[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 27, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S59-S60]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 168--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, STATES, AND LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES SHOULD 
  SPEND A GREATER PERCENTAGE OF FEDERAL EDUCATION TAX DOLLARS IN OUR 
                         CHILDREN'S CLASSROOMS.

  Mr. HUTCHINSON (for himself, Mr. Lott, Mr. Nickles, Mr. Coverdell, 
Mr. Coats, Mr. Gregg, Mr. DeWine, Ms. Collins, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Murkowski, 
Mr. Shelby, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Kempthorne, Mr. Faircloth, 
Mr. Helms, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Allard, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Roberts, 
and Mr. Mack) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

                              S. Res. 168.

         
       Whereas the people of the United States know that effective 
     teaching takes place when the people of the United States 
     begin (1) helping children master basic academics, (2) 
     engaging and involving parents, (3) creating safe and orderly 
     classrooms, and (4) getting dollars to the classroom;
       Whereas our Nation's children deserve an educational system 
     which will provide opportunities to excel;

[[Page S60]]

       Whereas States and localities must spend a significant 
     amount of Federal education tax dollars applying for and 
     administering Federal education dollars;
       Whereas several States have reported that although the 
     States receive less than 10 percent of their education 
     funding from the Federal Government, more than 50 percent of 
     their paperwork is associated with those Federal dollars;
       Whereas while it is unknown exactly what percentage of 
     Federal education dollars reaches the classroom, a recent 
     audit of New York City public schools found that only 43 
     percent of their local education budget reaches the 
     classroom; further, it is thought that only 85 percent of 
     funds administered by the Department of Education for 
     elementary and secondary education reach the school district 
     level; and even if 65 percent of Federal education funds 
     reach the classroom, it still means that billions of dollars 
     are not directly spent on children in the classroom;
       Whereas American students are not performing up to their 
     full academic potential, despite the more than 760 Federal 
     education programs, which span 39 Federal agencies at the 
     price of nearly $100,000,000,000 annually;
       Whereas, according to the Digest of Education Statistics, 
     in 1993 only $141,598,786,000 out of $265,285,370,000 spent 
     on elementary and secondary education was spent on 
     instruction;
       Whereas, according to the National Center for Education 
     Statistics, in 1994 only 52 percent of staff employed in 
     public elementary and secondary school systems were teachers;
       Whereas too much of our Federal education funding is spent 
     on bureaucracy, and too little is spent on our Nation's 
     youth;
       Whereas getting 90 percent of Department of Education 
     elementary and secondary education funds to the classroom 
     could provide approximately $1,800 in additional funding per 
     classroom across the United States;
       Whereas more education funding should be put in the hands 
     of someone in a child's classroom who knows the child's name;
       Whereas President Clinton has stated: ``We cannot ask the 
     American people to spend more on education until we do a 
     better job with the money we've got now.'';
       Whereas President Clinton and Vice President Gore agree 
     that the reinventing of public education will not begin in 
     Washington but in communities across the United States and 
     that the people of the United States must ask fundamental 
     questions about how our Nation's public school systems' 
     dollars are spent; and
       Whereas President Clinton and Vice President Gore agree 
     that in an age of tight budgets, our Nation should be 
     spending public funds on teachers and children, not on 
     unnecessary overhead and bloated bureaucracy: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate urges the Department of 
     Education, States, and local educational agencies to work 
     together to ensure that not less than 95 percent of all funds 
     appropriated for the purpose of carrying out elementary and 
     secondary education programs administered by the Department 
     of Education is spent for our Nation's children in their 
     classrooms.

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