[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 115 (Thursday, September 4, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H6804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS NEED TO WORK TOGETHER ON EDUCATION

  (Mr. SMITH of Michigan asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, do not make education a partisan 
issue. We have now proven that Republicans and Democrats can work 
together when we are doing something the American people want. We have 
ended up with a balanced budget, the first time in 31 years. We have 
ended up with tax cuts, the first time in 16 years. We have been able 
to work together as Democrats and Republicans because we were doing 
something the people want. Now we need to work together in education.
  My wife was a teacher. My daughter, Juliana, is a teacher in Grand 
Rapids, MI. My daughter-in-law, Diane, is a teacher. We need to get 
back to some of the old-fashioned dedication where parents are 
interested in what their kids are doing in school, and spend time with 
their kids as well as attending school meetings. We need a renewed 
respect for teachers in their schoolrooms.
  Look, when great people are interviewed and they are asked what was 
the greatest effect on their lives, they say, my parents, teachers that 
helped me and inspired me.
  We need to get rid of 30 years of liberalism in the classroom. 
Republicans and Democrats need to work together, not to have the 
Federal Government manage education, but to develop an environment that 
encourages parents to be more involved in the decisions that affect 
their children's educational lives.

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