[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE FEDERAL EDUCATION DOLLAR

  (Mr. CHABOT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, in recognition of National Teacher 
Appreciation Week, I want to mention an issue I believe all teachers 
support, getting more of our Federal education dollars into the 
classroom. When we vote here in Congress to spend money on education, 
how much actually reaches our children? As I am sure most teachers can 
attest, too little.
  An Ohio study determined a local school may have to submit as many as 
170 Federal reports totaling more than 700 pages during a single year. 
Ohio gets 6 percent of its money on education from Washington, yet over 
50 percent of the time it spends filling out forms come from right here 
in Washington. These unnecessary bureaucratic procedures consume vital 
resources while doing nothing to improve the quality of education that 
our children receive.
  As my colleague the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Hoekstra], has found 
through the Crossroads Project, there are approximately 760 Federal 
education programs covering 39 Federal agencies. I say we need to put 
an end to the wasteful bureaucracy from here in Washington that siphons 
off our precious education dollars. Let us spend the dollars where they 
ought to be spent, in the classroom. Let parents, teachers, and local 
schools decide where the money should be spent.

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