[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 25, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H591-H592]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EDUCATION IN AMERICA

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, over the last several weeks I have been 
coming down here to the House floor to discuss the topic of education 
in America. As most Americans know by now, the President and 
congressional Democrats have developed a comprehensive plan to address 
the Nation's most pressing education needs. To date, the Republicans in 
Congress have given very little indication of their thoughts on the 
President's plan. Despite indications from the American people that 
education is indeed one of the most important issues facing Congress 
today, Republican leaders have ignored Democratic calls to immediately 
begin examining our proposal to strengthen education in America. Nor 
have they offered any plan of their own to address the varieties of 
challenges confronting our education system.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, I want to focus on how the President's plan will 
affect the lives of people from my home district, New Jersey's Sixth 
Congressional District, which comprises part of Monmouth and Middlesex 
Counties. I want to do this by sharing two letters, one from each 
county of my district, that touch on two prevalent education problems 
which the President and congressional Democrats have developed plans to 
confront.
  The first of these problems concerns the difficult time many parents 
are encountering while trying to meet the runaway costs of college 
education. Not too long ago, Mrs. Barbara A. Pflug of West Keansburg 
wrote to me trying to make sense of the challenges she and her husband 
are trying to overcome. She writes in a letter to me:

       Dear Congressman Pallone: Please try to help me understand 
     what is happening. My oldest son has just finished his 
     freshman year at Rutgers University. We are both teachers and 
     have worked continually for the past 25 years. We had planned 
     to save money for our boys' college expenses but never had 
     that leftover money to invest. We do not have an expensive 
     life-style. The cost of living in this area has continually 
     gone up. We do not spend our money foolishly. We did not take 
     a vacation and cannot afford a new car. Our properties and 
     other taxes are sky high and we know we pay extra for things 
     like automobile insurance and hospitalization to help people 
     who cannot afford it. We are told that Social Security may 
     not be there when we need it and to start saving for our 
     retirements. We need three lifetimes of working to do all of 
     these things. We should be saving now for our retirement, but 
     that is out of the question with three boys who need to be 
     college educated. The bulk of responsibility is on the 
     parents and we cannot even claim this expense on our income 
     tax. It is an overwhelming hardship. I just do not get it. 
     Please tell us what we are doing wrong.

  That is from their letter.
  Well, I want to say that Mrs. Pflug and her husband are doing nothing 
wrong. Like millions of parents across the country, they are working 
hard to make ends meet, sacrificing so that their children will lead 
better lives. As Mrs. Pflug explains: The bulk of the responsibility is 
on the parents when we cannot even claim this expense on our income 
tax. It is an overwhelming hardship.
  Mr. Speaker, the President and congressional Democrats realize that, 
as Mrs. Pflug put it, the overwhelming hardship of paying for college 
is indeed an expense that every American family ought to be able to 
claim on their income tax. To that end, we proposed a $1500 refundable 
tax credit for all students in their first year of college and another 
$1500 in the second year if they stay off drugs and earn a B average in 
the second year. We are also proposing a $10,000 tax deduction for any 
year a family has education expenses.
  I would say to Mrs. Pflug that the Democrats have recognized the need 
for education tax breaks and have developed a plan. I would also 
encourage Mrs. Pflug to encourage her family to keep working hard. 
Democrats in Congress are working hard for families like hers; we are 
waiting for Republicans to join us in making education tax breaks for 
the working family available so their lives will be just a little 
better and a little easier.
  The other letter, Mr. Speaker, I want to read from today concerns the 
dire need many schools across the country have for repair or outright 
replacement:
  ``Dear Frank,'' writes Ms. Ann Ricciardi of Edison, the largest town 
in my district, ``I look to anyone willing to speak for children and 
their parents for help in resolving a critical problem

[[Page H592]]

affecting most children in our State. Our buildings are deteriorating 
to the point where we are sacrificing the health and safety of our 
children and teachers.''
  And Mrs. Ricciardi continues to write:

       Almost every roof in our schools needs repair. Of 17 
     schools, 11 require significant repair. Schoolchildren sit 
     next to buckets and garbage cans catching rainwater in bad 
     weather. We rely on substandard classrooms and trailers to 
     address increasing enrollment.
       Our son is in second grade and has almost his entire 
     education in front of him. With no hope in sight for change, 
     we will be forced to consider leaving for his future success. 
     Many of our friends and neighbors are discussing the same 
     issue. School financing, charter schools and the introduction 
     of technology are the most significant problems for most 
     families today.
       Mr. Speaker, Ms. Ricciardi's situation and concerns mirror 
     those of millions of parents around the country. And she 
     could not be more right. Something absolutely needs to be 
     done. That is why the President has proposed the school 
     construction initiative to repair the Nation's ailing school 
     infrastructure. Under the President's plan, the Federal 
     Government will provide a $5 billion jump start for the 
     necessary investments in the Nation's school buildings.
       I want to thank you, Mr. Speaker. I say that these letters 
     just indicate remotely the magnitudes of the educational 
     problem. The problem needs to be addressed. It is a real 
     problem that the average American faces.

                          ____________________