[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 18, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S10740]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EDUCATION IN AMERICA

  Mr. FORD. Coming from Kentucky, and I guess in some other States, we 
have heard about midnight conversions or death-bed conversions. ``I've 
seen the light. Everything's going to be all right.'' Lo and behold, we 
found for a long time that this side of the aisle has been pushing for 
additional funding for education. And I read in the morning paper where 
there was a midnight conversion. Somebody has been reading the polls.
  For the first time in a Presidential campaign, education is No. 1--
No. 1. So rather than going out with a whimper, Republicans want to 
close this session down with a bang. It is not enough. If you read the 
stories in the press, the Republicans were forced into putting this 
money in the budget by Democrats. That is the story. That is the story.
  The midnight conversion was one we have been pushing hard, trying to 
get our amendment up yesterday, were refused, objected to, everything, 
because you did not want Democrats to offer their amendment yesterday. 
That is parliamentary procedure. I understand it. Every Senator in here 
understands it. I think the public understood it.
  So now the $2.3 billion or whatever the Republicans tried to put in 
last night in their midnight conversion, we think, is not enough. It 
should be a little over $3 billion. I hope that the Senate will allow 
us to vote on that amendment.
  We are getting to a point now where we cannot get appropriations 
bills out. It is not our fault. We are left out. We have bills that are 
coming up here that only the Republicans have dealt with--Democrats 
have never been called into the room. That is the way it has happened 
for over 18 months now. Somebody said, ``Why should Democrats be in?'' 
Some old fellow in the back said, ``Well, a blind hog finds an acorn 
once in a while.''
  Maybe, just maybe, they would have a good idea. A good idea has been 
education. I do not know who said it, but I want to tell you I will 
remember it as long as I live: A cut in education never heals--a cut in 
education never heals. That is what has happened here. The Republicans 
cutting education, that wound will never heal. I do not care how you 
try to paint it, how you try to phrase it in a 30-second ad, how the 
incumbents and challengers try to play it back home, that cut that was 
out there will never heal. The people will remember how you wanted to 
cut education.
  Mr. President, I am delighted that the Republicans were converted 
last night. I am glad the death-bed conversion worked because at least 
we are a little over $2 billion closer to what the administration feels 
and we on this side feel should be available for education. It used to 
be, and now I think it is a foregone conclusion, that a high school 
education is not enough.
  We worked hard in Kentucky with KET, with the Star Program, to get 
KET by television. It worked well. Practically every State in the 
Nation picked up on it, the Star Program, so that everybody would have 
an opportunity, even if they worked, they could stay at home and get 
their GED. I do not know how many tens of thousands of GED certificates 
were given as a result of the Star Program. It all came from Kentucky 
educational television. It was the pilot project that spread across 
this country.
  Now the President says that 2 years of college, 2 years of college 
ought to be the norm. We hear all about this tax cut. I do not hear 
much about it now; it has kind of faded away--15 percent tax cut. For 
an individual making $200,000, your tax cut at the period of time 
proposed in the tax cut is $28,900. That is annual. That will put 19 
students through the community college if my hometown. So we give one 
individual making over $200,000 a year, the equivalent of giving 19 
students their tuition, getting them through community college.
  I do not think Government ought to be in everything. I think they 
ought to be out of most things. But we have to give some leadership, 
and education is leadership in this country. The people understand it, 
constituents understand it, and, lo and behold, Republicans found out 
about it last night.

  So as you read the story where Democrats forced Republicans to add 
over $2 billion in education, that is the story. They are cutting. The 
cut in education never heals, and the cut that was attempted in 
education under the Republican budget, under the Republican 
appropriations bill, that cut will never heal because the people will 
remember what was attempted to do.
  Mr. President, I hope we will be able to bring our amendment up, and 
we will be able to offer it as we wanted to and which we were 
precluded. When you ask unanimous consent that your amendment be 
brought up and it is objected to, everybody understands that. You think 
it does not resonate beyond this Chamber? Of course it does. People 
that watch C-SPAN understand who is preventing the amendment to come 
forward to improve education, so that they, being the Republicans, 
could make their effort last might and make some headlines today. Read 
the story-- 
the Democrats forced them to do it. The Democrats forced them to do it.
  Mr. President, I am pleased at the movement in the right direction. I 
hope we can do a little bit more so that those students out there in my 
State and your State and other States will have an opportunity for 
education and will not continue to burden the families with the 
borrowing of money and the struggling in order to see that their family 
is educated.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Inhofe). The Senator from North Dakota.

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