[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 137 (Saturday, September 28, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H12131-H12132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MAKING TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR 
                              FISCAL 1993

  Mr. BATEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on National Security be discharged from further consideration of the 
bill (H.R. 4282) to amend the National Defense Authorization Act for 
fiscal year 1993 to make a technical correction relating to the 
provision of Department of Defense assistance to local education 
agencies, and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, as 
ranking minority member on the Democratic side, I will not object, but 
I would like to yield to the gentleman from Virginia to explain the 
bill, and a number of other Members on both sides are interested in 
this bill and the explanation.
  Mr. BATEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the distinguished soldier 
statesman from Mississippi for allowing me the opportunity to explain 
why this bill is necessary.

[[Page H12132]]

  Mr. Speaker, when the 1986 defense authorization bill was enrolled, 
it was enrolled with a typographical error, in that it made reference 
to an accompanying section as section 8803(A), when it should have made 
reference to 8803(A)(1). This bill simply corrects that typographical 
error.
  So if we can get it enacted and signed by the President, the school 
districts which were supposed to and intended to receive those funds 
pursuant to the correctly enrolled and passed bill will be able to 
receive them.
  It is purely correcting a typographical error, but a very significant 
one to the school districts affected.
  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
want to thank the gentleman for catching this technical error that 
really affected a number of people.
  Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object I yield to the 
gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Scott].
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from 
Mississippi for his hard work and dedication over the years. I would 
also like to thank my colleague from Virginia, Mr. Bateman, for his 
hard work and diligence in this effort, not only in this effort but 
over the years for impact aid. It is an extremely important element of 
funding for education in highly impacted areas.
  My colleague from Virginia has worked extremely hard in this area. 
Having found the mistake, he had even more work to do to get it back 
in. I want to congratulate the gentleman for a job well done. There are 
many others, including the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Edwards], who have 
been very diligent in this area, but I especially wanted to thank my 
colleague from Virginia for his hard work.
  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
yield to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Edwards].
  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from 
Mississippi, Chairman Montgomery, and once again express my gratitude 
for his leadership on the national security over the years. We are a 
stronger Nation because of his service.
  I simply wanted to say in my 6 years in the Congress, probably one of 
the greater privileges I have had has been to work with the gentleman 
from Virginia [Mr. Bateman] to fight for the impact aid program. It 
seems to me, Mr. Speaker, that along with our Nation's veterans, there 
could be few groups more deserving in America than the children of 
military families, children who often have to go to school not knowing 
whether their mother or father will even be alive at their graduation, 
children who Christmas after Christmas or season after season have to 
be with only one part of their family, because the father or mother is 
serving their country thousands of miles away.
  While I am sorry there were some in Washington from both parties last 
year who wanted to cut impact aid for these deserving military 
children, people such as Mr. Bateman saw the importance and the value 
of this program. It not only provides the support for a quality 
education for military children they deeply deserve; it also is a 
matter of maintaining quality people in our military, because with an 
all-volunteer force how can we expect the best and brightest to come 
into our Armed Forces if we cannot assure them that their children will 
receive a quality education?
  So my thanks once again goes out to the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. 
Bateman], who at one point last year very briefly after a momentary 
health problem, even at some risk to his own health, came to this floor 
to see that the impact aid program would stay alive, and for that not 
only I but, far more importantly, millions of American children this 
year and generations ahead will be in his debt.
  Mr. MONTGOMERY. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
would like to commend the gentleman from Virginia for making this 
correction for us, and congratulate him on being reelected to the 
Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the bill, as follows:

                               H.R. 4282

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. TECHNICAL CORRECTION RELATING TO DEPARTMENT OF 
                   DEFENSE ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL 
                   AGENCIES.

       Section 386(c)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act 
     for Fiscal Year 1993 (Pub. L. 102-484; 20 U.S.C. 7703 note) 
     is amended--
       (1) by striking ``section 8003(a)'' and inserting ``section 
     8003(a)(1)''; and
       (2) by striking ``(20 U.S.C. 7703(a))'' and inserting ``(20 
     U.S.C. 7703(a)(1))''.

  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

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