[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 22, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1472-E1473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MAX SANDLIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 11, 1997

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill H.R. 2107, making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and 
     for other purposes:

  Mr. SANDLIN. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to thank Representative 
Sidney Yates and Representative Louise Slaughter for their efforts to 
save the National Endowment for the Arts [NEA] and the National 
Endowment for the Humanities [NEH], and for raising the awareness of 
the importance of both agencies to education.
  The cost to fund both the NEA and the NEH is less than $1 per 
taxpayer per year, and the return from both agencies is immeasurable. 
Small grants of a few thousand dollars

[[Page E1473]]

matched with private donations go a long way toward promoting arts 
education in school districts, and preserving our Nation's heritage in 
local communities. Through partnerships with State and local 
organizations, the NEA is able to integrate art into multiple 
educational and after school programs throughout the State of Texas. 
This means we are implementing new and innovative methods to help 
students develop problem solving and reasoning skills, hone 
communication ability, expand creativity, and instill self-esteem and 
discipline. All of these tools are important if we want our children to 
be successful in the 21st century.
  For the past 4 years, the Dallas-based Partnership for the Arts, 
Culture, and Education, Inc., [PACE] conducted a study to determine the 
impact that arts education has on students' overall academic 
performance. Throughout the study they found teachers who used 
innovative ways to stimulate the minds of their students. One class 
learned the principles of physics during a trip to the symphony hall, 
while another class learned about the relationship of muscles to the 
skeleton from studying dance. The PACE study also found that the 
greater the exposure to the arts, the greater the student performance 
on standardized test scores.
  In my district, the Texas Council of Humanities [TCH] in partnership 
with the NEH has taken an active role in advancement of humanities 
education through history, literature, religion, languages, and other 
fields related to culture and society in elementary, secondary, and 
postsecondary education. One grant recipient of TCH is Wiley College 
and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, who received a $2,000 award for a symposium 
examining the roles of black women. In addition, TCH awarded a grant to 
Paris Junior College for the collection of data and a lecture series on 
the history and culture of the surrounding African-American community. 
Without the NEH, there would be no TCH or study of the history of an 
African-American community in a town called Paris, TX.
  The NEA has continuously supported State and local organizations that 
bring arts to rural America. In my district, the NEA has given much 
needed support to organizations like the Texarkana Regional Arts and 
Humanities Council and the Marshall Regional Arts Council. These 
councils have funded various arts in education programs and touring 
companies throughout my district. The Texarkana Regional Arts and 
Humanities Council has presented talented groups, like the Amabile 
Piano Quartet and the Deeply Rooted Chicago Dance Theatre. In addition, 
the NEA has supported the Northeast Texas Communities in Schools, an 
organization that helps bring major performances to local schools.
  The NEA also supports the Believe in Me after-school program in 
Austin, TX. This program uses dance to give youth, many of whom are 
involved in drug and gang activity, the tools they need to be 
successful in the community.
  I cannot say that every child will turn out to be the next Einstein 
or Michelangelo or Maya Angelou, but we can give these children a solid 
foundation on which they can build their dreams. As the artistic 
director for the 52d Street project stated, ``There is no way to fast 
forward and know how the kids will look back on this, but I have seen 
joy in their eyes and have heard it in their voices and I have watched 
them take a bow and come up taller.''
  I believe we must recognize the impact that the NEA and the NEH have 
on our heritage, culture, and economy, and the benefits to education. 
As a father of four children, I believe we have a responsibility to 
give our children every opportunity possible for success. And if the 
care and education and development of our children is not a priority 
role of Government, then what is?

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