[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 70 (Friday, May 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5147-S5148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 JUMPSTART THE URBAN CLASSROOM NETWORKS

 Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I would like to share with my 
colleagues an opinion piece from Eric Behnamou, Chairman and CEO of 
3Com Corp., regarding the Federal Communications

[[Page S5148]]

Commission's [FCC] May 7th decision regarding universal service and the 
Snowe-
Rockefeller-Exon-Kerrey amendment.
  While this op-ed piece speaks for itself, I think it is good to note 
the interest and support of business leaders for education technology 
and the specific initiative to link classrooms and libraries to the 
information superhighway. Thoughtful business leaders understand the 
importance of computer literacy. A California study estimated that 60 
percent of the new jobs by the year 2000 will require skills possessed 
by only 22 percent of workers--clearly we must do better. I believe 
that linking up our classrooms will help a great deal.
  I ask that the article from the May 7, 1997, Los Angeles Times be 
reprinted in the Record.
  The article follows:

               [From the Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1997]

                Jump-Start the Urban Classroom Networks

                         (By Eric A. Benhamou)

       Just as cars aren't particularly useful without roads and 
     freeways, the same is true of an information highway without 
     well-planned onramps and offramps. This is particularly 
     evident in our schools.
       While classroom connectivity increased from 6% to 14% 
     between 1994 and 1996, most of these networks are low-speed 
     analog connections, the computer equivalent of unpaved roads.
       President Clinton advocates connecting all classrooms to 
     the Internet, and this message has been heard by principals, 
     administrators and school boards anxious to have their 
     students log on. However, this presidential mandate has been 
     largely unfunded, with private money/state projects and 
     volunteer efforts substituting for systemic programs. Poor 
     schools have suffered or been relegated efforts substituting 
     for systemic programs. Poor schools have suffered or been 
     relegated to the slow lane or no lane.
       The Snowe-Rockefeller amendment to the Telecommunications 
     Act of 1996 corrected this deficiency by funding the 
     necessary telecommunications infrastructure. But the Federal 
     Communications Commission must still approve it.
       This is critical if we're going to solve the problem of 
     getting all U.S. classrooms hooked up by 2000. The 
     amendment's plan to provide the largest hookup discounts for 
     ``have-not'' schools will help jump-start connectively. 
     Today, 47% of schools with more than 70% of their students 
     qualifying for federal lunch subsidies have no Internet 
     access; only 22% of the schools where less than 11% qualify 
     for free lunches are not hooked up. This gap must be closed.
       Studies from pilot programs show higher test scores in 
     English and math from Internet-enabled classrooms. More 
     important, technology raises test scores more for 
     underprivileged kids than for wealthy kids, more for kids who 
     have interactive hands-on experience (e.g. the Internet) and 
     more where schools invest in teacher training. Unfortunately, 
     only 7% of urban schools mandate advanced telecommunications 
     and networking skills training for teachers.
       President Eisenhower's conception and subsequent 
     implementation of the U.S. highway system fostered our mobile 
     society, creating industries and jobs. President Clinton's 
     vision of a nation of learners benfiting from the Internet 
     offers similar return. Companies like Netscape and America 
     OnLine are already providing jobs for American youth.
       The amendment isn't perfect, but it provides for much 
     broader and systematic introduction of networking into our 
     schools. It earmarks $2.25 billion annually for 
     communications and networking equipment. The FCC 
     commissioners should make the tough trade-offs and approve 
     this highway construction project.

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