[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 139 (Wednesday, October 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H8636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           CRUMBLING SCHOOLS

  (Mr. BLAGOJEVICH asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BLAGOJEVICH. Mr. Speaker, we have the privilege here in America 
to live in what is arguably the wealthiest country in the world. In 
fact, when we compare the wealth of our country with other countries in 
the span of human history, we are probably easily among the wealthiest. 
We are fortunate to live in a country that offers that kind of well-
being.
  Yet across America our school buildings are crumbling. Fourteen 
million American students this morning went to school in crumbling 
school buildings. Education in my view is not only a proper role for 
government, it is a moral imperative for those of us who are involved 
in government. It is a scandal and it is a shame that in one of the 
wealthiest countries in human history we can allow crumbling school 
buildings to exist in the United States of America.
  This Congress recently passed an appropriation for $21 billion for B-
2 bombers, B-2 bombers that cannot even fly in the rain. Yet this very 
Congress denied $5 billion to help improve our crumbling school 
buildings. We must get our priorities straight. Public schools need the 
help of the Federal Government and crumbling school buildings are a 
national scandal.

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