[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 139 (Wednesday, October 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H8638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           EVERY AMERICAN CHILD DESERVES A QUALITY EDUCATION

  (Mr. GREEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GREEN. Mr. Speaker, I want to disassociate myself with any of 
this green tax stuff, but what I am here for this morning is to talk 
about the fact that every American child deserves a quality education. 
Quality education needs to be available to all students whether or not 
they can afford it.
  Many families in our districts cannot afford to send their children 
to private schools even with vouchers. School vouchers only address a 
small percentage of the children and they take away scarce dollars from 
public education.
  It is not our American heritage to make quality education only 
available to a few select children and then forget the rest. Unlike 
other countries, we strive to educate everyone, not just the elite. 
Education needs to be available to all Americans, not just the ones who 
can afford it. That is why in our Nation's recent history public 
education is for everyone.
  In a recent poll, 71 percent of Americans want to reform public 
education. Almost the same number support public education. We need to 
listen to the American people. They want to improve our public schools. 
There are problems in public schools and we need to address these 
problems, but let us fix public education, not experiment with our 
Nation's future.

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