience; On 
     Jupiter and The Ultimate Guide to the T-Rex. Contact Jennifer 
     Iris (301/986-0444, ex 5917).
       The Disney Channel.--The Disney Channel features quality 
     programming for people of all ages. The Network's primetime 
     programming is designed to appeal to every member of the 
     family, while its daytime hours are devoted to a wide variety 
     of educational fare for children. Beginning this August, The 
     Disney Channel will feature a family-oriented film for all 
     ages every night of the week at 7:00 pm EDT.
       ESPN/ESPN 2,--Scholastic Sports America is a weekly program 
     devoted solely to the achievements of high school athletes, 
     both on and off the field. Sports-Figures is a weekly 
     commercial-free program geared toward high school students, 
     incorporating famous professional athletes and high school 
     student athletes to teach math and physics through sports. 
     The Scripps Howard Spelling Bee aired live on ESPN in May, 
     featuring the final rounds of the nationwide competition for 
     children. Contact: Marie Kennedy (860/586-2357).
       Faith & Values Channel.--All programming featured on the 
     Faith & Values Channel is educational, and is suitable for 
     every member of the family, featuring programming that 
     celebrates diversity, awareness and social responsibility. 
     The network's contribution to Cable in the Classroom, Today's 
     Life Choices, airs commercial-free on Fridays. This half-hour 
     series is designed to promote discussion on ethics, values, 
     and social issues. Several series are offered especially for 
     children, including: Davy & Goliath; The Nature Connection; 
     Just Kids; and Sunshine Factory. Contact: Michelle Racik 
     (212/964-1663).
       The Family Channel.--All Family Channel programming is 
     positive family entertainment television, offering children's 
     shows, original series and movies, plus health and exercise 
     programming. Educational programming is aired commercial-free 
     and is made available to teachers through Cable in the 
     Classroom. Samples of programming include: Captains 
     Courageous, adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's novel; Race to 
     Freedom: The Underground Railroad; Tad; Young Indiana Jones; 
     and The Holocaust. Contact: Kathleen Gordon (804/459-6165).
       fX.--fX offers several programs for children and the entire 
     family. Personal fX: The Collectibles Show features special 
     ``Kids' Day'' episodes which highlights special collections 
     and hobbies of children across the country. Home fX: Family 
     Business is a practical guides to raising kids in the '90s. 
     For pet lovers. The Pet Department covers pet health and 
     care, and training. Contact: Dina Ligorski (212/802-4000).
       The History Channel.--The History Channel in the Classroom 
     is a commercial-free Cable in the Classroom programming block 
     that airs twice a day, bringing the past alive for students 
     and educators. Programming includes: the Lincoln 
     Assassination, Women at War, America's Most Endangered Sites 
     and Freedom's Road. In addition, History for Kids and Teens 
     Too airs once a week and features programming geared to this 
     audience. Beginning this year, new classroom support 
     materials will be available to teachers through the network's 
     new magazine, The Idea Book for Educators. Contact: Libby 
     O'Connell (212/210-1402).
       Home Box Office.--HBO has produced several programs 
     designed to appeal to young children and their families, 
     including: Shakespeare: The Animated Tales; Happily Ever 
     After: Fairy Tales for Every Child; The Composers' Specials; 
     and the animated Wizard of Oz. HBO also has educational 
     programming geared towards teenagers in middle and high 
     school. These programs are often reality-based and address 
     current issues facing young adults in today's society; they 
     often have advice and educational messages for viewers, 
     including a recent focus on youth violence: Six American 
     Youths, Six American Handguns. Other series include 
     Lifestories, Families in Crisis and Family Video Diaries.
       Home & Garden Television.--For the entire family, Home & 
     Garden Television features programs on pets and community 
     goodwill projects. Company of Animals and Dog Days of Summer 
     portray the loving relationship people have with their pets, 
     and offer tips on pet care. Building a Future: Habitat for 
     Humanity profiles young people who built homes in the Watts 
     section of Los Angeles, while The Story of Cabrini Greens 
     shows how a community garden program in Chicago's public 
     housing project has planted the seeds of hope for children in 
     the community. Contact: Carol Hicks (423/694-2700).
       INSP: The Inspirational Network.--INSP features a special 
     block of adventure programs every Saturday morning just for 
     kids, ages 5 to 11. The Kids at Home block includes The 
     Forest Rangers, an action-adventure series features kids 
     tackling fires, floods, wild animals and other adventures in 
     the Canadian wilderness. Contact:
       Jones Computer Network.--A weekly computer and new media 
     information program for kids and their parents, Computer Kids 
     is a fun and interesting introduction to computing. Regular 
     segments include ``Mr. Fixits'' (children troubleshooting and 
     fixing a computer problem) and ``Gamebusters'' (reviews of 
     the latest children's software). Contact: Jeff Baumgartner 
     (303/784-8715).
       Kaleidoscope.--Kaleidoscope offers a host of children's 
     programs focusing on family, social skills, language skills 
     and pets. Davey & Goliath, Sunshine Factory and Gerbert

[[Page H10008]]

     teach youngsters values, life's lessons and to be comfortable 
     with themselves. Festival is an instructional program geared 
     toward young children, teaching grammar and sign language. 
     Motivated by Helen Keller, Kim's World features deaf/blind 
     actress Kim Powers showing children the joys and values of 
     experiencing life in her unique manner. For the entire 
     family, Hear Kitty, Kitty focuses on pets and their care. All 
     of the network's programs are open-captioned. Contact: Joe 
     Cayton (210/824-7446).
       The Learning Channel.--The Learning Channel offers 
     educational family-oriented programming for people of all 
     ages. The network's programming brings a multicultural, 
     cross-curricular approach to subjects, and are divided into 
     shorter segments varying in length. Ready, Set Learn is a 
     weekday, six-hour commercial-free programming block designed 
     specifically for pre-schoolers that helps children learn 
     reading and social skills. Programs included in this block, 
     as well as other educational programming for children, 
     include: Iris, The Happy Professor; The Magic Box, which 
     teaches reading with the whole language approach; Chicken 
     Minute; Rory's Place; Little Star; and Kitty Kats. For 
     educators, the network offers Teacher TV and TLC Elementary 
     School, featuring segments in science, social studies, 
     language arts and math. Contact: Jennifer Iris (301/986-0444, 
     ext. 5917).
       Lifetime Television.--Lifetime offers a regular assortment 
     of programs for young people throughout the school year 
     relating to the achievements of women, young and old. 
     Programs scheduled for this year include: Intimate Portrait, 
     featuring profiles of Maya Angelou, Gloria Estefan, Natalie 
     Wood, The Virgin Mary, among many others, and Hidden in 
     Silence, based on the true story of a young girl who saved 
     Jews from the Nazis. A collection of special programs for 
     Women's History Month in March included: Rocking the Boat, a 
     special spotlighting the women's America's Cup team, and 
     Daughters at Work, in conjunction with Lifetime's support of 
     the national Take Your Daughter to Work Day. In addition, 
     Perspectives on Lifetime, a series of editorials, 
     commentaries and shorts, airs throughout the Cable in the 
     Classroom program schedule. Contact: Terry Pologianis (212/
     424-7127).
       Mind Extension University (ME/U).--ME/U Knowledge TV offers 
     several educational programs geared towards families and 
     children, in addition to its degree-qualifying education 
     programs, including Achievement TV, an interactive 
     educational teleconference for people of all ages featuring 
     the individuals who have shaped the history of the 20th 
     Century, including scientists, explorers, entrepreneurs and 
     authors; and Computer Kids, a weekly computer and new media 
     information program for youngsters and their parents. 
     Contact: Jeff Baumgartner (303/784-8715).
       MTV: Music Television.--MTV is a primary source of 
     information, music, style and sports unique to youths and 
     young adults. MTV's Community of the Future classroom series 
     presents weekly thought-provoking programming on relevant 
     social issues that concern today's youth. Designed to educate 
     and inspire kids to be a part of the political process, the 
     network will continue it's Choose or Lose campaign/
     programming efforts this year for Campaign '96. The effort 
     follows the activities of the Choose or Lose Bus, which 
     travels to cities across the nation to promote political 
     awareness among youngsters. The network also regularly offers 
     Cable in the Classroom programs that stress the dangers of 
     violence and drug abuse, including: Enough is Enough, a 
     Generation Under the Gun and Straight Dope. Contact: Mary 
     Corigliano (212/846-4798).
       NewsTalk Television.--A Cable in the Classroom program, 
     Weekly Teen Segment is an interactive panel discussion 
     covering topics that impact today's young people, such as 
     education, conflict resolution, career planning, the 
     environment and violence. Daily Teen Segments air live 
     weekdays. The benefit of this dual program schedule enables 
     both students and teachers to participate in a live 
     interactive program in the afternoon and to tape the edited 
     program on a weekly basis. Each program is interactive via 
     telephone, fax and electronic mail. Also, this September News 
     Talk premiers its week-long discussion of critical issues 
     facing American education, Education in America: Pass, Fail 
     or Incomplete, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Contact: 
     Lee Tenebruso (212/502-1545).
       Nickelodeon--Nickelodeon, one of the largest producers of 
     children's television programming in the world, was developed 
     exclusively for kids. A small sampling of programs includes: 
     Rugrats, Clarissa Explains It All, You Can't Do That on 
     Television, Allegra's Window and Roundhouse. The network also 
     produces special features geared to inform and educate, 
     including Nick News Special Edition: Stranger Danger, a look 
     at child abduction, and Clearing the Air: Kids Talk to the 
     President About Smoking, featuring host Linda Ellerbee and 
     President Clinton talking about the dangers of tobacco. 
     Nickelodeon also is committed to providing commercial-free 
     blocks of Cable in the Classroom programming under its 
     programming umbrella, Nick Elementary, featuring Teacher to 
     Teacher with Mr. Wizard and Launch Box. Contact: Debra 
     Clemente (212/258-7706).
       Ovation.--Ovation offers students a front-row seat, taking 
     children behind the scenes and around the globe to discover 
     and experience the world's culture. Dedicated to the visual 
     and performing arts, the network will be initiating its 
     participation with Cable in the Classroom later this year, 
     and support materials are being developed to include lesson 
     plans, suggested related activities and advance program 
     schedules. Programming planned for the September premier 
     includes Yo-Yo Ma and the Kalahari Bushmen, a one-hour 
     special depicting the celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and 
     travels to southwest Africa to compare music with that of the 
     Kalahari Bushmen, one of the oldest indigenous music 
     societies in the world. Contact: Patricia MacEwan (1-800/
     OVATION).
       Sci-Fi Channel.--The Sci-Fi Channel features original and 
     classic movies and series from the worlds of science fiction, 
     science fact, horror and fantasy. Sci-Fi has developed the 
     Inside Space series under its Cable in the Classroom 
     participation to showcase the adventures of science, 
     technology and space exploration. The program, which airs 
     commercial-free weekly on Mondays, is designed to not only 
     educate, but stimulate children's imaginations. Contact: Kira 
     Copperman (212/408-9178).
       Showtime.--Committed to family and children's programming, 
     Showtime has recently increased its production of original 
     movies for children under the banner, Showtime Original 
     Pictures for Kids. Recent features have included: Tin 
     Soldier, The Legend of Gator Face and Robin of Locksley. 
     Upcoming features include: Sabrina the Teenage Witch and The 
     Halfback of Notre Dame. The Showtime KidsHour airs seven days 
     a week and features programs geared exclusively to children 
     ages 2-8, including Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories and The 
     Busy World of Richard Scarry. Contact: Jocelyn Brandeis (212/
     708-1579).
       The Travel Channel.--The Travel Channel's Cable in the 
     Classroom programming is under development, and likely will 
     include strong educational links to geography, math and 
     history. Current programming available includes Famous 
     Footsteps, featuring special guests retracing historical 
     routes and the paths of famous people in this information-
     packed series. From the life of Thomas Edison to the trail of 
     the Pony Express, each Wednesday evening episode follows 
     these paths as they exist today. Contact: Stephanie Clark 
     (770/801-2424).
       Turner Network Television/TBS.--Coming this fall, Turner 
     Broadcasting, with Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, will present The 
     New Adventures of Jonny Quest, a modern day version of the 
     animated adventure hit of the 1960s. TNT Toons features a 
     line-up of America's favorite cartoon characters five days a 
     week, and Rudy and GOGO World Famous Cartoon Show airs on 
     Saturday afternoons. The Return of The Borrowers is a TNT 
     Original special family presentation that premiered in June. 
     Feed Your Mind is a half-hour weekly series geared to kids 
     ages 6 to 12, using real life situation and subjects of 
     interest to children to teach math, science, language and the 
     arts. National Geographic Explorer is a weekly, award-winning 
     natural history series whose subject matter and topics often 
     appeal to children.
       TV Food Network.--TV Food Network welcomes all food lovers 
     to experience the delicious world of food as only the TV Food 
     Network can deliver, including appetites of all ages. Cable 
     in the Classroom programming is under development, and likely 
     will include cooking for and with children, adding excitement 
     to family meals, nutrition, health news, the culinary 
     cultures of the world and geography, as well as a historical 
     look at foods and cooking techniques. Contact: Kiva Flaster 
     (212/997-8835).
       USA Network.--USA Network's Cartoon Express animated series 
     is a popular choice among younger children, while offering a 
     broad range of entertainment programming designed to appeal 
     to members of the entire family, including original movies, 
     series, specials, sports and children's fare. Among the most 
     critically-acclaimed programs offered is Heal the Hate hosted 
     by popular ``TV cop'' Dennis Franz. Heal the Hate is part of 
     USA Network's on-going public affairs initiative directed at 
     today's youth to educate and inform about the consequences of 
     youth violence. Contact: Kira Copperman (212)/408-9178).
       UVTV/WGN.--One of UVTV's satellite services, WGN offers a 
     host of commercial-free Cable in the Classroom programming 
     focusing on weather phenomena and scenic beauty. Programs 
     include: Tom Skilling's Alaska; Hurricane: The Greatest Storm 
     on Earth; Chasing the Wind Ten Inches of Partly Sunny; When 
     Lightning Strikes and It Sounded Like a Freight Train.
       WAM! America's Kidz Network.--WAM! is the first and only 
     commercial-free network created entirely for young people 
     ages 8 to 16. It has the largest block of educational 
     programming, Reel Learning, with 12 hours of daily 
     educational enrichment designed for classroom use. 
     Programming is delivered 3:00 am-3:00 pm, including six hours 
     of ``real time'' usage and six hours pre-feed for overnight 
     taping targeted to students in grades 3 to 10. Curriculum-
     specific strips include current events, social studies, 
     language arts, literature, teen issues, sportsmanship and 
     fitness. Programming includes: Global Family, stressing the 
     interrelationship of the environment, animals and human 
     beings, and conservation; F.R.O.G., featuring computer use by 
     kids to explore a variety of subjects; Space Journals; WAM! 
     CAMS, profiling artists, film-makers, pilots and other 
     extraordinary young people, and providing a forum for real 
     kids to speak out on homework, siblings, stress and more. 
     Contact: Midge Pierce (303/771-7700).

[[Page H10009]]

       The Weather Channel.--The Weather Classroom is an ongoing 
     series that expands on a particular topic such as lightning, 
     tornadoes and hurricanes, and features meteorologists who 
     connect the topic to actual events. This is a commercial-
     free, Cable in the Classroom program. In addition, the 
     Weather Channel produces several educational documentaries of 
     value to children, such as: The Power of Weather and Target 
     Tornado. A variety of educational support materials are 
     available, including Everything Weather, the essential guide 
     to the whys and wonders of weather, and Project Weather 
     Outlook, a newsletter full of the latest educational news 
     from The Weather Channel. Contact: Carolyn Jones (770/801-
     2140).

     Cable in the Classroom: Providing Commercial-Free Educational 
             Programming to America's Students and Teachers

       ``I have seen the power of cable television as a teaching 
     tool in the hands of skilled, creative educators. I wish I 
     could count the number of teachers who have enthused over a 
     success story: an unmotivated high school student who 
     suddenly comes alive; a class full of elementary school 
     students begging to go to the library to do research on a 
     topic they've just learned about on TV; or stunned parents 
     who report dinner-table conversations about politics and 
     global issues instead of the usual `uh-huh' and `nah.' ''--Al 
     Race, Editor, Better Viewing Magazine.


                         Cable in the Classroom

       Founded in 1989, Cable in the Classroom is the cable TV 
     industry's educational centerpiece, providing commercial-free 
     programming to students and teachers in classrooms across the 
     country. Local cable companies have wired, connected and 
     provided programming to schools in all 50 states--free of 
     charge.

                               Highlights

       Nearly 75,000 schools in the United States currently 
     receive Cable in the Classroom programming--or roughly 75 
     percent of all K-12 schools.
       Cable in the Classroom programming reaches more than 82 
     percent of all U.S. students--or more than 39 million 
     students nationwide--giving 4 out of 5 students access to 
     Cable in the Classroom services.
       Cable networks participating in Cable in the Classroom 
     provide more than 540 hours per month or educational, 
     commercial-free programming for classrooms. Programming 
     covers all disciplines and issues.
       Teachers are able to use the programming any way they 
     choose--there are no viewing requirements, and in most cases, 
     programming is copyright-cleared for taping and playback at a 
     later date.
       Cable in the Classroom represents an investment of well 
     over $420 million by the cable television industry to enhance 
     the educational resources available toward improving 
     education. This figure represents the cumulative value of the 
     production, copyright and clearances, installation, services, 
     and staffing to support Cable in the Classroom in local 
     schools.
       Cable in the Classroom provides curriculum-related support 
     materials and helps expand and improve teacher resources.
       Cable in the Classroom provides the platform and gives 
     students access to many of the electronic services on the 
     Information Superhighway.
       Cable in the Classroom publishes Cable in the Classroom 
     magazine, a monthly resource, programming and planning guide 
     for teachers to use as they incorporate cable programming 
     into their lesson plans.
       Cable in the Classroom publishes Better Viewing: Your 
     Family Guide to Television Worth Watching, a monthly tool and 
     programming guide for parents to use to better scrutinize 
     their television viewing choices.
       Thousands of free teacher training workshops have been 
     offered by local cable companies and the national Cable in 
     the Classroom office to help teachers make the most use of 
     cable's resources.
       More than 8,400 cable systems and 35 cable networks 
     participate in the project.


  the family and community critical viewing project--A Cable Industry 
    Partnership with the National PTA Benefiting America's Families

       ``A publication entitled Taking Charge of Your TV: A Guide 
     to Critical Viewing for Parents and Children is available 
     from the Family and Community Critical Viewing Project, an 
     initiative sponsored by The National PTA and the cable 
     industry to teach television viewing skills to parents, 
     teachers, and children. It suggests ways parents can talk to 
     kids about what they are watching, which not only makes 
     television a less passive pastime but transforms it into a 
     learning tool.''--First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, from her 
     book It Takes A Village.

           The Family and Community Critical Viewing Project

                            Program Overview

       What is the Family and Community Critical Viewing Project? 
     The Family and Community Critical Viewing Project is a first-
     of-its-kind partnership of the cable television industry and 
     the National PTA, launched in 1994 to address concerns about 
     television and control the impact of television violence and 
     commercialism on children.
       The project trains cable and PTA leaders nationwide in the 
     key elements of critical viewing, also known as media 
     literacy, and how to present Taking Charge of Your TV 
     workshops for parents, educators, and organizations in their 
     communities. The goal is to help families make informed 
     choices in the TV programs they watch and to improve the way 
     they watch those programs.
       The critical viewing workshops teach techniques to: Set 
     rules for television viewing and how to stick to those rules, 
     recognize the ways in which television can be used to 
     manipulate viewers, talk to children about violence on 
     television, and turn what we see on television into positive 
     and educational family discussions.
       Using these techniques and strategies parents open an 
     important family dialogue, determine the strategies that make 
     sense in their family settings, and teach their children to 
     watch television carefully and critically.
       Why is the Family and Community Critical Viewing Project 
     important and successful? Because parents are concerned about 
     television and are searching for solutions. The Family and 
     Community Critical Viewing Project provides simple and 
     effective strategies that parents can use in their homes and 
     with their children. Thousands of parents have attended 
     critical viewing workshops, hundreds of communities have been 
     reached, and requested for project materials and workshops 
     continues to grow.
       Since the project's launch in October of 1994, workshops 
     have taken place in 55 cities in 35 states. Over 1,500 PTA 
     and cable leaders have been trained and as a result, hundreds 
     of workshops have been held in communities nationwide.

                    National Awards and Recognition

       The Partnership has been awarded the National Parents' Day 
     Clarion Award for effective use of television to promote 
     responsible parenting. The partnership received the award 
     earlier in July at an awards ceremony at the National Press 
     Club in Washington, D.C.

                           Facts and Figures

       Congressional and Government official participation--
     Senator Bond (MO); Rep. Burton (IN); State Attorney General 
     Humphey (MN); Deputy Secretary of Education Kunin; Rep. Moran 
     (VA); Senator Simon (IL); and Rep. Whitfield (KY).
       Mrs. Clinton praised the project in her book, It Takes a 
     Village, and discussed the critical viewing project during 
     her appearance on the KQED special, The Smart Parent's Guide 
     to TV Violence.
       TV programs highlighting the Project--Lifetime Television, 
     Kids These Days; KQED, The Smart Parent's Guide to TV 
     Violence; Cox Communications, No Holds Barred, Forum on TV 
     Violence; CNBC, America's Talking; and Continental 
     Cablevision, Parent Power.
       Workshop presentations--American Bar Association National 
     Convention; American School Health Association Conference; 
     Florida--Head Start principals and counselors; Kentucky--
     Community workshop; Illinois--Facing Challenges of Growing Up 
     Today Conference; Oklahoma--Oklahoma City Public School 
     Administrators; California--Workshop held in conjunction with 
     C-SPAN School Bus visit; New Jersey--Barnes and Noble 
     Bookstore; Illinois Board of Education; Maryland--County 
     commissioners, school superintendents, principals and 
     counselors; Virginia--Alexandria Public Schools Conference; 
     Minnesota Attorney General's ``Family Forum'' media literacy 
     working group; Ohio Strategies Against Violence Everywhere 
     (SAVE); New York--Comsewogue High School; Utah--United Way, 
     Success by 6; Utah State Office of Education; Michigan--East 
     Lansing Public Schools; South Carolina--Area School Media 
     Specialists; and Kentucky Education Technology Conference.
       Material Distribution--Requests for more than 100,000 
     Taking Charge of Your TV--A Guide to Critical Viewing for 
     Parents and Children guides have been filled.

What People are Saying about the Family and Community Critical Viewing 
                                Project

       Joan Dykstra, President, National PTA--``The Family and 
     Community Critical Viewing Project is probably the most 
     critical project that the National PTA has had in the past 10 
     years.''
       Thomas P. Southwick, Publisher, Cable World--``That's what 
     makes the Critical Viewing Project so refreshing. Instead of 
     offering invective or quick fixes, it focuses on educating 
     parents on how to make their own decisions on what they and 
     their children should watch. It offers suggestions on how to 
     set rules for TV viewing; how to recognize when TV shows try 
     to manipulate viewers; how to talk to children about violence 
     on TV; and how to use TV in a positive way.''
       U.S. Senator Paul Simon (D-IL)--``Now, this is not the kind 
     of a thing that is going to make headlines, but it is the 
     kind of solid effort that can really make a difference in the 
     lives of people. And I commend you.''
       U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)--``[The Taking Charge 
     of Your TV workshop] is an important opportunity for 
     educators, parents, and television programmers to come 
     together and share ideas about critical viewing habits. The 
     single most important tool in protecting children from 
     negative images in the media is education.''
       U.S. Senator Kit Bond (R-MO)--``I commend the NCTA and the 
     National PTA for their commitment to improving the quality of 
     TV viewing by developing the Family and Community Critical 
     Viewing Project.''
       Angela Thompson, Community Education Coordinator, TKR, 
     Louisville, KY--``The workshop training offered me an 
     excellent opportunity to connect with a reputable 
     organization in the local community, heightening awareness of 
     television viewing and

[[Page H10010]]

     showing how we are responding to the customers' concerns 
     about TV programming.''
       Marty Murphy, Public Relations Manager, Continental 
     Cablevision, Fresno, CA--``We already had a meaningful 
     partnership with our local PTA. However, these workshops 
     bring us closer together for a significant purpose. Endorsing 
     the benefits of critical viewing certainly demonstrates 
     `cable being part of your life.' Well thought-out training 
     guidelines allow you to concentrate on the audience dynamics 
     and generate thought-provoking interaction.''
       David Batten, Principal of Donley Elementary School, East 
     Lansing, MI--``We all are aware television is a significant 
     medium in the lives of our children. I'm glad we have this 
     opportunity to involve the community in a healthy discussion 
     of the role of television and share strategies for making 
     good family decisions.''
       Jeanne Stefanac, PTA President of Pennsylvania--``We've 
     known for a long time that parents have been complaining 
     about violence on television. I don't know if that will ever 
     go away. I also do not know where else you can learn so much 
     in so little time at such a low cost. So it (Taking Charge of 
     Your TV workshop) is of value to us.''
       Pat Whitten, Ohio PTA State President--``We're trying to 
     make parents understand that they can control the TV sets in 
     their homes.''


Cable's High Speed Education Connection--Putting America's Students on 
              the Fastlane of the Information Superhighway

       ``In my State of the Union address this year, I challenged 
     the private sector to help connect every classroom to the 
     information superhighway by the year 2000. Today, I am 
     pleased to announce that the cable television industry is 
     launching a new initiative that will help America meet this 
     goal. The cable industry has committed to provide free high-
     speed Internet access to elementary and secondary schools 
     across the country. I want to thank the industry for making 
     this commitment. I urge other industries to join in this 
     important national endeavor.''--President Bill Clinton, July 
     9, 1996.

                  The Cable TV Industry Commitment \1\

                Cable's High Speed Education Connection

     Putting America's students on the fastlane of the Information 
                              Superhighway

       Beginning in 1996, the cable television industry will 
     introduce high-speed digital services to communities across 
     the country. Using cable's high-capacity networks, compressed 
     digital technology and new cable modems, America's 
     businesses, families and schools will be offered new products 
     and services with capabilities and values unmatched by any 
     other telecommunications provider or technology.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     \1\ Adopted by the NCTA Board of Directors, June 1996.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
       As these high-speed digital services are introduced into a 
     community, cable companies will equip at least one site in 
     every consenting elementary and secondary school passed by 
     cable in that community \2\ with a cable modem providing 
     basic high-speed access to the Internet--free of charge.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     \2\ The industry commitment to provide cable modems to 
     elementary and secondary schools is consistent with the 
     criteria used to deploy Cable in the Classroom: consenting 
     public and state-accredited private schools passed by cable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Beginning in July 1996, and over the next year, the 
     industry will begin to deliver on its new commitment to 
     America's students. In the first year alone, more than 60 
     communities and over 3,000 schools will begin to benefit from 
     Cable's High Speed Education Connection.
       In many instances, individual companies and systems may go 
     beyond the industry commitment and offer training, additional 
     inside wiring of classrooms, enhanced information services or 
     additional equipment.

                Cable's High Speed Education Connection

                               Factsheet

       What: The cable industry announces its latest contribution 
     to the American educational system and America's children--
     Cable's High Speed Education Connection--a powerful new 
     commitment to enhance the learning experience for millions of 
     students. As high-speed data services are introduced into 
     communities, cable companies will equip at least one site in 
     every consenting elementary and secondary school passed by 
     cable with a cable modem providing basic high speed Internet 
     access, free of charge.
       How: Building on the foundation established by Cable in the 
     Classroom, with the cable industry providing wiring, 
     connection and commercial-free educational programming for 
     more than 74,000 schools nationwide, the cable industry once 
     again will deploy state-of-the-art technology to benefit 
     America's students. Cable modems provide lightning-fast, 
     digital access to the Internet at a rate of 10,000 kilobits 
     per second--hundreds of times faster than conventional 
     telephone modems. Even ISDN (advanced telephone technology) 
     moves data at only 128 kilobits per second. For instance, 
     downloading a picture of the Mona Lisa, or data that could 
     take 1.4 hours to transfer over typical phone lines and 22 
     minutes over ISDN, takes only 18 seconds to download via 
     cable modem.
       Where: Cable's High Speed Education Connection will benefit 
     elementary and secondary schools and students across the 
     country. As high speed digital products and services are 
     introduced into communities, cable companies will equip at 
     least one site in every consenting elementary and secondary 
     school passed by cable in the community with a cable modem 
     providing high speed Internet access, free of charge.
       Who: In the first year alone, as part of the initial 
     rollout of high-speed data services via cable modems, Cable's 
     High Speed Education Connection will impact more than 65 
     communities and 3,500 schools nationwide.
       When: Cable's High Speed Education Connection rolls out 
     this year, beginning July 9, and continues as cable companies 
     introduce advanced cable services throughout the next year 
     and beyond.
       Why: Cable's High Speed Education Connection is the latest 
     step in the cable industry's long-standing and on-going 
     commitment to education. Through other valuable initiatives, 
     such as Cable in the Classroom, The Family and Community 
     Critical Viewing Project, Cable in Focus educational 
     screenings, distance learning and ``electronic field trips,'' 
     the cable TV industry has invested hundreds of millions of 
     dollars to help teachers enhance the quality of education for 
     millions of America's children.


 local programming for children--cable systems produce and air quality 
                             shows for kids

       Cable operators across the country provide exclusive local 
     origination programming designed specifically for children.
       Each year, the National Academy of Cable Programming 
     recognizes outstanding local programming efforts with the 
     Local CableACE Award; likewise, the Cable Television Public 
     Affairs Association each year recognizes local public affairs 
     initiatives launched by cable systems, featuring many 
     programs involving children and family programming.
       Among the cable operators and local programmers honored or 
     nominated over the past year for their children's programming 
     and public affairs initiatives are:
       Local CableACE Awards--Time Warner Cable, Clearwater, FL--
     Clubhouse #16 and Check it Out; Paragon Cable of Irving, TX--
     Nature Kids and Think Smart; TCI of Denver, CO--Earth Cafe; 
     Continental Cablevision, Metro Detroit, MI--Kid Stuff; Cox 
     Communications, San Diego, CA--Outlook on the Physically 
     Challenged; Media General Cable, Fairfax Co., VA--Parks Plus; 
     Century Cable, Santa Monica, CA--The American West; Maryland 
     Cable, Landover, MD--Scientific Expression; Continental 
     Cablevision, Lawrence, MA--Suiting Up for the Space Shuttle; 
     and City of Los Angeles ``Cityview 35''--Jeopardy.
       Beacon Awards--Time Warner Cable, Milwaukee, WI--Kidz Biz/
     WCKB-TV; Cox Communications, Oklahoma City, OK--Celebrate the 
     Magic; Continental Cablevision, Andover, MA--Stop, Think, 
     Listen, Score!; Time Warner Cable of San Diego, CA--Find 
     Yourself in a Book; TCI Cablevision of Bellingham, WA--No 
     More Secrets; Falcon Cable TV (all systems)--Don't Trash Your 
     Brain; SportsChannel Pacific--Little League Memories; TCI 
     Cablevision of New England--What About AIDS; Cablevision of 
     Long Island--Video Greeting Card; TCI Cablevision of Utah--
     Earthquake Preparation Week; and Cablevision of Boston--Extra 
     Help.


    cable in focus educational screenings to enlighten and entertain

       ``It's a partnership between the education community, the 
     cable operators and cable programmers . . . the cable 
     industry needs to give something back to the communities we 
     serve, and what better way to do so than with cable's quality 
     programming.''--R.E. ``Ted'' Turner, Chairman & CEO, Turner 
     Entertainment Group, Inc.; Chairman, National Cable 
     Television Association.

                             Cable in Focus

       What is Cable in Focus? It's a Future Is On Cable public 
     affairs initiative that demonstrates cable's ongoing 
     commitment to education through its programming. Cable in 
     Focus teams cable operators and cable networks to conduct 
     screenings that promote the abundance and diversity of high-
     quality, original and educational programming available on 
     cable TV. The screenings often include special guests and 
     speakers from cosponsoring organizations who lead interactive 
     discussions.
       What topics or themes does Cable in Focus address? 
     Diversity; The Environment; Literacy; Education; Politics; 
     and Violence.
       In addition, cable operators and networks have the 
     flexibility to tailor their screenings to feature programming 
     addressing other issues that may be important and appropriate 
     for their local communities.
       What are some examples of the cable programming being 
     screened? Already this year, the NCTA Conference Center has 
     hosted seven Cable in Focus screenings, with more than 300 
     screenings held nationwide. NCTA's 77-seat, state-of-the-art 
     theater continues to provide an ideal and intimate setting to 
     showcase exclusive cable programming for both educational 
     screenings for students, or for more formal cable industry 
     VIP receptions, such as: Gardens of the World--(Home & Garden 
     Television); Harlem Diary: Nine Voices of Resilience--
     (Discovery Channel); Healing the Hate--(USA Network); Science 
     in the Rainforest--(Turner Adventure Learning/TESI); 
     Survivors of the Holocaust--(TBS); The Black Caricature--
     (Black Entertainment Television); and The View from Moccasin 
     Bend--(The Ecology Channel).
       Among the many other cable programs being screened by local 
     operators are the following: Biography--(A&E Television 
     Network); Journey of the African American Athlete--(HBO); 
     Keepers of Our Environment--

[[Page H10011]]

     (NewsTalk Television); People--(The Disney Channel); The Busy 
     World of Richard Scarry--(Showtime); and Wild Discovery--
     (Discovery Channel).
       Who are some of the cosponsors with which cable has 
     partnered? All American Heritage Foundation; Black Liberation 
     Arts Coalition; NAACP/NAMIC/Urban League; National Hurricane 
     Center; National Wildlife Federation; Reading is Fundamental; 
     The Literacy Network; The Reading Connection; U.S. Holocaust 
     Memorial Museum; and United Negro College Fund.

                        Cable in Focus is about

       Providing Educational Resources--``Cable in Focus allows us 
     to take some really wonderful, high-quality and exciting 
     programming and go out there and help teachers teach.''--
     Angela Von Ruden, Public Relations Mgr., Falcon Cable, Los 
     Angeles, CA.
       Opening Dialogue--``The National Cable Television 
     Association was the scene of an eye-opening and provocative 
     documentary, The Black Caricature, produced by Black 
     Entertainment Television. Following the documentary, the 
     audience and invited panelists interacted, discussing 
     strategies and alternatives regarding what we must do in 
     counteracting negative imagery that continues to denigrate 
     and demean our people nationally and internationally.''--
     Cynthia Nevels, Columnist, The Capitol Spotlight, Washington, 
     D.C.
       Making a Difference--``Talk about making an impact. Time 
     Warner Cable and Home Box Office did just that with the Cable 
     in Focus `sneak preview' of Letting Go: A Hospice Journey. 
     We've received calls from supervisors of the employees who 
     came to the event, remarking about the positive feedback they 
     received when their employees came back to work after viewing 
     the documentary.''--Bill Evans, Dir. of Community Relations, 
     Hospice at Greensboro, Inc., Greensboro, NC.
       Building Community Relations--``I made more friends for the 
     cable company during our Cable in Focus event than anything 
     I've done in a long time. It was 100 percent beneficial from 
     a marketing point of view. People had a face to talk to, and 
     they really appreciated that.''--Gloria Pollack, Education 
     Coordinator, Cablevision Industries, Chatsworth, CA.


   community relations and public affairs--local cable operators and 
  network programmers contribute to the communities and families they 
                                 serve

       ``The importance of cable public affairs--demonstrated in a 
     variety of ways, from internal communications to the messages 
     and programming cable sends to its subscribers and 
     communities--continues to grow in this new era of 
     telecommunications reform, convergence and competition.''--
     Lawrence W. Oliver, Publisher, Cablevision Magazine, 1996 
     Beacon Awards Special Supplement.

                 Community Relations and Public Affairs

       The following is a representative summary of the wide range 
     of community relations and public affairs efforts made by 
     local cable operators and network programmers--initiatives 
     that have had a direct and positive impact on the lives of 
     children and students across the country. The following 
     examples of these efforts illustrate the breadth and 
     diversity of cable's contributions--but do not include every 
     cable system or cable network initiative.
       Continental Cablevision, Boston/Discovery Channel--The core 
     of this collaborative project was a promotional contest for 
     elementary school students and teachers, which coincided with 
     Discovery's Space Shuttle documentary. Rather than having 
     students passively receiving information about space, Space 
     Camp designed a two-week curriculum in which students were 
     instructed to build a space suit. Nearly 4,000 students and 
     teachers from 100 schools participated, with more than 800 
     space suits designed. Winners received a trip to Space Camp 
     in Huntsville, Ala. The contest was implemented in most 
     Continental systems, reached nearly 600 communities and more 
     than 1,500 public officials--including a congratulatory call 
     from President Clinton.
       Time Warner Cable, Milwaukee, WI/E! Entertainment 
     Television--Warner Cable Kidz Biz/WCKB-TV is a 15-minute 
     news/information show written and produced by students from 
     22 schools in Time Warner's service area. The series, in its 
     second year, features a mix of news reports and celebrity/
     local personality interviews. Time Warner worked with E! 
     Entertainment Television last year to send two Kidz Biz 
     reporters to Los Angeles to cover the Academy Awards. Also, 
     the program staged its own awards outreach, CAMY (Cable and 
     Media for Youth), recognizing excellence among Kidz Biz 
     talent. Time Warner's program continues to receive kudos from 
     schools and media--nationally, statewide and locally--as a 
     one-of-a-kind media literacy tool.
       UVTV/WGN--Winner of the 1996 Golden Beacon Award for 
     outstanding public affairs achievement, UVTV created the Find 
     Yourself in a Book project to help youths discover literacy 
     for themselves in a natural, contemporary way. The central 
     element of the campaign is a series of video messages that 
     describe the plots of popular literature in every day 
     language. More than 1,300 cable systems nationwide offered 
     the campaign, making it available to nearly 23 million cable 
     homes. More than 1,100 educators have contacted UVTV directly 
     to enlist its help in implementing the campaign and airing 
     spots in their communities.
       Bravo Cable Network--With Bravo's Arts for Change advocacy 
     campaign, Bravo seeks to teach at-risk kids how arts can make 
     a difference in their lives. In the process, Bravo donated 
     more than $360,000 of its airtime to promote the campaign 
     through public service spots. Also, a $10,000 grant program 
     was created to recognize local arts groups that are most 
     effective in reaching kids. For this portion of the program, 
     Bravo joined with the National Assembly of Local Arts 
     Agencies, American Library Association, The Boys/Girls Clubs 
     of America and the National Foundation for Advancement in the 
     Arts. From more than 365 entries received, Bravo selected 
     four $2,500 grant winners. The grant program will continue 
     this year.
       MediaOne, Atlanta, GA/C-SPAN--MediaOne organized a series 
     of system activities to help students understand local, state 
     and national government procedures. Throughout one week, 
     MediaOne and Hapeville Elementary School coordinated a C-SPAN 
     sponsored essay contest and discussions about how members of 
     Congress respond to issues, mock student elections and 
     classroom presentations by a Georgia state senator and 
     representative.
       Continental Cablevision--The TV Tool Kit is a package of 
     instructional and entertaining guides and videos that 
     children, parents and teachers can use to view television 
     with a more discerning eye. The TV Tool Kit has been 
     distributed to over 3,000 schools, libraries, and community 
     organizations throughout the country with the help of such 
     organizations as the PTA, the 4-H Club, the YMCA and Cable in 
     the Classroom.
       Cox Communications, Warwick, RI/WROB--Maryann Artesani, a 
     fourth grade teacher at E.G. Robertson Elementary School, 
     started a student-produced news show in her classroom back in 
     1990. Since then, her 10-year-old students have had the 
     opportunity to interview Secretary of Education Richard 
     Riley, three Rhode Island governors, the Rhode Island 
     Commissioner of Education, several children's book authors 
     and local celebrities, all thanks to financial and in-kind 
     support resources and equipment supplied by Cox 
     Communications.
       Tele-Communications, Inc., Houston, TX--When Texas 
     initiated a campaign to publicize the alarming lack of 
     immunizations among children, TCI responded by significantly 
     expanding its annual Health Fair. TCI arranged to have a 
     cross-section of health care agencies, public service 
     organizations and entertainers at various locations 
     throughout Houston to present free health care screenings and 
     preventive information. The fair was an opportunity for 
     children to have their shot records updated, and it also 
     provided pre-school and infant immunizations. Cholesterol, 
     blood pressure and dental screenings were also offered, along 
     with information on other medical conditions. TCI's fair 
     provided more than five times as many fee immunizations as 
     other Houston area health fairs.
       Comcast Cable, Mercer County, NJ--MercerNet is an 
     interactive wide-area fiber-optic network being developed by 
     Comcast Cable and an educational consortium. The network will 
     link all Mercer County public school districts, the local 
     community college and a local science center with one another 
     and with each of the county's public libraries, community and 
     state colleges and special service centers. Fourteen 
     interactive video classrooms with multi-data channels will be 
     connected to MercerNet, supported by a $700,000 grant from 
     the National Telecommunications and Information 
     Administration. The network will provide: interactive TV for 
     distance learning and community programs; high speed cable 
     access to the Internet; and high speed data connectivity via 
     cable, interfaced with multimedia video libraries in and out 
     of the county. The project will serve as a model for cost-
     effective delivery of educational and other community 
     services.
       Media General Cable, Fairfax, VA--Students at Stenwood 
     Elementary and Rocky Run Middle Schools in Fairfax County, VA 
     can type or talk via the Internet to students and 
     professionals from around the world, while watching them on 
     live, two-way video. Launched in 1993 by the National Science 
     Foundation, Global Schoolhouse has expanded from four pilot 
     schools (three in the U.S.) to over 20 schools in the U.S. 
     and overseas. Media General supplied participating schools 
     with a connection to the Internet, while other corporations 
     provided computer equipment. Students at Stenwood were able 
     to teleconference with NASA in Houston, talking face-to-face 
     with staff about propulsion systems for an imaginary space 
     station they were designing. Their project culminated with an 
     overnight, 12-hour ``space mission'' when sixth graders 
     decorated the gym to resemble a space station, ate meals they 
     custom-designed for space travel, and conducted experiments 
     on-line, sharing their experiences with other children around 
     the world.
       Falcon Cable TV, Los Angeles/MTV Networks/VH1/Comedy 
     Central--With substance abuse among young people on the rise, 
     Falcon partnered with MTV Networks, VH1 and Comedy Central on 
     a prevention-minded project. The campaign was designed to 
     reach teens and parents through a T-shirt design contest, 
     plus a resourse sheet that suggests ways parents can 
     communicate with their kids about drugs. Falcon enlisted 42 
     participating systems and received widespread promotion and 
     local recognition from leading public officials.

[[Page H10012]]

       Adelphia Cable, West Seneca, NY/The Family Channel--
     Partnered with the NAACP, Adelphia Cable of West Seneca 
     organized a screening of The Family Channel's original 
     production of Tad for students of Holland Middle School 
     during Black History Month. Tad depicts the story of life in 
     the White House during the Civil War, as seen through the 
     eyes of Abraham Lincoln's young son. During the week prior to 
     the screening, Holland Middle School teachers organized a 
     comprehensive, interdisciplinary education plan that linked 
     the students' classes and contemporary education with those 
     of the era of the Civil War and the Tad film. Art students 
     produced calligraphic works of Lincoln's speeches, and music 
     students researched Civil War music, which was played while 
     guests were being seated for the screening. To enhance the 
     learning experience, Daniel Acker, president of the Buffalo 
     chapter of NAACP, led a discussion with students after the 
     screening.
       Time Warner Cable, Houston, TX--Be An Angel Fund is a local 
     charity that provides recreation and communication devices to 
     physically challenged children in the Houston area, and is 
     headquartered in the T.H. Rogers School, the first school in 
     the nation to mainstream deaf, gifted and multiply-
     handicapped children. Time Warner has been involved with the 
     fund for 10 years, providing financial and in-kind support. 
     Time Warner produced a Be An Angel video, worked with former 
     President George Bush on the dedication of a $1.2 million 
     hydrotherapy complex and raised a record $36,000 for the fund 
     during an annual charity golf tournament.

    Remarks by William A. Oliver, Corporate & External Affairs Vice 
   President, BellSouth Telecommunications; Panel Discussion--House 
                            Education Caucus

       Let me thank you for inviting me to be a part of this panel 
     discussion today that the new House Education Caucus is 
     sponsoring. The formation of this caucus is long overdue, and 
     I commend those of you who will be a part of it for your 
     willingness to make a place in your busy schedules to 
     participate in such a group. It will surely be time well 
     spent, however, as there are few areas of daily life that 
     will have as big an impact on the long-term future economic 
     health--and general societal well being--of our country as 
     the type and quality of education our coming generations of 
     children and young adults will receive.
       Certainly, as a company, BellSouth feels that way--we are 
     very involved in many, many community activities, but none 
     are more important than our support of efforts to improve 
     educational systems throughout the areas in the southeast 
     where we are the local phone company. Our motives are not 
     entirely benevolent; it's a matter of survival. We are 
     absolutely dependent on an educated populace as prospective 
     employees, to develop the new technology that will allow us 
     to grow and expand, and as consumers to buy and use all of 
     this new technology.
       We are not, of course, alone with regard to the work force 
     issue. American business in general is caught in a painful 
     paradox today. Frequently, when openings are announced, 
     applicants line up by the hundreds. Yet, managers say they 
     can't find people to fill jobs.
       What employers need is people with the right skills--men 
     and women with the ability to read with understanding; the 
     ability to communicate clearly with other people, both by the 
     spoken and the written word; the ability to think through a 
     problem or situation; the ability to calculate with at least 
     a rudimentary understanding of algebra and geometry; the 
     ability to analyze; and the ability to get along with other 
     people and work productively in teams.
       Even when the line of applicants stretches around the 
     block, only a few may be able to handle such assignments. An 
     information Age economy and its high-tech jobs are creating a 
     new calculus of economic growth for nations and new job 
     opportunities for individuals. And job today are far 
     different than when a strong back and a willingness to sweat 
     got you a job.
       As a corporation, in one of the highest tech industries, 
     we've been acutely aware of this for some time and our 
     Chairman, John Clendinin, has been a national leader in 
     school-to-work initiatives and similar efforts. The overall 
     goal of improving education is so important to us, in fact, 
     that over the past 5 years, we've provided almost a quarter 
     of billion dollars in direct and indirect support to 
     education. And, this is increasing on an annual basis.
       This work force preparedness issue is a critical one for 
     everyone, and I know that a lot of other participants here 
     today will address it in their remarks--probably much better 
     than I could ever hope to. I will therefore defer to them and 
     limit my comments to two areas that I am more familiar with--
     they both concern the availability of new technology--
     telecommunication, cable, satellite, etc.--as tools for 
     improving our education systems. BellSouth has found itself 
     become more and more deeply involved with this issue as 
     information services are increasingly becoming fundamental 
     tools for student learning.
       The first question that I would therefore like to address 
     is, ``Who should provide the national leadership and 
     direction in deploying the wonderful new information age 
     technology that is becoming available for education 
     purposes.''
       Fundamentally, both we, and our nation's schools, are in 
     the communications business. Schools communicate and pass 
     down through the generations--and throughout the population--
     the knowledge, values, ethical standards that a society needs 
     to survive and prosper. BellSouth provides communications 
     channels.
       We're just the latest in the series of knowledge pipelines 
     that educators have used to funnel knowlege--a series that 
     started with face-to-face teaching and evolved into using 
     books, films, closed-circuit TV, and now--distance learning. 
     We are, however, a big part of the largest, most widespread, 
     and most far-reaching knowledge pipeline that the world has 
     ever seen.
       The challenge to both us, and to educators, is to determine 
     how to use this pipeline most effectively. We've always known 
     that the technology in our networks represented a potentially 
     enormous asset for the education community. In years past, 
     we've been trying to force feed this message to them from the 
     outside.
       The problem is that we're not educators. It would be a 
     whole lot better if, instead of us telling educators what to 
     do with our technology, they would tell us what should be 
     done. The use of this valuable new tool should be directed 
     from within the education community, not from the outside. 
     Just as we should be providing them information on what kind 
     of worker skills we need as school-to-work programs are 
     developed, they should be guiding us on the use of technology 
     in the classroom.
       This requires, of course, that educators have a good 
     understanding of the technology involved and its 
     capabilities. This expertise is developing, but unfortunately 
     it is not yet as widespread as it needs to be. We need to 
     reach that critical mass of knowledgeable educators who will 
     provide the leadership in deploying current and future 
     telecommunications technology for your use. We are committed 
     to working with them to reach that point.
       That's one area where we--BellSouth and others in our 
     industry--can take the lead in hastening the dawn of the 
     Information Age throughout the nation's educational 
     infrastructure. I think this is going to happen in the 
     relatively near future. I believe we're developing an 
     industry-educator dialog on this. Frankly, I wish all our 
     concerns were as simple as this.
       The other question involving telecommunications and 
     education that I want to address in these brief opening 
     comments is a lot tougher--and I feel that it is one that 
     only Congress can finally resolve in the country's overall 
     best interests.
       As you well know, not only is telecommunications technology 
     changing, our whole industry is changing. This is going to 
     make the next few years a time of great opportunity . . . and 
     some risk in so far as the future availability and 
     affordability of the wonderful new knowledge pipelines I 
     mentioned previously.
       The rules that U.S. telecommunications companies were 
     playing by until very recently were written in 1934--over 60 
     years ago--before computers, before television, before 
     satellites. In recent years, this technology, and the 
     competition it fostered, had made the rules regulating our 
     industry unworkable. Obviously, something had to be done, and 
     you did it. Last February, Congress passed sweeping changes 
     in telecommunications law, that I believe you thought once-
     and-for-all effectively unlocked the door to the 
     ``information age.''
       Its passage should potentially affect every American who 
     turns on a television set, listens to radio, uses a 
     telephone, or surfs in cyberspace. The industrial revolution 
     profoundly changed America; this information revolution 
     should have an equally profound change--Distance learning is 
     a great example that will be of particular interest to this 
     caucus; telemedicine is another example; electronic commerce 
     is another application; teleconferencing; telecommuting; the 
     list goes on and on.
       Yet, these applications are just brief glimpses of the 
     future in the information age. We are not talking about 
     evolutionary change in one industry. We are talking about a 
     revolution in society--something that will significantly 
     affect the daily life of everyone. In the 21st century 
     America will be a better educated, healthier, safer, more 
     productive and more competitive country.
       This is good news, and it is very good indeed. By and 
     large, and in the long run, the changes in our industry are 
     going to be good for the country. However, the real challenge 
     will be to make sure that everyone shares in the benefits of 
     this new information age. Telephone service must remain 
     affordable to everyone--poor, handicapped, rural, urban, etc. 
     We have to find ways to keep all of this wonderful new 
     technology readily available and readily affordable for 
     schools so that everyone can learn to use it and reap the 
     educational benefits it makes possible. We cannot risk 
     dividing society into information age ``haves'' and ``have 
     nots.''
       This is a critical issue for the education community in 
     particular because the rates currently charged schools are 
     generally very heavily subsidized. That's why maintaining the 
     ``universal service'' philosophy that served our nation so 
     well for so long as a foundation for telecommunications 
     policy is so important.
       We have to find a way to replace the old system of 
     subsidies with a new system that will work in the competitive 
     world--a system that will take a small amount from those who 
     are profiting mightly from the more lucrative 
     telecommunications market and use that money to make access 
     to the information age available to everyone. Congress 
     recognized this and made it clear in

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     their passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that 
     universal service was to be preserved no matter what else 
     happened in the newly competitive telephone industry.
       Universal service and subsidies are the big societal issues 
     that regulators and legislators--and the telephone companies 
     themselves--have left before them.
       The legislation you passed in February said that universal 
     service must be preserved--you were very clear about that, 
     but you weren't exactly precise about how to do it. You left 
     the details of implementing the legislation to those most 
     familiar with our industry--the FCC, state regulators, and 
     the many old and new competitors in the game.
       Apparently, enacting good telecommunications law is turning 
     out to be a lot easier than implementing it. Frankly, some of 
     the discussions being heard about this are extraordinarily 
     troubling. In the course of the FCC's ongoing proceedings, 
     things are being said that would lead one to believe some 
     either did not hear, did not understand, or did not want to 
     understand what I feel Congress clearly intended to do in the 
     legislation passed last February. Some of the actions that 
     are being proposed would greatly endanger universal service.
       I believe as an information services industry that we must 
     all commit to the preservation of universal service and that 
     government agencies must assure that we do. We have the most 
     affordable, widely available communications system in the 
     world now and we must all make sure that the new rules of the 
     game do not change this.
       I can assure you that BellSouth is committed to universal 
     service. That's why we agreed to a Louisiana Public Service 
     Commission order last March that makes us the service 
     provider of last resort in the areas where we operate; it's 
     why we have capped our basic residential service rates for 
     five years so that consumers are protected during the period 
     of change to competition in our industry; it's why we and the 
     Public Service Commission have made our fastest data circuits 
     available to schools and libraries at greatly reduced rates--
     we want to make sure no one gets left behind as telephone 
     service providers have an economic incentive to focus on big, 
     profitable customers.
       In closing, I would urge members of this caucus to stay 
     attuned to the debate on the universal service issue in the 
     FCC's current proceedings to assure the rules developed will 
     produce the kind of future for our industry that Congress 
     envisioned last February. This is critical for the future of 
     education, and I believe also for the overall well being of 
     the national economy. Thank you again for having me here 
     today and giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts with 
     you.

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