[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H7021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REJECT WHOLE-SCHOOL REFORM

  (Mr. SHADEGG asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHADEGG. Mr. Speaker, as a parent there is no issue, absolutely 
no issue more important to me than the education of my children. For us 
as a Congress there ought to be no issue more important than education, 
and that issue is critically important to the American people. But, Mr. 
Speaker, the Labor-HHS bill, H.R. 2264, which we will debate today, 
holds in it a wolf in sheep's clothing on the issue of education.
  I am deeply committed to education reform, but, Mr. Speaker, I 
believe that the parents and the teachers and the students and the 
administrators in my school and in any school district know how to 
reform my school and give our children the best education possible. 
This bill contains a wolf, a wolf which says, well, we are going to 
support school reform but only whole school reform, only top-down 
dictated Federal school reform. Do it by our model, and get the money; 
do not do it by our model and do not get the money.
  We do not need top-down school reform. I urge my colleagues to reject 
whole-school reform.

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