[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 143 (Wednesday, October 22, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H8933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               EDUCATION

  (Mr. THUNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. Speaker, reading, writing, and arithmetic are the 
basic building blocks of education. Today, I would like to talk about 
an education issue that just does not add up, no matter how we do the 
math.
  A recent study found that 14 billion is allocated to the Department 
of Education for elementary and secondary programs. Of that $14 
billion, $2 billion never reaches local school districts. This must be 
some crazy form of new math, because I cannot quite see how this adds 
up.
  The Department of Education is spending our tax dollars on something 
our children never see in the classroom. We can apply algebra, 
geometry, calculus, but no matter how we look at this equation, we get 
the wrong answer.
  That is why I support House Resolution 139, the Dollars to the 
Classroom resolution. This measure puts 90 percent of the Department of 
Education's elementary and secondary funds where they belong, in the 
classroom. It is pretty simple. Subtract the money from the Washington 
bureaucracy and add it to the local school districts. That equals 
better education for our students and a better buy for taxpayers.

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